Why is my sky/grass black when I have HDR off in the launcher?
TLDR: Enable HDR in launcher or in ini, or download the optional Non HDR Patch, and load after the main mod.
Firstly, I would like to clear a common misconception - the HDR launcher option (or equivalently bDoHighDynamicRange under [BlurShaderHDR] in the INI file) has nothing to do with display. The game (without specific mods to hack around it) does not support HDR displays at all. So what does the option do? It enables the game to render high dynamic range colors into it's internal render target, i.e. instead of just the typical 0-255 RGB colors it can go to higher values, which is crucial for any (at least close to) proper lighting. However, it also swaps several used shaders.
The last part is crucial. The fix has two parts - a DLL for the engine, and a collection of shaders. The shaders have been selected to have the broadest possible compatibility. But they do not support non-HDR rendering.
Having problems playing this with DoHighDynamicRange=0. Grass is always dark and looks like black spots (especially during the daytime). In 1.1.0 version the sky is disappeared. And it's really annoying this great mod cannot be normally played without HDR. Some people say HDR is pretty good for lighting, but for me (and several more people I know) HDR adds absolutely terrible fog that blurs everything, overcolored with some textures extremely over-brighted. I know this is a matter of taste, but I really hate HDR mode (for these reasons) in FNV.
How LOD Flicker Fix v. 1.1.0 works with HDR disabled:
If this great mod will be adapted for non-HDR playing, it will be happiness!!
Again, HDR rendering is how all games after about 2006 render. Disabling it is actually insane. tbh I'm astounded Pr0b even bothered doing the work involved.
It has nothing to do with HDR output, HDR monitors, HDR in Windows, or anything at all to do with modern HDR. It simply allows actual lighting in the game.
Long story short, if you have a PC that was manufactured this century, you should always have HDR enabled in the launcher.
It does not require and HDR monitor, does not use HDR output, does not require HDR enabled in Windows, and has nothing to do with what we call HDR today.
If you want some reading on this, from the first major game to support it, here you go:
Those explain what it does, from 20 years ago before HDR displays were a thing - because they are unrelated.
The game, all the assets, everything, were made to use HDR rendering. Not using it makes no sense at all. All of the games assets, lighting, weathers, effects, IMODs, bloom, everything was designed for it enabled. The fallback option to disable it was likely only left to support hardware that was already ancient in 2010. I think everything past 1999ish would technically support HDR rendering.
Question (or rather, a suggestion) to the author of the mod. Can a donation make you change your mind? (regarding the pinned message from 21 april) OMG, it's really important to play non-HDR.
Unfortunately, I do have an issue that makes it unusable for me. In certain areas (frequented ones like Goodsprings and Primm, likely other busy areas too) my frame rate gets tanked with Flicker Fixer installed. Not quite a slide show, but very very framey, maybe 15-17 FPS. Shader Loader by itself does not cause this, and flicker fixer seems to be the root cause because when disabled the issue disappears entirely.
Im not using ENB or Reshade, and have none of their files/folders in my root or data folder.
Im using NVR 4.1.1, Shader Loader 1.32 (as 1.2 will prohibit game launch with flicker fixer installed), and many texture mods, mostly 1k-2k, a couple 4k, but without flicker fixer all of these run mostly fine, even buttery smooth, unless I sprint the whole map and 'rile' the game up.
I saw in your bug report section that someone was having a similar issue, from their description it sounds like it could be the same, but Im hoping by posting here maybe the community could also perhaps help advise how to fix this or at least identify whats causing it.
So, I did a whole fresh install of my game. Naked. ZERO textures, no LodGen. Just performance and optimization scripts + alt start. No reshade, ENB or NVR. My frames still drop significantly in Goodsprings with this enabled.
Im on Windows 10, I do know that W10 can "disagree" with some scripted mods or tweaks... IMO (limited knowledge, but I have been modding for many many years, so,) its either a Windows10 issue or it is in fact as the bug report pointed out, something to do with Shader Loader 1.32.
But I'm uncertain, because without this enabled, the FPS drops completely subsides.
Shame on you for writing a comprehensive, well thought out explanation of the history and rationale behind the issue that even preempts complaints about Bethesda or the engine itself. I'm so ang y I've st rt d to fl ck r... oh g d h lp m !
