Crysis mods, Help me make the game look gorgeous

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Grooveriding

Diamond Member
Dec 25, 2008
9,107
1,260
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you are in good hands with Stringjam here.

One quick question, is Crysis 1 with mods still better looking than Crysis 2 with texture and dx11 updates?

Yes. Crysis 1 was a no compromise PC title, Crysis 2 was a console port. The weaknesses of C2 are pretty apparent in terms of view distances, level design etc.
 

Stringjam

Golden Member
Jun 30, 2011
1,871
33
91
you are in good hands with Stringjam here.

One quick question, is Crysis 1 with mods still better looking than Crysis 2 with texture and dx11 updates?

It kind of depends what you're looking at.

IMO, Crysis 2 with MalDoHD 4.0 represents the pinnacle of graphic quality right now. As mentioned before, Crysis never really got a good texture mod, so there is a lot of ugliness in things like rocks / walls / interiors.

CE3 is better at lighting indoors. There were a lot of projects at crydev that were ported from CryEngine2 to CryEngine3 when they made the SDK available, and the difference in lighting was quite significant.

As impressive as CE2 was, I really do believe CE3 is far more capable. I just think Crytek didn't do a good job showing anybody that with Crysis2. I agree with points my by Grooveriding. C2 didn't give us any of those big, beautiful draw distances and views like we got in C1.

CE3 is actually capable of all that, and also rendering MUCH BIGGER levels than CE2 was.
 
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Grooveriding

Diamond Member
Dec 25, 2008
9,107
1,260
126
It kind of depends what you're looking at.

IMO, Crysis 2 with MalDoHD 4.0 represents the pinnacle of graphic quality right now. As mentioned before, Crysis never really got a good texture mod, so there is a lot of ugliness in things like rocks / walls / interiors.

CE3 is better at lighting indoors. There were a lot of projects at crydev that were ported from CryEngine2 to CryEngine3 when they made the SDK available, and the difference in lighting was quite significant.

As impressive as CE2 was, I really do believe CE3 is far more capable. I just think Crytek didn't do a good job showing anybody that with Crysis2. I agree with points my by Grooveriding. C2 didn't give us any of those big, beautiful draw distances and views like we got in C1.

CE3 is actually capable of all that, and also rendering MUCH BIGGER levels than CE2 was.

I agree with this. I've seen tech demos using CE3 that are astounding, but Crysis 2 showcases none of that unfortunately.

I also agree CE3 did lighting really well, but at times I felt it was too overdone and in line with the heavy glare/hdr you see on consoles. I actually prefer the more realistic/subtle sunrays and lighting in Crysis 1 personally.
 

monster88

Member
Oct 30, 2012
63
0
0
you are in good hands with Stringjam here.

One quick question, is Crysis 1 with mods still better looking than Crysis 2 with texture and dx11 updates?

from a purely visual prospective, i'd say it's debatable. for some people, a lush tropical setting will always beat an urban setting, regardless of how technically more advanced or whether textures, lighting etc., are significantly better in the other game.

crysis 2 DX11, coupled with maLDo HD 4.0 and max settings in his config tool, looks significantly better than crysis 1, and i've play(ed) both modded and unmodded versions of the games on several occasions.

people have yet to see the full potential of cryengine 3. it's extremely powerful and versatile. recently, i've been messing around with a map mod called crysis 2 warhead 2, and have been completely blown away. these pictures don't do it justice. in actual motion, it looks ridiculously good . best showcase of PC graphics i've ever seen hands down.

settings completely maxed, 2560x1600. (open in new window)



40376_Crysis2_2012-12-19_20-09-24-649.png


28294_Crysis2_2012original_size-53-491.png


39199_Crysis2_2012-12-19_20-29-19-503.png


27044_Crysis2_2012-12-19_20-05-24-033.png


63180_Crysis2_2012-12-19_20-11-15-315.png


and now some crysis 2 with maLDo HD 4.0 textures

41488_holyfucktextures.png


82907_Crysis2_2012-12-21_22-00-56-921.png


31999_Crysis2_2012-12-21_22-07-08-923.png


59792_Crysis2_2012-12-21_21-37-34-400.png


37227_Crysis2_2012-12-21_21-40-37-028.png
 
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Stringjam

Golden Member
Jun 30, 2011
1,871
33
91
:thumbsup: that is my hand out waiting to be held

Sorry....it's been busy as hell the last few days!

I have to say, I'm not totally happy with any of the ToDs, which is why I was working on modifying Reli2. I don't have enough time to go through all the levels and get it done.

I'll just upload Reli2 and Natural Mod, and point you to a CUDAATS link and let you try all three.

Natural Mod is the most subdued....the other two are very "hyped." CUDAATS looks really good during the mid-day periods.
 

tommo123

Platinum Member
Sep 25, 2005
2,617
48
91
dammit, i'm going to have to play crysis again after this thread - bar the alien no-gravity level
 

Stringjam

Golden Member
Jun 30, 2011
1,871
33
91
Okay...so I just found out that SkyDrive won't let people download large files from my PUBLIC folder without signing in with a Windows Live account.

