THANK YOU! for this mod :) Downloaded just so I can endorse it and mod of the month for me (Voted ha!)
I learned a great deal diving into this rabbit hole! HDR performance heavily depends on your hardware and if you've been using HDR screen, you know it sometimes just plain weird. It took me a good while to find the perfect spot. My monitor is ASUS PG329Q for reference. It has the reference luminance of 600. Hopefully the below will be helpful to someone :) So for me after I set the MaxLuminance=600 and MidLuminance=10, which was recommended by AI, the interiors looked REALLY good, but the exteriors were WAY too dark and washed out. It took me a long while to get it right, but long story short I eventually came up with this code, tailored to my screen. It adds some technical information, like output device and color gamut, and then eye adaptation, which in my case boosted the brightness of sky and exteriors to acceptable levels, so everything is bright and vibrant. Interiors are DARK and very atmospheric.
This can be surely tweaked to your specific monitor I guess, so feel free to try. Enjoy! :)
[SystemSettings] ; ── master switches ─────────────────────────────────────────────── r.AllowHDR=1 ; create an HDR swap-chain at startup r.HDR.EnableHDROutput=1 ; force the renderer to run in HDR mode Altar.GraphicsOptions.HDR=1 ; game-specific flag Oblivion Remastered checks ; ── luminance mapping for PG329Q (600-nit peak) ─────────────────── r.HDR.Display.MaxLuminance=600 ; tell Unreal your monitor’s absolute peak in nits r.HDR.Display.MidLuminance=12 ; set “paper-white” (≈ 2 % of peak) so mid-tones look natural r.HDR.Display.MinLuminanceLog10=-4 ; black floor (10⁻⁴ nits) to preserve shadow detail ; ── UI brightness ───────────────────────────────────────────────── r.HDR.UI.Luminance=75 ; draw HUD/menu elements at ~75 nits—bright but not glaring ; ── HDR signal format ───────────────────────────────────────────── r.HDR.Display.OutputDevice=5 ; scRGB 1 000-nit path—ideal for Windows HDR monitors r.HDR.Display.ColorGamut=2 ; assume Rec. 2020 primaries for widest colour space ; ── Eye-Adaptation (automatic exposure) ─────────────────────────── r.EyeAdaptationQuality=3 ; enable full auto-exposure pipeline r.EyeAdaptation.Method=1 ; basic histogram method (fast, stable) r.EyeAdaptation.MinEV100=-3.0 ; darkest scene allowed (≈ 0.1 nits) r.EyeAdaptation.MaxEV100=4.0 ; brightest scene allowed (≈ 1 600 nits target) r.EyeAdaptation.AdaptationSpeedUp=2.0 ; speed when going from dark→bright (in seconds⁻¹) r.EyeAdaptation.AdaptationSpeedDown=1.0 ; speed when going bright→dark r.EyeAdaptation.ExposureCompensation=0.8 ; add +0.8 EV gain to lift outdoor scenes a bit
Wow, I had no idea there were commands for eye adaptation! I will have to give your code a try for sure. Assuming it all works as intended, perhaps I will update the description with the extra parameters. Thanks for all the info!
I appreciate the kind words! While this can hardly be called a mod as it uses basic console commands, my aim is to bring this information to as many people as possible so that we can all have the best experience possible.
Edit: After experimenting with the above code, it seems that as far as the eye adaptation commands go, only the first one is showing up as a valid command so it's hard to say if they do anything. Additionally, my device seems to be overriding the custom color gamut as well as the output device setting.
Interesting, thanks for checking the extra parameters. I admit I didn't really play with eye adaptation settings, just took them as is from the AI model. Sounds like I need to do more testing!
I use my own bespoke preset made for Elite Dangerous, which has every lighting type possible and then a few more :) Pretty sure I've seen at least one eye adaptation shader on the list, I may give that a go and see how it compares to UE one.
