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CONTROL - HDR+Ultrawide+DLSS+RT Patch


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About This File

Do not ask for DLSS 3.5 or FSR 3 please.

 

Version 1.5.1 is up. It fixes the hiss/smoke effect on enemies being too bright in HDR.
Version 1.5 is up. It improves the DLSS implementation, improves the quality of shadow and fixes the buggy/noisy ray tracing reflections that are also present in the vanilla game.
Version 1.4 is up. It improves the UI look in HDR and implements the HDR mode that retains the original game look. It improves texture LODs with DLSS. It restores film grain with DLSS and makes it more pronounced. And many other relevant changes.
Version 1.3 is up. It adds a new HDR mode to retain the original hazy look more, keeping it closer to the original artistic vision. It also slightly improves a few other things with the HDR.
Version 1.2.1 is up. It improves the game to screen tonemapping (the highlights were a bit more compressed than they should have been). If you already had the mod installed, make sure to open the "renderer.ini" and change "m_fHDRWhitePaperNits" to 200. Performance is also improved.
Version 1.2 is up. The game is now built with the DLSS 3.1.1 SDK, and uses the new DLSS presets to further increase the quality (and reduce ghosting) (this is NOT frame generation). There are also some minor tonemapping and menus improvements.

This patch adds native HDR and lot more to Control, making it a little bit of a technical remaster. It was achieved by rebuilding the game with modified code and shaders.
This is built on top of my previous Ultrawide fix patch.

Compared to the latest official release version (0.0.344.1879), these are the improvements:

  • Native HDR (gets rid of color banding, greater contrast and brighter highlights, more natural colors).
  • Improved quality of SDR output (10bit->no more color banding, slightly better dynamic range).
  • Upgraded DLSS to 3.1.30 and improved its implementation (it's also now compatible with FSR 2.X injection).
  • Added DLAA support (DLSS at native resolution).
  • Added a new "Max" texture setting to improve the slow texture streaming (min 8GB+ VRAM, 10GB+ are recommended).
  • Added a new setting to use 3x as samples for ray tracing and volumetrics, increasing the quality and reducing noise (this is VERY expensive).
  • Fixed broken ray tracing reflections.
  • Fixed low shadow quality when ray tracing was on.
  • Full UltraWide support: unlock any resolution and aspect ratio, including 32:9+.
  • Some FOV and LOD fixes for UW. Fixed UI issues at non 16:9 aspect ratios (e.g. enemies health bars were displaced).
  • Added a FOV Multiplier config setting `m_fFOVMultiplier` (the game and UI are designed for the default FOV, so only use for accessibility reasons).
  • Add a config to skip the intro video `m_bSkipIntroVideos`.
  • Improved window+borderless+fullscreen management.
  • Fixed the game not launching correctly on non Nvidia non AMD GPUs (e.g. Intel Arc).
  • Restored film grain with DLSS. Tweaked the film grain implementation.
  • Minor crash fixes, bug fixes and features.

How does it work:

  1. Download your version of the patch (Steam, Epic Store, No DRM/GOG).
  2. Copy (with replace) all the files inside the Control install folder.
  3. Open the DX12 version of the game.
  4. You can turn on HDR either from Windows or from the game (on by default).
  5. The game will read the Windows 11 HDR calibration profile (app) and match its tonemapping to your screen capabilities.
    Otherwise see the guide below to calibrate HDR.
  6. Using HGiG is suggested if your TV supports it (monitors usually default to HGiG).
  7. In the game settings, there are multiple HDR settings to tailor the image to your liking, though know that the HDR is already pre-calibrated to roughly match the SDR brightness.

