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: 18:47:45 6 February 2013 (UTC)

GUIDE FORUM THREAD

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This guide is designed to help you get started with ENB and answer the some of 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 and general configurations, it is not meant to answer questions about any specific ENBSeries mod. 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 tool available for Skyrim and other games. It was developed by Boris Vorontsov; who still maintains and updates the product. This tool enables users to create custom configurations (ENBs) designed to their own specifications by modifying rendering functions and the application of additional effects such as bloom, depth of field, and SSAO. ENBs often enhance overall lighting, colors, and shadows among other aspects of the game, but comes with a performance loss of anywhere between 5% to 50% of your total frames per second (FPS); depending on your hardware setup and the ENB features you use. Most find this loss acceptable compared to the enhancements and features gained from the ENB.

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ENBSeries

Before installing any of the ENBs, you'll need Boris Vorontsov's ENBSeries. Most ENBs are still using the older 0.119 version; however, refer to your chosen ENB's documentation to be sure you download the correct version for your ENB. (Version 0.123 is mainly for testing purposes so don't use it unless the ENB says to. Hardware AA is not supported in version 0.123)

Recommended ENB Configurations

There are ENB and other lighting mods that come in just about every style and color. This section can be extremely subjective and as such we suggest you browse around to find the perfect solution to fit your tastes. A Post-Processing Pack to offer numerous and varied suggestions is being planned, but in the mean time we offer three of our favorites as a starting point.

SkyRealism - ENB Evolved (highly recommended)

Baseline: ENBSeries v0.139

The "Cinematic" or "Vanilla" presets are the STEP recommended choices.
Turn off Bloom and/or DOF if you don't like it via the enbseries.ini file. It is recommended to turn off SSAO via the enbseries.ini file as well. (see the configuration tab)
- More powerful rigs with Nvidia graphics can leave SSAO turned on for increased visuals. SSAO isn't available on AMD/ATI drivers but can be used via the ENB.
- For less powerful rigs it is recommended you turn off both DOF and SSAO as they have the most performance impact.
Copy the folder contents (effect.txt, enbbloom.fx, etc.) to your root "Skyrim" folder (not your "Data" folder).

True Vision ENB

Baseline: ENBSeries v0.119 & Performance option "DoF only"

The "Natural" preset is the STEP recommended choice.
Ignore the "Data" and "Optional effects" folders.
In the "Performance Options" folder there are five choices. "Option C (DOF only)" is the recommended choice.
- More powerful rigs with Nvidia graphics can use "Option A (DOF + SSAO)" for increased visuals. SSAO isn't available on AMD/ATI drivers but can be used via the ENB.
- Less powerful rigs use "Option D (No DOF + No SSAO)".
Copy the folder contents (effect.txt, enbbloom.fx, etc.) to your root "Skyrim" folder (not your "Data" folder).

Project ENB

Baseline: ENBSeries v0.119 & Performance option "DoF only"

If not planning to use Climates of Tamriel, use "Project ENB (Standalone)".
Ignore the "Data" and "Optional effects" folders.
In the "Performance Options" folder there are five choices. "Option C (DOF only)" is the recommended choice.
- More powerful rigs with Nvidia graphics can use "Option A (DOF + SSAO)" for increased visuals. SSAO isn't available on AMD/ATI drivers but can be used via the ENB.
- Less powerful rigs use "Option D (No DOF + No SSAO)".
Copy the folder contents (effect.txt, enbbloom.fx, etc.) to your root "Skyrim" folder (not your "Data" folder).

ENB Complimenting Mods

Presets

TheCompiler's RCRN Plus - ENB, featuring a new injector method with SMAA, enhanced exterior fog and sunglare.
z929669's SkyRealism custom preset is good for those looking for realism of both day and night and good performance. Presets exist for CoT, RCRN, and RLwC using the most recent version of ENBSeries. Featuring SMAA, brighter sunny days, brighter colors, realistic day/night sky-lighting and darker nights/interiors.

Darkness

Dark Dungeons for ENB This tells ENB to render dungeons as though its night (otherwise it lights them as though its daylight)
Many ENBs include optional files for darker caves, dungeons, and nights. Check with your ENB for these options before using a third party mod for this. Some lighting mods may not be compatible.

Fixes

Skyrim Particle Patch for ENB This fixes shaders or blending properties on some object meshes which have their parameters set incorrectly. If using SkyRealism, you do not need to down this fix. It's already included in the SkyRealism download file.

Fog

Remove Interior Fog V2 This removes the ambient interior fog that is found indoors in many locations. It has support of all DLCs.
Revamped Exterior Fog This reduces the density of exterior fog and increases the distance that it starts becoming opaque. If using RCRN, there is a compatibility version which should be used.
Interior and Dungeon Fog Remover Completely removes fog meshes from most dungeon and indoor locations. Not compatible with Removed Interior Fog V2; use one or the other, not both.