I tweaked it for my Odyssey G8 with 1000 nits as well as boosted fidelity and tweaked Lumen RT for stability. I am not experienced with this at all, but I am holding silky steady frames and it looks fantastic. [SystemSettings] ; ── master switches ─────────────────────────────────────────────── r.AllowHDR=1 ; create an HDR swap-chain at startup r.HDR.EnableHDROutput=1 ; force the renderer to run in HDR mode Altar.GraphicsOptions.HDR=1 ; game-specific flag Oblivion Remastered checks ; ── luminance mapping for Odyssey G8 (1000-nit peak) ─────────────────── r.HDR.Display.MaxLuminance=1000 ; tell Unreal your monitor’s absolute peak in nits r.HDR.Display.MidLuminance=20 ; set “paper-white” (≈ 2 % of peak) so mid-tones look natural r.HDR.Display.MinLuminanceLog10=-4 ; black floor (10⁻⁴ nits) to preserve shadow detail ; ── UI brightness ───────────────────────────────────────────────── r.HDR.UI.Luminance=100 ; draw HUD/menu elements at ~100 nits—bright but not glaring ; ── HDR signal format ───────────────────────────────────────────── r.HDR.Display.OutputDevice=5 ; scRGB 1 000-nit path—ideal for Windows HDR monitors r.HDR.Display.ColorGamut=2 ; assume Rec. 2020 primaries for widest colour space ; ── Eye-Adaptation (automatic exposure) ─────────────────────────── r.EyeAdaptationQuality=3 ; enable full auto-exposure pipeline r.EyeAdaptation.Method=1 ; basic histogram method (fast, stable) r.EyeAdaptation.MinEV100=-3.0 ; darkest scene allowed (≈ 0.1 nits) r.EyeAdaptation.MaxEV100=4.0 ; brightest scene allowed (≈ 1 600 nits target) r.EyeAdaptation.AdaptationSpeedUp=2.0 ; speed when going from dark→bright (in seconds⁻¹) r.EyeAdaptation.AdaptationSpeedDown=1.0 ; speed when going bright→dark r.EyeAdaptation.ExposureCompensation=0.6 ; add +0.6 EV gain to lift outdoor scenes a bit
; ── Optional Visual Enhancements ──────────────────────────────── r.Tonemapper.Quality=5 ; Full HDR tone mapping precision r.SceneColorFormat=5 ; Use FP16 render target (10-bit+ HDR color fidelity) r.BloomQuality=5 ; Enable full-resolution HDR bloom r.Bloom.Cross=1 ; Adds starburst effects on bright highlights r.SSR.Quality=4 ; High-quality screen-space reflections r.SSR.Temporal=1 ; Enable temporal filtering for cleaner SSR r.SSR.HalfResSceneColor=0 ; Use full-res color buffer for better SSR accuracy r.TonemapperFilm=1 ; Enables more filmic tonemapping r.TonemapperGamma=2.2 ; Manual gamma control (default is usually fine) r.Tonemapper.ExpandGamut=1 ; Allows brighter-than-white output (good for HDR)
; ── Lumen performance optimization ─────────────────────────────── r.Lumen.Reflections.HierarchicalTracing=1 ; Faster tracing method (slightly lower quality) r.Lumen.Reflections.HighQuality=0 ; Disable expensive high-quality mode r.Lumen.Reflections.MaxRayDistance=4000 ; Reduce max trace distance from default (6000+) for better FPS r.Lumen.Reflections.ScreenTraces=1 ; Fallback to SSR when possible (faster) r.Lumen.Reflections.SSR.Replacement=1 ; Blend SSR with Lumen for surface details r.Lumen.Reflections.HWRT=1 r.Lumen.Reflections.HWRT.RayCount=2 ; Default is 4 — reduce rays per pixel r.Lumen.Reflections.HWRT.SpatialFilter=1 ; Denoise faster with spatial filters r.Lumen.Reflections.HWRT.RayAngleThreshold=0.3 ; Reduces noisy ray bounces r.Lumen.Reflections.HWRT.MaxTranslucencyRoughness=0.3 ; Avoid wasteful rays through frosted glass r.Lumen.Reflections.SpatialResolve=1 ; Enable screen-space merging for stability r.Lumen.Reflections.FallbackToSurfaceCache=1 r.Lumen.DiffuseIndirect.Allow=1 ; (Keep on for bounce lighting) r.Lumen.DiffuseIndirect.SampleSceneColor=0 ; Skip sampling scene color—minor quality loss, good perf gain r.Lumen.ScreenProbeGather.RadianceCache=1 ; Cache indirect lighting probes r.Lumen.ScreenProbeGather.RadianceCache.ScreenTraces=1 ; Use screen traces where possible (faster) r.Lumen.ScreenProbeGather.RadianceCache.MissTolerance=0.25 ; Acceptable light error before retrying expensive trace
I love that as a community folks worked out how to tweak all of this. Unfortunately I find that magic effects are much darker no matter how much I try to tweak - like their target top end luminance is lower than it should be. I hope they release some official support for it alongside adjusted luminance values for spells.
