Realistic Water Two and Silent Horizon 2 Universal Core

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AeresTargarien

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Changing the View reveals a visible line between close and distant Water. Especially the transparancy of the water makes a difference.

Does anyone know how to further align Water LOD and close Water. Are there some enb Tweaks i can use?

After a update from Silent Horizon 2 Universal Core there is no seam to be seen.

13 comments

  1. gurleygirl
    gurleygirl
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    It's a delicate balancing act adjusting the Water parameters in the ENB interface for day, night, dawn, etc.
    And frankly, sometimes it's simpler to disable ENB Water for a given screenshot.
    But basically what I have found:
    1. disable distant reflection
    2. decrease the water brightness until the water is very dark and somewhat matches the LOD water
    3. increase the muddiness to around .85, if the water is too transparent then it creates a distinct contrast since the distant water has no transparency.
    4. you can adjust the wave height but that doesn't seem to help much but my logic is that waves should be higher during the day when wind would be blowing and lower at night when during calm.
    1. AeresTargarien
      AeresTargarien
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      Thank you very much for this extensive list of tips. I will leave this image just for reference to others.

      For me, upgrading Silent Horizion 2 Universal Core to version 1.3.0 aligned the water seam immensly. It seems, that i wasnt the only one that struggled with visual Water enhancement.
    2. gurleygirl
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      I am very interested in more of your screenshots. Not sure what time of day it was but the scene screenshot you took is very dark.
      I have used the original Silent Horizons for years and now I'm using it's prepass in conjunction with PI-CHO ENB for Azurite Weathers and I'm very happy with the combination. I thrive on realism and everything in my current setup is very well balanced and lifelike.
      I use the Silent Horizons prepass for the Photo Studio and the Real Time Snow shader.
      However, I have considered testing Silent Horizons 2 because I think highly of Lonely Kitsune. I did testing for him back in the day.
      My main concern is the complexity of the setup associated with the new Silent Horizons and to be honest I haven't seen any compelling visuals that would encourage me to switch from my current combination.
    3. AeresTargarien
      AeresTargarien
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      The image was taken around gametime 6:00. The sun was just behind the mountains.

      I changed to Silent Horizon 2 a few month ago. Before I used Silent Horizon in combination with Cathedral Weather. The increase in FPS convinced me. Silent Horizon 2 Universal Core seems to evolve regularly. The last update brought massive improvement to water and transparent objects. The only thing i´m still missing is DOF.

      I can take some images for you. Just tell me which locations your interested in.
    4. gurleygirl
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      Thanks for the insight.
      A morning around 8 A.m.  and late afternoon shot at the following locations would be ideal:
      1. Lake Ilinalta from the top of the rocks overlooking the lake on the dragon feeding grounds side of the lake facing Lakeview Manor.
      2. 2 shots from the Riverwood Bridge, one facing Riverwood and one facing downstream.
      3. The top of Lost Tongue Overlook facing Riften and Lake Honrich.
      4. Heartwood Mill docks facing Lake Honrich.
      5. Just below High Hrothgar on the 7 thousand steps overlooking Whiterun and Bleak Falls Barrow.
      6. Scene just as you enter Whiterun facing down the city street with War Maidens on the right.
      7. Bannered Mare just as you enter facing the firepit.
      8. Shot just inside Dragons Reach facing the throne.
      9. Solitude from the city street facing the Blue Palace with the Bard's College on the left.
      10. Shot inside the Blue Palace facing the throne.
      11. Solitude Docks facing the Morthal swamps.
      12. Morthal Bridge facing out from the center of the bridge with the mill on the left side of the view.
      13. Markarth Stables facing Markarth.
      14. A character closeup to evaluate subsurface scattering.

      I know this is a lot to ask but these are those classic Skyrim shots that I have taken many times.
      You can check out my profile to view presentations I have done featuring these type of scenes. Most of the recent ones were taken with a combination of PI-CHO ENB + Silent Horizons for Azurite Weathers.
      My approach to screen design is simple: For the most parti, I just take snapshots along the way as I progress through the game.
      This is one I took with a build I did back in March at the beginning of a new game with my character and Hadvar running down the road toward the Standing Stones:
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      This is that scene overlooking Lake Ilinalta just below the dragon feeding grounds:

    5. AeresTargarien
      AeresTargarien
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      Holy :D This is quit a list. I will take the pictures in progress one by one.

      I´m not that often playing and i have to admit that my skyrim is far beyond your quality. But i´m curious to some comparisons.
    6. AeresTargarien
      AeresTargarien
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      Setup:
      Silent Horizon 2 Universal Core Version 1.3.0. 
      Cathedral Weather
      Skyland Textures
      Vitruvia Skin

      Conditions:
      Clear Weather Variant 1

      A character closeup to evaluate subsurface scattering 8am

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      Scene just as you enter Whiterun facing down the city street with War Maidens on the right 8am

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      Bannered Mare just as you enter facing the firepit 8am

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      Shot just inside Dragons Reach facing the throne 8am

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      Figuring out how to post this images was quit a hazzle. Next time will be easier.
    7. gurleygirl
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      Bright light is harsh on skin shots. I would suggest a well lit interior for character shots and some clothes on for exterior scenes.
      The scene entering Whiterun looks good and I like the Bannered Mare interior.
      The interior inside the Dragons Reach looks too foggy for some reason. This is controlled by your interior lighting mod. Using Lux for interior lighting would make it look better or there are mods that reduce interior fog.
      Thanks for all  the work. Just add more as you find time  and have fun with it.
    8. AeresTargarien
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      I´ll have a look for a well lit interior. As for lighting i still use a combination of ELFX and ELE. Its compatible with some of my old realism mods. I must admit i like the foggy interiors. Do you have a comparison about dragonsreach inside. 

      I guess i get the next shots this afternoon.
    9. gurleygirl
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      Yea, can argue that smokey interiors would be the norm and immersive with fire lighting. But I prefer to break with immersive in this case in favor of clarity because I have designed my game with high quality textures and I want to be able to see those details.
      Here's a couple of shots inside Dragonsreach from a build I have been working on that includes LUX interior lighting and PI-CHO ENB for Azurite Weathers:
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      This one is with a darker interior Adaptation option in PI-CHO ENB:

    10. AeresTargarien
      AeresTargarien
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      Those textures really make the scene shine. Due to my mediocre hardware setup i use lower resolutions and i am happy about some blur effects.

      Here are the next images.
      Setup: Silent Horizon 2 Universal Core Version 1.3.0. , Cathedral Weather, Skyland Textures, ELFX + ELE, Vitruvia Skin
      Conditions: Clear Weather Variant 1

      A character closeup to evaluate subsurface scattering Interior
      Spoiler:  
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      Shot from the Riverwood Bridge, facing downstream 8pm
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      Shot from the Riverwood Bridge, facing Riverwood 8pm
      Spoiler:  
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    11. gurleygirl
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      I understand. The Skyland textures are good and it seems like you have found a setup with Silent Horizons 2 that looks good and yields good performance.
      I will probably stick with my current setup for now but will keep Silent Horizons 2 in mind as it and associated mods develop.
      Thank you for sharing your images.
      Best wishes,
      Gurley
    12. AeresTargarien
      AeresTargarien
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      Thank you very much for your comparisons and tips. You got the most important point for me. My setup runs with enough performance to actually play the game. It might not be the most pretty but at least it works after years of modding ;D
      Best wishes.
      Aeres