Some mods that are often combined with ENBs are not compatible with the above mods (i.e. Climates of Tamriel, Realistic Colors and Real Nights, etc) As good modding practice, please review the Readme of any mod you plan on using.

Utilities

ENB and FXAA Remover Removes ENB and FXAA installations and provides slots to load different ENB configurations for quick and painless switching.
ENB Customizer Provides a GUI interface to change many of the enbseries.ini settings.
ENB Manager and Changer Utility which allows the switching between ENB configurations and presets. Useful when testing various ENBs.

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NOTE: ENB MUST be installed manually; it is NOT compatible 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

This guide assumes you have completed the STEP Installation Guide through at least section 1.F. If you have not done so, please do before continuing!

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 TES 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 located in your "My Documents\My Games\Skyrim" folder.
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.

ENB Installation

Make sure you've backed up your game INIs!

Extract the version of the d3d9.dll file which your chosen ENB requires into your root Skyrim folder. You do not need any other files except the d3d9.dll. Most ENBs use the Wrapper version but check with your chosen ENB's documentation. Do not extract the file to the Data folder! It must be placed the root Skyrim folder to work.
Extract the ENB files from your chosen ENB's folder into your root Skyrim folder. The same place the d3d9.dll file has been extracted to.
Back up your ENB's enbseries.ini and enbeffect.fx files as these will be the files you'll be editing for customization. (optional but recommended)
Edit your game INI file as shown below.

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
bTreesReceiveShadows=1
bDrawLandShadows=1
bShadowsOnGrass=1
fGamma=1.0000 //this normalizes the gamma so the ENB coloring isn't off

The following modifications are not necessary; however, may increase performance if you are experiencing heavy FPS loss.

iMultiSample=0 //turns off multi-sampling AA
bTransparencyMultisampling=0 //turns off multi-sampling transparency AA

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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.

Extract the folder to your desired location and in the d3d9 folder, rename d3d9.dll to d3d9_smaa.dll

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

This is not an exhaustive list of all the settings included in the enbseries.ini file. If you are new to ENBs, it suggested to not edit any settings which are not listed unless you simply wish to experiment. To edit the settings below, open your "enbseries.ini" file in a text editor such as Notepad or Notepad++. Be sure when saving the file, after your edits, save it with the .ini file extension.

When editing any of the below values use the following format: parameterName=value

For example: EnableAmbientOcclusion=false

Using a Proxy

The [PROXY] section of the INI file allows for use of another d3d9.dll file. This enables the ENB to be compatible with other processors such as FXAA, SMAA, and RCRN. The following is an explanation of the [PROXY] settings:

This will either enable or disable the use of the proxy. Unless you are using a separate processor in combination with ENB, this setting should remain as false.

EnableProxyLibrary=(false, true)

This attaches drawing functions to the proxy library. Set this to false only if the second .dll is not hooking rendering functions and just needs to be injected in to game process. (i.e. bug fixes or process memory patchers). If you're using the proxy option, most secondly d3d9.dll files will need this option set to true.

InitProxyFunctions=(false, true)

This is the name or full path to the proxy library to be loaded (second d3d9.dll file). The name or path can not contain unicode symbols. The majority of situation you'll simply include the name because the two d3d9.dll files will be located in the root Skyrim folder.

ProxyLibrary=other_d3d9.dll

Full Example:

[PROXY]
EnableProxyLibrary=true
InitProxyFunctions=true
ProxyLibrary=RCRN_d3d9.dll

Global

These [GLOBAL] settings rarely need to be changed unless you are using an external file to store your parameters.

This is the setting for the name or path to another configuration file that will replace parameters of enbseries.ini. This can be useful if you are testing a set of parameters in several different ENBs. Instead of changing all the parameters for each ENB, you can simply change the parameter below to use a file which stores all the test parameters.

AdditionalConfigFile=userconfig.ini

This will enable or disable the ENB effects. In almost versions of the ENB, this can be switched on or off by holding the Shift key and pressing F12.

UseEffect=(false, true)

Game Fixes

The following are fixes for several issues introduced by the ENB or other aspects of the game/hardware. These settings should not normally be changed.

Forces game threads to use only one cpu core on multiple core CPUs.

ForceSingleCoreCPU=(false, true)

Prevents the game from managing threads to multiple cores and allows the OS to manage this instead. This will help to reduce freezing and stuttering bugs.

IgnoreThreadManagement=(false, true)

Prevents the game from setting thread priorities, all threads will use normal priority. This will help to reduce freezing and stuttering bugs.

IgnoreThreadPriority=(false, true)

When game utilizes very little VRAM, crash-to-desktop (CTD) or blue screens of death (BSOD) errors may occur on some systems. This prevents such problem and increases performance a small amount. It is recommended to be set to true.

