I only started using Reshade recently because it looked too complicated.  However, the GeForce Experience filters I had been using just wasn't quite giving me the results I wanted.  I wouldn't be without it now after spending a few hours with it - there are just a few core filters required to get MSFS looking great.  As well as getting the the sky, ground and lighting looking better, I just discovered several sharpening filters available.  I turned off all sharpening in the NVCP, MSFS and set Sharpening=0 in the UserCfg.opt file.  I am using a sharpening filter called LumaShapen [LumaSharpen.fx].  It has a pattern screen that can show what areas are being sharpened and by how much.

I am using the latest Google Map Enhancement tool (so no high LOD available yet). even without high LOD, this sharpening technique does a great job to bring out the detail without halos.  The first screengrab shows the pattern screen so you can fine tune the sharpening (notice I'm only using three ReShade filters)

The second screen grab shows the results - very sharp textures with no halos.  even without the high LOD setting in the Enhancement tool, the details picked out are great!

The overall effect is really nice!  After a few hours for me and it made sense.  I watched a few YouTube videos and asked some questions on the ReShade Discord and after a couple of days playing with Reshade I got this.

 

What’s the hit on FPS or latency by using reshade?

As I suggested in another thread, you may be able to get the picture adjusted the way you want simply by adjusting your monitor/tv settings. In fact, the need for reshade maybe a result of having poor picture settings in the first place. 

The sharpening algorithms available in reshade may be unique though. So that alone maybe a good reason to use it. 

I remember the reshade fixes for P3D, there were a group of them and many looked worse then the other. I like the way MSFS looks, and I am staying away from trying to fix it. 

1 minute ago, Virtual-Chris said:

What’s the hit on FPS or latency by using reshade?

As I suggested in another thread, you may be able to get the picture adjusted the way you want simply by adjusting your monitor/tv settings. In fact, the need for reshade maybe a result of having poor picture settings in the first place. 

The sharpening algorithms available in reshade may be unique though. So that alone maybe a good reason to use it. 

My monitor has been calibrated with an XRite iDisplay Pro, so I am starting from a known standard picture setting.  I am not using any filters likely to cause an FPS hit - the single sharpening filter in ReShade is replacing two sharpening settings in MSFS itself, so that should be ok.

Yeah, ReShade is a must for me. MSFS has a very drab look, with a slight green tint. ReShade is magic to make it pop with very few tweaks and filters. 

2 minutes ago, Bobsk8 said:

I remember the reshade fixes for P3D, there were a group of them and many looked worse then the other. I like the way MSFS looks, and I am staying away from trying to fix it. 

If you like the default MSFS then no need for Reshade, but I must admit I'm surprised anybody likes the washed out, over bright atmosphere and faded colours.  I too have tried single filters that I have disliked.  I have used one filter that corrects the yellow/green tints in the sim, one that offers good sharpening and one to adjust curves and shadows.

I surprised you think my screenshots are worse than default though 🙂

2 minutes ago, Sethos said:

Yeah, ReShade is a must for me. MSFS has a very drab look, with a slight green tint. ReShade is magic to make it pop with very few tweaks and filters. 

Right, but maybe you can achieve the same look with some picture adjustments on your monitor or TV? Just saying… If you can do it without additional software?

Just now, Virtual-Chris said:

Right, but maybe you can achieve the same look with some picture adjustments on your monitor or TV? Just saying… If you can do it without additional software?

Manual adjustments for one piece of software? All software is going to be affected.  I know my monitor is correctly set because it has been hardware calibrated.

Which reshade profile are you using to get the last airport picture effect?

Edited August 22, 20223 yr by miguel370

29 minutes ago, Sethos said:

Yeah, ReShade is a must for me. MSFS has a very drab look, with a slight green tint. ReShade is magic to make it pop with very few tweaks and filters. 

MSFS definitely has a warm color temp....near the ground.  In to the teens and up it beings to become more natural.  Generally on my HDR monitor it looks pretty good by default.  That second screenshot above, on my monitor, looks almost purple or of a reddish hue.  Not natural.  However, if MBF is not running an HDR monitor it may look proper to him.

48 minutes ago, Virtual-Chris said:

What’s the hit on FPS or latency by using reshade?

Anything from hardly any to a lot. It depends on which ReShade filters you use. A basic LUT colour filter has a negligble FPS impact and can improve colours and contrast significantly.

1 hour ago, Virtual-Chris said:

Right, but maybe you can achieve the same look with some picture adjustments on your monitor or TV? Just saying… If you can do it without additional software?

Well, would be silly to adjust your monitor to fit, downright stupid actually. You calibrate your monitor to colour and brightness standards and then make the games fit. Plus, monitor calibration will never be able to reproduce the ReShade filters. 

Edited August 22, 20223 yr by Sethos

Reshade is a rabbit hole. Once you fall into it, you keep tinkering with the filters for the rest of your life. The faded colors and the washed out look is what you see from the cockpit. I think Asobo did a very good job on replicating the real image. The skybox in MSFS is very dynamic and your reshade filters may look good during the day but may look equally bad at lets say in the evening.  I don't know if the op noticed but that 2nd screenshot has this reddish tint to it and looks worse IMO. But hey I am not saying you should stay away from reshade. It does provide some enhancements like OP is getting very nice results from the sharpening filter. It's just that it's too easy to go overboard with the filters. If you have a good OLED/QLED that can do 800nits+ hdr, the sim will surely blow you away with the increase in dynamic range and depth of colors. 

Edited August 22, 20223 yr by Baber20

1 hour ago, MrBitstFlyer said:

I am using the latest Google Map Enhancement tool (so no high LOD available yet).

v6.0.7 supposedly has the high LOD textures enabled. Downloaded that version a few minutes ago.

I've watched a few youtube videos and I'm more confused now than when I started. Some assume you already have Reshade installed, others scatter files and directories all over, and some mumble thru their video. I'd be interested to learn who helped you get started.

TIA.

20 minutes ago, Sethos said:

Well, would be silly to adjust your monitor to fit, downright stupid actually. You calibrate your monitor to colour and brightness standards and then make the games fit. Plus, monitor calibration will never be able to reproduce the ReShade filters. 

But how many folks here using Reshade have a professionally calibrated display? I suspect very few.

And even those that do have a calibrated display to a D65 white point will generally feel the picture is too warm and prefer a more neutral color temperature. In fact it’s possible that folks with properly calibrated displays are not happy with the picture and using Reshade to correct it.

Everyone can obviously adjust their picture to taste, but how your display is setup can have a huge effect on your picture and how the sim looks. I would start there and at least double check your settings before just diving into Reshade.