Hello! I'm glad to be posting on your forum for the first time. Let me share with you my realistic daytime lighting settings (using World Editor) and my ReShade presets for BeamNG.drive. Previously, I created a series of my ReShade presets called "Cinematic Balanced Presets" for other simulators (my YouTube channel is "Notes Of Flight Simulators And Not Only"). Now I would like to start creating this series of the presets for the BeamNG.drive. BeamNG.drive is the best car physics simulator (and not only) that I have ever seen! There are no analogues to this. Many of you have been tweaking and improving the BeamNG graphics through its World Editor. I, in turn, found one interesting moment in my experiments with the World Editor: if I add an additional "Basic Sun" object with specific settings, then the lighting becomes much better and more realistic than a default sun. (I don't know exactly what this is connected with, since I have recently begun to study the World Editor.) I decided to use this along with other graphics mods posted on this forum and my ReShade presets. What happened made me very happy! The light becomes more brilliant, metallic and lifelike in this case. Please look at my screenshots. (If the screenshots are not displayed, then you can find them in an zip archive attached to the post.) While I'm not offering you any modified BeamNG files, let me refer to my World Editor settings and my ReShade presets collectively as my mod. It’s easier to formulate this way, besides, I spent a lot of time on the creative search. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Description of the concept of my mod. 1. I used an additional "Basic Sun" object of the "World Editor" with specific parameters. Then I combined this light with a number of BeamNG graphics mods as well as with "qUINT RTGI" and "qUINT Solaris" shaders. It made the light very realistic in my opinion. 2. I used a well-known "qUINT RTGI" shader in combination with the "qUINT Solaris" shader. The fact is that the "qUINT Solaris" shader creates additional specific shades of sunlight inherent in the real sun. From my point of view, combining these shaders can improve the Ray-Tracing experience. 3. I used a "qUINT MXAO" shader instead of the default ambient occlusion system of the BeamNG. The fact is that the ambient occlusion created by the shader has a special beauty and depth, which I almost never saw in various graphics engines. I think that using this shader instead of the default BeamNG AO can give better results. 4. I used a "ArcaneBloom" shader to make the lighting environment more heterogeneous. 5. I used a "Fubax Filmic Sharpen" shader. This shader adds a specific sharpness to the image, which gives the impression that surfaces and textures of objects have become much more realistic, in my opinion. So I added this shader not so much for sharpening, but to improve the appearance of objects. 6. I used a "CShade cNoiseBlur" shader for some blurring. I also think that combining this shader with the "Fubax Filmic Sharpen" shader can create an illusion that edges of objects are more detailed than they are. 7. I used "PD80_03_Color_Space_Curves" and "Tonemap" shaders to create a specific image contrast inherent in an eye adaptation function of various photo and video cameras. I also used a number of other shaders for ancillary tasks. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Description of the mods that I used with my mod. The BeamNG.Drive version that I used: 0.29.0.0. BeamNG mods from other authors that I used with my mod: - Cessni's textures mod, - "Realistic Sky MOD" by "thevictor85", - "Lossless Graphics Mod (using world editor)" by "Born 2 Drive", - "CK Graphics Settings Mod" version 2.2.1b by "Car_Killer". I used ReShade version: 5.9.0.1752. ReShade shaders that I used: - "qUINT RTGI" version "Beta 0.27" by Marty McFly (Pascal Gilcher); - "qUINT Solaris" that is part of the "ReGrade" shaders package version "Beta 0.8" by Marty McFly (Pascal Gilcher); - "ArcaneBloom" (unfortunately I don't know its author); - "FilmicSharpen" by "Fubax"; - "Technicolor" by "DKT70" and "CeeJay.dk"; - "Temporal_AA" by "AstrayFX" (olny in one of my ReShade presets); - "PD80_03_Color_Space_Curves" by "prod80"; - "Tonemap" by "Christian Cann Schuldt Jensen ~ CeeJay.dk". Additional car mods I was using on the screenshots: - "Volga GAZ 3102.31029", version 3.0 by "Andrey2020". - "Lada 2108" by "Hipi". - "Ikarus 25654" version 1.0 by "hipiK | Hipi Mods". Also I use a "Better Light Control" mod by "DaddelZeit". But, if I understand correctly, it only affects the behavior of the headlights of a car, but not the lighting in general. If so, installing this mod is not required for compatibility with my mod. