Souls "Unsqueezed"

Render and Usability Enhancements for Dark Souls III.

The primary features of Souls "Unsqueezed" include:

• Blackbar Removal for non-16:9 Resolutions,
  
• Borderless Window Mode,
  
• VSYNC and Triple-Buffering Configuration,
  
• Texture Dumping, Injection and Caching,
  
• Steam Achievement Unlock Sound

Future versions will address performance and other render-related annoyances.

Introduction

The game is very flaky if your resolution is higher than 1920x1080 or if your screen is not 16:9

Dark Souls III blackbars non-16:9 aspect ratios and has serious problems rendering the HUD on systems with multiple displays and high resolution DPI scaling in Windows 8/10. The mod exists primarily to remove these blackbars and rescale the HUD—it "unsqueezes" things.

Summary of Features (0.5.0):

• Special K 0.7.x Integration
  
  • New Config UI built-in (Ctrl + Shift + Backspace)
    
  • OSD Rendering No Longer Uses RTSS

Summary of Features (0.4.0):

• Special K 0.6.0 Integration
  
  • Support for automatic updates, and guided install/uninstall
    
  • New compatibility layer for third-party software
    
    (e.g. Razer Bloatware™, MSI Nahimic, AMD Gaming Evolved / Plays.TV)

Summary of Features (0.3.0):

• Texture Dumping and Injection
  
  • Extract all textures loaded by the game (in .dds format)
    
  • Replace any previously extracted texture
• Texture Caching
  
  • Minimize texture recycling to reduce texture-related performance problems
• Enhanced multi-monitor support

Summary of Features (0.2.0):

• Adds HUD stretch toggle to fix artifacts where sidebars used to be during cutscenes.
  
• Supports desktop resolutions < 1080p
  
• Correctly centers the window after resolution change
  
• No longer requires setting the graphics settings XML to read-only

Summary of Features (0.1.0):

• Removes black bars from non-16:9 resolutions
  
• Adds Borderless Window Mode
  
• Adds DXGI 1.2 (Windows 8+) Flip Mode for higher performance windowed rendering
  
• Fixes HUD scaling on high-DPI or multiple monitor systems

Souls "Unsqueezed" v 0.2.0 supports 4:3, 16:10 and 21:9 without black borders at resolutions as low as 640x480 and as high as 12288x2160 (3x DCI 4K monitors).

Download

Automatic Installer
(Preferred — Requires No Additional Software)

The project now uses an internet-based installer. The installer is used by all of my software, so you will have to select this mod from the product list. Souls "Unsqueezed" is second-to-last on the list.

Download SKIM64 (Special K Install Manager)[github.com]

SKIM64 will locate your Dark Souls III installation, download and install the latest version automatically. It also verifies that the Microsoft Visual C++ 2015 Runtime is correctly installed.

Software updates are automatic; you will be given the option to upgrade when one is released.

Traditional Installation
(Discouraged — Requires 7-zip Software)

Visual C++ 2015 Runtime

Beginning with 0.3.4, MSVC++ 2015 Runtime (x64) is required to use the mod. This may not be installed on your computer. If you get an error about msvcp140.dll, vcore140.dll, etc. missing, grab the install package here[www.microsoft.com].

The Base Mod

(Souls "Unsqueezed")

The latest release (0.5.0) is available from GitHub (grab SUS.7z only, not the source code):

Testing v 0.6.0	Download from here. [github.com] Includes Dark Souls 3 Tweak v 0.1.0
Current v 0.5.0	Download from here. [github.com] Includes Dark Souls 3 Tweak v 0.1.0
Previous v 0.4.0	Download from here. [github.com] Includes Dark Souls 3 Tweak v 0.1.0

Configuration Utility

(Dark Souls 3 Tweak)

To automate the most important configuration steps, SUS includes an optional GUI config tool.



Dark Souls 3 Tweak is included in all releases of Souls "Unsqueezed" beginning with 0.2.0, and the latest version of the tool can be acquired separately.

Latest Version

v 0.0.5

Download from here.[github.com]

I ask that you never link directly to one of the GitHub release pages when discussing this project; it creates troubleshooting problems for me. Instead, if you could link to the Steam forum post or this guide, that would be appreciated.

