- description

Though not so apparent to the eye scars above
is, structurally, a batman arkham asylum in disguise.
All the elements are there, branching paths, gadgets
open up the paths, ping equivalent of detective vision,
etc granted the emphasis in combat is not melee but
gunplay but still... an ambitious pursuit.
Alas the template is excellent, the execution how ever, is
somewhat lacking that said still worth while for a play through.

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

update 11/09/2023 v1.1
- tweaked tonemap, improved contrast
- tweaked fog density shaders preserve sky ambient
- tweaked hair shader reduce overbright all camera angles
- tested with game version 1.0.0.132679

shader tweaks with 3dmigoto:

- remove vignette
- decrease fog density
- reduce over bright hair
- 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,
scars above \scars above\ScarsAbove\Binaries\Win64\
the folder which contains Project-Win64-Shipping.exe.
note: for updating to v1.1 do the same.

- 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 scars above
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:

3cd7f92c5da6a09f-ps_replace.bin
5c73550fdfb883c3-ps_replace.bin
8e3724341b2d5cc3-ps_replace.bin
a72ee38b42d942bd-ps_replace.bin
f6ae038dfe3a643c-ps_replace.bin

of

3cd7f92c5da6a09f-ps_replace.txt
5c73550fdfb883c3-ps_replace.txt
8e3724341b2d5cc3-ps_replace.txt
a72ee38b42d942bd-ps_replace.txt
f6ae038dfe3a643c-ps_replace.txt

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

- tested

Tested with version 1.0.0.132679 of scars above on win 10 (1903) / nvidia 1050gtx ti
See screenshot for settings game.

- performance

3dmigoto gpu usage 1080p@~45fps
without - clock 1746Mhz gpu usage ~80%
with       - clock 1752Mhz gpu usage ~82%
approximately 2% increase (1050gtx ti on win 10)
max gpu: 1770Mhz gpu usage 100%

- 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:
a72ee38b42d942bd-ps_replace.txt

Has a remark on the top line:
// remove vignette

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

a72ee38b42d942bd-ps_replace.txt

and if compiled remove:

a72ee38b42d942bd-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/Mass_Effect_Legendary_Edition

- shader list

---------- 3CD7F92C5DA6A09F-PS_REPLACE.TXT
// decrease fog density B can effect ambient light
// ---- Created with 3Dmigoto v1.3.16 on Sun Mar 26 10:31:29 2023
    // decrease fog density
    // decrease fog density

---------- 5C73550FDFB883C3-PS_REPLACE.TXT
// reduce over bright hair
// ---- Created with 3Dmigoto v1.3.16 on Sun Mar 26 23:32:16 2023
  // prevent hair tint being over exposed

---------- 8E3724341B2D5CC3-PS_REPLACE.TXT
// decrease fog density C can effect ambient light
// ---- Created with 3Dmigoto v1.3.16 on Sun Mar 26 23:19:38 2023
    // decrease fog density
    // decrease fog density

---------- A72EE38B42D942BD-PS_REPLACE.TXT
// remove vignette
// ---- Created with 3Dmigoto v1.3.16 on Sat Mar 25 10:25:31 2023
  // remove vignette
  // rebalance contrast
  r0.yzw = r0.yzw * 1.7f * cb0[60].xyz;// + r1.xyz;
  //r0.yzw = max(0.99f, v1.xxx) * r0.yzw;
  //r1.xy = cb0[62].xx * v1.yz;
  //r1.x = dot(r1.xy, r1.xy);
  //r1.x = 1 + r1.x;
  //r0.yzw = r0.yzw * r1.xxx + float3(0.00266771927,0.00266771927,0.00266771927);
  // rebalance contrast
  // balance auto exposure
  o0.w = saturate(dot(r1.xyz, float3(0.2126f,0.7152f,0.0722f))); // bt709

---------- F6AE038DFE3A643C-PS_REPLACE.TXT
// decrease fog density can effect ambient light
// ---- Created with 3Dmigoto v1.3.16 on Sat Mar 25 10:46:05 2023
    // decrease fog density
    // decrease fog density

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