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- INSTALLATION. STEP 1. Install all Cessni's textures mods located here (if you don't already have it): https://www.beamng.com/resources/authors/cessni.114212/ Then run the BeamNG to check if the mods is installed correctly. STEP 2. "Realistic Sky MOD" by "thevictor85" (if you don't already have it): https://www.beamng.com/threads/realistic-sky-mod.93032/ Then run the BeamNG to check if the mod is installed correctly. STEP 3. Install the "Lossless Graphics Mod (using world editor)" by "Born 2 Drive" (if you don't already have it): https://www.beamng.com/threads/lossless-graphics-mod-using-world-editor.91936/ Then run the BeamNG to check if the mods is installed correctly. STEP 4. Install the "CK Graphics Settings Mod" by "Car_Killer" (if you don't already have it): https://www.beamng.com/threads/ck-graphics-settings-mod-v2-2-1b-for-beamng-0-29.87586/ Then run the BeamNG to check if the mods is installed correctly. You can immediately improve the quality of graphics through the mod to the values that your hardware allows. STEP 5. Install ReShade in a usual way (if you don't already have it) and run the BeamNG to check if the ReShade is installed correctly. Then put my ReShade presets in a folder: "BeamNG.drive 0.29.0.0\Bin64". As you know, "qUINT RTGI" and "qUINT Solaris" (as a part of the "ReGrade" shaders package) shaders must be purchased through Pascal Gilcher's Patreon page. STEP 6. Open the NVIDIA Control Panel and switch the "Low Latency Mode" parameter to "On" or "Ultra". "Maximum pre-rendered frames" parameter is better not to set more than "1". As is known, it reduces possible input lag. I use it to reduce the slight input lag caused by the the Ray-Tracing shader. Along with that, it would be better if you use DSR to improve anti-aliasing, which has already been discussed on this forum. Just please don't use too high resolutions, as this can make the image so blurry that the "Fubax Filmic Sharpen" shader I used becomes ineffective. (Also it can increase the input lag, in my opinion.) For example, I have a FullHD monitor and I use DSR with "2560x1440" resolution. "DSR Smoothness" setting is better to set to 100%. STEP 7. Launch the BeamNG Drive, open graphic settings of it and change two options: a) disable "Bloom"; b) disable "Ambient Occlusion". STEP 8. Load some default map of BeamNG. I use "West Coast, USA" map on my screenshots. (Custom, modded maps can only be loaded if they are previously modified in the way it is done in Born 2 Drive's "Lossless Graphics Mod (using world editor)" mod. Otherwise, there will be no compatibility with my mod.) Then open an "Enviroment" tab and change three values: a) Set "Time Of Day" to 01:30 PM; b) Set "Cloud Cover" parameter to "0" (zero); c) Set "Fog Density" parameter to "0,7" or "1". STEP 9. Open the "World Editor" ("F11" key) and turn on the "Realistic Sky MOD" mod, according to the recommendations of its author - "thevictor85": add a "Skybox" object and select the desired cloud preset in the "Material" item of the "Inspector" window. I used "BeamNG.science.sky-2" (for sunny weather) and "BeamNG.science.sky-14" (for overcast weather) presets on my screenshots. Please note that at this step the clouds will look incorrect - too dark. But after the next (10th) step is completed, the color of the clouds will become correct. STEP 10. Add the "Basic Sun" object in the World Editor. Set my settings of the sun in the "Inspector" window, described below. (If the screenshots are not displayed, then you can find them in an zip archive attached to the post.) For sunny weather: For overcast weather: Please note that my mod is still adapted enough for overcast weather, it is more suitable for sunny weather. (More on this below.) STEP 11. Load one of my ReShade presets: 1."Cinematic Balanc ed Preset v1", 2. "Cinematic Balanced Preset v1 (light 1)", 3. "Cinematic Balanced Preset v1 (light 2)", 4. "Cinematic Balanced Preset v1 (light 3)". All the presets have almost the same concept. They differ in the presence of auxiliary shaders and image contrast. The first preset is the most difficult for the equipment and the eyes, the last one is the easiest. (Please note that the "light 3" preset doesn't contain the Ray-Tracing shader.) I used the "Cinematic Balanced Preset v1 (light 1)" preset on my screenshots. It seems to me that this preset came out better than the others. No more steps are required. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Known issues and some notes. 