Further details:

  • You can swap between HDR and SDR from the game or Windows at any time. The game automatically changes.
  • Further HDR settings are avaiable in the "renderer.ini" file (after running the game once).
  • config "m_fHDRMaxNitsOverride": If you are incapable of creating an HDR calibration profile (e.g. Windows 10), set this to the nits max nits your screen supports (e.g. ~750 for LG CX).
    The game supports any value there, though if your screen maxes out at only 400 nits, you might want to compare HDR and SDR and play whichever looks best.
  • config "m_fHDRRaisedBlacksCorrection" (also exposed to settings menu): This makes the color correction LUT output black as black (instead of grey, depending on where you are).
  • config "m_fHDRSaturation" (also exposed to settings menu): This artificially generates colors in the Rec.2020 space from the game internal Rec.709 image. Anything that is bright and saturated will shift to colors that don't exist in SDR. This makes the game look more saturated, though it could also make it feel more "HDR". Unreal Engine uses a similar technique.
  • The HDR implementation skips the Reinhard tonemapper the game used in SDR. In my opinion it made the image look overly flat, which was a choice dictated by the limitations of SDR. Removing it allows to take full advantage of HDR, by outputting an image with a much greater level of contrast, and without disadvantages to visibility.
  • If you prefer the original look, enable "HDR Original Look" in the settings menu, which is somewhere in between the SDR tonemapper and my HDR one.
    Disabling the tonemapper in SDR is not the intent of this mod, so it will not be done.
    You can further customize the og look mode by changing the "m_fHDRArtDirectorWhitePoint" config. Set it to a value of 8 to have it as strong as it was in SDR.
  • Note that a very tiny amount of scenes (e.g. the game opening and the furnace), can look a little unbalanced in HDR due to overly strong lights or strong color correction. Use the "HDR Original Look" if this a problem for you.
  • You can set "m_fSDRCustomGamma" to any value > 0 to set a specific gamma, for example if you use a TV instead of a monitor, 2.2 would likely be the best choice.
  • The performance impact from the new code should be within the 1-4% range when running in HDR, and lower running in SDR.
  • HDR is only supported on the DX12 executable.
  • There is no patch for the Microsoft Store version of the game.
  • If for some reasons you need to swap save files between game versions from different stores, you can find the directories here. You might also have to rename the internal save directory, e.g. from `Default-Generic-User` to `Default-Epic-User`.
  • This should work both on the Ultimate Edition and the older standard version that had separate DLCs. The DLC ownership might not be mutually compatible.
  • The save game files are mutually compatible with the official last version fo the game (v0.0.344.1879).
  • PS4 exclusive content is still locked and I will not unlock it. Do not ask please.
  • You can generally change graphics settings at runtime, but don't report problems unless you restart the game.
  • The new UI options miss localization, so they will always show in English.
  • My "Max" texture setting might not be as aggressive as the "Blurry textures fix" mod that was already out there, though it's more safe and stable, performance wise.
    All textures now load immediately, the only exception being a couple of small paintings around the game.
  • I got report that mods like the "Plugin Loader" do not play well with this one. I have contacted the author to hopefully fix the issue.
  • There is no plan to implement DLSS 3 Frame Generation at this time. Please do not ask.

Rare game bug likely not related to this patch:

  • Very rarely, the videos in the background of loading screens seem to get stuck. I haven't been able to reproduce this reliably, but it probably also happens in the the vanilla game.
  • Rarely, after long sessions, if ray tracing GI is enabled, the game renders in black until restarted. This also happens in the vanilla game.
  • Occasionally non ray traced reflections can shimmer. This also happens in the the vanilla game. Doing a fast travel fixes it.
  • 8k resolutuon might not work right (untested).
  • If pre-rendered videos show tearing on RTX 4090 GPUs, disable re-bar.

How to report any potential issues:

  1. Do not start with the assumption that the mod broken, it's been tested a lot. Verify all potential issues from your end first.
  2. Do a fresh install of the latest vanilla game version.
  3. Delete your renderer.ini settings file.
  4. Make sure the issue does NOT happen on the vanilla game. This patch does not aim to fix the bugs of the original game (nor to optimize it), so do not report them please.
  5. Re-apply the latest version of the patch, from the matching store, and override all the files.
  6. If all the above fail, leave a comment on this page.

