Guide:ENBSeries

Template:Notice A comprehensive guide for properly setting up ENB for n00bs and gurus alike -- by Staind716 & S.T.E.P. Team

Updated: 5:49:42 6 October 2012 (UTC)

GUIDE FORUM THREAD

Introduction

Installation

SMAA

Configuration

Troubleshooting

Final Checklist

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This guide is designed to answer the most common questions related to the use of ENBSeries mods for Skyrim. Please note this is intended as a general overview of ENBSeries mod use. While this guide does contain many helpful tips, it is not meant to answer questions about any specific ENBSeries mod configuration. If seeking answers related to a particular ENB mod please contact that mod's author. Thank you.

What is ENB?

ENBSeries is a powerful post processing modification available for Skyrim. This tool enables users to create custom configurations designed to their own specifications by modifying rendering functions and the application of additional effects.

Much more detailed explanation to come.

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NOTE: ENB MUST be installed manually; it is NOT compatibile with any mod manager.

While slightly more involved than experienced ENB users may be accustomed to, this installation procedure ensures you will not encounter any possible issues related to the installation process.

Prior to Installation

• Calibrate your monitor
• Make sure your graphic drivers are up to date. If not, please download and install new drivers via a clean installation.
• Download the recommended ENB d3d9.dll for your chosen ENB mod here.
• Save the folder you just downloaded on your desktop.
• Please, if this is your first time using an ENB, read the TESV documentation here.
• Back up your game INIs. These are the "Skyrim.ini" and "SkyimPrefs.ini", located in your "My Documents\My Games\Skyrim" folder.
• Back up your game saves.
• If you're currently using an ENB or FXAA, do the following as well:

• Back up your current ENB or FXAA post-process injector to another folder.
• Delete ALL ENB and post-processing injector files in your root Skyrim folder.

Then, follow this process:

1. Make sure you've backed up your game INIs.
2. Delete "RendererInfo.txt" in "My Documents\My Games\Skyrim".
3. Launch "TESV.exe". Skyrim will recognize your renderer. The launcher will then regenerate two default game INIs.
4. Don't launch the game, quit.
5. Delete the two default INIs.
6. Put your saved INIs back in "My Documents\My Games\Skyrim" and keep a copy on your desktop.
7. Quit.

Game INIs

For ENB to work as intended, you will have to make some modifications in your game INIs.

In your "SkyrimPrefs.ini", set the following in the [Display] section:

bFloatPointRenderTarget=1

If using ENBSeries v0.117 or later also set the following:

bTreesReceiveShadows=1
bDrawLandShadows=1
bShadowsOnGrass=1

Files

Make sure to read the documentation provided on the mod's description page and in any available Readme's.

• Copy ONLY the "d3d9.dll" from the package you just downloaded from enbdev.com to your root Skyrim folder. The root Skyrim folder is where the TESV executable is located. You do NOT need any of the other files, ONLY the "d3d9.dll".
• Copy the files provided in your chosen ENB mod to the correct destination folders, as indicated in the mod's documentation.

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SMAA (Highly Recommended)

Note: This section is entirely optional and SMAA is NOT required to run ENB.

SubPixel Morphological Anti-Aliasing is a fantastic post-processing anti-aliasing method. Unlike MSAA, SMAA is processed after ENB, sparing a lot of headroom performance wise, and ensuring full compatibility. For users with low to mid-range computers SMAA is a great replacement for forced driver or the game engine's AA; you get a major quality improvement for a fraction of the performance hit. For users with a high-end machine we recommend you use a forced driver SGSSAA in addition to SMAA.

If you wish to use SMAA, set the following in the [Display] section of your "SkyrimPrefs.ini":

iMultiSample=0 
bTransparencyMultisampling=0

Then, copy the following files provided in the ENB mod download files to your root Skyrim folder :

• d3d9_smaa.dll
• injector.ini
• SMAA.h
• SMAA.fx

Note

Even though some ENB mods may not include SMAA in their download files it is still possible to use SMAA for anti-aliasing as long as you do not have an additional d3d9.dll already enabled in "enbseries.ini".

You can download SMAA here.

Copy the following files into your Skyrim main folder :

• d3d9_smaa.dll
• injector.ini
• SMAA.h
• SMAA.fx

To enable SMAA set the following in the [PROXY] section of your "enbseries.ini":

EnableProxyLibrary=TRUE
InitProxyFunctions=true
ProxyLibrary=d3d9_smaa.dll

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Editing the Enbseries INI

Disabling Effects

If you are experiencing low FPS, please try the Performance Tips in the Troubleshooting tab first. Many ENB mods also have different quality and performance options that you may want to try first before disabling any effects.

If you still need to disable the more FPS-intensive effects or want to disable one for other reasons this is easily done by editing "ENBSeries.ini". The most FPS-intensive effects are SSAO, DOF, and Detailed Shadows, in that order. I recommend disabling SSAO only if necessary for playable frame rates since this will make the most noticeable difference in quality. To disable any of the effects, simple set the corresponding parameter to "false" in the [EFFECT] section of "ENBSeries.ini":

EnableDetailedShadow=true
EnableDepthOfField=true
EnableAmbientOcclusion=true

All parameters not mentioned above should be left as-is.