1. I tested my mod on the BeamNG version: 0.29.0.0. So I cannot guarantee full compatibility of my mod with the latest versions of the simulator. But I hope everything should work fine. 2. Please note that for a number of reasons I used outdated "qUINT RTGI" and "qUINT Solaris" shaders (versions of last year's winter). So I can't guarantee compatibility of my ReShade presets with the latest versions of the shaders. 3. Please note that my mod requires the time of day to be set from 12:00 pm to 3:00 pm in order for my mod to work correctly. This directly affects the shadows of objects. If the time of day is closer to 12 noon, then the shadows are softer. If the time is closer to 3 PM, then the shadows become harder. (So, the "01:30 PM" is the happy medium.) Other times of the day may not look correct. Perhaps this problem can be solved, but, as I said, I haven't studied the World Editor enough yet. 4. The ReShade presets can also be used without the additional "Basic Sun" object. This can be useful if you want to drive in the evening, at night or in the morning. To do this, simply skip the 10th step of the above installation process. But the most beautiful light looks only with the additional "Basic Sun" object, in my opinion. 5. The "Cloud Cover" parameter must be removed to "0" for compatibility with the "Realistic Sky MOD" mod by "thevictor85". 6. My mod are not yet adapted correctly for overcast weather: the interaction between the BeamNG light and the ray-tracing and bloom shaders is not efficient enough in my opinion. This requires additional fine tuning. 7. A note about installing ReShade shaders. I usually install all possible shaders (except for "Legacy Shaders" pack). Of course, it increases the ReShade initialization time, but it gives maximum opportunities for creative search. If you do the same, then after installing the ReShade, please do the following. a) Go to the folder: "BeamNG.drive 0.29.0.0\Bin64\reshade-shaders\Shaders\RSRetroArch" b) Rename a "Technicolor.fx" file to some other name, for example "RSRetroArch_Technicolor.fx". What is it for? The fact is that the RSRetroArch developer named his "Technicolor" shader file exactly the same as the classic "Technicolor" shader (by "DKT70" and "CeeJay.dk") is called. Because of this, ReShade presets that use the classic technicolor automatically load the technicolor created by RSRetroArch. This bug leads to image degradation. So if you have the "RSRetroArch" shaders pack installed, then please be sure to follow these steps. 8. The "qUINT RTGI" and the "qUINT MXAO" shaders can leave a small tail when moving objects. In my opinion, this is due to the specifics of the functioning of ReShade - as an overlay in a screen space. But in practice, I notice this tail only when the camera is moving in a cab of a car. If I do not move the camera, then this tail is not visible to my eye (it is possible that it is not there in this case), even if I'm driving at high speed. So hopefully this won't be a problem. It can also be fixed if you set up a ReShade depth buffer well. Although I personally didn’t set it up at all, since everything looks fine without it in my case. 8. It is better to play the BeamNG simulator with the mods during the daytime with good lighting in your room to keep your eyes healthy. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A few words about the further development of the mod over time. a) I want to try to transfer the quality of light that I have been able to achieve to all times of the day (not just daytime). b) I will try to make a special version of my mod for overcast weather. I would like to try to combine two things: specific low intensity sunlight (through the World Editor) and a fairly high intensity of various kinds of bloom ReShade shaders (including the "qUINT Solaris" shader). It seems to me that this could give the impression of a truly diffused light, which we see in the real-life overcast weather. --------------------------------------------------------------------- In conclusion, let me clarify that I have not modified any of the mods that I used along with my mod. I made all the changes only in my mod. ------------ I'm attaching an archive with my mod to the post, which contains: - my screenshots of the "Basic Sun" object settings; - my ReShade presets; - all of my screenshots. ------------ I express my gratitude to the creators of the mods and shaders that I used along with my mod. The graphics that turned out as a result exceeded all my expectations! ------------ I would appreciate your attention to my post and constructive criticism. --- Post updated --- I'm attaching the zip archive with presets here.