179 comments
TLDR: Enable HDR in launcher or in ini, or download the optional Non HDR Patch, and load after the main mod.
Firstly, I would like to clear a common misconception - the HDR launcher option (or equivalently bDoHighDynamicRange under [BlurShaderHDR] in the INI file) has nothing to do with display. The game (without specific mods to hack around it) does not support HDR displays at all.
So what does the option do? It enables the game to render high dynamic range colors into it's internal render target, i.e. instead of just the typical 0-255 RGB colors it can go to higher values, which is crucial for any (at least close to) proper lighting. However, it also swaps several used shaders.
The last part is crucial. The fix has two parts - a DLL for the engine, and a collection of shaders. The shaders have been selected to have the broadest possible compatibility. But they do not support non-HDR rendering.
How LOD Flicker Fix v. 1.1.0 works with HDR disabled:
If this great mod will be adapted for non-HDR playing, it will be happiness!!
It has nothing to do with HDR output, HDR monitors, HDR in Windows, or anything at all to do with modern HDR. It simply allows actual lighting in the game.
Long story short, if you have a PC that was manufactured this century, you should always have HDR enabled in the launcher.
It does not require and HDR monitor, does not use HDR output, does not require HDR enabled in Windows, and has nothing to do with what we call HDR today.
If you want some reading on this, from the first major game to support it, here you go:
https://developer.valvesoftware.com/wiki/HDR
https://half-life.fandom.com/wiki/Half-Life_2:_Lost_Coast
https://arstechnica.com/features/2005/09/lostcoast/
Those explain what it does, from 20 years ago before HDR displays were a thing - because they are unrelated.
The game, all the assets, everything, were made to use HDR rendering. Not using it makes no sense at all. All of the games assets, lighting, weathers, effects, IMODs, bloom, everything was designed for it enabled. The fallback option to disable it was likely only left to support hardware that was already ancient in 2010. I think everything past 1999ish would technically support HDR rendering.
Can a donation make you change your mind?
(regarding the pinned message from 21 april)
OMG, it's really important to play non-HDR.
Edit: Everything works fine exept one type (or several similar) of shrub still too dark. (Maybe some files missed in current Non-HDR Patch??)
How to send you a donation?
First off, thank you, this mod does what it says.
Unfortunately, I do have an issue that makes it unusable for me. In certain areas (frequented ones like Goodsprings and Primm, likely other busy areas too) my frame rate gets tanked with Flicker Fixer installed. Not quite a slide show, but very very framey, maybe 15-17 FPS. Shader Loader by itself does not cause this, and flicker fixer seems to be the root cause because when disabled the issue disappears entirely.
Im not using ENB or Reshade, and have none of their files/folders in my root or data folder.
Im using NVR 4.1.1, Shader Loader 1.32 (as 1.2 will prohibit game launch with flicker fixer installed), and many texture mods, mostly 1k-2k, a couple 4k,
but without flicker fixer all of these run mostly fine, even buttery smooth, unless I sprint the whole map and 'rile' the game up.
I saw in your bug report section that someone was having a similar issue, from their description it sounds like it could be the same, but Im hoping by posting here maybe the community could also perhaps help advise how to fix this or at least identify whats causing it.
Appreciate your time :)
Im on Windows 10, I do know that W10 can "disagree" with some scripted mods or tweaks...
IMO (limited knowledge, but I have been modding for many many years, so,) its either a Windows10 issue or it is in fact as the bug report pointed out, something to do with Shader Loader 1.32.
But I'm uncertain, because without this enabled, the FPS drops completely subsides.
Hoping more folks have input. Thanks :)
Renderer Device Information:
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060
nvd3dum.dll
RenderPath: BSSM_SV_2_A
PSversion: 300
VSversion: 300
VStarget: vs_2_0
PStarget: ps_2_a
PS2xtarget: ps_2_a
maxPS20inst: 512
3.0 Support: yes
3.0 Lighting: yes
Nonpowerof2textures: yes
FP16ARGB blending: yes
FP16ARGB filtering: yes
High dynamic range: yes
Bloom lighting: no
Refraction: yes
2.0 hairw: yes
SLI mode: no
Water shader: yes
Water reflections: yes
Water displacement: yes
Water high res: no
Multisample Type: 8
Transparency MS: yes
Shader Package: 13
HW Thread Count: 3