EB2 Graphic Enhancement mod

[alin]

Instalation and Usage
----------------------------------------------
Simply copy the contents of the archive in the M2:TW folder.

The enhancements are activated from the start howewer they can be deactivated or activated using Shift + F12 keys.
The HDR effect is activated/deactivated using the Shift + F9 keys.

To disable or tune the settings first read the ENBSeries README and modify the enbseries.ini.

To uninstall the application simply delete the following file from the M2TW folder:
d3d9.dll

Files that are redundant afterwards:
effect.txt
enbpalette.bmp
enbseries.ini
Readme.txt

Enjoy!

[Ganossa]

hope I can do this soon on EB2!

[yuezhi]

Nope sorry this mod won't give your romans LS

[philiposV]

why couldn't we get an armour upgrade to LS? if we change history couldent we implement an armour reform earlier?

[Sint]

why couldn't we get an armour upgrade to LS? if we change history couldent we implement an armour reform earlier?

Well :
1.It wasn't better so an upgrade would be pointless.
2.It was worse
3.Read the FAQ:
Q: Will there be Lorica Segmentata in EB2?
A: Lorica Segmentata was not widely used within the games time frame. Even though it could be argued that it was used to a minimal extent at the very end of the time frame the team has decided not to include any Lorica Segmentata in the official EB2 releases.

[clone]

in order for this to work does the ingame bloom option needs to be disabled?

[alin]

It doesn't matter, however it probably looks better w/ the ingame one disabled.

[sgz]

Hmm. Made almost no difference to the graphics and slowed down my speedy computer to a crawl. Not sure this mod adds anything in its current form. Best I could say is having removed the offending files the game runs like a Ferrari again.

[Yerevan]

It doesn't matter, however it probably looks better w/ the ingame one disabled.

It does. Reflection and in bloom makes the game looks awfull on my computer. I prefer to play without even if it makes the game looks cartoonish. At least colors are nicer.

[alin]

Hmm. Made almost no difference to the graphics and slowed down my speedy computer to a crawl. Not sure this mod adds anything in its current form. Best I could say is having removed the offending files the game runs like a Ferrari again.

I'll leave it to you to notice which is which:








Sadly performance issues however cannot fixed.

It does. Reflection and in bloom makes the game looks awfull on my computer. I prefer to play without even if it makes the game looks cartoonish. At least colors are nicer.

I see, probably some graphics compatibility issues.

[Yerevan]

The new vegetation alone already makes the game looks beautiful.

Did you use any graphic enhancement for the video iof the battle of the Nile I saw on the org sneak peeks ?

[alin]

The new vegetation alone already makes the game looks beautiful.

Did you use any graphic enhancement for the video iof the battle of the Nile I saw on the org sneak peeks ?

And you haven't seen all.

Yes, during the entire movie.

[Yerevan]

If you mention this extremely dense vegetation on the sweboz banner it is indeed very impressive ;-)

This movie of the battle of the Nile is 10 time better than the one made for R2's promotion.

[Kull]

This movie of the battle of the Nile is 10 time better than the one made for R2's promotion.

I've never had much use for custom battles, except as a tool to test out unit stats or settlement upgrades and so forth, but I will just say this. There are times during EB2 custom battles when I just stop and look at the scenery. Or position the camera so I can see the amazing unit graphics in action. Not paying attention to results, but just watching in awe. I was the guy who had the privilege - and I do mean PRIVILEGE - to integrate the new Parthian Cataphracts in game. During the first custom battle test, as I sat there, the first person in all the world to watch those amazing troops sweep into action....well......wow.

But here's the thing. For every one of you there will soon be that first moment as you see each of these units - all 200 of them - do their thing in these amazing landscapes, and you'll have the same reaction.

So even if you aren't normally a custom battle kind of person, give it a shot.

[RubiconDecision]

The enhancement looks great! I used to spend a lot of time retouching the aspects of images to enhance some aspect of them for publications or websites. That was long ago though and my toolset and skills are of lesser importance and relevance today.

Some of us won't be able to use the Enhancement, but it might be as simple as understanding your graphic card settings as some aspect of one or the other might be competing and causing lag.

For others with older machines, then it's important to reduce troop size to something manageable to reduce lag (the most important function) and then again understand the graphics program that came with your card, be that an Nvidia or whatever.

Aesthetics is an unusual aspect of playing any computer game. Some people like really bright colors, others think that makes the soldiers look less realistic. Others want them shiny in their best dress uniforms, others want the realism of grime, dust, blood, etc.

Make sure your video card software drivers are patched up to the latest stable versions too. If you understand what the functions are on your graphics card software, you can really alter the way it looks and get the lag to a manageable level.

For custom battles, a lot of it is top down in order to best micromanage the troops and get the best end results. Others feel that's unfair and attack and don't pause the game, but then with MTW2 the units are diffuse and less focused and therefore less effective. Besides all of that, you can watch a replay of the battle, so then you can watch the animations with less regard for the battle statistics.

There are certain programs that hunt across your software and notify you of patches that are available, but most graphics card software will tell you if you have the latest version or if a new one is available.

[Yerevan]

I've never had much use for custom battles, except as a tool to test out unit stats or settlement upgrades and so forth, but I will just say this. There are times during EB2 custom battles when I just stop and look at the scenery. Or position the camera so I can see the amazing unit graphics in action. Not paying attention to results, but just watching in awe. I was the guy who had the privilege - and I do mean PRIVILEGE - to integrate the new Parthian Cataphracts in game. During the first custom battle test, as I sat there, the first person in all the world to watch those amazing troops sweep into action....well......wow.

But here's the thing. For every one of you there will soon be that first moment as you see each of these units - all 200 of them - do their thing in these amazing landscapes, and you'll have the same reaction.

So even if you aren't normally a custom battle kind of person, give it a shot.

Well, I can't wait to be that no custom battle type of person that makes an exception for EB2 :-)

One more thing about this battle of the Nile video : you changed something to the sprite draw distance ? When I play M2 mods and I zoom out all my units become awfull 2D white/black points !

[alin]

One more thing about this battle of the Nile video : you changed something to the sprite draw distance ? When I play M2 mods and I zoom out all my units become awfull 2D white/black points !

Yes, we changed the sprite distances and it requires more tweaking and fixes in future releases.
However I've not noticed any such visual artifacts both with Eb2 or M2TW.

[Yerevan]

I found the culprit. The graphical option menu wasn't setting the "highest" value for "unit_detail" until I changed it manually in the medieval2.preference.cfg.

Looks like its a common bug.

[Menidas]

I'll leave it to you to notice which is which:

[...]

I have to admit that I wasn't able to see much of a difference in the original post (I blame my glasses), but these pictures clearly show a massive change. Thanks so much for your work on this, I can't wait to see it in action in EB II.

[alin]

I have to admit that I wasn't able to see much of a difference in the original post (I blame my glasses), but these pictures clearly show a massive change. Thanks so much for your work on this, I can't wait to see it in action in EB II.

Indeed, that was the first version of the mod, I've improved it further and that's why you see more noticeable changes.
However those changes are reserved for the first release.

I really hope it'll make the graphics to a quality closer to our days.