In the reshade description, they tell you to enable HDR for best results as they made it with that in mind. They are almost certainly using the same method as me to enable it, but their reshade doesn't inherently enable it.
To put it plainly, they should work perfectly together.
r.HDR.EnableHDROutput=1 and Altar.GraphicsOptions.HDR=1 are similar, but serve slightly different purposes. I'm unsure of how to describe it, but having both enabled produces a slightly better result than just one by itself.
bUseHDRDisplayOutput=True goes in to your GameUserSettings.ini or something along those lines. I have more details on that in the description.
Beyond that, nits can be configured based on your monitor's max nits, and all the other options are whatever looks best to you, I recommend you experiment a little as every monitor is different.
thanks:) you could also update your information for future proofing it. also another user used another method to have 2files on and off. btw if i ask chatgpt to help with the settings : The three files you may edit.
Engine.ini
GameUserSettings.ini
AltarGameUserSettings.ini
scroll down until you find this and paste it, configure it how u like. ;============================================================ ;================== CUSTOM/OPTIONAL SETTINGS ================ ;============================================================ ; You can add other custom CVARs/Sections below
2B. GameUserSettings.ini bUseHDRDisplayOutput=True HDRDisplayOutputNits=2000 ; match your screen’s peak brightness
3C. AltarGameUserSettings.ini
bUseHDRDisplayOutput=True ;change it from false to true HDRDisplayOutputNits=2000 ; match your screen’s peak brightness Altar.GraphicsOptions.HDR=1 Altar.GraphicsOptions.HDRWhitePoint=2000 ; match your screen’s peak brightness
on all files Right-click the file → Properties → check Read-only → OK . OR GameUserSettings.ini → Writable (so in-game tweaks persist)
Hey Guys, thought I'd add my 2 cents for anyone having issues with this mod, mainly with the Gamepass version of the game.
This guide will mainly tailor settings for users with OLED/1000 Nit displays, though I will add additional information when it is helpful to the guide.
First thing is first, make sure you've calibrated your brightness settings in game. Now, to enable HDR all the time, you will need to change certain .ini files, but these files are not within your XboxGames folder, but rather a separate folder in the "User" section. Your file path should look something like this:
There you will find the two .ini files you are looking for, Engine.ini & GameUserSettings.ini
in the game user settings ini, you will need to change 2 values
bUseHDRDisplayOutput=True ; change from False to True
HDRDisplayOutputNits=1000 ; change this value to the maximum tone map luminance if your display, or nits. Do not change more than 1000 nits (UE5 limitation), so for LG G2-G5, Samsung S95B-S95F OLEDs etc, set this value to 1000.
On monitors, you can use the VESA DisplayHDR certification of the monitor, so if it is an HDR400 display set this to 400, HDR600 you will set this value to 600, and so forth.
Once you've edited these values, make sure to save the file.
Lastly, you will need to change the Engine.ini file.
Open that file up. Scroll to the very bottom, just below "Paths=../../../Engine/Plugins/VirtualProduction/Takes/Content"
and copy/paste these values
[SystemSettings]
r.HDR.UI.Luminance=200 ; UI luminance, some people like this value higher/lower, but I found this comfortable at 200. r.HDR.Display.MidLuminance=10 ; This value affects the grey level. Again personal preference, but I found values anything above 10 to give a washed out appearance for the game. Setting the brightness level in game to -4, and the midluminance value to 10 will give you those inky blacks with minimal crush, and high peak brightness for highlights. r.HDR.Display.MinLuminanceLog10=-4 ; setting r.HDR.Display.MinLuminanceLog10 (minimum tone map luminance) to anything other than -4 raises blacks.
