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Active: 809 users

Hybrid Settings 3.0 - LOTV Edition

Forum Index > SC2 General
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Existor
Profile Joined July 2010
Russian Federation4295 Posts
Last Edited: 2016-02-07 17:48:13
November 14 2015 16:14 GMT
#1
[image loading]


Hello, SC2 and TL.net community! More than 1.5 years ago Hybrid Settings 2.0 was developed by JaKaTaK and me. What is so unique in these settings? They are different from official ingame settings presets, and they took a place between Low and Medium. In starcraft 2 you may notice huge difference between Low and Medium settings - shaders, tons of effects, etc.

Hybrid Settings 3.0 are exactly same as previous one. They are working perfectly on Legacy of the Void expansion. So why I created this thread? First of all I want to provide some information on specific graphic issues that appeared in LOTV, like as new creep design. Second reason is inability to edit previous thread (it is impossible to edit such old posts on TL.net). Third reason, which is the most interesting in my opinion - I decided to merge Hybrid Settings 2.0 with Lite into one thread. And fourth reason - I managed to fix red water issue. Right now Hybrid Settings contains less lines to add to variables and more manual configuration through ingame options.

Main goals of this thread is to simplify installation process of Hybrid Settings (less text, easier to read) as well as bring some other customization to your ingame graphic. Basically, I want to compilate most popular graphic customization threads into one.




[image loading]

  1. Features

  2. Hybrid Settings

  3. Brighter models on low settings

  4. Zerg creep: creep holes, spread animation

  5. Remove 3D shadows from Medium / High / Ultra / Extreme settings

  6. How to uninstall Hybrid Settings

  7. Known issues





[image loading]


Brightness balance

Low settings making game darker and a bit more color saturated. Medium and higher settings solve this problem by adding better lighting, entire brightness, contrast and colors become more easy for eyes, but Medium settings also added shiny effect, which isn't beloved by many players so they still are staying at Low settings, even today in 2014.

VFX balance

On low settings you may notice, that you can not understand what your or enemy Nexus is doing - warping Mothership Core or producing Probes.You also can't see which units are in warping process, because of low models. Force Fields sometimes are very hard to see on low settings, and they become clearly visible, brighter and "sharper" only on medium settings. Hybrid Settings solving these issues, allowing you to have everything in one settings preset.

Better clarity, better look

Hybrid Settings taking the best from both Low and Medium settings. For example on Low settings you can not set Models to High, meaning that you will never see warping units or nice deaths from acid or flame. On Medium settings you can't turn off creep giggling-wiggling waterlike animation, you can turn it off only on Low... and with Hybrid Settings.

No more 3D shadows

Yes, Hybrid Settings allow you to turn off shadows completely. It means that game becomes even more clear and easy to read. And we paid attention to those who prefer to play with low (basic) shadows, i.e. blob-shadows (black blob under air and ground units).

Back to top




[image loading]

  • Perfomance varies depending on what Graphic Settings level you chose.

  • Noticeable difference from Low (dark) and Medium (bright, shiny) settings.

  • Ingame brightness is normalized across all maps. No more very dark or very bright maps.

  • Visible unit outlines when they're behind buildings. This option is not available for Low shaders users.

  • Creep spreads with simplified animation (like on Low). No giggling-wiggling animation on creep.

  • Creep edges and holes are smooth (like on "Terrain: Medium").

  • Improved look of Force Fields (same as on Medium or higher).


Comparison

[image loading]


Hybrid Settings video demonstration in Heart of the Swarm

+ Show Spoiler +








How to install

  1. Set Graphic Settings to Low.

  2. Set Shaders to Medium.

  3. Set Textures - as you want.
    Recommended - Medium (best balance between blurry and sharp textures).

  4. Set Models - as you want.
    Recommended - High (models of warping units, Force Fields, Pylon radiuses are clearly visible)

  5. Set Effects - as you want.
    Recommended - Medium (visible difference between M.Core and Probe production on Nexus

  6. Set Terrain - as you want.
    Differences:
    • Terrain: LOW - spreading animation is blocky and is simplified, creep holes are slightly smaller.
    • Terrain: MEDIUM - spreading animation is smooth, creep holes are slightly larger.
    • Terrain: HIGH / ULTRA - same as medium + creep covers ground decals


  7. Accept saved settings. Do not restart the game. Just close it.

  8. Find your variables.txt, located here / Documents / StarCraft II / ..

  9. Copypaste the following code to the end of your original variables.txt:

    GraphicsOptionShadowQuality=0
    lighting=0
    shadowmapsize=1


  10. WARNING. Blob-shadows will dissapear, if you modify options. Any changes in Options (sound, hotkeys, game settings) will remove your blob-shadows. Solution is simple - don't touch Options (even don't press OK). If you accidentally changed something, just add again code above.


Back to top




[image loading]


  • In patch 3.1.0 creep graphic on low settings was updated, due to that I removed previous information about creep customization in this post. Instead, I will provide some screenshots with that new creep graphic on Terrain: LOW.

