I'm sure there are many, many more that think it's terrible. The game just isn't for everyone, that's all there is to it I love it though, really clever and funny
Well, this game certanly looks pretty nice with HBAO+ and sgssaa and a touch of sweetFX...Great for such an old engine.
Also the Game is Brillinat hehe..so much things to test, and teh VOice is so charming haha,.,
Anyway.. here are teh HBAO+ Bits, SGSSAA Bits and Settings for the interessted ones (Nvidia Only)
Please note when tweaking settings that higher numbers does not always equal better (nor does lower).
Finding the best settings for your game and your taste is about finding just the right amount to apply.
If you made a good setttings preset please share it with your friends, on forums and websites,
and/or submit it to the SweetFX Settings Database : http://sfx.thelazy.net/games/
This description field and the above Game and Author fields are here so you can fill in your own details for the presets you create.
Just delete this description and fill in your own and then share it with the world.
// Set to 1 for ON or 0 for OFF
#define USE_SMAA_ANTIALIASING 1 //[0 or 1] SMAA Anti-aliasing : Smoothens jagged lines using the SMAA technique.
#define USE_FXAA_ANTIALIASING 0 //[0 or 1] FXAA Anti-aliasing : Smoothens jagged lines using the FXAA technique. WIP - Currently only works in DX9 and you need to use the FXAA injector dlls.
#define USE_EXPLOSION 0 //[0 or 1] Explosion : Scatters the pixels, making the image look fuzzy.
#define USE_CARTOON 0 //[0 or 1] Cartoon : "Toon"s the image. (Interferes with SMAA, CRT, Bloom, HDR and Lumasharpen)
#define USE_ADVANCED_CRT 0 //[0 or 1] Advanced CRT : Simulates an old CRT TV display. (Interferes with SMAA, Cartoon, Bloom, HDR and Lumasharpen, and it has a very high performance cost)
#define USE_BLOOM 0 //[0 or 1] Bloom : Makes bright lights bleed their light into their surroundings (relatively high performance cost)
#define USE_HDR 0 //[0 or 1] HDR : Not actual HDR - It just tries to mimic an HDR look (relatively high performance cost)
#define USE_LUMASHARPEN 1 //[0 or 1] LumaSharpen : Also sharpens the antialiased edges which makes them less smooth - I'm working on fixing that.
#define USE_LEVELS 0 //[0 or 1] Levels : Sets a new black and white point. This increases contrast but causes clipping. Use Curves instead if you want to avoid that.
#define USE_TECHNICOLOR 0 //[0 or 1] TECHNICOLOR : Attempts to mimic the look of an old movie using the Technicolor three-strip color process (Techicolor Process 4)
#define USE_DPX 0 //[0 or 1] Cineon DPX : Should make the image look like it's been converted to DXP Cineon - basically it's another movie-like look similar to technicolor.
#define USE_MONOCHROME 0 //[0 or 1] Monochrome : Monochrome makes the colors disappear.
#define USE_LIFTGAMMAGAIN 0 //[0 or 1] Lift Gamma Gain : Adjust brightness and color of shadows, midtones and highlights
#define USE_TONEMAP 0 //[0 or 1] Tonemap : Adjust gamma, exposure, saturation, bleach and defog. (may cause clipping)
#define USE_VIBRANCE 1 //[0 or 1] Vibrance : Intelligently saturates (or desaturates if you use negative values) the pixels depending on their original saturation.
#define USE_CURVES 0 //[0 or 1] Curves : Contrast adjustments using S-curves.
#define USE_SEPIA 0 //[0 or 1] Sepia : Sepia tones the image.
#define USE_VIGNETTE 0 //[0 or 1] Vignette : Darkens the edges of the image to make it look more like it was shot with a camera lens. May cause banding artifacts.
#define USE_DITHER 1 //[0 or 1] Dither : Applies dithering to simulate more colors than your monitor can display. This lessens banding artifacts (mostly caused by Vignette)
#define USE_BORDER 0 //[0 or 1] Border : Makes the screenedge black as a workaround for the bright edge that forcing some AA modes sometimes causes.
