Hi all,

 

I wanted to post some screenshots showing the effects of using SweetFX combined with Enbseries can have on your FS2004 look. This is not meant as a promotion for a specific look but rather a brief glimpse into the quite radical transformation possible, in this case based on my taste. But the great thing about these two graphics tweaks is that they allow you to go in ANY direction, from lots of colour and contrast to a completely detoned look if you prefer that by just changing a few parameters in the config files!

 

This is what I end up with using both swetfx AND enb:

 

This is what I start out with:

 

Began by adding SweetFx HDR:

 

Added SweetFX contrast improvement using Levels option:

 

Added Tonemap which allows you to tweak colours. I shifted it into the blue range:

 

Added enbseries bloom, darkening and saturation:

 

Lastly I added Lumasharpen through SweetFx for a sharper image and crisper distant textures:

 

Of course your choice of sky textures will have an even greater impact on the look of your sim, not only on the sky itself but also on ground textures, shadows, horizon and more

 

Best wishes,

Sascha

Deja vu?!

Yes, I thought it might be useful to show the change of individual effects added using SweetFX and Enbseries.

Thanks, Sacha. So many great settings to try.

 

This one from the library is really good.

 

Category: Flight Simulator 2004 - Miscellaneous Files

Supersky 2015 v1.0

Thanks, Sacha. So many great settings to try.

 

This one from the library is really good.

 

Thank you, can't have too many sky textures!

Super shots 

But is this better???

 

It's basically a contrast and color enhancement. In order to increase the contrast, you must sacrifice detail. Part of the effect I see they call HDR but the developer is telling you fibs because it really is the complete opposite and should be called LDR (Low Dynamic Range). lol
I won't get all technical but if you look at the dark patches in the water in the bottom right part of the unedited screenshot, you will see lots of detail in those areas, plenty of blues/greens. In the final screenshot with all the effects those areas just become dark blue blobs, all detail is lost.

You don't get something for nothing. Using such effects loses you detail and not just in the areas I pointed out. You lose it everywhere! Highlight areas start to wash out and the dark areas start to clog up. Everything in between gets compacted together with the end result once again, less detail. That's how it works.
The scene you showed may appeal to some but a scene from a different situation certainly may not. Let's assume we are in the sim and at an airport. If there are buildings with dark texture detail it will get completely lost. Light areas will turn to white and lose their detail.

If you have a decent modern monitor it will already be factory tweaked toward over exaggerating contrast. To pump it up even more through an effect like this is totally unnatural. 

It's all down to personal choice of course. As I'm aware how this works and understanding what is missing when I look at my sim with such effects applied, it's certainly not something I'm interested in.

But is this better???

 

It's basically a contrast and color enhancement. In order to increase the contrast, you must sacrifice detail. Part of the effect I see they call HDR but the developer is telling you fibs because it really is the complete opposite and should be called LDR (Low Dynamic Range). lol

I won't get all technical but if you look at the dark patches in the water in the bottom right part of the unedited screenshot, you will see lots of detail in those areas, plenty of blues/greens. In the final screenshot with all the effects those areas just become dark blue blobs, all detail is lost.

You don't get something for nothing. Using such effects loses you detail and not just in the areas I pointed out. You lose it everywhere! Highlight areas start to wash out and the dark areas start to clog up. Everything in between gets compacted together with the end result once again, less detail. That's how it works.

The scene you showed may appeal to some but a scene from a different situation certainly may not. Let's assume we are in the sim and at an airport. If there are buildings with dark texture detail it will get completely lost. Light areas will turn to white and lose their detail.

If you have a decent modern monitor it will already be factory tweaked toward over exaggerating contrast. To pump it up even more through an effect like this is totally unnatural. 

It's all down to personal choice of course. As I'm aware how this works and understanding what is missing when I look at my sim with such effects applied, it's certainly not something I'm interested in.

Indeed I like my look to be with more contrast, but the point I am trying to make here is that you can use Sweetfx and/or Enbseries to go in any direction you like.

 

You can use it to just sharpen everything.

 

Regarding loss of water detail, this is where the reflections kick in. There will just be more Variety as reflections (at least my Evo ones) have many shades if light and dark.

Good pics, Sascha! Which SweetFX version are you using? 1.5 or 2.0?

2.0 I think. I'll verify when I'm back home. Returning this evening.