  • Creep holes are smaller than on Terrain: Medium or higher.

  • Creep spread animation is "block'y", i.e. it spreads by squares instead of smoothly filling ground.

[image loading]

Hybrid Settings 3.0 creep with "Terrain: Low" on Central Protocol


Back to top




[image loading]

  • Similar to standard Low graphic settings in terms of perfomance.

  • Brighter models of ingame objects including buildings, units and map doodads.
    Surface and landscape brightness is same as on standard low settings.

  • High models are unlocked (you can't use High models on Low by default). Thanks to that pylon radiuses and models of warping units are clearly visible.

  • No improved look of Force Fields

Comparison

[image loading]

Image gallery with Terran, Zerg and Protoss bases


How to install

  1. In game settings set all your Graphic Settings to Low.

  2. Set Textures - as you want. Recommended - Medium (best balance between blurry and sharp textures, between good perfomance and low amount of video memory required..

  3. Close the StarCraft 2 game

  4. Find your variables.txt, located here / Documents / StarCraft II / ..

  5. Copypaste the following code to the end of your original variables.txt:

    lighting=0
    GraphicsOptionModelQuality=1
    lowqualitymodels=0
    uselowqualitymodel=0
    useLowqualitymodels=0


Back to top




[image loading]

  • Removes 3D shadows. Instead, you can use blob-shadows on Medium, High, Ultra and Extreme settings. It means that you may have all the nice graphic effects while turning off shadows. This is not possible through ingame options.

[image loading]

Screenshots (taken on Ultra settings)


How to install

  1. In game settings set all your Graphic Settings and Textures as you want.

  2. Close the StarCraft 2 game.

  3. Find your variables.txt, located here / Documents / StarCraft II / ..

  4. Copypaste the following code to the end of your original variables.txt:

    GraphicsOptionShadowQuality=0
    shadowmapsize=1


  5. WARNING. Blob-shadows will dissapear, if you modify options. Any changes in Options (sound, hotkeys, game settings) will remove your blob-shadows. Solution is simple - don't touch Options (even don't press OK). If you accidentally changed something, just add again code above.


Back to top




[image loading]

  1. Close the StarCraft 2 game.

  2. Find your variables.txt, located here / Documents / StarCraft II / ..

  3. Find lighting=0 and delete that line. Save changes and close variables.txt

  4. In game settings set all your Graphic Settings and Textures as you want.


Back to top




[image loading]

  • Some users pay experience lags during games. Try to run Unit Preloader. Open ingame Arcade tab and search for Unit Tester.

  • If you have lag, purple terrain/models and FPS drops, try to clear cache from ProgramData / BlizzardEntertainment / StarCraft II (this folder might be hidden, google how to show hidden folders).

  • If you have lag, purple terrain/models and FPS drops, try to update your video drivers to the latest ones.

  • If you have lag, purple terrain/models and FPS drops, try to Scan and Repair your game. You can find this option in dropdown Options menu in the Battle.Net launcher.

  • If you still have issues, try to post comment here in thread and we'll investigate your problem together.


Back to top
NanashiStarCraft
Profile Joined October 2011
Germany48 Posts
Last Edited: 2015-11-14 17:12:50
November 14 2015 17:09 GMT
#2
Awesome! Thank you very much <3
Magnifico
Profile Joined March 2013
1958 Posts
November 14 2015 17:29 GMT
#3
Niiice. I'll use the medium hybrid.
Nabukadnezar
Profile Joined March 2013
Romania30 Posts
Last Edited: 2015-11-14 17:39:37
November 14 2015 17:39 GMT
#4
Existor, I would just like to say that I love you.
kuan888
Profile Joined March 2011
Canada305 Posts
November 14 2015 18:16 GMT
#5
Thank you for that sir !!
What doesn't kill us makes us stronger. -Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche ||| Acer.Scarlett <3
ZeromuS
Profile Blog Joined October 2010
Canada13389 Posts
November 14 2015 19:32 GMT
#6
ty for making a new thread forgot to set this up on the latest install :D
StrategyRTS forever | @ZeromuS_plays | www.twitch.tv/Zeromus_
sc2chronic
Profile Joined May 2012
United States777 Posts
November 14 2015 20:25 GMT
#7
Thank you for this!
terrible, terrible, damage
[PkF] Wire
Profile Joined March 2013
France24194 Posts
November 14 2015 20:27 GMT
#8
Nice !!!
ValidParties
Profile Joined November 2015
12 Posts
November 14 2015 23:12 GMT
#9
Low Hybrid Settings Has:

lighting=0
GraphicsOptionModelQuality=2
lowqualitymodels=0
uselowqualitymodel=0


All the other Hybrid Settings have GraphicsOptionModelQuality=1

I tried GraphicOptionModelQuality=2, but there was no difference. Changing it to 1 seemed to work.
Existor
Profile Joined July 2010
Russian Federation4295 Posts
November 15 2015 00:03 GMT
#10
On November 15 2015 08:12 ValidParties wrote:
Low Hybrid Settings Has:

Show nested quote +
lighting=0
GraphicsOptionModelQuality=2
lowqualitymodels=0
uselowqualitymodel=0


All the other Hybrid Settings have GraphicsOptionModelQuality=1

I tried GraphicOptionModelQuality=2, but there was no difference. Changing it to 1 seemed to work.