#define USE_SPLITSCREEN 0 //[0 or 1] Splitscreen : Enables the before-and-after splitscreen comparison mode.
#define USE_CUSTOM 0 //[0 or 1] Custom : Write your own shader by editing custom.h, and then enable it here.
#define SMAA_THRESHOLD 0.08 //[0.05 to 0.20] Edge detection threshold. If SMAA misses some edges try lowering this slightly. I prefer between 0.08 and 0.12.
#define SMAA_MAX_SEARCH_STEPS 32 //[0 to 98] Determines the radius SMAA will search for aliased edges
#define SMAA_MAX_SEARCH_STEPS_DIAG 16 //[0 to 16] Determines the radius SMAA will search for diagonal aliased edges
#define SMAA_CORNER_ROUNDING 0 //[0 to 100] Determines the percent of antialiasing to apply to corners. 0 seems to affect fine text the least so it's the default.
// -- Advanced SMAA settings --
#define COLOR_EDGE_DETECTION 1 //[0 or 1] 1 Enables color edge detection (slower but slightly more acurate) - 0 uses luma edge detection (faster)
#define SMAA_DIRECTX9_LINEAR_BLEND 0 //[0 or 1] Using DX9 HARDWARE? (software version doesn't matter) if so this needs to be 1 - If not, leave it at 0.
//Enable this only if you use a Geforce 7xxx series or older card, or a Radeon X1xxx series or older card.
/*-----------------------------------------------------------.
/ FXAA Anti-aliasing settings /
'-----------------------------------------------------------*/
#define FXAA_QUALITY__PRESET 9 //[1 to 9] Choose the quality preset. 9 is the highest quality.
#define fxaa_Subpix 0.400 //[0.000 to 1.000] Choose the amount of sub-pixel aliasing removal.
#define fxaa_EdgeThreshold 0.250 //[0.000 to 1.000] Edge detection threshold. The minimum amount of local contrast required to apply algorithm.
#define fxaa_EdgeThresholdMin 0.060 //[0.000 to 1.000] Darkness threshold. Trims the algorithm from processing darks.
/*-----------------------------------------------------------.
/ Explosion settings /
'-----------------------------------------------------------*/
#define Explosion_Radius 2.5 //[0.2 to 100.0] Amount of effect you want.
/*-----------------------------------------------------------.
/ Cartoon settings /
'-----------------------------------------------------------*/
#define CartoonPower 1.5 //[0.1 to 10.0] Amount of effect you want.
#define CartoonEdgeSlope 1.5 //[0.1 to 8.0] Raise this to filter out fainter edges. You might need to increase the power to compensate. Whole numbers are faster.
/*----------------------------------------------------------.
/ Advanced CRT settings /
'----------------------------------------------------------*/
#define CRTAmount 1.00 //[0.00 to 1.00] Amount of CRT effect you want
#define CRTResolution 2.0 //[1.0 to 8.0] Input size coefficent (low values gives the "low-res retro look"). Default is 1.2
#define CRTgamma 2.2 //[0.0 to 4.0] Gamma of simulated CRT (default 2.2)
#define CRTmonitorgamma 2.4 //[0.0 to 4.0] Gamma of display monitor (typically 2.2 is correct)
#define CRTBrightness 1.2 //[1.0 to 3.0] Used to boost brightness a little. Default is 1.0
#define CRTScanlineIntensity 2.0 //[2.0 to 4.0] Scanlines intensity (use integer values preferably). Default is 2.0
#define CRTScanlineGaussian 1 //[0 or 1] Use the "new nongaussian scanlines bloom effect". Default is on
#define CRTCurvature 1 //[[0 or 1] "Barrel effect" enabled (1) or off (0)
#define CRTCurvatureRadius 2.0 //[0.0 to 2.0] Curvature Radius (only effective when Curvature is enabled). Default is 1.5
#define CRTCornerSize 0.0100 //[0.0000 to 0.0020] Higher values, more rounded corner. Default is 0.001
#define CRTDistance 2.00 //[0.00 to 4.00] Simulated distance from viewer to monitor. Default is 2.00
#define CRTAngleX 0.00 //[-0.20 to 0.20] Tilt angle in radians (X coordinates)
#define CRTAngleY -0.15 //[-0.20 to 0.20] Tilt angle in radians (Y coordinates). (Value of -0.15 gives the 'arcade tilt' look)
#define CRTOverScan 1.00 //[1.00 to 1.10] Overscan (e.g. 1.02 for 2% overscan). Default is 1.01
#define CRTOversample 0 //[0 or 1] Enable 3x oversampling of the beam profile (warning : performance hit)
/*-----------------------------------------------------------.
