[Special K] Framerate Unlock + HDR10 Goodies + Perf. Fixes

[Kaldaien]

Introduction (to Coloring)

For players using HDR display devices, the game uses HDR10 without metadata.

This means the signal covers 0 - 10,000 cd.m^-2 luminance and Steam does not understand the encoded luminance range, the color space (Rec. 2020) or even the gamma (SMPTE 2084) necessary to correctly draw its own overlay or take a screenshot.

Any HDR screenshot taken without Special K will appear greyscale!

Special K XDR—"Making HDR actually work since 2018."

• Luminance control for Steam overlay (refer to the HDR menu atop the control panel)
  
• Fix the Steam overlay to run in Rec 709 instead of Rec 2020 (LSD colors)
  
• HDR->SDR tonemapping prevents captured screenshots from being washed out
  
• Support for preserving HDR screenshots (JPEG-XR)

What HDR10 Screenshots are Supposed to Look Like (in SDR)

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1695342392https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1695348420https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1695437213

NOTE:
The game uses proprietary driver APIs to enable HDR; Special K only has codepaths for NVIDIA's driver-based HDR and the much preferred DXGI-based HDR.
AMD GPU owners with HDR displays will not see any benefits.

Download and Install --- []

Grab the latest version[github.com] and extract it to your game's install directory (default=C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Sekiro)

All features of the mod can be configured in-game by pressing:

⌨	Ctrl + Shift + Backspace
🎮 🎮	Xbox / Steam Back + Start PlayStation Select + Start

Most Popular Features

1. HDR Engages w/o Alt-Tab at Startup
   
2. Fixes Multi-Monitor Performance (optional)
   
3. Fixes Netcode Performance
   
4. Fixes Input Performance (gamepad / mouse)
   
5. Unlocks Framerate + Refresh Rate Configuration
   
6. Adds Advanced Framerate Limiter (lower stutter / input latency)
   
7. Costs $0.00

Misc. Useful Features

1. HUDless screenshots
   Ctrl + Shift + 8
2. HUD Toggle
   Alt + Shift + H
3. Functional HDR Steam Overlay / Screenshots
   
4. Texture / Shader modding

Source Code

I am in the middle of preparing Special K v 0.10.0 for release, so the GitLab source repository is not up-to-date at the moment. I have opted to publish the plug-in's source code on GitHub temporarily:

https://gist.github.com/Kaldaien/104cee045671e2b65a8b003ffd9bfa33

Frequently Asked Questions

1. The mouse cursor is visible constantly
   
   
   • Refer to Input Management | Enable / Disable Devices and disable Mouse Input to the game
   
   
2. The Steam Overlay is not working
   
   
   • Refer to Steam Enhancements | Compatibility and check "Load Steam Overlay Early"

TL;DR Suggested Settings for Best Framepacing

Uncap the framerate, turn fixed timestep mode on and then set Special K's framerate limiter to whatever (i.e. set it back to 60 if you want).

[faber]

Originally posted by SenMithrarin85:

Originally posted by Nameless One:

Thanks for this mod. Do the Steam achievements work if I enable the "Disable Network Access to the Game" option?

didn't for me with it on or off.

So the achievements don't work with Special K :(

[SenMithrarin85]

Originally posted by Nameless One:

Originally posted by SenMithrarin85:

didn't for me with it on or off.

So the achievements don't work with Special K :(

for some they do, for others not. I'm among the latter sadly.

[Kaldaien]

Originally posted by Nameless One:

Thanks for this mod. Do the Steam achievements work if I enable the "Disable Network Access to the Game" option?

All SteamAPI network features go through the Steam client, this doesn't affect anything related to the Steam platform.

[Helghast Trooper]

this sadly didnt help with my stutter issue :(

[Kaldaien]

I wouldn't expect it to, I've only addressed hitching issues.

[Helghast Trooper]

Well people linked me here bec i had stutter issues and they said it fixed it for them.

[Kaldaien]

You can uncap the framerate and then enable my framerate limiter and that might help a little bit, but the only automatic fixes have all been for extended hitching issues rather than stuttering.

[Breeze]

All of my screenshots have this yellow bar on them where the HP bar is supposed to be. Is there a way to fix it? https://imgur.com/a/877oZtd

[Kaldaien]

You'll have to figure out which shader that is. I don't know.

Use the D3D11 Render Mod Tools and then cycle through all the pixel shaders w/ "Skip Draws" checked until you find the one that draws that.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1703976674

When you find the shader that draws that health bar, click "shader belongs to HUD" and then save shader state.

[jelbo]

Originally posted by Kaldaien:

Originally posted by jelbo:

Thanks for the fast replies! OK, I cleared out everything, including the My Mods folder. 100% sure it's clean, I took a screenshot of the vanilla Sekiro folder and compared. Steam Overlay is disabled.

I extracted SK_Sekiro_ReShade.7z to my Sekiro folder and still get the MGS sound. Then Sekiro crashes. Logs here: https://sta.sh/0s7bbgm1b8t

Setting

[Steam.Log]
Silent=true

doesn't help.

You have some incompatible third-party software active. You might be able to workaround the problem if you set When=Early to When=PlugIn in custom_dxgi.ini

OK, I reinstalled Windows 10 (ugh) and I have tried the SK_Sekiro_ReShade.7z one as it is. No Steam overlay, no nVidia camera. I get the MGS sound and no ReShade. Logs here: https://sta.sh/029hrxu5sx1i

Then I adjusted When=Early to When=PlugIn in custom_dxgi.ini. MGS sound, but ReShade loads. Logs here: https://sta.sh/013e20vtwjk4

I'm not sure if I should settle, because it looks like SpecialK is not doing it's magic now, but ReShade works. I want them both :)

/edit: it works now, using jackfuste's custom sekiro.exe (for non-16:9 resolutions). OK, the next thing. I can only choose from the SMAA and Monochrome shaders. I've tried editing sekiro.ini and ReShade\sekiro.ini, but it keeps me limited to those two. Am I missing something? /edit2: I did. https://steamcommunity.com/app/814380/discussions/0/1771511442678518064/?ctp=22#c1815422173026293265

[Helghast Trooper]

False alarm @OP, your mod did actuelly solve my FPS stutter problem.. you are amazing thankyou :)

[Kaldaien]

Hmm, I see. I don't know what stuttering problem I've fixed because I never had a stuttering problem in this game :)

I did fix a couple of hitching problems as I pointed out earlier, but if you swear I've fixed some kind of stuttering, I'll take your word for it.

[jelbo]

OK, this is great. I have the game running with SpecialK 0.10.0.24 now and the custom ReShade 3.0.8 plugin, with which I have enabled SMAA and a touch of Curves, Clarity and Vibrance. Additionally, I'm using jackfuste's modded sekiro.exe that enables my native 1920x1200 resolution. It's running at 60 fps in 99% of the time on my old GTX 980 OC edition. Thanks Kaldaien and Tyrant for your support.

[Hondō Satoru 本道悟]

Originally posted by SenMithrarin85:

Originally posted by Nameless One:

So the achievements don't work with Special K :(

for some they do, for others not. I'm among the latter sadly.

same here, wasn't able to unlock "Revered Blade" by obtaining Kusabimaru no matter what I tried with SpecialK enabled. Just unlocked it for the first time after uninstalling the mod and starting a new game again. :(

[cridus]

Now I'd like to have the PS4 buttons in the UI instead of the Xbox ones >_> but I guess we need to wait for someone to extract the asset from the PS4 version of the game.
Or not?