User:Pepoluan/Tips/Tuning Mass Effect 2

Fixing "Really Dark" Textures or Deep Black Shadows
I posted this on Steam, but I really forgot where I actually found the solution (that is, what parameters to change and the values to use).

GamerSettings.ini

[SystemSettings] ... DynamicLights=True CinematicLights=3 ...

[Engine.ISVHacks] UseMinimalNVIDIADriverShaderOptimization=False
 * For NVidia GPU
 * There's a similar setting for Radeon GPU, but I forgot...

UberPostProcessBlendPixelShader.usf

float3 x = max(0,InLinearColour); // This line is the key float3 FilmicColour = (x*(6.2*x+0.5))/(x*(6.2*x+1.7)+0.06);
 * 1) if ENABLE_FILMIC_RESPONSE

Tune Anti-Aliasing and Ambient Occlusion (NVidia)
Prerequisite: A tool called "NVidia Profile Inspector".

Change the settings for the "Mass Effect 2" profile to the following:


 * Ambient Occlusion compatibility:  [Note 1]
 * Antialiasing compatibility:
 * Antialiasing - Mode:
 * Antialiasing - Setting:  [Note 2]
 * Antialiasing - Transparency Supersampling:  [Note 2]
 * Texture filtering - LOD Bias (DX):  [Note 3]
 * Ambient Occlusion setting:  [Note 4]
 * Ambient Occlusion usage:

Notes:


 * 1) After Apply, will have "(Hawken)" appended.
 * 2) If your GPU is powerful enough, raise these to "4x". If your game stutters at "4x", use "2x".
 * 3) If you use "x4" for aliasing, set this to "-1.0000"
 * 4) If your GPU is powerful enough, you can use "Quality" or even "High Quality"

If you're not sure how to edit the profile, you can grab one of the  files I share here, import the file into NVidia Profile Inspector, and hit "Apply changes" in the tool.

Source: How To: Improve Image Quality in Pre-DX10 Games with NVIDIA Inspector (WayBack Machine Archive)