The Witcher 3 Remastered - HDR fix (experimental)
by HDRgameAnalysis

RenoDX framework by ShortFuse.


WHAT IT IS
An experimental mod that improves some of the biggest issues I had in my HDR game analysis and setup guide for the game. It improves things in the game's own HDR. Everything else stays
the game's own.

Please be aware, that this is an experimental mod made for demonstration purposes. It shows how that the games own HDR implementation can be vastly improved very easily.

I recommend PC gamers to use the RenoDX HDR mod and developers to implement a true native HDR implementation this amazing game deserves.

WHAT IT IMPROVES
- Raised black levels in some areas of the game.
- Mid-tones that are far too bright: brought down.
- Surfaces just above paper white, such as hay, walls and white flowers, pushed toward peak
  brightness: they are no longer pushed up, so the image looks natural again.

HOW
All changes are made inside the game's own HDR, in its own shaders, using the game's own
settings. No new tone mapping is added.

The game first makes a normal SDR image. Its last step then turns that SDR image into HDR:
The mod changes three things in it:
- Paper white: the game multiplies the paper white slider by 1.5 internally. The mod
  removes this, which brings the too-bright mid-tones down.
- Brightening: the game starts brightening far below white, and uses the same fixed values
  in every region, weather and time of day. That is why hay, walls and white flowers are
  pushed toward peak in some scenes. In the mod it starts just below white and adapts to each region, so
  only what really is brighter than white, such as the sky, fire and the sun, gets brighter.
- Black: the bottom of the game's tone curve lifts black, by a different amount in each
  region. The mod calculates that lift from the curve's own settings and removes it.

OPTIONS
- Game HDR +   The game's own HDR with the changes above. Two sliders set where the
               brightening starts and how fast it reaches full brightness.
- RVT A / B    Two reverse tone mappers, for comparison. Hover over the buttons for the
               full names.
- Black level fix   0-100%, default 100%.
- "Game as it is" / "Game with the change" (or F8) switches between the untouched game
  and the mod.

REQUIREMENTS
- The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, next-gen / Remastered (DirectX 12).
- ReShade 6.8.0 or newer WITH add-on support, installed for witcher3.exe in bin\x64_dx12.
- HDR enabled in Windows and in the game.
- No other RenoDX add-on for The Witcher 3 in the game folder.

INSTALL
1. Copy renodx-witcher3hdrdemo.addon64 into the game's bin\x64_dx12 folder.
2. Start the game, press Home to open ReShade, and open the add-on's tab.
3. Set paper white and max nits with the game's own HDR sliders.

CREDITS
- HDRgameAnalysis - mod.
- ShortFuse (Carlos Lopez) - RenoDX framework (MIT licence).
