This pic shows the fresnel value highligting only the red value of things it impacts. (the shaders you download won't make your game look like this, so don't worry).
When working with shaders, shader authors will build debuggers into their shaders to highlight what the thing impacts. This is a very simple equation, because instead of having the fresnel multiply by the .rgb (red, green, blue) values of the light color that it normally does, I just made it multiply by the red.
Anyways, this picture gives you an idea of what the fresnel impacts, how much, etc. I'm posting this, so you know I'm not just talking out of my a** when I say I added fresnel to the shaders. (The fresnel is subtle, so the other pictures I posted showing it off don't really do it justice unless you see it highlighted like this, or you're playing the game and notice the subtle brightness added to things.)
As you can see, as your viewing angle to a surface becomes more parallel to the surface, the fresnel increases. This creates nice highlights on things.
On ground and plants, it acts like light hazing off the tops of plants, adding more body and depth to the land.. especially during mid-day (when things used to look pretty flat). For vehicles, it adds highlights to various parts.
The fresnel also helps add body to shadows, which was the main purpose in the first place. But, after reading some articles by shader authors on fresnel, fresnel is on everything, in shadow and in light, so it made sense to add it to everything.
This pic shows the fresnel value highligting only the red value of things it impacts. (the shaders you download won't make your game look like this, so don't worry).
When working with shaders, shader authors will build debuggers into their shaders to highlight what the thing impacts. This is a very simple equation, because instead of having the fresnel multiply by the .rgb (red, green, blue) values of the light color that it normally does, I just made it multiply by the red.
Anyways, this picture gives you an idea of what the fresnel impacts, how much, etc. I'm posting this, so you know I'm not just talking out of my a** when I say I added fresnel to the shaders. (The fresnel is subtle, so the other pictures I posted showing it off don't really do it justice unless you see it highlighted like this, or you're playing the game and notice the subtle brightness added to things.)
As you can see, as your viewing angle to a surface becomes more parallel to the surface, the fresnel increases. This creates nice highlights on things.
On ground and plants, it acts like light hazing off the tops of plants, adding more body and depth to the land.. especially during mid-day (when things used to look pretty flat). For vehicles, it adds highlights to various parts.
The fresnel also helps add body to shadows, which was the main purpose in the first place. But, after reading some articles by shader authors on fresnel, fresnel is on everything, in shadow and in light, so it made sense to add it to everything.