If you are using the "Ultimate Engine Tweaks (Anti-Stutters - Lower Latency - No Film Grain - No Chromatic Aberration - Lossless)" mod, you will want to put these values again, at the very bottom of the file, just below
"net.AllowAsyncLoading=1 ;============================================================ ;================== CUSTOM/OPTIONAL SETTINGS ================ ;============================================================ ; You can add other custom CVARs/Sections below"
[SystemSettings] r.HDR.UI.Luminance=200 r.HDR.Display.MidLuminance=10 r.HDR.Display.MinLuminanceLog10=-4 This is how it should appear within the ini file. Again you are free to change these values as you like. Once you are done, save the file, but very importantly once you have saved the file and are finished, right click Engine.ini, click on properties, select the attribute box for "Read Only", and apply the setting change. This will ensure it is not overwritten.
The base values for SDR are as follows, if you would like to revert back to regular settings
Lastly, as another trick, if you would like to be able to switch to HDR on & HDR off with the click of a button, there's a nice little trick we can do with a basic text executable and the console commands. Since this method relies on console commands however, this is best paired with the "Universal Achievement Unblocker" mod to not block achievement progress.
You will need to find the Binaries folder in your traditional game folder (not user settings). Your pathway should look something like this
If you type commands Altar.GraphicsOptions.HDR and r.HDR.EnableHDROutput into the console of an unmodified game, the console will respond with the current values of said settings, which in my experience has been "0", so it seems to me that it is disabled by default.
Additionally, having run both those commands/placed them in the engine.ini appropriately, there is a clear difference in the image produced, as can be observed by comparing the two screenshots provided. You will notice an obvious difference in color reproduction.
The game does NOT support HDR, even though your monitor/TV says it is in HDR and you have HDR enabled in Windows 11. That is why the colors are all washed out. For better, vibrant colors, disable HDR in Windows 11.
I'm going to try this 'mod' and see if it produces vibrant non washed out colors when HDR is enabled in Windows 11.
Thanks for this very interesting mod. But nothing happens once your file is installed.The game doesn't launch automatically in HDR. Even if you enable HDR under windows there is nothing.
Keep in mind that no new menu options will appear. If you type commands Altar.GraphicsOptions.HDR and r.HDR.EnableHDROutput into the console, the console will respond with the current values of said settings. If it responds with a value of 1, then it's successfully enabled. You can use this method to test if the engine.ini is functioning properly.
What is the command to type into console to enable HDR? I tried adding your lines to my Engine.ini, but my LG OLED still didn't trigger HDR when I launched it with your mod
If this method isn't working, try this instead: -Open GameUserSettings.ini (can be found in the same folder as Engine.ini) -Find 'bUseHDRDisplayOutput' and change it from 'False' to 'True' -You might need to set the file as read-only to prevent it being reverted
Be warned, setting HDR in this manner will also apply it to the menus, which may now be blindingly bright (solved with Menu Recolor). I do not know if the Engine.ini version also apply to the menus but seems more fine-tunable, if you can get it working.
"Altar.GraphicsOptions.HDR 1" and "r.HDR.EnableHDROutput 1". Keep in mind that no new menu options will appear, but I promise you they will be enabled if entered properly. If you type commands Altar.GraphicsOptions.HDR and r.HDR.EnableHDROutput into the console, the console will respond with the current values of said settings. If it responds with a value of 1, then it's successfully enabled. You can use this method to test if the engine.ini is functioning properly.
Additionally, you can turn down UI luminance using the relevant command on the description page. Keep in mind this will darken the main menu background abit as well, but won't darken the actual game.
Colors looks more natural and not as oversaturated then in HDR
The only thing is how to properly set additional settings.. Max luminance is a straightforward thing, but other stuff would be great to have sliders in game (like in stalker 2)
27 comments
I learned a great deal diving into this rabbit hole! HDR performance heavily depends on your hardware and if you've been using HDR screen, you know it sometimes just plain weird. It took me a good while to find the perfect spot. My monitor is ASUS PG329Q for reference. It has the reference luminance of 600. Hopefully the below will be helpful to someone :)
So for me after I set the MaxLuminance=600 and MidLuminance=10, which was recommended by AI, the interiors looked REALLY good, but the exteriors were WAY too dark and washed out. It took me a long while to get it right, but long story short I eventually came up with this code, tailored to my screen. It adds some technical information, like output device and color gamut, and then eye adaptation, which in my case boosted the brightness of sky and exteriors to acceptable levels, so everything is bright and vibrant.