/ Bloom settings /
'-----------------------------------------------------------*/
#define BloomThreshold 20.25 //[0.00 to 50.00] Threshold for what is a bright light (that causes bloom) and what isn't.
#define BloomPower 1.446 //[0.000 to 8.000] Strength of the bloom
#define BloomWidth 0.0142 //[0.0000 to 1.0000] Width of the bloom
/*-----------------------------------------------------------.
/ HDR settings /
'-----------------------------------------------------------*/
#define HDRPower 1.30 //[0.00 to 8.00] Strangely lowering this makes the image brighter
#define radius2 0.87 //[0.00 to 8.00] Raising this seems to make the effect stronger and also brighter
/*-----------------------------------------------------------.
/ LumaSharpen settings /
'-----------------------------------------------------------*/
// -- Sharpening --
#define sharp_strength 1.15 //[0.10 to 3.00] Strength of the sharpening
#define sharp_clamp 0.035 //[0.000 to 1.000] Limits maximum amount of sharpening a pixel recieves - Default is 0.035
// -- Advanced sharpening settings --
#define pattern 2 //[1|2|3|4] Choose a sample pattern. 1 = Fast, 2 = Normal, 3 = Wider, 4 = Pyramid shaped.
#define offset_bias 1.0 //[0.0 to 6.0] Offset bias adjusts the radius of the sampling pattern.
//I designed the pattern for offset_bias 1.0, but feel free to experiment.
// -- Debug sharpening settings --
#define show_sharpen 0 //[0 or 1] Visualize the strength of the sharpen (multiplied by 4 to see it better)
#define Levels_black_point 16 //[0 to 255] The black point is the new black - literally. Everything darker than this will become completely black. Default is 16.0
#define Levels_white_point 235 //[0 to 255] The new white point. Everything brighter than this becomes completely white. Default is 235.0
//Colors between the two points will stretched, which increases contrast, but details above and below the points are lost (this is called clipping).
/*-----------------------------------------------------------.
/ TECHNICOLOR settings /
'-----------------------------------------------------------*/
#define TechniAmount 0.4 //[0.00 to 1.00]
#define TechniPower 4.0 //[0.00 to 8.00]
#define redNegativeAmount 0.88 //[0.00 to 1.00]
#define greenNegativeAmount 0.88 //[0.00 to 1.00]
#define blueNegativeAmount 0.88 //[0.00 to 1.00]
/*-----------------------------------------------------------.
/ Cineon DPX settings /
'-----------------------------------------------------------*/
#define Red 8.0 //[1.0 to 15.0]
#define Green 8.0 //[1.0 to 15.0]
#define Blue 8.0 //[1.0 to 15.0]
#define ColorGamma 2.5 //[0.1 to 2.5] Adjusts the colorfulness of the effect in a manner similar to Vibrance. 1.0 is neutral.
#define DPXSaturation 3.0 //[0.0 to 8.0] Adjust saturation of the effect. 1.0 is neutral.
#define RedC 0.36 //[0.60 to 0.20]
#define GreenC 0.36 //[0.60 to 0.20]
#define BlueC 0.34 //[0.60 to 0.20]
#define Blend 0.2 //[0.00 to 1.00] How strong the effect should be.
/*-----------------------------------------------------------.
/ Monochrome settings /
'-----------------------------------------------------------*/
#define Monochrome_conversion_values float3(0.18,0.41,0.41) //[0.00 to 1.00] Percentage of RGB to include (should sum up to 1.00)
/*-----------------------------------------------------------.
/ Lift Gamma Gain settings /
'-----------------------------------------------------------*/
#define RGB_Lift float3(1.000, 1.000, 1.000) //[0.000 to 2.000] Adjust shadows for Red, Green and Blue.
