The Mass Effect original trilogy needs no introduction, so I'll keep this brief. These are great games, very much deserving of remastering (although I wish just a little more was done with the graphics overhaul), and therefore it was a priority for me to make a fix equally deserving of the game's quality and stature. I hope I've provided that, and that everyone enjoys saving the universe from the Reapers once again in glorious 3D!
3D FIX FEATURES
Fixed via Regex:
Universal UE3 Regexes:
- Halos
- Lighting & Shadows
- Decal Clipping
- General VPM Fix
- GodRays
Mass Effect Extension Regexes:
- Lensflares & ME2+3 3D HUD
- Surface speculars
UI features:
- Autodepth HUD adjustments on all crosshairs, ME1 interaction icons (ME2 and 3 use different icons, and derive depth differently). Can be disabled via hotkey. Reenabling after disabling will require reloading the fix via the F10 key after pressing the hotkey to reenable it.
- Adjustable HUD depth on all other static elements
- 4 gameplay convergence values that can be cycled via hotkey
- Presets to set low convergence during cutscenes and conversations. These can be disabled via hotkey.
- Use of the Help OSD custom shader to provide visual feedback for all 3D fix keys, as well as a help menu that can be pulled up to display the keybindings at any time
Remaining issues:
- Speculars set to surface depth by default:
Since this remaster is technically just the old games with a fresh coat of paint slapped on, setting specular highlights to proper depth is a little problematic because they are baked into the textures on surfaces, rather than calculated and applied during a lighting shader (like most modern games now do). I do have a fix in place that works well in areas I was able to test in ME1, but many surfaces in ME2 and 3 (and possibly some in ME1 that my testing has not yet found) do not react well, and so I've set a specular depth parameter to allow this to be toggled on and off. By default I've set it 0%, so they will appear at the depth of the surface they are on, which is not visually correct, but never "broken" looking. You can push specular depth to 50% or 100% to enable the fix via a hotkey if you'd like to enjoy correct speculars, but with visual imperfections on an unknown # of surfaces. Or, of course, you can turn it on and off as wanted and needed to maximize the benefit! - Potential for remaining halos due to regex false positives:
There have been a couple shaders that are picked up and "fixed" by one of the halos regexes (aka "false positives") due to the common shader code pattern, and because they didn't need a fix in the first place, "fixing" them actually causes a halo. All known cases have already been resolved, but there's likely to be a few more out there. - Mass Effect 3 crashes at the title screen, and some menu screens for some individuals:
This is caused somehow by using the 3DMigoto software mouse custom shader. Unfortunately the only known solution is to not use this feature. A workaround is included in the fix for this issue, please see instructions below. - 3D fixes that are regex script based cause stutters when loading new shaders:
Every time a new shader comes on screen for the first time it gets analyzed by 3DMigoto to see if any regex fix patterns match, which adds a little CPU overhead and unfortunately we are usually CPU bottlenecked already, so we usually see these as sudden frame drops. Once the shaders have been seen/analyzed/fixed once, they are cached, so next time they appear they do not need to be analyzed again and instead are loaded instantly, so the more you play the better it gets. All of my fixes are, and will always be heavily regex scripted (when given the choice), so that's the price to pay for enjoying 3D with one of my fixes. Besides, we all know we'll all be playing these games more than once, right? 2nd and 3rd playthroughs will be so much more wonderful and smooth with a full shader cache!
INSTRUCTIONS
Installation:
Extract zip file to EACH of the trilogy game's Win64 subfolder, so for Mass Effect 1 you would need to install to: ..\Mass Effect Legendary Edition\Game\ME1\Binaries\Win64
For Mass Effect 2, to: Mass Effect Legendary Edition\Game\ME2\Binaries\Win64
... and so on for ME3: Mass Effect Legendary Edition\Game\ME3\Binaries\Win64
Yes, extract this same fix 3 times, once for each game in it's respective folder.
**Mass Effect 3 Crash Fix**
If you experience crashes while playing Mass Effect 3, you can resolve them by running the included "ME3CrashFix.bat" file once. This will disable the software mouse cursor feature. Re-running the file will revert back to the original state and restore the software mouse cursor.
If you experience crashes while playing Mass Effect 3, you can resolve them by running the included "ME3CrashFix.bat" file once. This will disable the software mouse cursor feature. Re-running the file will revert back to the original state and restore the software mouse cursor.
For myself, personally, I have only experienced the crash on the ME3 title screen. Loading Mass Effect 3 using the "Resume" option from the Mass Effect launcher (an existing savegame is needed for this) skips the titlescreen and thus also skips the crash, so I only needed to use the crash fix for my first time ever loading ME3, and then once I had a savegame made I reverted back to have the software mouse cursor.
Game settings:
All settings work, though I personally do not like Ambient Occlusion in ME1 (causes what looks like floating shadows around objects), but that's totally a personal preference, stereo wise they are correct as far as I can tell. I also recommend turning off Motion Blur in ME2 + ME3.
Game settings:
All settings work, though I personally do not like Ambient Occlusion in ME1 (causes what looks like floating shadows around objects), but that's totally a personal preference, stereo wise they are correct as far as I can tell. I also recommend turning off Motion Blur in ME2 + ME3.
Keybindings:
Key Function
F1: Displays Help OSD, which shows all keybindings in-game
F2 or Shift + F2: Cycles through 4 different settings for gameplay convergence
Ctrl + F2: Disables all automatic convergence presets
F3 or Shift + F3: Cycles through 5 different settings for HUD depth
ALT + F3: Disables autodepth on HUD elements
CTRL + F3: Disables the HUD
F4: Specular depth adjustment, 3 settings: Surface depth (0%), half depth (50%), and full depth (100%). Set to 0 by default due to breaking on certain surfaces
F6 : Lens flare effect on/off toggle
F7: Depth of field effect on/off toggle. Warning: Should only be used temporarily, eg. screenshots. Leaving DOF disabled causes severe distortion with camera movement
***Warning: Mass Effect 1 Keybindings Conflict***
ME1 has the weapon select keys on F1 through F4 which conflicts with the chosen keys above. For regional keyboard compatibility, and because ME2 and ME3 do not conflict, I am choosing to keep the above keys as they are and people that play with KB+M should either change their keybindings to set those weapon select keys to other keys, or if you wish to change the above keys used by this fix to other keys you may do so by editing the ShaderFixes\MassEffect_Fix.ini file.
FOOT NOTES
Tools/Resources Used & Special Thanks:
-3DMigoto v1.3.16: Thanks to the entire 3DMigoto team
-DarkStarSwords 3D crosshair & Help OSD custom shaders
-Blacksmith60 & Z31Turbo from MTBS3D forum for their beta testing feedback and gamesaves which greatly accelerated this fix's completion. Also thanks to Losti for his enthusiasm and willingness to help, albeit wasn't needed this time around, is still appreciated all the same.
Like this fix and want to show support & appreciation?
Fixes take a lot of time and effort, so donations are always welcome and appreciated and help support me in making more fixes!
Paypal donations may be made at www.paypal.me/DShanz or by sending to Paypal address: rshannonca@gmail.com