Installation

Guided Install / Uninstall
(SKIM64.exe)

1. Run SKIM64.exe and select Souls "Unsqueezed" from the product list
   
2. Select "Manage/Repair" to run the config tool
   • This step is not optional, failure to do this will result in incorrect in-game resolution.

Manual Install / Uninstall
(Not suggested)

Install

1. Extract SUS.7z (0.4.0+) or SUS.zip (0.3.5) to your Dark Souls III install path (usually SteamApps/common/Dark Souls III/Game/)
   
   
2. v 0.4.0+:
   Make a copy of default_dxgi.ini called dxgi.ini as well as a copy of default_SoulsUnsqueezed.ini called SoulsUnsqueezed.ini
   
   
3. Run Dark Souls 3 Tweak

Uninstall

1. Delete dxgi.dll, dxgi.ini and SoulsUnsqueezed.ini from your Dark Souls III install path
   
   
2. Delete the logs my mod generates, stored in logs/
   
   All files in this directory were created by my mod, so you can delete the entire directory

4K is only to demonstrate the problem at its worst; the mod is friendly to all resolutions.

Windows DPI Scaling Run Amok (4K):



Windows DPI Scaling Corrected (4K):

Configuration

CorrectAspect {true | false }	Enables Aspect Ratio Correction Removes black bars on non-16:9 resolutions. Requires GraphicsConfig.XML to be setup with DisplayMode set to WINDOW .
FlipMode {true | false }	Enables a special performance enhancing mode for Windowed rendering in Windows 8+ The game does not use this by default, and some third-party tools are confused by it. Only works on non-SLI systems with Windows 8+ (or Windows 7 with Platform Update)

Borderless { true | false}	Game will run in borderless mode Reduces application switching time, allows you to place windows on top of the game and eliminates VSYNC performance and input latency penalties when framerate is not stable.
Center { true | false}	Centers the game window on the primary monitor This is intended for people who play the game in borderless window mode, since you cannot move the window otherwise. Rarely, this may cause issues with the taskbar or [] + [] .
Fullscreen { true | false}	Changes desktop resolution when switching to Fullscreen When Borderless is enabled, selecting Fullscreen mode in-game will change the desktop resolution (temporarily) to match. This is useful for DSR resolutions and certain multi-monitor setups

[SUS.Display]	† Denotes an option that only works when correcting display scaling problems. See the Before and After screenshot for an example.
StretchHUD {true | false }	Enables HUD Stretching (for non-16:9 displays) With Aspect Ratio Correction setup, this stretches the HUD to fill the entire screen. Resolves issues where fade-to-black/white effects do not cover the entire screen. You can also toggle this in-game by pressing: [] + [] + [] + []
† HUDResX []	HUD Width If the game is working correctly, a value of 1280 will scale to your output resolution. If your HUD is anchored to the top-left corner of your screen, set your resolution here.
† HUDResY []	HUD Height If the game is working correctly, a value of 720 will scale to your output resolution. If your HUD is anchored to the top-left corner of your screen, set your resolution here.
† HUDOffsetX []	HUD Horizontal Offset Offset (in pixels) from the left edge of your screen If your resolution is wider than 16:9, you will need to set this yourself. The formula to center the HUD (since aspect ratio correction is not complete yet) is: (Resolution_X - (Resolution_Y / 9.0) * 16.0) / 2.0 Example (3440x1440): (3440 - (1440 / 9) * 16) / 2 = 440
† HUDOffsetY []	HUD Vertical Offset Offset (in pixels) from the top edge of your screen If your resolution is narrower than 16:9, you will need to set this yourself. The formula to center the HUD (since aspect ratio correction is not complete yet) is: (Resolution_Y - (Resolution_X / 16.0) * 9.0) / 2.0 Example (1920x1200): (1200 - (1920 / 16) * 9) / 2 = 60

Configuration

These settings are highly technical; I have done my best to simplify them, but you are probably better off leaving them alone or using the configuration utility to tune these automatically.