So now I'm uploading all those files to my GoogleDrive....which I am assuming will allow me to post download links without requiring the downloaders to have a Google ID.

At any rate, if it doesn't, you can always create a bogus account at either place and get download access. ;)

File downloads for Windows SkyDrive
https://skydrive.live.com/redir?resid=72FA07C8E8C44F50!105

I'll post my GoogleDrive link when the uploads are finished for you Google ID users.


My personal Crysis config:


Do a fresh install of Crysis. If you're running STEAM, it will be patched to the appropriate version. If not, you'll need to install patch 1.2 and 1.2.1 before you touch anything.

STEP 1

Go into your ...Crysis/Game/Localized folder and delete these files. They're all of the annoying screens / vids that play before the game starts. Delete these and it will just load straight to the game menu.

cap1.jpg



STEP 2

Start the game and jump into a level. You don't have to start a new game to do this. Just hit the tilde key (~) which will bring up the console. Type map mine and this will load up the mine level. Once it loads up, quit the game.


STEP 3

You should have all of these files downloaded.

cap2.jpg


Copy and paste the highlighted .pak files into the ....Crysis/Game directory (you'll notice I didn't highlight the GlobalAmbientLighting .pak...don't copy this one over yet). These are the improved texture / objects files. Your directory should like like this now:

*NOTE* I have included the particle FX mod (XtremeFX2.pak), but this is a VERY INTENSIVE file that will suck your FPS, so don't include it unless you have a very high-end machine. If you include it and your FPS is too low, this is the first file you should delete!!

cap3.jpg


After copying them into the directory, repeat STEP 2.


STEP 4

Time for the GlobalAmbientPOM/AF mod. This one is very important!

Copy the .pak file into the same directory you just placed the other .pak files in. Now delete the ShaderCache.pak file and then go into ....Documents/MyGames/Crysis and delete the Shaders folder. This will cause the shaders to recompile.

cap4.jpg


Now repeat STEP 2 again. *Note* When you load up a level this time, it will be all blank and weird for a bit while the shaders reload, so don't freak out.


STEP 5

This is optional, but I highly recommend it. The Tactical Expansion mod adds more realistic gun handling, hit damage (no more bullet-soaking NPC's), and a lot of extra weapons and attachments. It also increases AI awareness and accuracy. You will need to start your new game on "DELTA" difficulty to utilize the mod. The only thing I don't care for is the weapon sounds, but I'm so happy with the improvement that I can look past it.

This one is simple - - just run the installer.

To run the mod you will need to create a shortcut to the Crysis.exe in the ...Crysis/Bin32 folder (right click and then "Send To" , then "Desktop (create shortcut)" ).

Right-click the newly added shortcut on your desktop and add -MOD Tactical-Expansion to the end of the target line.

cap5.jpg


Launch your game from this shortcut. If it loads properly, you'll see "Tactical Expansion Mod" in the right-hand corner of the Crysis Menu screen. DO NOT LOAD BY CLICKING THE MOD FOLDER IN THE CRYSIS MENU....IT WILL NOT LOAD CORRECTLY. You must use your custom shortcut.


STEP 6

Install the CUDAAT ToD mod. It is important to install this last, so the other mods don't override the settings (some of them will, and then it won't work).

Easy....just run the installer.

One more last little modification to get rid of that AWFUL Crysis hit-indicator sound.

Go into your ...Crysis/ directory and open the "autoexec.cfg" file in notepad. Add the line I have highlighted to it and save the file.

cap6.jpg


For those of you unfamiliar with the autoexec.cfg file, it is just a script that runs before you load a level in the game (console commands). You can modify any of these values to suit your preference. Google is your friend...I'm not going to go through what they all do. ;)

One last note: For best framerates, turn the Crysis Menu setting for AA OFF. The custom autoexec.cfg file runs a console command to use EdgeAA 2x. This generally looks good and runs much, much better than the AA used in the Crysis Menu. If you decide to use the menu AA, it will override the console command.
 
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dagamer34

Platinum Member
Aug 15, 2005
2,591
0
71
The problem I have with a lot of mods (actually games in general) is real life doesn't have nearly that many specular highlights. I mean, tree bark is not supposed to have areas so white that it looks like a camera flash went off! Easiest way to tell a game from real life IMHO.
 

Stringjam

Golden Member
Jun 30, 2011
1,871
33
91
The problem I have with a lot of mods (actually games in general) is real life doesn't have nearly that many specular highlights. I mean, tree bark is not supposed to have areas so white that it looks like a camera flash went off! Easiest way to tell a game from real life IMHO.


Realism is overrated, IMO. Dramatic lighting / post-processing exists in games for the same reason it exists in film - to create an artistic environment, not a realistic one.
 

tommo123

Platinum Member
Sep 25, 2005
2,617
48
91
thanks for this. downloading and will try on xmas day. killing north koreans and aliens on xmas day. as jesus intended :D