How does this compare to AutoHDR: AutoHDR is just a post process so it doesn't add any detail. Specifically in Control it makes bright lights and the UI too bright.
How does this compare to SpecialK HDR: SpecialK can increase the rendering buffers depth, thus increasing the amount of color shades the game can output (less banding), but it can't extract any brightness beyond what the SDR tonemapper clamped the game to, so it's mostly still a SDR image with more precision.

Given HDR screenshots can't be seen in browsers, I've uploaded a collection of them. There are SDR .png alongside their HDR .jxr counterpart.
Use the "HDR Image Viewer" app to see them (use this code branch if the app crashes).

Discord community: https://discord.gg/R2Bt3uptw6

Virus Scan

you can Buy me a coffee or PayPal
Thanks: `KoKlusz` `Lilium` `PennyFortnite player420yolo` `Darktalon` `Aemony` `mrtnptrs` and `Alex Battaglia` for the help with testing and feedback.

HDR videos:

more HDR videos here (4K) and here (low bit rate, potentially slightly wrong colors due to the capture).

Control 2022-12-05 19_45_28.png

Control HDR Screenshots.7z

Control_DX12_AQFd0vjSW9.png

DLSS improvements between patch 1.3 and 1.4 with Ultra Performance mode:
image.thumb.png.ed7fe1276377025c7af3cd1c5f3499ce.png


What's New in Version 1.5.1   See changelog

Released

  • Fixes hiss (smoke) effect around enemies being too bright in HDR (it was broken in 1.3).




User Feedback

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Steam version not working it says when i want to continue my game "The saved game contains downloadable content not currently available in this session. Please install 'Foundation' and try again or start a new game without the missing content."  I have the dlc i own the dlc never started the dlc on my save as i have not gotten that far in the game.  Please fix this as im NOT starting over

 

Edit:: Is this for vanilla game only and not ultimate edition?

Edit2:  I used the epic files ( on my steam copy) and it used my old epic saves but will not use steam saves

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Using gog version the savegame directory changes from "%USERPROFILE%\Documents\My Games\Control" to "%LOCALAPPDATA%\Remedy\Control\Default-Generic-User\", the structure and file names change too and need a whole bunch of manual renaming to adapt.

HDR mode displays artifacting i can only describe as fireflies, they are not single pixels but slightly larger white blocks flashing randomly (not present in SDR, rx 7900xt with 23.1.1 drivers).
Edit: The AMD fix does remove this issue entirely.

Those things aside the HDR looks very impressive, miles ahead of AutoHDR, i can also confirm that FSR2 injection appears to work just fine.

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55 minutes ago, Nopileus said:

Using gog version the savegame directory changes from "%USERPROFILE%\Documents\My Games\Control" to "%LOCALAPPDATA%\Remedy\Control\Default-Generic-User\", the structure and file names change too and need a whole bunch of manual renaming to adapt.

HDR mode displays artifacting i can only describe as fireflies, they are not single pixels but slightly larger white blocks flashing randomly (not present in SDR, rx 7900xt with 23.1.1 drivers).

Those things aside the HDR looks very impressive, miles ahead of AutoHDR, i can also confirm that FSR2 injection appears to work just fine.

Hey, can you tell me more about how I can get my gog save file to work with this new mod?

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3 minutes ago, Terepin said:

Unfortunately, this force-enables HDR in Windows regardless if it is enabled in game or not.

I will look into it. hough you can press Win+Alt+B to toggle HDR on Win 11, or just alt tab to the HDR settings menu and change it. The game supports live swapping of HDR and detects changes to the monitor.

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This is fantastic, thanks. Two questions:

1 - On an OLED with the Windows 11 App properly calibrated to have black = 0, in-game would I then want to set Raised Black Correction to 100, or just leave it at the default of 50?

2- Any downisides to using DLSS 2.5.1? I was under the impression that this was one of the games that didn't play nice with that version.

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1 hour ago, TheToiletPaperBandit said:

1 - On an OLED with the Windows 11 App properly calibrated to have black = 0, in-game would I then want to set Raised Black Correction to 100, or just leave it at the default of 50?