AntiBSOD=(false, true)

Multihead

These [MULTIHEAD] section settings should normally not be changed. The default settings normally work for all systems.

If set to true, the ENB ignores the default video adapter output and uses the card selected by the VideoAdapterIndex parameter below. This allows you to play with multiple monitors and other uses with multiple video card systems.

ForceVideoAdapterIndex=(false, true)

This sets which video adapter that will be used for rendering via index numbers. Useful for multiple card systems. The default adapter is 0.

VideoAdapterIndex=(0..6)

Setting the FPS Limiter

The limiter included in the ENBSeries is a frames per second (FPS) limiter. This will limit or cap the upper FPS limit to a specified number. This is useful to control some performance issues such as lagging, crashes, freezes, and physics issues which are present at high frame rates. This feature can be turned on and off by pressing and holding the Shift key and then pressing the Home key. It should be noted, enabling the limiter could increase load times.

If enabled (true), each frame will wait until the GPU is finished drawing. This is not recommended for performance reasons; however, may fix some of the issues mentioned above. It’s the effect as setting maximal pre-rendered frames to 0 in your video card settings.

WaitBusyRenderer=(false, true)

When set to true it will enable the FPS Limiter feature.

EnableFPSLimit=(false, true)

This is the value in frames per seconds (FPS) at which the upper FPS will be limited to.

FPSLimit=40.0

Changing the Input Key Bindings

In the [INPUT] section you can change the key bindings for the features included in the ENBSeries.

By default, this is the Backspace key. This will reload the configuration file and shaders to view changes made without having to restart the game.

KeyReadConfig=8

By default, this is the Shift key. It is the primary key pressed and held for key combinations.

KeyCombination=16

By default, this is the F12 key. This will turn the ENB effects on and off. This must be pressed together with KeyCombination key (Shift+F12 by default).

KeyUseEffect=123

By default, this is the Home key. This turns the FPS Limiter on and off. This must be pressed together with the KeyCombinaton key (Shift+Home by default).

KeyFPSLimit=36

By default, this is the * key on the number pad. This displays real-time frame rate in the upper right corner in the game. Set to 0 to disable.

KeyShowFPS=106

By default, this is the Insert key; however, the Prt Sc (Print Screen) key also works. This captures a screenshot to a BMP and/or PNG file in the same folder where ENBSeries is installed.

KeyScreenshot=45

Game Engine

The settings in the [ENGINE] section deal with game engine edits. It is noted by Boris that it is best to force anisotropic filtering here instead of in the video card settings. His reasoning behind this is because if forced through video card setting, the filtering will be applied to all textures and some textures should not be filtered; filtering these textures could cause issues with SSAO and parallax. Forcing filter through the ENB; however, skips these textures which should not be filtered. (This theory has not been tested by STEP.)

This will force anisotropic filtering for all textures with a linear filtering type. Textures which should not have anisotropic filtering are not changed.

ForceAnisotropicFiltering=(false, true)

This is the level of anisotropy filtering. The values range from 1 to 16; higher values provide better quality.

MaxAnisotropy=(1..16)

This disables shader optimization. In some rare situations, this can be turned on to remove bugs with the shader compiler; however, it is best to set the parameter to false in most cases.

SkipShaderOptimization=(false, true)

Editing the ENB Effects

The [EFFECT] section is where you will be making most of your edits. It's here where you can enable and disable the ENB effects such as depth of field and SSAO. Disabling some of these effects will provide increased performance; however, if you are experiencing low FPS, please try the performance tips on the Troubleshooting tab first. Different ENB mods use different settings so not all of the below parameters may be your defaults. Several mods also have different quality and performance options which are simply different parameter settings presets for you to use so that you may not have to manually edit these parameters yourself. To disable any of these effects, simply set the corresponding parameter to "false".

This parameter will enable or disable the effects from the enbeffect.fx file.

UseOriginalPostProcessing=(false, true)

This parameter will enable or disable the effects from the [ENVIRONMENT] section of the enbseries.ini file.

UseOriginalObjectsProcessing=(false, true)

When enabled (true), this will force the use of the vanilla post processing algorithm instead of the ENB's. This can be useful if you prefer and wish to use the vanilla colors, but still wish to use some of the features of ENBSeries.

UseOriginalPostProcessing=(false, true)

This will enable or disable the bloom effect of the ENB which is part of high quality post processing for HDR. This means the ENB bloom is higher quality than that of Vanilla Skyrim. This also enables or disables the lens effect as it's processed at same time as bloom. Bloom is a computer graphics effect used to reproduce the imaging of real-world cameras. When a bright light shines on an object or when there is a light source behind an object, the object's edges become feathered and the object itself can sometimes appear hazing from the light. It is also responsible for the overall "hazy" effect in some ENB mods. This can be disabled for a small performance increase. The quality and amount of bloom can also be configured later down in the file.