Interiors are DARK and very atmospheric.
This can be surely tweaked to your specific monitor I guess, so feel free to try. Enjoy! :)
[SystemSettings]
; ── master switches ───────────────────────────────────────────────
r.AllowHDR=1 ; create an HDR swap-chain at startup
r.HDR.EnableHDROutput=1 ; force the renderer to run in HDR mode
Altar.GraphicsOptions.HDR=1 ; game-specific flag Oblivion Remastered checks
; ── luminance mapping for PG329Q (600-nit peak) ───────────────────
r.HDR.Display.MaxLuminance=600 ; tell Unreal your monitor’s absolute peak in nits
r.HDR.Display.MidLuminance=12 ; set “paper-white” (≈ 2 % of peak) so mid-tones look natural
r.HDR.Display.MinLuminanceLog10=-4 ; black floor (10⁻⁴ nits) to preserve shadow detail
; ── UI brightness ─────────────────────────────────────────────────
r.HDR.UI.Luminance=75 ; draw HUD/menu elements at ~75 nits—bright but not glaring
; ── HDR signal format ─────────────────────────────────────────────
r.HDR.Display.OutputDevice=5 ; scRGB 1 000-nit path—ideal for Windows HDR monitors
r.HDR.Display.ColorGamut=2 ; assume Rec. 2020 primaries for widest colour space
; ── Eye-Adaptation (automatic exposure) ───────────────────────────
r.EyeAdaptationQuality=3 ; enable full auto-exposure pipeline
r.EyeAdaptation.Method=1 ; basic histogram method (fast, stable)
r.EyeAdaptation.MinEV100=-3.0 ; darkest scene allowed (≈ 0.1 nits)
r.EyeAdaptation.MaxEV100=4.0 ; brightest scene allowed (≈ 1 600 nits target)
r.EyeAdaptation.AdaptationSpeedUp=2.0 ; speed when going from dark→bright (in seconds⁻¹)
r.EyeAdaptation.AdaptationSpeedDown=1.0 ; speed when going bright→dark
r.EyeAdaptation.ExposureCompensation=0.8 ; add +0.8 EV gain to lift outdoor scenes a bit
I appreciate the kind words! While this can hardly be called a mod as it uses basic console commands, my aim is to bring this information to as many people as possible so that we can all have the best experience possible.
Edit: After experimenting with the above code, it seems that as far as the eye adaptation commands go, only the first one is showing up as a valid command so it's hard to say if they do anything. Additionally, my device seems to be overriding the custom color gamut as well as the output device setting.
[SystemSettings]
; ── master switches ───────────────────────────────────────────────
r.AllowHDR=1 ; create an HDR swap-chain at startup
r.HDR.EnableHDROutput=1 ; force the renderer to run in HDR mode
Altar.GraphicsOptions.HDR=1 ; game-specific flag Oblivion Remastered checks
; ── luminance mapping for Odyssey G8 (1000-nit peak) ───────────────────
r.HDR.Display.MaxLuminance=1000 ; tell Unreal your monitor’s absolute peak in nits
r.HDR.Display.MidLuminance=20 ; set “paper-white” (≈ 2 % of peak) so mid-tones look natural
r.HDR.Display.MinLuminanceLog10=-4 ; black floor (10⁻⁴ nits) to preserve shadow detail
; ── UI brightness ─────────────────────────────────────────────────
r.HDR.UI.Luminance=100 ; draw HUD/menu elements at ~100 nits—bright but not glaring
; ── HDR signal format ─────────────────────────────────────────────
r.HDR.Display.OutputDevice=5 ; scRGB 1 000-nit path—ideal for Windows HDR monitors
r.HDR.Display.ColorGamut=2 ; assume Rec. 2020 primaries for widest colour space
; ── Eye-Adaptation (automatic exposure) ───────────────────────────
