Country view - recolor

Really subtle ReShade preset makes Skyrim look rougher.

This is a simple, subtle preset I made for ReShade because I wanted a preset with a specific "feel" but couldn't find it. Now, if anyone likes it, I'll upload it here. The idea is to make Skyrim look more "rustic" and "rough" without trying to be realistic or overly stylized. It's also "clearer" than vanilla.

I used this preset with Vivid Weather (all settings set to Normal and Bloom set to Low) and ELFX, so the setting made the nights and interiors really dark. That's why I added CLARALUX to my modlist as well. However, there are several pictures comparing the original skyline (without mods) to this preset.

Install

DahrkE has provided great instructions on how to install ReShader. Go here to check it out.

The only difference is that you have to select my "Rustic View.ini". However, you can set up as many presets as you like, simply swap between them in the menu.

I'm also going to add a list of effects that I tweaked. This way you know which effect will work if you want to change it or turn it off.

Disclaimer: I'm no expert, so I may have made a mistake or two in my description.

Performance segmentation

AdaptiveSharpen: I know a lot of people don't like the sharpening effect, but I feel like Skyrim's AA's blur actually removes amazing textures (vanilla and mod). You can notice in the image how much detail you can get in the texture just by adding some sharpening.

AmbientLight: This adds a nice touch to exterior lighting. (especially on that day)

BloomAndLensFlares: I personally find heavy blooms very distracting, so I added a very subtle, almost noticeable bloom effect and lens flare. Mainly because it helps give a false feeling of brightness, especially indoors. But when you look at the sky during the day, you'll notice more, if there are clouds, even more. (Set "Vivid Weather" bloom to "Low")

Clarity: Just a way to brighten an image. (I set brightness to default in game options)

Color: This works very similarly to Saturation and Saturation, but has less of an effect on brightness/contrast than the other two.

Curves/Levels: Adjust black and white so it doesn't look too dark/light.

DEBANDER: So, it's almost not obvious. But it does help. Doing this helps eliminate "banding" that occurs when color gradients or blends are not completely smooth. For example, when you look up at the sky at sunrise/dawn and see the different shades of the sky slowly changing, rather than a single smooth color. (I hope so, please forgive my English)

DPX: This is one of the ways to get rid of that horrible green/brown-Skyrim filter that everyone wants to get rid of.

Highlight: This desaturates everything using the depth value. I've set it to be very far away, so from your perspective, only the farthest mountains are as saturated as the sky. This gives a very small sense of distance without using fog, and helps to desaturate the sky, which sometimes looks a little silly with all of these effects.

MultiLUT/Technicolor/Tonemap: color correction effect, basically what instagram filters do.

MXAO (disabled by default): This is a way to "fake" ambient occlusion (soft shadows that appear in the gaps and intersections of meshes). This is a great way to add realisim and it looks cool, but it's resource intensive and doesn't work well in Skyrim. There may be visual glitches, especially near smoke. (You can toggle it on/off in the menu or just press Shift + 9)

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This is a simple, subtle, preset I made for ReShade because I wanted a preset with an specific "feel" to it, but couldn't find it. Now I've uploaded it here, in case someone else likes it. The idea was to make Skyrim look a bit more "rustic" and "rough", but not trying to be realistic nor over stylized. It's also way more "clearer" than vanilla.

I used this preset alongside Vivid Weathers (all settings to normal, and bloom to low) and ELFX, so nights and interiors are really dark with that …