#define RGB_Gamma float3(1.000, 1.000, 1.000) //[0.000 to 2.000] Adjust midtones for Red, Green and Blue
#define RGB_Gain float3(1.000, 1.000, 1.000) //[0.000 to 2.000] Adjust highlights for Red, Green and Blue
//Note that a value of 1.000 is a neutral setting that leave the color unchanged.
/*-----------------------------------------------------------.
/ Tonemap settings /
'-----------------------------------------------------------*/
#define Gamma 1.000 //[0.000 to 2.000] Adjust midtones. 1.000 is neutral. This setting does exactly the same as the one in Lift Gamma Gain, only with less control.
#define Exposure 0.000 //[-1.000 to 1.000] Adjust exposure
#define Saturation 0.000 //[-1.000 to 1.000] Adjust saturation
#define Bleach 0.000 //[0.000 to 1.000] Brightens the shadows and fades the colors
#define Defog 0.000 //[0.000 to 1.000] How much of the color tint to remove
#define FogColor float3(0.00, 0.00, 2.55) //[0.00 to 2.55, 0.00 to 2.55, 0.00 to 2.55] What color to remove - default is blue
/*-----------------------------------------------------------.
/ Vibrance settings /
'-----------------------------------------------------------*/
#define Vibrance 0.10 //[-1.00 to 1.00] Intelligently saturates (or desaturates if you use negative values) the pixels depending on their original saturation.
#define Vibrance_RGB_balance float3(1.00, 1.00, 1.00) //[-10.00 to 10.00,-10.00 to 10.00,-10.00 to 10.00] A per channel multiplier to the Vibrance strength so you can give more boost to certain colors over others
/*-----------------------------------------------------------.
/ Curves settings /
'-----------------------------------------------------------*/
#define Curves_mode 0 //[0|1|2] Choose what to apply contrast to. 0 = Luma, 1 = Chroma, 2 = both Luma and Chroma. Default is 0 (Luma)
#define Curves_contrast 0.15 //[-1.00 to 1.00] The amount of contrast you want
// -- Advanced curve settings --
#define Curves_formula 2 //[1|2|3|4|5|6|7|8|9|10] The contrast s-curve you want to use.
//1 = Sine, 2 = Abs split, 3 = Smoothstep, 4 = Exp formula, 5 = Simplified Catmull-Rom (0,0,1,1), 6 = Perlins Smootherstep
//7 = Abs add, 8 = Techicolor Cinestyle, 9 = Parabola, 10 = Half-circles.
//Note that Technicolor Cinestyle is practically identical to Sine, but runs slower. In fact I think the difference might only be due to rounding errors.
//I prefer 2 myself, but 3 is a nice alternative with a little more effect (but harsher on the highlight and shadows) and it's the fastest formula.
/*-----------------------------------------------------------.
/ Sepia settings /
'-----------------------------------------------------------*/
#define ColorTone float3(1.40, 1.10, 0.90) //[0.00 to 2.55, 0.00 to 2.55, 0.00 to 2.55] What color to tint the image
#define GreyPower 0.11 //[0.00 to 1.00] How much desaturate the image before tinting it
#define SepiaPower 0.58 //[0.00 to 1.00] How much to tint the image
/*-----------------------------------------------------------.
/ Vignette settings /
'-----------------------------------------------------------*/
#define VignetteType 1 //[1|2|3] 1 = Original, 2 = New, 3 = TV style
#define VignetteRatio 1.00 //[0.15 to 6.00] Sets a width to height ratio. 1.00 (1/1) is perfectly round, while 1.60 (16/10) is 60 % wider than it's high.
#define VignetteRadius 1.00 //[-1.00 to 3.00] lower values = stronger radial effect from center
#define VignetteAmount -1.00 //[-2.00 to 1.00] Strength of black. -2.00 = Max Black, 1.00 = Max White.
#define VignetteSlope 8 //[2 to 16] How far away from the center the change should start to really grow strong (odd numbers cause a larger fps drop than even numbers)
#define VignetteCenter float2(0.500, 0.500) //[0.000 to 1.000, 0.000 to 1.000] Center of effect for VignetteType 1. 2 and 3 do not obey this setting.
