Hdr for M&b (no joke !)

[StudentCoder]

EDIT: per my suggestion, StudentCoder has created a new thread in the Mod Discussion forum:
http://forums.taleworlds.com/index.php/topic,11077.0.html
If you want to discuss his tool, please do so there.  He is no longer asking for a license in trade, so no flaming.

Ok guys dont get wet right now, but that's it !

from now it will be possible to play m&b with hdr !

now lets start talking :

i got this nice little shader thats could add a hdr(2.0+ shader) effect to mount and blade. I don't own my one copy and also there is themida and whatever so i could not integrate it fully in the game. The way is around the directx so that it acts lke a trojan atm, but only for m&b not for the whole system.

this way there are several problems with it :
- the hud also takes the effekt
- on worldmap there is for some reason no effect at all, if there is no text in the left corner
- if you speak to a person the effect is gone as long as you watch them
- the performance hit is huge right now

but all that could be removed or reduced(fps hit) when it is integrated in the code !

now i got an offer :

- i would give the code of it to the devs for getting a key. I know this game since 6 month and won't ever buy, so no problem or loss for you.
- if you dont want, i will make it available to the community without(!) sourcecode only and the effect will still have the problems mentioned, cause its no way to get them out without the sourcecode.

this is no beg or such thing at all, its a simple offer. I promise nobody would be embarressed if i get a key for giving these effect to you

now i leave you alone with these screenshots. Note : the brightness of the effect can be set in any way somebody choose ! So if its to bright for you, it can be set down or brighter, however you want it.

first one without hdr, next 4 with hdr(you'll see the difference )

bye.

 

[thesneakster]

Well..... ummm... considering you don't have a key, that's good, i guess. but does anyone think that it's a little toooo bright.

Also, a key is only $16, go buy one, their pretty dam cheap.

 

[HHUK]

HDR is a good technology but alot of cards can't handle it properly, especially the way some people take FPS hits on this game.

In the screenshots they do look too bright, I know the light could be tweaked but it would take some amount of tweaking to get a perfect realistic balance. The glow on it makes it oblivion-esque though.

 

[StudentCoder]

the brightness could be set by a value in the options ini to nearly everything you prefer. i will make a screenshot with some lower hdr(i like it bright  )

 

[StudentCoder]

ok 4 different pics of nearly the same area to compare :

 

[thesneakster]

Yeah, the new ones' look pretty good.

As for your offer to Armagan, the best way to get to him would be to e-mail him

He try's to check the forums as much as possible, but he will probably pass this off as another suggestion to put in 'kool new l337 grafics' by looking at the title.

 

[Cataphract]

I dont understand the point in that, sure it looks nice but it doesnt look real, i mean from what i see every surface seems to "emit" some magic light instead of actually getting hit by the suns light, outdoors theres no other light than the sun during the day, whats the point in using a so called shader when materials most materials dont even reflect that much light. Im sure your intentions are good but those shots are just too funny, reminds me of the oblivion hdr, peoples heads turn to magic lightbulbs. 

 

[jeansberg]

This just sounds like a bad scam in order to get a free key.

 

[Cymro]

My friend tells me that these screenshots are just normal with the contrast turned up. He even turned the contrast down, and lo and behold, he got the normal pictures.

Ban this tramp before he gets his free CD key. Because remember, turning the contrast up doesn't make it a new, exciting technology.

Buy the CD key. Or is $16 too much for a cheapskate like you?

 

[StudentCoder]

omg this is NOT a beg for a beg, its an offer.

i spend time doing this...

>> Buy the CD key. Or is $16 too much for a cheapskate like you?

ever tried living with around 50$(150$-90$ for room-80$ each 6 month for study) each month ? Do that, than you know. I dont bought any game in the last 3 years, nor did i played cracked ones(yes you read right, i'm NOT a gamer, i'm a programmer). my hardware is worth about 200$ buyed over the last years. So dont come to me with money ok ?

>> My friend tells me that these screenshots are just normal with the brightness turned up. He even turned the brightness down, and lo and behold, he got the normal pictures

yeah of course, and im santa claus. just look right at it :

why is black still black and no grey ? why does only bright stuff get even brighter ? i will bring you a pic with only brightness set up and one with hdr to compare. If you then dont see it, go get glasses.

 

[Cymro]

I'm sure armagan could just find the code, online, himself. plus, you probably don't even know what he made this game in!

Plus, if you're not a gamer, you shouldn't need this game, hence you shouldn't need to scab games off people. Get a better job, at a better company: you'll get more money = games.

I'm sure weekly shopping costs more than $16!

