[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).

[Kaldaien]

Technical Discussion (aka Activision Call to Action)

Performance Issues Explored So Far

The mod also eliminates blocking sockets (networking) on the game's render thread and addresses inefficient USB HID device change behavior. This (HID fix-up in particular) may offer noticeable improvement to stuttering and a reduction in hitches on some systems.

• Optional Workaround for NVIDIA Multi-Monitor Driver Bug

  Includes an option to fix NVIDIA's multi-monitor performance issues (this workaround is for users who do not need HDR)

I will be more than happy to explain the reasons the NVIDIA driver is performing so undesirably when your engine enumerates display devices.

Your engine is not alone, many games are using poorly written NVIDIA sample code and suffering the wrath of poorly tested NVIDIA driver code.

[cerebus23]

very nice

[SenMithrarin85]

I had a feeling the network was something to do with it. people using a modded exe for ultra wide and framerate unlocks (which incidentally requires a steam dependancy of the game to be removed) stops those random drops. the legit exe is prone to them.

[MrFrengLitch]

The hero we don't deserve, but the hero we need! Kaldaien at it again!

[Kaldaien]

And this just brings me back to my day one discussion about "what the hell is 'NexusRevolution Surveillance'"?

Back to square one, with the very real possibility that this game shipped with something awful under the hood. When I have more time I'll take a look at the outbound data to see what they are not-so-transparently getting from you.

[MrFrengLitch]

Oh god... O_O

[Mu'Ammar of Carthus]

Oh, Kaldaien.
Why so awesome?

[MADGOD]

Can i use reshade with this?

[SenMithrarin85]

Messaggio originale di MrFrenglish:

The hero we don't deserve, but the hero we need! Kaldaien at it again!

nothing less than a knight, shining.

[SenMithrarin85]

Messaggio originale di Kaldaien:

And this just brings me back to my day one discussion about "what the hell is 'NexusRevolution Surveillance'"?

Back to square one, with the very real possibility that this game shipped with something awful under the hood. When I have more time I'll take a look at the outbound data to see what they are not-so-transparently getting from you.

that agreement must be for something considering there's no online anymore.

[Nyarlathotep]

Kaldaien, was wondering if you knew a workaround for reshade-specialk compatability on optimus laptops. On optimus, games crash if reshade is called dxgi, so it has to be renamed d3d11. This doesnt cause a problem until another program tries to load it in, like special K or ENB. Do you know of a workaround for this?

[Ian]

@kaldaien there isn't anything nefarious in the game really. From just left in all the networking code from Dark Souls III since they literally never delete code from their engine (there's still stuff from Demon's Souls). Some people I've talked to familiar with DS3 networking even said it's theoretically possible that Sekiro multiplayer would just work if there was a matchmaking server.

The amount of unused stuff left in from DS3 is actually kinda astounding. There are unused AI files, menu files, the entire DS3 networking and anticheat stack, DS1 menu code, and other things.

BTW Nexus revolution and Surveillance is From's matchmaking and anticheat service and is leftover from DS3. Why the **** From has it running in Sekiro I have no idea, but it doesn't seem to actually functionally do anything. I've been injecting code and modding files day 1 with little consequence, but it does still seem to have antidebugging tricks.

EDIT: Looking even more at version strings, from has apparently updated their internal networking library since DS3. This makes me think the engine has some weird integration process where the networking modules are mandatory, and that From is working on a new networked based game in the future, and they just kept the current networking stuff included so they can use their entire Sekiro engine in a new project.

[Alex]

I havent had any performance issues but could this fix possible crashes? Ive had 1 crash since i started playing (bunch of hours).

[crabs]

binds aren't working for me

[EvPointMaster]

Thanks for working on this game as well Kaldaien, but Special K seems to conflict with the games windowed/fullscreen behavious somehow, even though I'm not changing settings in Special K.

I'm using the modified exe for 120fps, which usually doesn't work in fullscreen mode, only in (borderless) window mode, since the game defaults back to 60hz in fullscreen.
I'm using a G-Sync monitor so I'm using the game in fullscreen mode, since according to the G-Sync indicator, Sekiro doesn't support G-Sync in windowed mode (I enabled that setting in the NCP though).
I did find out, that while I'm running the game in fullscreen mode I can just move my mouse to my second monitor and change the refresh rate to 120hz there, which strangely enough works, so now the game is running in fullscreen at 120hz and G-Sync is on.

When I add Special K the game starts up in fullscreen mode at 60hz, like normal, but now the game minimizes when I click on anything on my second monitor. When I try to open up the window for Sekrio, it briefly shows the window but minimizes again instantly, so I have to close the game with task-manager.

I have also tried different window and fullscreen settings in Special K, but they result in either the game being stuck in windowed mode, being stuck at 60hz or the game minimizing.
I've also tried closing all other 3rd party software, but it didn't change anything.