PresentationInterval []	VSYNC (Number of monitor refreshes before a frame is displayed) The game defaults to 0 with no option to control it. In FULLSCREEN mode, that produces tearing ---- To turn VSYNC on, set this to 1. This option is largely meaningless in windowed mode, but a value of 0 with FlipMode enabled may slightly improve performance.
PreRenderLimit { -1 } | [1-15 ]	Maximum number of frames the game is allowed to work ahead of the GPU As the description suggests, this controls how many frames (worst-case) worth of action will pass before input response shows up on screen Higher values increase visual smoothness, but destabilize input latency Lower values cause the opposite problem. -1 uses the driver's default setting (often 3).
BackBufferCount []	Number of finished frames to keep This is similar to pre-rendered frames, though far more likely to hurt input latency. FlipMode requires a value of 2 or greater, regular rendering requires 1 or greater. If Presentation Interval is > 0 in fullscreen mode, each extra buffer over 1 adds a constant 1 frame of input latency (this is why you don't usually want triple-buffering). Large numbers should only be used in windowed mode. The mod comes pre-configured to 4 because borderless mode is enabled by default, if you turn borderless mode off consider setting this to 1.
TargetFPS []	Framerate Limit The game has a variable framerate limiter that does a pretty good job, but if you want to enforce your own limit, this is where you do it. You cannot use this setting to exceed the game's hard limit of 60, but you can limit things to 48 if that floats your boat.

[Render.DXGI]

SwapChainWait

[]

Longest amount of time (in ms) to delay the next frame (when FlipMode is enabled)

The point of this is to reduce input latency, but may cause a general loss in "smoothness"

It is suggested that you leave this set to 0 unless input latency is bugging you

(Windows 8.1+ is required)

On-Screen Display

Toggle Framerate Counter	Ctrl + Shift + F
Toggle Clock / Version	Ctrl + Shift + T
Toggle GPU Monitor	Ctrl + Shift + G
Toggle CPU Monitor	Ctrl + Shift + C
Toggle Memory Monitor	Ctrl + Shift + M
Toggle I/O Monitor	Ctrl + Shift + I
Toggle Disk Monitor	Ctrl + Shift + D
Toggle Page File Monitor	Ctrl + Shift + P

Resize	Ctrl + Shift + +/-
Show / Hide	Ctrl + Shift + O


Color and Scale Config


Documents\My Mods\SpecialK\Global\osd.ini




Changes made using hotkeys are saved in osd.ini at (normal) game termination.




Command Console




Activate / Deactivate	Ctrl + Shift + Tab
Cycle Commands	Up / Down




The Special K Global Injector (optional), includes documentation:

%UserProfile%\Documents\My Mods\SpecialK\ReadMe\cvars.txt

Known Issues

Windows 7 Users

The mod uses an advanced feature for improved frame pacing and input latency in windowed mode, called "Flip Presentation Model". This requires Windows 7 Platform Update, but even with the update installed many drivers on Windows 7 do not support the feature correctly.

If the game hangs at startup, turn FlipMode off in SoulsUnsqueezed.ini

Please report any issues you encounter in the development thread, and ignore the resident troll.

Any issues encountered should be reported in the development thread here.

When reporting a problem, logs/dxgi.log is very helpful. If you could paste that to pastebin.com and then post a link in the thread, I will do my best to track the problem down.

I believe strongly in open source software and I never charge a penny for any of my work. However, these projects do take a considerable amount of my time and I like to think that has some value.


Donations are completely optional, and they permit me to buy books, tools and dedicate more of my time to these projects. See the GitHub repository[github.com] for more information.

[Trava]

Worthless boots my bags to a black screen and doesn't work

[Capitão Moicano]

any vignettes fix? dialogue boxes, death screen or something.

[Markus PXPX]

Don't waste your time, too much FPS instability and now even deleting files, resetting the video settings I can't remove this freaking mod, the worst thing I did was trying to use this.

[Marshmallows]

Use latest version of skim64, it work

[Dr. Feelgood]

skim64 is currently not working

[-SNiGS- Kaori1]

skim64 just refuses to launch anymore, Not sure why.

[sweb]

skim64 wont work, when i press run nothing happens

[CtK BurnsRed]

Anytime I try bringing up the UI in game with ctrl+alt+backspace and accept the terms and conditions the game struggles and then crashes a few seconds later. My settings with DS3T also don't stay at what I set them to every time I save and reopen it afterwards. Any fixes for this?

[AdriftUrchin]

@🔱 Yamyy_Yamyy 🔱 : On another post regarding this mod someone in the comments said they got softbanned for most likely using this so probably a good idea to go offline with this one.

[Yamyy Yamyy]

I am not gonna get banned for that, right?