Dynamic Shaders mod for S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Shadow of Chernobyl

Dynamic Shaders

Author: Meltac (C) 2011, 2012

This small mod adds dynamic depth of field (DOF), dynamic night vision scopes, dynamic reflections, and other new graphical features in r2 mode (dynamic lighting). It is built onto STALKER Shaders MAX by Kingo64, compatible with 95% of other mods and is highly recommended.

Note: Patch 2 for version 1.1 Beta is ready for download and highly recommended. 

Version 1.2 Features (planned) - Dynamic Reflections

- Reflective suit visors (from the outside and the inside - see images and video below)
- Reflective dynamic wet surfaces (totally re-implemented and improved)
- Reflective lighting optimized (slightly improved lighting model)
- Night vision support for 3D scopes (i.e. weapons with scope in the mesh but no scope texture)
- Sharpen effect as another depth of field improvement
- Semi-transparent HUD cross-hair of selectable color
- Fixed DDOF distance measurement when aiming to the sky

Version 1.1 features (released) - Dynamic Nightvision Scopes

- built on latest version 1.05 of Kingo's STALKER Shaders MAX
- improved depth of field algorithm with more configuration settings
- support for all 41 levels of the extended Kostya's STALKER Map Pack
- support for mods with zoom-less weapons (to still have zoom DOF in aim mode)
- support for modified FOV (Field Of View), like with FOV-Switcher tools
- improved/fixed motion blur behavior
- better balanced configuration presets
- and last but not least: shader-based adaptive nightvision scopes with additional scope zoom

Version 1.0 features (released) - Dynamic Depth Of Field

• Near Field DOF: Unlike in the original shaders from Sky4Ace, not only objects far away but also those to which you are very close will be blurred (when you don't focus them).
• Full Dynamic DOF ("auto-focus"): The depth effect depends on your target distance, meaning that objects which are further away or much closer than those you are focusing will be blurred - the way your digital camera does it in auto-focus mode. This effect is well-known from Stalker CoP and other newer games.
• Zoom DOF: When zooming in weapon aim mode (with or without scope), the regions further away from the screen center will be continuously blurred, like in other games (e.g. Far Cry 2). This effect was requested long ago by the community but so far nobody had found a way to realize it because it can't be done by shaders only but needs some scripting.
• Alternative blur algorithms: In addition to the classic method by Sky4Ace, a simple gaussian blur algorithm is provided to incorporate the intended depth effect. Users may choose which one to have the work done (using a console setting).
• Heavy configurable: All the above effects may be deactivated or adjusted to your favor (check shaders/r2/ShaderSettings.txt).

Compatibility with other mods:

• Tested with patches 1.0004, 1.0005, and 1.0006
• Works only with dynamic lighting / r2 render mode
• Should work (besides shader mods) that with any other mod; however merging of the bind_stalker.script file might be required.
  

  Tested with the following mods:
  - STALKER Map Pack by Kostya (incl. all extensions, total of 41 maps)
  - Priboi Story
  - Clear Sky Faction Mod
  - OGSE
  - Stalkersoup (with some limitations)
  - Automn Aurora
  - Particle Paradise
  - Twilight Ket
  - Stalker Weather Total Conversion, Dynamic Weather, Stalkerskies

Notes:

• Please backup your user.ltx file prior to installing the mod because it will be modified (affects only r2_aa settings).
• The used blur algorithm can be selected with the console setting r2_aa_kernel with the values 0.3 for classic and 0.7 for gaussian blur.
• To take full advantage of the zoom DOF effect I recommend the use of the Gnomus Scopes mod.
• If you are running macron's FOV switcher or some other tool or mod that alters the actor's default FOV (field of view), you need to modify in the "shader_control.script\" the value in the line "local no_zoom_fov = 67.5" from 67.5 to whatever is the default FOV in your case (e.g. 75.0).

General merging procedure (if you have installed other mods):

1. Copy the "shaders" folder of this mod into your "gamedata" folder. If there was already such a folder, you might want to backup it prior to replacing with mine.
2. Copy the "shader_control.script\" file into the "gamedata/scripts" directory.
3. Open your "bind_stalker.script\" file in the "gamedata/scripts" directory, and within the function "actor_binder:update(delta)" add a new line with "shader_control.Update()". If no "bind_stalker.script\" file is present, simply copy mine.

Usage & Credits:

You may use, modify, and deploy this mod as long as you are giving credit to the authors:

• Kingo64 for the original STALKER Shaders MAX (which in turn is a shader compilation; see those authors)
• Meltac for this dynamic depth of field shader additions.

In case you are experiencing issues:

In order to help me optimize this mod, please report any issues to me along with the following context information:

Files:
- your entire shaders/r2/ShaderSettings.txt
- your entire user.ltx

Questions:
- First of all: Have you properly installed (or merged) all files of the mod, including scripts?
- type of your graphic adapter / GPU
- Do you run any FOV (field of view) switcher mod or tool, such as macron's FOV switcher?
- what other mod(s) are being used at the same time?
- are you using some anti-aliasing feature, and if so, where do you configure it?
- What part of the screen is affected by the issue (e.g. trees only, entire periphery, everything in the distance, entire screen etc.)
- Is the issue occuring while zooming your weapon, or in normal view mode?

Furthermore, providing some in-game video might help as well to locate the issue.

Please send these infos/files by eMail or upload or post it here.

If you are getting an error message saying you'd need support for pixel shaders v1.1 upon game startup:

First check everything said in the previous section.

In many cases the problem is not that pixel shaders v1.1 itself wasn't supported, so that error message is very misleading. Instead, there are several causes for this issue (first 2 come from Kingo64)

1. You installed over the top and it somehow bugged out instead of deleting the exist shaders folder and placing mine in.
2. You did not configure ShaderSettings.txt properly and caused a syntax error.
3. You have edited and broken a shader file.
4. Your GPU has a hardware failure, such as overheating or some manufacture error.
5. Your GPU does not support one or more graphical feature(s) of this mod.
   Some GPUs - even new ones - appear to have troubles with some specific shader settings, first of all SSAO. Disabling that/those feature(s) in ShaderSettings.txt solves the issue in most cases. See also this thread on GSC Forums (for CS, but is also true in ShoC) .

If you are getting weird-looking shadows:

That's not a bug of this mod but a well-known issue in ShoC whose effect be increased with these shaders. To fix it open up your console in-game with ~ and type

r2_sun_near_border 1.0

and hit enter (alternatively you can change that value directly in your user.ltx).
Thanks Loner1 for pointing this out.

Many thanks to everybody who helped developing this mod, especially those awesome modders at GSC forums! Thanks to Loner1, ket and Bamah for testing!