I would not set it to 100 but it's personal preference. The release notes have got some information on how it works. A value of 50 already has some correction compared to SDR. 0 is how it looked in SDR.

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there are some minor issues with this mod when replacing DLSS with FSR 2.1 from CyberFSR.

some shaders clip in SDR and the sharpening causes massive overshoot on shiny edges in HDR (I saw 90000 nits at some point).

to fix those edit the nvngx.ini and change the following settings:

AutoExposure=true
HDR=true

 

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I am currently stuck with NPC's in walls I went to the Central Executive fast travel and now I am even stuck there since it is not cleansed and there doesn't seem to be a way out. No way to speak to emily to start Speak with the Enemy because there huge ass blocks blocking the room. Weird. Finished the mission where I try to find Dillan in P9 or whatever and I got Levitation ability but go back to Central Executive and boom it is back to being controlled by the hiss for no reason. Edit Maybe this has something to do with me converting my GOG save files to Epic location and renaming them. I made sure to do so and it loaded fine. Is there a way to change the save type back to GOG? So instead of: %LOCALAPPDATA%\Remedy\Control\Default-Generic-User\ It would be: %USERPROFILE%\Documents\My Games\Control\Saves\ It seems when I applied this mod it made me create a New Save which I found to be in that LocalAppData Remedy folder. Although the problem is, GOG uses a different save format so hopefully there is an option to change it. I doubt launching through GOG would work possibly? I haven't tried that. Nope that still loads the Epic Save location even launching from GOG unfortunately. Hmm not sure what to do now I really do not want to have to start over. 😕

  Alrighty I seem to have fixed it by copying back over savegame-slot-00_global to %LOCALAPPDATA%\Remedy\Control\Default-Generic-User\save-game-slot-00 and when I got to the main menu I had to click "Load Game" there was no Continue for some reason... Cheers, Thanks!! I'll leave this here for anyone that would oddly be having the same issue. This would be the best guide to convert Steam save's to Epic - How to move Save files from Steam to Epic (Control) - Youtube
   

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I have a strange continuous fps decrease on the Ultimate Edition. I have an RTX 4090 + Ryzen 9 5900X + 64 Go DDR4 and playing in 5120x1440 + HDR + DLSS on Windows 11 with the latest NVidia drivers (528.24).

When I start the game, or when I change a "big" display parameter like enabling/disabling DLSS or HDR, it "starts" at 120 fps then decreasing progressively, while slowing down this decrease over the time. I waited something like 2 min at the hub and it went as low as 20 fps.

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  1. After the first death, I kept getting blurry textures even close to the objects (2 first screenshots). The effect disappears if you press ESC and go back into the game. But in a new scene it will happen again. Probably it's called "texture streaming" problem, but per you description it should be fixed. I didn't change any additional settings except HDR and default "Max" graphics.
  2. "Shadow" on uploaded image has "pixelized" on right side (green is good, red is bad).
  3. The portrait on the right in the 3rd screenshot is pixelized until you get close to it. This is the same for many pictures.

Also, mod blocks screenshot using Steam overlay (if it's okay - just add it to description), I just used Nvidia overlay to capture screenshots.

Settings: default maximum, DLSS, HDR, 5120x1440 (rendering 3413x960).
PC: AMD R9 5950X, Nvidia RTX 3070 Ti (driver version - 31.0.15.2824), Windows 10 (22H2)

Feel free to ask if you need any additional information or tests. Thank you for mod!

pixels.jpg

Control Screenshot 2023.02.04 - 01.59.50.41.jxr Control Screenshot 2023.02.04 - 01.59.53.12.jxr Control Screenshot 2023.02.04 - 01.29.15.91.jxr

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43 minutes ago, BoberMod said:
  1. After the first death, I kept getting blurry textures even close to the objects (2 first screenshots). The effect disappears if you press ESC and go back into the game. But in a new scene it will happen again. Probably it's called "texture streaming" problem, but per you description it should be fixed. I didn't change any additional settings except HDR and default "Max" graphics.

