- description

Qube 2 a puzzle game that takes fiendish
to new heights, quite varied how ever mixes
dexterity with puzzle solving which can
lead to some quite frustrating moments,
time those jumps...

Here are some tweaks with 3dmigoto to try
to alleviate the excessive darkness in the game and
some other visual issues.

shader tweaks with 3dmigoto:

- reduce vignette, bloom and lensflare
- decrease fog density
- less glossy tubes in certain areas
- tonemap via 'upscale.hlsl'
- custom shader for a slight curve
  can be disabled see 'further tweaking'

Note(s):
The  package has a customized shader 'upscale.hlsl' which
does some fullscreen tweaks as sharpening and color modification.

- install

Copy the contents of the zip file to the install folder of,
qube 2 \QUBE\Binaries\Win64\
the folder which contains QUBE-Win64-Shipping.exe.

- optional install

If you do not like using unverified dll's you can:

Download 3dmigoto from:
https://github.com/bo3b/3Dmigoto/releases
download version 1.3.16.0 (64bit) and place
the following dlls in the install dir of qube2
d3d11.dll
d3dcompiler_46.dll
d3dx.ini
then copy ShaderCache and ShaderFixes from the zip file to the same dir aka folder.

note: if you choose to use the d3dx.ini contained in the github package
make sure to set (line 248):
hunting=0
the default setting is:
hunting=1
which sets 3dmigoto to a debug mode.

Also add at line 19:
include = ShaderFixes\upscale.ini
include = ShaderFixes\curve.ini

- verify

After running the game the folder ShaderFixes should
gradually (scene and level dependent) contain the .bin versions:

21c2fc3c68f782de-ps_replace.bin
288dac12b6a06f64-ps_replace.bin
5f640200e1a9c5ea-ps_replace.bin
84a363e7677b5736-ps_replace.bin
94af2361fe58c720-ps_replace.bin
a368a3397363295e-ps_replace.bin
aa7aeb52c6d24dca-ps_replace.bin

of

21c2fc3c68f782de-ps_replace.txt
288dac12b6a06f64-ps_replace.txt
5f640200e1a9c5ea-ps_replace.txt
84a363e7677b5736-ps_replace.txt
94af2361fe58c720-ps_replace.txt
a368a3397363295e-ps_replace.txt
aa7aeb52c6d24dca-ps_replace.txt

This means that the file(s) .txt have been compiled by 3dmigoto (d3d11.dll)

- tested

Tested with version 1.6 of qube 2 on win 10 (1903) / nvidia 1050gtx ti
See screenshot for settings game.

- performance

3dmigoto gpu usage 1080p@~60fps
without - clock 1746Mhz gpu usage ~80%
with       - clock 1746Mhz gpu usage ~82%
approximately 2% increase (1050gtx ti on win 10)
max gpu: 1770Mhz gpu usage 100%
capped @61fps with fast sync on

- further tweaking

If you like you can compare the modified shader, ShaderCache contains
the original shader, to alter values.

The curve shader can be disabled by opening d3dx.ini
in a text editor and altering line 20 from:
include = ShaderFixes\curve.ini
to:
;include = ShaderFixes\curve.ini

To disable specific tweaks open the shader from
the folder 'shaderfixes' with a text editor example:
288DAC12B6A06F64-PS_REPLACE.txt

Has a remark on the top line:
// reduce presence red lens flare

So if you do not want that to happen
remove the shader from the folder 'shaderfixes'

288DAC12B6A06F64-PS_REPLACE.txt

and if compiled remove:

288DAC12B6A06F64-PS_REPLACE.bin

then restart the game.

All shaders <shadernumber>ps_replace.txt have
a similar descriptive remark (see shader list).

- tips

See articles
https://www.pcgamingwiki.com/wiki/Q.U.B.E._2
create a shortcut with the following target:
"<drive>:\qube 2\QUBE\Binaries\Win64\QUBE-Win64-Shipping.exe" -norc -nowrite -nodatabase -useallavailablecores -noforcefeedback -nosplash

- shader list

---------- 21C2FC3C68F782DE-PS_REPLACE.TXT
// vignette and bloom
// ---- Created with 3Dmigoto v1.3.16 on Thu May 11 11:56:41 2023
  // keep depth based screen fringe other wise to bright outdoor enviroments

---------- 288DAC12B6A06F64-PS_REPLACE.TXT
// reduce presence red lens flare
// ---- Created with 3Dmigoto v1.3.16 on Thu May 11 11:59:43 2023
  // decrease presence halo via y axis

---------- 5F640200E1A9C5EA-PS_REPLACE.TXT
// reduce fog density lower hemisphere
// ---- Created with 3Dmigoto v1.3.16 on Wed May 17 11:04:33 2023
  // reduce fog density via y axis

---------- 84A363E7677B5736-PS_REPLACE.TXT
// reduce distance fog density
// ---- Created with 3Dmigoto v1.3.16 on Thu May 11 12:41:14 2023
  // reduce fog density via y axis
  //o0.xyz = (0.35f + v0.y) * o0.xyz;

---------- 94AF2361FE58C720-PS_REPLACE.TXT
// remove godray and light shafts fx B
// ---- Created with 3Dmigoto v1.3.16 on Wed May 17 11:18:31 2023

---------- A368A3397363295E-PS_REPLACE.TXT
// tubes floor and wall between generator and rooms
// ---- Created with 3Dmigoto v1.3.16 on Wed May 17 11:22:06 2023
  // less gloss
  // less gloss

---------- AA7AEB52C6D24DCA-PS_REPLACE.TXT
// tubes floor and wall between generator and rooms in shadows
// ---- Created with 3Dmigoto v1.3.16 on Wed May 17 11:37:01 2023
  // less gloss
  // less gloss

---------- SHADERLIST.TXT