I was searching for some shader tweaks, stumbled upon on some russian forum, and found this amazing tweak how to get brighter terrain and darker cloud/terrain shadows.

 

 

 

 

 

ATTENTION! This is for P3D v3.2! Not sure how will it work in older versions!

 

 

For all you that don't want to fiddle with shader files, you can download tweaked files here -> https://www.dropbox.com/s/4n0f364b4ecg42s/Shader%20Tweak.zip?dl=0

Copy both files to ..:\Prepar3D v3\ShadersHLSL\

 

GPUTerrain.fx is the most important file here! Cloud.fx is optional, and it will tweak the clouds to have more variety in shading, and they will appear a little more darker in dusk/dawn. 

 

Don't forget to backup original files!

 

 

Manual tweaking of GPUTerrain.fx:

 

open [Prepar3D]\ShadersHLSL\GPUTerrain.fx.

 

on line 720:

 

const float3 sunAmbient = cb_mLights[sUN_LIGHT].mAmbient.xyz * 0.1;

 

Add * 0.1 at the end, just before ; The smaller the coefficient, the darker the shadows are. 0.1 worked for me. I've tried 0.5 also, it was good also, but I like darker shadows (more realistic).

 

line 1013, shed further light on the illuminated areas:

 

const float3 finalSunColor = (sunAmbient + saturate(sunDiffuse * (sunContrib * 1.8f * shadowContrib)));// + pointLightsDiffuse);

 

add * 1.8f, the more the brighter terrain should be, I didn't experimented with other values, 1.8f is just right in my case.

 

Save the file. Delete the shader cache -> c:\Users\username\AppData\Local\Lockheed Martin\Prepar3D v3\Shaders\

 

 

Start the sim. You should probably adjust HDR Brightness to your liking, due to brighter terrain. Also take note that I was testing this with Bloom at 0 and HDR Brightness at 1.90.

 

I'm also using SweetFX to adjust contrast and hue, but I will leave that for you guys, since I'm seeing pretty different presets here and there, and some of them are pretty extreme imo.

 

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Video preview of the tweaks:

https://youtu.be/nd0Bzq3PFZI

 

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Thank you captains for you attention! I hope you will find these tweaks useful to make your sim visually more attractive.

Hmmm. Interesting. Does that darken interior cockpit shadows as well? Presumably not if it's just GPUTerrain?

Thanks for posting this. You mention that you have Bloom set to 0. What happens if you set it to a higher number?

Hmmm. Interesting. Does that darken interior cockpit shadows as well? Presumably not if it's just GPUTerrain?

 

I think that cockpit shadows stayed untouched, didn't noticed the difference.

 

Thanks for posting this. You mention that you have Bloom set to 0. What happens if you set it to a higher number?

 

It will be probably too bright and the clouds will be burned I presume.

Try with Bloom set a some default values (0.70), but don't forget to lower HDR Brightness even more. 

I tried your tweak.

0.7 - 0.8 it is more than enough as otherwise you will be flying in dusk with an overcast...

I tried your tweak.

0.7 - 0.8 it is more than enough as otherwise you will be flying in dusk with an overcast...

Dint't noticed any significant difference in dawn/dusk when testing and recording a preview video.

I tried your tweak.

0.7 - 0.8 it is more than enough as otherwise you will be flying in dusk with an overcast...

 

Makes no sense to replace the var with a constant value for me personal ;-)

To add thanks for sharing.

Thanks for this.  I have a new computer on the way and will be moving into P3Dv3 so this might be something very useful.

Makes no sense to replace the var with a constant value for me personal ;-)

To add thanks for sharing.

I tried it and it is working and I leave it at *0.7 as otherwise scenery gets too dark with an overcast for my taste.

Well the video is combined with SweetFX, which to me is torture to use. No good tutorials anywhere. 

Following this thread.

Well the video is combined with SweetFX, which to me is torture to use. No good tutorials anywhere.

 

It will look good regardless, with or without sweetfx.

It will look good regardless, with or without sweetfx.

Tried it. Wasnt able to replicate the results of the video. 1.70 Brightness in HDR was way to much for me. I usually keep under 1 during daylight and lower at night. However, the ground shadows were prominent now so Im going to keep the tweak.

Nice!!! This along with HDR, combined with removal of the exposure adaption, which I'm still playing with, is a very good combination.

 

It will take some time to find the sweet spot, but this and the exposure lock tweak is getting close to what I've been seeking for quite some time.

 

 

Thanks Pe11e

Makes no sense to replace the var with a constant value for me personal ;-)

To add thanks for sharing.

 

It is constant regardless, default or tweaked.