Open beta for PBR shaders

The development on the PBR (physically based rendering) shaders has now reached a state where it is close to finished, so we can now enter a beta-testing phase. The shaders should look quite good on maps from the map generator. All other maps should work as well, but your mileage may vary. You can get a glimpse of how earlier iterations of the shader looked in the screenshot of the week thread, but they are a bit outdated already.
The aim of this is to gather new comparison screenshots for the promotion of the release, to get feedback and to hopefully inspire people to help with the remaining units that have issues with the new shaders due to their textures.

As this is a beta-test you will have to manually install the file. For this you first have to download the file and rename kyros.zip into kyros.nxt. Then, to use the new shaders in the game you have to place the file in C:\ProgramData\FAForever\gamedata, to also use them in replays you have to also place it in C:\ProgramData\FAForever\replaydata\gamedata.

The PBR shaders will only be enabled on high graphics fidelity. The previously used shader got moved to medium fidelity. To make quick comparisons you can switch the fidelity by using the console command graphics_Fidelity 2 and graphics_Fidelity 1 for high and medium fidelity, respectively. You can use up arrow to recall previous commands on the console to make switching even easier.

Please post your feedback and screenshots in this thread.

Download disabled while we fix the issue with the latest patch

How do you rename kyros.zip into kyros.nxt? It seems like I'd need a separate software to change the file extension. Do you mean extracting the file and then renaming the folder?

@zeldafanboy go to the file explorer options and under the view tab, disable the checkbox that says hide extensions of known file types. After that, you should be able to change the extension, hopefully, by renaming the file.

@phong

Thanks so much, worked perfectly.

Hello and many, many thanks for all your work Is there a desync with other players when using the shader? or can the shader be used permanently?

ive tried adding the shader, the structure gets a bit darker. is it working properly? https://i.imgur.com/wX4dsNR.jpeg https://i.imgur.com/bjFOkRJ.jpeg

Great job

The textures of the factions are very different. Almost everything on the UEF is made of light metal, but the Cybrans only have a few light parts.
I tried to reduce effect for UEF and add for Cybran. back to default Sera (like light sera more that dark)

(open archive, mesh.fx file) functions
PBR_UEF
call PBR_PS
to
float4 color = PBR_PS(vertex, albedo.rgb, metallic, roughness, normal, hiDefShadows, .036, ao);

PBR_Cybran
call PBR_PS
to
float4 color =PBR_PS(vertex, albedo.rgb, metallic, roughness, normal, hiDefShadows, .05);

PBR_Seraphim
call PBR_PS
to
float metallic = 0.7;
float3 color = PBR_PS(vertex, albedo.rgb, metallic, roughness, normal, hiDefShadows, 0.2).rgb;

I didn't notice any difference. However my FAF data path isn't C:\ProgramData\FAForever so I installed it in the respective data folder. Also I am testing this in coop mode.

Too lazy to take before and after screenshots, but I will say that Aeon liquid metal build animation as well as all Seraphim chrome on units looks very good.

UEF and Cybran look slightly better, Cybran is more black and less gray, but otherwise not too different

Thanks for your feedback!

@saver said in Open beta for PBR shaders:

Hello and many, many thanks for all your work Is there a desync with other players when using the shader? or can the shader be used permanently?

No, using the shader will not cause desyncs. I am not sure what you mean with permanently. You can use the shader in actual multiplayer games. Once we have officially integrated the shader you should delete this file, because then it is not needed anymore and will override any future updates to the shader.

@meneerdewolf said in Open beta for PBR shaders:

ive tried adding the shader, the structure gets a bit darker. is it working properly? https://i.imgur.com/wX4dsNR.jpeg https://i.imgur.com/bjFOkRJ.jpeg

I can't be 100% sure from that screenshot alone, but I think it looks like it is working

@robotcat said in Open beta for PBR shaders:

The textures of the factions are very different. Almost everything on the UEF is made of light metal, but the Cybrans only have a few light parts.
I tried to reduce effect for UEF and add for Cybran. back to default Sera (like light sera more that dark)

Changing the specular value is not the preferred way to tweak the shaders. Can you make screenshots where you showcase what you don't like? Please mention the mapname if it is not evident from your screenshots.

@zqh9843 said in Open beta for PBR shaders:

I didn't notice any difference. However my FAF data path isn't C:\ProgramData\FAForever so I installed it in the respective data folder. Also I am testing this in coop mode.

Having a non-standard path shouldn't be an issue. You can try deleting the shader cache to force a reload of the shader. The shader cache is a directory named "cache" that is located where your game.prefs file is.

@zeldafanboy said in Open beta for PBR shaders:

Too lazy to take before and after screenshots, but I will say that Aeon liquid metal build animation as well as all Seraphim chrome on units looks very good.
UEF and Cybran look slightly better, Cybran is more black and less gray, but otherwise not too different

Thank you! Yes, there will not always be a night-and-day difference, that is correct.

the idea is very simple. a compromise is needed between the reliability of materials and UI. UEF has a lot of reflective elements, so they are very "bright". Cybrans have very little, so they are very "dark". generally.

What do you mean with the reliability of materials and ui?

plausibility of lighting depending on the type of material. User interface experience. in "reality" cybran can be really darker. but it is more important that it is convenient for the player

I think he means readability?

Look, I don't want to sound rude, but if you don't manage to coherently explain what is bothering you, then I can't really have a meaningful discussion with you.

I have an unexpected bug that completely debilitates the Aeon. The Aeon commander won't even warp in properly to begin a match. The game will select the commander but it's invisible, unusable, and the warp animation does not play. (also the build UI shows tech as if the commander is Tech 3).

I used the cheat menu to test different units and it seems factories work fine, but all ground unit animations for Aeon are broken and just T-pose slide around. Additionally, all weapons will not fire for the Aeon, even air units. Furthermore, the Aeon personal shields on obsidians, ACU, and sACU appear to have a texture bug that makes them shimmer green.

I also tested the other 3 factions and nothing seems broken. All bugs appear to be confined to Aeon. All testing was done in map-gen sandbox matches.

I used the command mentioned above to switch back and forth between the beta shaders and the default settings to see if that was somehow causing the bug, and it made no difference. The only solution I found was removal of the "kyros.nxt" file from the game data.

I hope any of this information is helpful for identifying this bug.

Could you share the log of the game where it happens?

after last client update this Desync
warning: Error running lua script: ...rever\gamedata\lua.nx2\lua\sim\scenarioutilities.lua(423): attempt to call method `PlayCommanderWarpInEffect' (a nil value)
warning: Checksum for beat 50 mismatched:
warning: Desync at beat 54
if Aeon in match