r.EyeAdaptationQuality=3 ; enable full auto-exposure pipeline
r.EyeAdaptation.Method=1 ; basic histogram method (fast, stable)
r.EyeAdaptation.MinEV100=-3.0 ; darkest scene allowed (≈ 0.1 nits)
r.EyeAdaptation.MaxEV100=4.0 ; brightest scene allowed (≈ 1 600 nits target)
r.EyeAdaptation.AdaptationSpeedUp=2.0 ; speed when going from dark→bright (in seconds⁻¹)
r.EyeAdaptation.AdaptationSpeedDown=1.0 ; speed when going bright→dark
r.EyeAdaptation.ExposureCompensation=0.6 ; add +0.6 EV gain to lift outdoor scenes a bit
; ── Optional Visual Enhancements ────────────────────────────────
r.Tonemapper.Quality=5 ; Full HDR tone mapping precision
r.SceneColorFormat=5 ; Use FP16 render target (10-bit+ HDR color fidelity)
r.BloomQuality=5 ; Enable full-resolution HDR bloom
r.Bloom.Cross=1 ; Adds starburst effects on bright highlights
r.SSR.Quality=4 ; High-quality screen-space reflections
r.SSR.Temporal=1 ; Enable temporal filtering for cleaner SSR
r.SSR.HalfResSceneColor=0 ; Use full-res color buffer for better SSR accuracy
r.TonemapperFilm=1 ; Enables more filmic tonemapping
r.TonemapperGamma=2.2 ; Manual gamma control (default is usually fine)
r.Tonemapper.ExpandGamut=1 ; Allows brighter-than-white output (good for HDR)
; ── Lumen performance optimization ───────────────────────────────
r.Lumen.Reflections.HierarchicalTracing=1 ; Faster tracing method (slightly lower quality)
r.Lumen.Reflections.HighQuality=0 ; Disable expensive high-quality mode
r.Lumen.Reflections.MaxRayDistance=4000 ; Reduce max trace distance from default (6000+) for better FPS
r.Lumen.Reflections.ScreenTraces=1 ; Fallback to SSR when possible (faster)
r.Lumen.Reflections.SSR.Replacement=1 ; Blend SSR with Lumen for surface details
r.Lumen.Reflections.HWRT=1
r.Lumen.Reflections.HWRT.RayCount=2 ; Default is 4 — reduce rays per pixel
r.Lumen.Reflections.HWRT.SpatialFilter=1 ; Denoise faster with spatial filters
r.Lumen.Reflections.HWRT.RayAngleThreshold=0.3 ; Reduces noisy ray bounces
r.Lumen.Reflections.HWRT.MaxTranslucencyRoughness=0.3 ; Avoid wasteful rays through frosted glass
r.Lumen.Reflections.SpatialResolve=1 ; Enable screen-space merging for stability
r.Lumen.Reflections.FallbackToSurfaceCache=1
r.Lumen.DiffuseIndirect.Allow=1 ; (Keep on for bounce lighting)
r.Lumen.DiffuseIndirect.SampleSceneColor=0 ; Skip sampling scene color—minor quality loss, good perf gain
r.Lumen.ScreenProbeGather.RadianceCache=1 ; Cache indirect lighting probes
r.Lumen.ScreenProbeGather.RadianceCache.ScreenTraces=1 ; Use screen traces where possible (faster)
r.Lumen.ScreenProbeGather.RadianceCache.MissTolerance=0.25 ; Acceptable light error before retrying expensive trace
i will test it out. and write another comment.
edit: it works well after some tweaking :) thanks
To put it plainly, they should work perfectly together.
something like this ?
[SystemSettings]
Altar.GraphicsOptions.HDR=1
r.HDR.EnableHDROutput=1 (*1 same ?*)
Altar.GraphicsOptions.HDRWhitePoint=100
r.HDR.UI.Luminance=50
r.HDR.Display.MidLuminance=15
r.HDR.Display.MaxLuminance=100
r.HDR.Display.MinLuminanceLog10=-45
bUseHDRDisplayOutput=True (*1 same ?*)
HDRDisplayOutputNits=2000
thank you
bUseHDRDisplayOutput=True goes in to your GameUserSettings.ini or something along those lines. I have more details on that in the description.