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Performance Tips

While ENB does greatly enhance your game, these additional effects also take a toll on performance. How much of an FPS decrease you will experience depends on your system specs, INIs, texture mods, and a host of other variables. This is why it is virtually impossible to estimate how much any ENB will affect you personally. That being said, there are some things you can do to improve your performance.

First and foremost it is important to keep your PC in top gaming condition. Like anything else, if you take care of it then it will take care of you. Some simple ways to do this:

• Make sure that you defragment your hard drive, unless it's an SSD (These should NEVER be defragmented). Not only will this help improve performance with gaming but can also decrease load times in other applications. Although Windows comes with a simple defragging program, STEP recommends either Auslogics Disk Defrag or Puran Defrag Free Edition.

• Disable all unnecessary programs running in the background while gaming in order to free up more resources. Anti-virus programs are especially resource intensive and aren't needed while playing. Some anti-virus software has a "Gaming Mode" or something similar; check the options menu. If you disable your anti-virus program while gaming remember to enable it again when you finish.

• Keep Steam in offline mode. This is just one more thing depleting your resources that really isn't needed.
• Your GPU settings play a tremendous role in determining quality and performance. Striking the right balance in these settings is essential in achieving a beautiful game with smooth, playable frame rates. Nvidia users are welcome to try our recommended GPU settings as shown in the screenshot located in the Countervibe ENB download. (I will try to add AMD settings after consulting with experienced AMD users).

• Be realistic with your INI settings. Overtweaking can and will cause performance issues if your system is not capable of handling the additional strain.

• High resolution texture mods also affect your performance. Careful consideration and experimentation should be used when adding these with ENB in order to find the right balance of quality and performance that best fits your system.

• Some of the more FPS-intensive effects can also be disabled in "ENBSeries.ini" to improve performance at the cost of some quality. Instructions on how to disable these effects can be found in the Configuration section of this guide.

If after following these performance tips you are still unable to achieve playable frame rates your system may not be capable of running ENB. At this point you may wish to consider upgrading your pc.

ATI Users

Set the following in "ENBSeries.ini".

In the [FIX] section:

[ALERT: I have confirmed that this causes annoying flickering in general and extreme exposure recovery times at light/dark transitions on my system (2x CrossfireX 6850 using ENB 119 & SkyRealism - ENB Evolved, Cinematic v1.32). This could be the sole cause or a synergistic effect.]

~z929669Talk 03:17, 4 October 2012 (UTC)

Should only be used for pre version 113 configurations.

ForceFakeVideocard=true

In the [SHADOW] section:

UseBilateralShadowFilter=false

• SSAA is not recommended for use with ENB, unless you have an AMD 7870 or above. If using a less powerful GPU, SMAA is the better option.

• When updating drivers be sure to uninstall your current drivers before installing your new drivers. It is also not recommended to use Beta drivers. The current stable drivers can be found here.

• If you must use anisotropic filtering (AF), then either ENB-enabled or CCC-enabled is fine, but this depends entirely on the capability of your CPU since Skyrim is more CPU-intensive than GPU. ENB-enabled is better, but up to 8x is recommended unless you have at least 2GB of VRAM (generally the 69xx, 78xx, and 79xx series).

Possible Crossfire Fix

Please apply the following process to ensure Crossfire compatiblity:

1. Right-click on your desktop and open the Catalyst Control Center.
2. Enter the 3D Applications Profiles.
3. Choose "Use AMD Pre-defined profile" in the list at the bottom
4. Select the "Assassin's Creed Brotherhood profile" (acp?b.exe)
5. Go back to the top, select "New application" and press the "Save" button.
6. Choose the "TESV.exe" application (in the root Skyrim folder) when the browser window pops up.
7. Answer "Yes" when CCC asks if you want to override the default TESV profile.

Disable ENB In-game

A common issue with DOF is that it is difficult to see your character while in the creation menu. There is a very simple solution for this. While playing, just press Shift+F12 to disable ENB. This can be quite useful when creating your character or modifying it later via the showracemenu console command. When finished, just press Shift+F12 again to enable ENB.

Long Loading Times

Some people may experience long loading times while using ENB. An easy way to greatly decrease your wait is by pressing Shift+F12 before or just after entering the loading screen to disable ENB. When the screen is loaded press Shift+F12 again to enable ENB.

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Before you Play

After following the above steps, run through this process once again:

1. Backup your INIs to your desktop from "My Documents\My Games\Skyrim".
2. Delete "RendererInfo.txt".
3. Launch "TESV.exe" and Skyrim will recognize your renderer. If you wish to use SMAA, set AA to 0 in the launcher. The launcher will then regenerate two default game INIs.
4. Don't launch the game; quit.
5. Delete the two default INIs.
6. Return the INIs you just backed up to "My Documents\My Games\Skyrim".
7. Save and quit.
8. Finally, Launch the game and enjoy!