EnableBloom=(false, true)

This enables or disables the ENB's method of eye adaptation to the screen brightness. This effect mimics the duration it takes for the eyes to adjust to bright lights. Vanilla Skyrim has this feature; however, it happens unnaturally quick. The ENB modifies this duration; making it longer to provide a more natural feel.

EnableAdaptation=(false, true)

This parameter enables or disables the screen space ambient occlusion (SSAO) and indirect lighting effects. Disabling (false) this provides a performance increase. It is; however, configurable to different levels later down in the file. Each level provides a different quality/performance ratio. This setting can have up to 15% FPS impact.

EnableAmbientOcclusion=(false, true)

This will enable or disable the depth of field (DOF) effect. DOF is a blurring effect in-game which focuses on the point at which you are looking; blurring the surroundings and background. This is a cinematic effect and great for screenshots, but not all users like it while playing. Disabling this also provides a performance increase. DOF can have up to a 12% FPS impact.

EnableDepthOfField=(false, true)

This parameter is enable or disable detailed shadows. As the name suggests, this feature adjusts the games shadow rendering; making them more detailed and slightly blurrier than Vanilla. Disabling this provides a small performance increase. This setting only has, on average, a 2-5% FPS impact.

EnableDetailedShadow=(false, true)

This will enable or disable sun rays. Sun rays are the bright rays of light you see when looking towards the sun. Sunrays only has, on average, a 2-5% FPS impact.

EnableSunRays=(false, true)

This will enable or disable the sky lighting. This feature mimics the real world shadowing fade; making shadows darker in the middle and gradually lightening them while moving out towards the edge. This setting can have up to a 15% FPS impact.

EnableSkyLighting=(false, true)

Adjusting the Bloom Quality

You can adjust the quality and effect of bloom in the [BLOOM] section of the file.

Modifying this parameter will adjust the quality of the bloom effect. 0 is the highest quality and 2 is essentially disabled. Recommended setting is 1 for balance.

Quality=(0,1,2)

Adjusting the SSAO Quality

You can adjust the quality of SSAO in the [SSOA_SSIL] section of the file. Screen resolution has a direct effect on SSAO performance; the higher the resolution, the slower the SSAO performance is.

Modifying this parameter will adjust the quality of SSAO. -1 is the extreme quality and 2 is the lowest. Recommended setting is either 0 or 1.

SamplingQuality=(-1,0,1,2)

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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. If using Auslogics, use the "Defrag & Optimize" option. Defragment your hard drive at least once a month.

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 have 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.

There are also a few fairly good "booster" programs that help some gamers. One recommended booster is Razer Game Booster which is free from Razor. If you do choose to use one of these, do some research first and know what you're doing. This is a good policy for anything, including mods.

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. Use the guides for your card (nVidia or ATi) provided in the STEP guide as your starting point. Adjust and test your setting until you achieve the right balance with smooth game-play.

Be realistic with your INI settings. Over-tweaking 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 not using an ENB or upgrading your PC to the right performance levels.

Shadow Striping

One of the great things about ENBs is that they usually fix shadow striping; however, some configurations don't get it quite right and some striping can remain. In the screenshots below it's hard to tell from their reduced size in the gallery, but if you'll notice the fuzziness along the edges of the shadows and the lines across some of the textures; this is shadow striping.

Figure 1. Shadow Striping

Figure 2. Shadow Striping

To fix this adjust the iBlurDeferredShadowMask parameter in your SkyrimPrefs.ini file. It should already be set to "3" from the STEP Installation Guide. You can adjust this setting from 0-7. If you find you have striping, increase this parameter's value by one (up to 4 from 3), save your ini, and test the new setting in-game. Continue to repeat this process until your shadow striping is gone.

If the above is not helping enough or making the shadows too blurry, adjusting the fShadowDistance parameter may help. This is the distance at which shadows are drawn from the object. Decreasing this will make these shadows less elongated and help to eliminate striping at lower iBlurDeferredShadowMask values.

ATI Users

Set the following in "ENBSeries.ini".

In the [FIX] section:

The following tweaks 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:

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

For users using 13.x drivers

Open up CCC (or AMD Vision Engine Control Center).
Make sure your are in Advanced View mode by clicking Preferences.
Select "Gaming" and choose "3D Applications Profiles".
Select "Add" and browse to and select "TESV.exe".
"TESV.exe" should now show up on that page. Select it and scroll down to "CrossfireX Mode"
Select "Use AMD Pre-defined profile" and locate the "Assassin's Creed Brotherhood profile" (acp?b.exe)
Overwrite the default profile when prompted.

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.