Beyond that, nits can be configured based on your monitor's max nits, and all the other options are whatever looks best to you, I recommend you experiment a little as every monitor is different.
you could also update your information for future proofing it.
also another user used another method to have 2files on and off.
btw if i ask chatgpt to help with the settings :
The three files you may edit.
- Engine.ini
- GameUserSettings.ini
- AltarGameUserSettings.ini
1A. Engine.iniscroll down until you find this and paste it, configure it how u like.
;============================================================
;================== CUSTOM/OPTIONAL SETTINGS ================
;============================================================
; You can add other custom CVARs/Sections below
[SystemSettings]
r.AllowHDR=1 ; Enable HDR pipeline
r.HDR.EnableHDROutput=1 ; Force HDR swap-chain at startup
r.HDR.Display.OutputDevice=5 ; scRGB / HDR10 (1000-nit standard)
r.HDR.Display.ColorGamut=2 ; Rec.2020 wide gamut
r.HDR.UI.CompositeMode=1 ; Proper UI blending in HDR
r.HDR.UI.Level=0.8 ; Scale UI brightness (0–1)
r.HDR.UI.Luminance=100 ; HUD brightness in nits
r.HDR.Display.MidLuminance=10 ; “Paper white” mid-tone ≈10 nits
r.HDR.Display.MaxLuminance=2000 ; Your (TV/Monitor) peak luminance
r.HDR.Display.MinLuminanceLog10=-4.0 ; Black floor ≈0.0001 nits
r.EyeAdaptationQuality=3 ; Full histogram auto-exposure
r.EyeAdaptation.Method=1 ; Stable histogram method
r.EyeAdaptation.MinEV100=-3.0 ; Lowest scene EV100 (≈0.1 nits)
r.EyeAdaptation.MaxEV100=4.0 ; Highest scene EV100 (≈1600 nits)
r.EyeAdaptation.ExponentialTransitionDistance=0.4 ; F-stop distance to switch to exponential
r.EyeAdaptation.AdaptationSpeedUp=2.0 ; Dark→bright adaptation speed (f-stops/sec)
r.EyeAdaptation.AdaptationSpeedDown=1.5 ; Bright→dark adaptation speed
r.EyeAdaptation.ExposureCompensation=0.6 ; +EV boost for outdoor scenes
r.EyeAdaptation.LensAttenuation=1.2 ; Lens light absorption factor
2B. GameUserSettings.ini
bUseHDRDisplayOutput=True
HDRDisplayOutputNits=2000 ; match your screen’s peak brightness
3C. AltarGameUserSettings.ini
bUseHDRDisplayOutput=True ;change it from false to true
HDRDisplayOutputNits=2000 ; match your screen’s peak brightness
Altar.GraphicsOptions.HDR=1
Altar.GraphicsOptions.HDRWhitePoint=2000 ; match your screen’s peak brightness
on all files
Right-click the file → Properties → check Read-only → OK .
OR
GameUserSettings.ini → Writable (so in-game tweaks persist)
This guide will mainly tailor settings for users with OLED/1000 Nit displays, though I will add additional information when it is helpful to the guide.
First thing is first, make sure you've calibrated your brightness settings in game.
Now, to enable HDR all the time, you will need to change certain .ini files, but these files are not within your XboxGames folder, but rather a separate folder in the "User" section. Your file path should look something like this:
C:\Users\(yourusername)\Documents\My Games\Oblivion Remastered\Saved\Config\WinGDK
-change the () to your PC user name-
There you will find the two .ini files you are looking for, Engine.ini & GameUserSettings.ini
in the game user settings ini, you will need to change 2 values
bUseHDRDisplayOutput=True ; change from False to True
HDRDisplayOutputNits=1000 ; change this value to the maximum tone map luminance if your display, or nits. Do not change more than 1000 nits (UE5 limitation), so for LG G2-G5, Samsung S95B-S95F OLEDs etc, set this value to 1000.
On monitors, you can use the VESA DisplayHDR certification of the monitor, so if it is an HDR400 display set this to 400, HDR600 you will set this value to 600, and so forth.
Once you've edited these values, make sure to save the file.