 

[StudentCoder]

>> I'm sure armagan could just find the code, online, himself. plus, you probably don't even know what he made this game in!

maybe, thats why im here : to find out if he wants it or not

>> Plus, if you're a programmer, you shouldn't need to scab games off people. Get a better job, at a better company: you'll get more money = games.

better read what a write, im in study with a job getting me around 150$ a month, so i can live with it, ok ? Go away with your money discussions. If you have money ok, got out to some women to have fun. I'll have to stuck on this budget next 2 years. Money discussion DONE !

now the pics :

you said with contrasts up it looks like my ? look what higher contrast does :

another one with yust turn brightness up :

and one with higher saturations,too :

so if one of them look like hdr to you, plz tell me which, so everyone can have a hdr without loss of fps by only changing driver options.

 

[Cymro]

Once again,
On the first one, you haven't cahnged contrast, you've just changed richness.

 

[StudentCoder]

i changed contrast in irfanview.

if i change contrast in driver it looks quite similar.

if you got another method for it plz tell me how and present a picture.

 

[Cymro]

The only "method" I have is turning the monitor contrast up. And you can't get screenshots of that.

 

[StudentCoder]

cant do that at all(its allready max).

also this is not what the fx file does :

first its checks the average light of the screen,
then makes the screen even darker
and then lightens up the parts that have a bright color, by an amount calculated from the avg light.

thats why dark colors even get darker and bright colors get these "glow"-white on them.(you noticed the armor and helmet of the arena screenshot ?)

in fact all is more faded into white rather then turn only the rgb values higher.

of course it cannot be compared to real hdr maybe from lost coast or oblivion ! i'm not as perfect as them.
Also it is after effect and not effected by realtime light/lightshaders or something AT ALL.

its an afterrendering effect, like antialiasing or such stuff. Just like if you try to edit a screenshot in photoshop, but in realtime !

if you don't like it, ok, but plz stop thinking i'm here to fake it. As i sayd : if its not wanted official, i will post a DL for the (buggy) trojan dx method.

edit : i overread this before :

'm sure armagan could just find the code, online, himself

how can he find a code online i did myself ? afaik i don't think there are any free hdreffects online somewhere which you simply can include.

 

[Yoshiboy]

this is a load of balls, what the hell is HDR anyway, all it looks like to me that it makes the whole screen go brigther and with more contrast, my monitor can do that, well done. If i'm perfectly honest, out of all the pics you posted i like the standard screenshots best, they look alot better.

Its all a scam, if you want a key then buy one. This is no place for dodgy trades over the internet.

No one is going to believe you, or listen to you. Now go home and do something useful.

It also takes around no photoshop skills to do exactly what you did. You have failed at getting a key.

 

[Cirunz]

It seems to be a HDR indeed, as someone said it is similar to the Oblivion HDR, the problem it's only that like the bump mapping not all the HDR equals: for a perfect result you have to work on the HDR parameter as on the materials and textures. At date the only HDR I saw that is really good looking and realistic is the Valve's one.

 

[Dropzone]

>> My friend tells me that these screenshots are just normal with the brightness turned up. He even turned the brightness down, and lo and behold, he got the normal pictures

yeah of course, and im santa claus. just look right at it :

why is black still black and no grey ? why does only bright stuff get even brighter ? i will bring you a pic with only brightness set up and one with hdr to compare. If you then dont see it, go get glasses.

It certainly is possible to get that effect just by editing a screenshot - see here:



Bottom right window is the bright screenshot you posted; top left window is the normal screenshot you posted, edited by me (you can see the effect I used in the window at the bottom left - it's a "levels" effect). I'm not necessarily saying that's what you did, just that it's a possibility.

 

[StudentCoder]

>> It certainly is possible to get that effect just by editing a screenshot - see here:

of course it is 
if that would not be possible with a screenshot, i would not be possible in realtime 

...
...
...
i asked to get some reward for what i've done, but in fact there are 2 possibilities :

really no one here wants it
or
everyone says its crap cause i want something for it

its the same as the game m&b itself : you dont say "This is no place for dodgy trades over the internet Armagan, Now go home and do something useful."

you pay the price, many did. I did work and ask if Armagan will b... no not buy, he dont looses money, also no trade.

i offer something just to get some respect for it or something, just to say : wow i have done some stuff and finally earned something(even if i cannot use it).

now, you all dont believe me : here is your chance :

the shader without sourcecode for download. Yes for real, i do it. Just to kick all the scam-cryers in their ass !

download : http://rapidshare.de/files/18984876/Mount_Blade_hdr.rar.html

how to use :

- unpack both files in your m&b directory right near the m&b exe
- start m&b exe, the shader is automatically loaded
- press "h" the toogle the hdr effect
- be prepared that the game will crash on exit or alt+tab, but thats not really a problem i think.

- to uninstall, simply delete the 2 files.

to make the hdr effect brighter or darker : open fakehdr.fx(the name is, because its 8bit and hdr is 16/24bit) with any editor.
change the line
"static const float HDRScale = 0.000;"
to maybe
static const float HDRScale = 5.000;
to get it darker and
static const float HDRScale = -3.000;
to get it brighter.

thats all. have fun, and may all unbelievers tell their sorry here