.:: Sky4CE SkyGRAPHICS Mod v1.78 ::.

This mod introduces advanced shader technology known as Parallax Occlusion Mapping in the game of S.T.A.L.K.E.R, never seen in any videogame before (except some next-gen games which are still in development, e.g. Crysis , Unreal3 and others) The mod is based on the original Parallax Occlusion HLSL code (Policarpo2005, McGuire2005, Tatarchuk2006), heavily modified by Sky4CE to allow for a considerably higher performance and maximum optimization. You might have heard of  Parallax Occlusion Mapping being referred to as Steep Parallax Mapping, Per-Pixel Displacement Mapping With Distance Function, Relief Mapping, Interval Mapping - all of those are alternative names for Parallax Occlusion Mapping. This technology creates a very close-to-life illusion of true relief , turning flat textures into something that looks much like an actual relief made of polygons. A similar effect can be  achieved via Bump Mapping or Parallax Mapping, but the difference between Parallax Occlusion Mapping and these two is utterly astonishing.

  Also Mod adds Motion Blur, which does not blur the weapon, and Depth Of Field. By default it is included Depth Of Field and Motion Blur, which not depend from console parameter r2_mblur, and also does not demand additions key -mblur in a label of start. If you want it is possible to switch off Depth Of Field or Motion Blur in a file of options SkyGRAPHICS_options.cfg, in the same place it is possible to change it parameters and also parameters of Parallax Occlusion Mapping. The file of options is in a folder "..\gamedata\shaders\r2\SkyGRAPHICS_options.cfg".

- WARNING! -

To get this stuff working, make sure that:

1. You've got a graphics card that supports DirectX 9.0c  (Pixel/Vertex Shaders 3.0 or higher). DX8 cards are incompatible with this mod due to obvious technical reasons.

2. You are running the game using the DX9 renderer (adjustable in the graphics options, also known as 'dynamic lightning'). The mod won't work with DX8 and it incompatible with this DX8 (`static lightning`)

Installation:

 Look into the folder of the mod package, find the ‘gamedata’ folder and copy it to your game installation folder, overwriting the original ‘gamedata’ folder. 
...enjoy :)

Possible compatibility issues:

This mod is incompatible with any other shader mods, but campatible with any non-shader mods !

This mod only runs on following videocards:
 Nvidia Geforce 6200 or higher / ATi Radeon X1300 or higher.

If you are experiencing performance issues, you can try to run the game with the -noshadows command line parameter. Just find the game shortcut on the desktop, open its properties and add -noshadows after X3_RDA.exe, e.g. "D:\STALKER\bin\XR_3DA.exe" -noshadows
This will kill all dynamic shadows in game, but improve performance.

Version 1.78:

- Parallax Occlusion Mapping;
- Motion Blur (optionally, enabled by default);
- Depth Of Field (optionally, enabled by default);

Known Issues:

- Shot decals appear incorrectly, can't be fixed so far (since they're rendered via a fixed function pipeline)

If you find a new bug, please email at Sky4CE@inbox.ru me and don't forget to attach a screenshot.

Credits:

- Sky4CE: HLSL coding, textures, etc.

- HelviS: Testing