/*-----------------------------------------------------------.
/ Dither settings /
'-----------------------------------------------------------*/
#define dither_method 1 //[1 or 2] 1 = Ordered dithering (very good and very fast), 2 = Random dithering (different but slightly slower dithering)
//Note that the patterns used by Dither, makes an image harder to compress.
//This can make your screenshots and video recordings take up more space.
/*-----------------------------------------------------------.
/ Border settings /
'-----------------------------------------------------------*/
#define border_width float2(1,20) //[0 to 2048, 0 to 2048] (X,Y)-width of the border. Measured in pixels.
#define border_color float3(0, 0, 0) //[0 to 255, 0 to 255, 0 to 255] What color the border should be. In integer RGB colors, meaning 0,0,0 is black and 255,255,255 is full white.
/*-----------------------------------------------------------.
/ Custom settings /
'-----------------------------------------------------------*/
#define custom_strength 1.0 //[0.00 to 1.00] Adjust the strength of the effect
[/code:1]
Greetz
Thanks for these settings, altho i can't get SweetFX to work in this one.. It even seems like it's not loading any custom .dll at all since my Alchemy plugin doesn't seem to work either..
Log isn't helping me because there is none.. it's like the game doesn't even want to recognize there are extra .dll's in the folder
Proud member of Frustrated Association of International Losers Failing Against the Gifted and Superior (F.A.I.L.F.A.G.S)
I definitely don't need any sweetfx in this "game" but I tried it out of curiosity and it's working fine. Just copy all the files in the bin folder. I used boulotaur's sfx 1.5 if it makes any difference.
Ah in the bin folder.. my exe is located outside that >.>
Edit:
Quote:
full path: C:\Games\The Stanley Parable\bin\
redirecting CreateDevice
initialising shader environment
D3DXCreateEffectFromFile failed
try to use "C:\Games\The Stanley Parable" for shader files
Which ones are the shader files again? Only the shader.fx i presume?
Proud member of Frustrated Association of International Losers Failing Against the Gifted and Superior (F.A.I.L.F.A.G.S)
I find this a much better game then dear ester. Interactivity and momentum are higher. All but graphics and possibly music is above dear ester. The narrator is just way above dear ester's narrator.
But once you listen to the narrator, you notice the insignificance of your time spent in the game. The game basically tells you every step of the way, "you fool, why are you playing this, its pointless."
I caught myself running in a loop consisting of one room leading to a corner, dozens of times, while the narrator told me about the metaphysics of game design
and that's what you basically do in this game. run around short and well constructed rooms while a voice deconstructs game design with ton of British humor.
I am not entirely sure that seeing a "lets play" would diminish the experience at all, while an actual game cannot be fully experienced through a let's play.
I've played this remake for 3 hours already and I still have to 'discover' several endings, including the mega-hidden one that I won't spoil myself =). Needless to say it's beyond brilliant, basically Pandora's Box: The Game, with the kind of humour that is right up my alley.
I remembered some of the outcomes from the last time that I tried the HL2 mod (ages ago), but this version is a nice improvement, more involving, polished and pleasant to the eyes of course. There are some neat changes too, new little gems, awkward situations etc.
It's just damn great in my opinion, there's nothing else to say really (just don't expect some "real" gameplay or puzzles, it's basically a simulation of...life!)
edit: plus what The Witchy wrote in the meantime
But didn't you say it fails as a game? You have to decide man, if it is a game or not.
I don't think you do have to decide. that's the whole point. Seinfeld showed you can make a tv show about nothing.
Stanley's parable shows you can make a game about nothing. strip it of everything but tiny interactivity with a few predetermined paths, and if its done right its still good stuff.
What's even crazier you can enjoy a game that completely devalues the gaming experience.
Thats why i respect the game, it reveals how the magic happens, but it still does its job.
But didn't you say it fails as a game? You have to decide man, if it is a game or not.
I don't think you do have to decide. that's the whole point. Seinfeld showed you can make a tv show about nothing.
Stanley's parable shows you can make a game about nothing. strip it of everything but tiny interactivity with a few predetermined paths, and if its done right its still good stuff.
