bohemian steel and ashes

Bohemian Steel & Ashes: Realistic ReShade brings realism to Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, enhancing natural light, shadows and texture clarity without sacrificing performance. Inspired by the cold steel of war and the ashes of 15th century Bohemia.

bohemiansteelandash

⚔️ **Bohemian Steel & Ashes** – Photorealistic ReShade preset for Kingdom Come: Deliverance II

*Focus on cinematic realism, historical atmosphere and immersive experience - no fantasy elements, no overexposure, no fancy effects*

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📖 Overview

**Bohemian Steel & Ashes** is a carefully crafted ReShade preset designed to enhance the medieval realism of Kingdom Come: Deliverance II with natural contrast, rich ambient tones, and finely tuned color profiles. Inspired by the roughness and weight of 15th-century Bohemia, this preset avoids over-stylization in favor of visual authenticity, bringing sharp and organic depth to lighting, textures, and materials.

This is not a fantasy style preset. This is for players who want the visuals to match the harsh world they live in - where rusted steel, gray skies and candlelit interiors all feel like part of the struggle.

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🎨 Core Shaders

• **LocalContrastCS** – Enhances material definition without artificial sharpening. Stone, armor, fabric and terrain textures look more tactile and aged
• **Clarity2** – adds subtle visual clarity to mid-tones without overexposing highlights or darkening blacks
• **Quark: Local Contrast** – Target small-scale contrast and enrich fine details of surfaces and environments
• **ColorGrading** – Re-adjusts the overall color palette to a neutral, cinematic look that looks weathered and authentic
• **Curves** – Control dynamic range, deepen shadows and soften blown areas
• **Levels** – Rebalance brightness to create a darker, more moody base image
• **prod80_01B_RT_Correct Color** – ensures correct scene-wide color calibration, correcting over-bright or washed-out tones without distorting the original art

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🎬 Visual style and design intent

• **Cold colors pursue realism**: earth green, pale sky, darkened interior
• **Candlelight and Firelight** cast warm local contrast in cold environments
• **No artificial halo or glow** - the world is harsh, soft and grounded
• **Designed for immersive role-playing, survival and cinematic exploration**

This preset supports both gameplay and cinematic use: whether you're taking screenshots, recording content, or experiencing the main story, **Bohemian Steel & Ashes** always maintains its tone and depth.

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✅ Performance and ease of use

• **No Paid Shaders** – 100% free, ready to use with standard ReShade installation
• Performance optimization – minimal framerate loss on most modern systems
• Fully customizable via ReShade in-game UI
• Compatible with most weather/lighting overhauls and texture mods

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⚙️ Recommended settings

• Disable in-game sharpening and post-processing effects for best results
• Can be used with natural lighting/weather mod (optional)
• Test and tune with default lighting for maximum compatibility
• Recommended for use in first-person or immersive HUD settings

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⚠️ Known limitations

• Color grading may appear soft on bright monitors - fine-tuning with ReShade
• Some shaders (such as LocalContrastCS) may slightly change the UI tone - you can switch it through ReShade if needed
• Weather/time of day significantly affects atmosphere - designed for realism

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👥 Acknowledgments

• ReShade framework provided by **crosire**
• Shader author:
• **BlueSkyDefender** (LocalContrastCS)
• **Fubax** (Clarity2)
• **Quark Shader Suite** (Local Contrast)
• **OtisFX** (ColorGrading)
• **prod80** (RT_Correct Color, Curves, Levels)
• Default design and tuning: **Munch The Ghoul**
• Part of the **MTG Gameplays & Builds** visual series