Texture streaming is improved but lagged loading can still happen. I don't get it but I have more than 8GB of VRAM and a M.2 Drive.

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16 minutes ago, filoppi said:

Texture streaming is improved but lagged loading can still happen. I don't get it on but I have more than 8GB of VRAM and a M.2 Drive.

Seems like I didn't change "texture setting" to max. Will try later and move game to nvme if it doesn't will help. Thank you.

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5 hours ago, Lightforce said:

I have a strange continuous fps decrease. I have an RTX 4090 + Ryzen 9 5900X. When I start the game, or when I change a "big" display parameter like enabling/disabling DLSS or HDR, it starts at 120 fps then decreasing progressively, while slowing down this decrease over the time. I waited something like 3 min at the hub and it went as low as 20 fps.

 

Can confirm, I'm experiencing the same issue. Ryzen 7 3700X + RTX 3080 (non-Ti). The FPS counter goes from triple digits to a slideshow in 10 seconds or less while standing in Central Executive.

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Thank you, @filoppi

The patch worked with my already modded steam version. But I restore the original files via steam verify option and
used the patch again. No problems here (12900KS/RTX 2080TI/ Win 11).

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Crashing every time I try to load my save file using an UW FreeSync HDR monitor + 3080. 😞

edit: For anyone else having this issue, try disabling ray-tracing before loading your save.

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On 2/3/2023 at 2:09 AM, Nopileus said:

Using gog version the savegame directory changes from "%USERPROFILE%\Documents\My Games\Control" to "%LOCALAPPDATA%\Remedy\Control\Default-Generic-User\", the structure and file names change too and need a whole bunch of manual renaming to adapt.

HDR mode displays artifacting i can only describe as fireflies, they are not single pixels but slightly larger white blocks flashing randomly (not present in SDR, rx 7900xt with 23.1.1 drivers).
Edit: The AMD fix does remove this issue entirely.

Those things aside the HDR looks very impressive, miles ahead of AutoHDR, i can also confirm that FSR2 injection appears to work just fine.

Hi, could you possibly elaborate how to get GOG saves to work with the mod when you have time? It would be much appreciated.

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Greetings.  Just checked out this mod (LG CX, RTX 4090) and I am greatly impressed after hammering out my calibration.  I had some feedback however, and I hope that you will consider it. 

 

I think it's possible that shadow quality has taken a hit with this update, shadow edges have a more pixelated look.  This was the only change I noticed where something seemed worse than the unmodded version.  It may just be the increased contrast making it more obvious or visible.

 

Additionally, since you have the ability to add settings, I have a request.  Using the 'tweakables' mod, it was possible to set some of the raytracing settings such that the shimmer is reduced, by casting more rays and imposing more of a performance hit.  The capabilities of high end cards are higher now than they were when Control released, and I think a 'Very High' raytraced lighting setting would be appreciated.

 

Thank you for your hard work.

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On 2/2/2023 at 6:05 PM, ZachDaniwl said:

Hey, can you tell me more about how I can get my gog save file to work with this new mod?

 

I eventually figured it out how to transfer game saves but it's way too convoluted. I tried to write a list of instructions on how I did it but gave up. Essentially, the No DRM version of this mod uses the EPIC Games Store method of storing and naming game save files, which is completely different than the way GoG does it. I'd like to see a separate No DRM version for GoG users in a future update. Loving the mod so far though. I'd also love to see the hex edits incorporated that unlock the Playstation 4 DLC.

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23 hours ago, KoKlusz said:

Hi, could you possibly elaborate how to get GOG saves to work with the mod when you have time? It would be much appreciated.

If everyone who is having save issues with GoG version just scroll up and check my comment... YouTube link to show how as well. If you don't have the Epic directories / folders showing up after you've installed this patch make sure to Create a new game and just skip all the cutscenes till you get in-game and then make sure it Saves and quit. Now your Epic save directory should've been created if it wasn't already... Then go ahead and follow the YouTube video to convert your old save files.

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