Typo. Will fix now. Thanks
Existor
Profile Joined July 2010
Russian Federation4295 Posts
November 15 2015 10:50 GMT
#11
Added navigation and content paragraph with anchors. Now it's a lot easier to navigate through whole 1st post.
reapsen
Profile Blog Joined May 2010
Germany559 Posts
November 15 2015 11:21 GMT
#12
How do i "uninstall" these settings? Simply by deleting the variables.txt?
Existor
Profile Joined July 2010
Russian Federation4295 Posts
November 15 2015 11:24 GMT
#13
On November 15 2015 20:21 reapsen wrote:
How do i "uninstall" these settings? Simply by deleting the variables.txt?

Remove lighting=0 from variables.txt and set ingame settings as you want. No need to delete variables.txt
MilExo
Profile Joined September 2011
South Africa139 Posts
November 15 2015 11:27 GMT
#14
My game crashes on start-up (Medium Hybrid settings) with the following error from the logs:

<Set.CurrentGameEvent> Shaders compiled due to missing shader
<Set.CurrentGameEvent> Mismatch in texture reduction DB

Any ideas?
Existor
Profile Joined July 2010
Russian Federation4295 Posts
November 15 2015 11:31 GMT
#15
On November 15 2015 20:27 MilExo wrote:
My game crashes on start-up (Medium Hybrid settings) with the following error from the logs:

<Set.CurrentGameEvent> Shaders compiled due to missing shader
<Set.CurrentGameEvent> Mismatch in texture reduction DB

Any ideas?

Strange. Thats something new. Have you tried to set everything to standard Medium and then add lighting=0 to variables.txt?
MilExo
Profile Joined September 2011
South Africa139 Posts
November 15 2015 12:28 GMT
#16
On November 15 2015 20:31 Existor wrote:
Show nested quote +
On November 15 2015 20:27 MilExo wrote:
My game crashes on start-up (Medium Hybrid settings) with the following error from the logs:

<Set.CurrentGameEvent> Shaders compiled due to missing shader
<Set.CurrentGameEvent> Mismatch in texture reduction DB

Any ideas?

Strange. Thats something new. Have you tried to set everything to standard Medium and then add lighting=0 to variables.txt?


That also immediately crashes the game on start-up.
Existor
Profile Joined July 2010
Russian Federation4295 Posts
November 15 2015 12:35 GMT
#17
On November 15 2015 21:28 MilExo wrote:
Show nested quote +
On November 15 2015 20:31 Existor wrote:
On November 15 2015 20:27 MilExo wrote:
My game crashes on start-up (Medium Hybrid settings) with the following error from the logs:

<Set.CurrentGameEvent> Shaders compiled due to missing shader
<Set.CurrentGameEvent> Mismatch in texture reduction DB

Any ideas?

Strange. Thats something new. Have you tried to set everything to standard Medium and then add lighting=0 to variables.txt?


That also immediately crashes the game on start-up.

Some questions:

1) Have you tried to clear cache?

2) Have you tried to scan & repair?

3) Whats your video card / driver? Maybe that's a specific issue with specific video cards, don't know. More information would be good
MilExo
Profile Joined September 2011
South Africa139 Posts
November 15 2015 13:29 GMT
#18
Some questions:

1) Have you tried to clear cache?

Yes

2) Have you tried to scan & repair?

Yes

3) Whats your video card / driver? Maybe that's a specific issue with specific video cards, don't know. More information would be good

GTX 680 running on the latest divers, version 358.91

Definitely seems to be the lighting=0 flag which is causing it. I have tried adding in all the commands except that one and the game runs fine. With the lighting=0 option, the game get to the loading screen and crashes.

Would be awesome to have my hybrid settings again!!
Existor
Profile Joined July 2010
Russian Federation4295 Posts
November 15 2015 13:44 GMT
#19
GTX 680 running on the latest divers, version 358.91

Definitely seems to be the lighting=0 flag which is causing it. I have tried adding in all the commands except that one and the game runs fine. With the lighting=0 option, the game get to the loading screen and crashes.

Very strange, because I have GTX660 and it works perfectly fine for me.

Another question. Are you using Mac or Windows?

Would be awesome to have my hybrid settings again!!

lighting=0 parameter is the core of Hybrid Settings, without that parameter you can try some other presets (i.e. no3Dshadows, turn on high models on low, or customize creep a bit)
MilExo
Profile Joined September 2011
South Africa139 Posts
November 15 2015 14:33 GMT
#20
Running on Windows 10 Pro with the latest updates installed. While my PC is fine to run everything on Extreme, I love the Hybrid settings because of the increased clarity that it gives in the game. Removing the lighting effects definitely makes a big difference. If only I knew what the mismatch in texture reduction DB means or how to recreate that (already tried uninstalling and redownloading the game)
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