Lastly, you will need to change the Engine.ini file.
Open that file up. Scroll to the very bottom, just below "Paths=../../../Engine/Plugins/VirtualProduction/Takes/Content"
and copy/paste these values
[SystemSettings]
r.HDR.UI.Luminance=200 ; UI luminance, some people like this value higher/lower, but I found this comfortable at 200.
r.HDR.Display.MidLuminance=10 ; This value affects the grey level. Again personal preference, but I found values anything above 10 to give a washed out appearance for the game. Setting the brightness level in game to -4, and the midluminance value to 10 will give you those inky blacks with minimal crush, and high peak brightness for highlights.
r.HDR.Display.MinLuminanceLog10=-4 ; setting r.HDR.Display.MinLuminanceLog10 (minimum tone map luminance) to anything other than -4 raises blacks.
If you are using the "Ultimate Engine Tweaks (Anti-Stutters - Lower Latency - No Film Grain - No Chromatic Aberration - Lossless)" mod, you will want to put these values again, at the very bottom of the file, just below
"net.AllowAsyncLoading=1
;============================================================
;================== CUSTOM/OPTIONAL SETTINGS ================
;============================================================
; You can add other custom CVARs/Sections below"
[SystemSettings]
r.HDR.UI.Luminance=200
r.HDR.Display.MidLuminance=10
r.HDR.Display.MinLuminanceLog10=-4
This is how it should appear within the ini file. Again you are free to change these values as you like. Once you are done, save the file, but very importantly once you have saved the file and are finished, right click Engine.ini, click on properties, select the attribute box for "Read Only", and apply the setting change. This will ensure it is not overwritten.
The base values for SDR are as follows, if you would like to revert back to regular settings
Altar.GraphicsOptions.HDR 0
Altar.GraphicsOptions.HDRWhitePoint 1000
r.HDR.UI.Luminance 300
r.HDR.Display.MidLuminance 18
You will need to find the Binaries folder in your traditional game folder (not user settings). Your pathway should look something like this
C:\XboxGames\The Elder Scrolls IV- Oblivion Remastered\Content\OblivionRemastered\Binaries
Once in the Binaries folder, select "New" then select "Text Document". Name this document HDRon (can be anything you want really)
Add these values to the Text Document:
Altar.GraphicsOptions.HDR 1
Altar.GraphicsOptions.HDRWhitePoint 1000
r.HDR.UI.Luminance = 200
r.HDR.Display.MidLuminance = 10
Save this document. Now repeat the step again, make a new text document, and name the document HDRoff
Add these values to the Text Document:
Altar.GraphicsOptions.HDR 0
Altar.GraphicsOptions.HDRWhitePoint 1000
r.HDR.UI.Luminance = 300
r.HDR.Display.MidLuminance = 18
Save the document
Now you can boot the game, and open up the console command by using the ` Key.
you can now cycle HDR on/off now by using the following console command:
exec HDRon.txt
exec HDRoff.txt
Again, you are free to edit or adjust the values to your liking/display configuration.
Additionally, having run both those commands/placed them in the engine.ini appropriately, there is a clear difference in the image produced, as can be observed by comparing the two screenshots provided. You will notice an obvious difference in color reproduction.
I'm going to try this 'mod' and see if it produces vibrant non washed out colors when HDR is enabled in Windows 11.
the console will respond with
the current values of said settings. If it responds with a value of 1, then it's successfully enabled. You
can use this method to test if the engine.ini is functioning properly.
-Open GameUserSettings.ini (can be found in the same folder as Engine.ini)
-Find 'bUseHDRDisplayOutput' and change it from 'False' to 'True'
-You might need to set the file as read-only to prevent it being reverted
Be warned, setting HDR in this manner will also apply it to the menus, which may now be blindingly bright (solved with Menu Recolor). I do not know if the Engine.ini version also apply to the menus but seems more fine-tunable, if you can get it working.
the current values of said settings. If it responds with a value of 1, then it's successfully enabled. You can use this method to test if the engine.ini is functioning properly.
Colors looks more natural and not as oversaturated then in HDR
The only thing is how to properly set additional settings.. Max luminance is a straightforward thing, but other stuff would be great to have sliders in game (like in stalker 2)