What's even crazier you can enjoy a game that completely devalues the gaming experience.
Thats why i respect the game, it reveals how the magic happens, but it still does its job.
Okay, that makes sense. However, "game is about nothing" and "few predetermined patchs" is not actually correct, I think. First, SP features more story choices than almost any other game I remember. One can argue that story is very short and that's why so much choices can be implemented. That's true, there are limit even to the game's interactivity and non-linear narrative/story due to limited resources of the technology. However, EVERY choice in SP matters, quite significantly. This leads us to:
Quote:
"game is about nothing"
Feedback. Game is poking at the concept about directly noticeable feedback between the player and narrative process/aspect (presented as "Narrator" for easier understanding of the concept). For almost every insignificant choice you make (Broom Closet) you receive a lot of feedback from the game. And just this aspect, despite the fact that you can't do usual direct "physical" interaction in the game and its environment (except rare cases), already increases interactivity a WHOLE LOT. You receive feedback for you actions.
The game was short, but was it fun? If I'm not mistaken you said it was. And many other people did. Proof-of-a-concept is solid. Now, imagine for a second what happens if we take SP and increase the scope few times. Lt's not talk about Mass Effect size but how about something smaller... Amnesia? Or something similar, you choose. Apply the concept and core design of SP to it (no need to follow the same way with "Narrator" exactly) - see what you've got? Quite fascinating result could be, despite being impossible to implement on bigger scales (that's why we have incredible boring "random generated content" mechanism instead).
Far more of an experience than a "game", but beautiful nonetheless. Its got me analyzing my very existence yet again - a slippery slope if ever there was one! And props to the narrator - spot on mate!
I can never be free, because the shackles I wear can't be touched or be seen.
i9-9900k, MSI MPG-Z390 Gaming Pro Carbon, 32GB DDR4 @ 3000, eVGA GTX 1080 DT, Samsung 970 EVO Plus nVME 1TB
This is most likely a dumb question, but.. can you save the game in this? I played for a while last night, and didn't see any way of saving. Going back to the main menu only forces me to restart from the beginning.
But I fully understand it's not a "typical" game, so maybe they just want you to play it in one sitting?
Watercooled 5950X | AORUS Master X570 | Asus RTX 3090 TUF Gaming OC | 64Gb RAM | 1Tb 970 Evo Plus + 2Tb 660p | etc etc
This is most likely a dumb question, but.. can you save the game in this? I played for a while last night, and didn't see any way of saving. Going back to the main menu only forces me to restart from the beginning.
But I fully understand it's not a "typical" game, so maybe they just want you to play it in one sitting?
You can save, but first you have to enable saving from the options. after that you'll see a save button when you press ESC
The question is, you really want to save? Most paths usually last less than ten minutes.
Do you really need to play for three minutes, quit game and check facebook, play for three minutes, quit game and watch porn, play three minutes and finish?
I think they've hidden the option to make people play full sessions. Following the narrator's line of thought without quitting the game halfway though is rather essential to the experience.
Actually, I took the save option to be more beneficial for the different paths - saving at an intersection or choice, rather than "oh I need to go away for a while, save!"
Haha! Yeah man, I'd laugh my ass off if he did that
I like how it's a "couple" of offended nannies whining about something utterly inconsequential in order to force an indie developer to change his game and cater to them, yet games like Grand Theft Auto V "Yo fuck you, nigga!" don't get touched. Cowards realise they can't bully TakeTwo or Rockstar like they can a smaller dev
We discussed back and forth and obviously redoing dialogue would be cost and time prohibitive. Ultimately I suggested the following:
1. Change the first image to reflect Steven ACTUALLY helping the minority (with say food or water, and this is a minimal edit to the existing image).
2. Change the second image to reflect what was actually said in the dialogue, and show Steven heading towards an orphanage with the gas can and lighter, but not actually showing it getting burned down.
We agreed that this wouldn’t be nearly as difficult and he was really cool about it.
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I love it though, really clever and funny 
(Nvidia Only)
(just don't expect some "real" gameplay or puzzles, it's basically a simulation of...life!)
