/ipsuShade

ipsusu ReShade / GShade, Gameplay and Screenshot presets for Final Fantasy XIV.

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ipsuShade - Guidance on Pro Suite Supported Shaders:

ipsuShade.

ReShade / GShade presets for Final Fantasy XIV.

Table of Contents

What is ipsuShade?

ipsuShade is a ReShade preset collection (with GShade support) that aims to deliver maximum quality at maximum FPS with the Gameplay, Questing and Lite variant presets, but also provide the highest fidelity screenshots with the Screenie, Ultimate and Pro Suite preset types.

Each preset type comes in a range of 7 included colour variants.

ReShade install guide for FFXIV.

  1. Click here to download the latest version of ReShade, specifically the with full add-on support version.
    • This is the version which allows use of add-ons and an unlocked depth buffer for Depth of Field effects and improved lighting and shadows.

  1. Run the ReShade Setup executuable and select FINAL FANTASY XIV (ffxiv_dx11.exe) in the game/application list.
    You can search using the text input box above Browse....
    • Ensure it's ffxiv_dx11.exe and not ffxiv.exe or ffxivboot.exe or ffxivsysinfo.exe etc.
    • You may have to click the Browse... button and navigate to your FFXIV /game/ folder to find the correct installation.

  1. For the rendering API step, select Microsoft DirectX 10/11/12.

  2. This step is a bit counterintuitive, but:
    When it asks you to select the effects (Shaders) you wish to install, you please first click Uncheck All in the top right of the window.

    • Please then click the same box again, which should have changed to Check All.
    • Every shader package should now be checked to download. Please ensure it looks like the image below:

  • This step is required for ipsuShade, and ensures maximum compatibility with other all other presets. The file size increase is minimal.
  • For some reason, SweetFX is checked by default, and this hides the Check All option, hence needing to click it twice.

  1. Please now click Next after ensuring all the effects have a checkmark next to them. The ReShade installer will now download these shaders. Please wait for this process to finish, and it will bring you to the Addon step.

  2. As of 2024-07-02, the ReShade installer downloads an outdated version of REST. If you want REST, install it from here: https://github.com/4lex4nder/ReshadeEffectShaderToggler/releases/latest/ --------------------------------------- Old guidance: (OPTIONAL) For the add-ons step, you may want to check and install ReshadeEffectShaderToggler (REST) by 4lex4nder to allow the exclusion of UI / HUD elements from the preset filtering (FFKeepUI in GShade).

    • If you check this, you need to download the FFXIV preconfigured ReshadeEffectShaderToggler.ini found here to get it working. Just place it next to the ReshadeEffectShaderToggler.addon64 in your /game/ folder.
    • To remove this addon, just delete the ReshadeEffectShaderToggler.addon64 from your game folder.

  3. Click Next on the add-ons page.

    • You can manually install add-ons later if needed, just put the .addon64 files in your FFXIV /game/ folder.

  4. You should now have a working ReShade install for FFXIV. However, it will have no presets, only shaders.

    • Follow the steps below to install ipsuShade!

  5. For XIV Dawntrail and onwards, due to the Graphics Update, you require one last ReShade configuration step.

    • Boot into FFXIV, and open the ReShade overlay (By default, the keybind for this is the Home key, above your arrow keys.)
    • Click the Edit global preprocessor definitions box in the middle of the overlay.
    • In this menu, under the RESHADE_DEPTH_INPUT_IS_REVERSED section, change the value from 0 to 1.
    • Now click away from the menu, and your shaders should recompile. The depth buffer should now be working in Dawntrail (required for Depth of Field, MXAO shaders etc.)

  6. To update ReShade in the future, simply repeat this process with the new installer .exe, but instead select the Update ReShade and effects option after Step 3.

How do I use ipsuShade on a fresh ReShade install?

There are two methods:

  1. GPosingway - best compatibility, easy updates, other creators' presets included!
  2. Standalone Install - if you just want ipsuShade.

Install ipsuShade with GPosingway -

GPosingway is a drop-in package for Final Fantasy XIV containing a stable collection of shaders, textures, and presets gathered from the community and beyond. GPosingway aims to ensure that presets will work as intended by its creators by avoiding conflicts, mismatches and missing files, giving users a consistent experience.

Install:
You must already have ReShade installed to use GPosingway!
Please follow the Installation Script instructions listed here to add GPosingway to your ReShade install: GPosingway Latest Release

Note. You must say yes to the iMMERSE and METEOR optional packages when prompted by the installation script, as they are required by ipsuShade!

Standalone ipsuShade Installation Steps -

Click here to download ipsuShade files for a fresh ReShade install.

  1. After ensuring you have downloaded ReShade as specified by the guide above, please download the .zip of the ipsuShade files using the link above.

    • It's important that you've installed ReShade with all of the avaliable effects, as there are only a very few shaders provided with ipsuShade. The vast majority of shaders are provided via the ReShade installer.

  2. Drag and drop the two ReShade folders found inside the ipsuShade_2406.zip into your FFXIV installation \game\ directory. Be sure to merge and overwrite the existing reshade-presets and reshade-shaders folders.

    • For the Steam version, your directory is most likely: C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\FINAL FANTASY XIV Online\game\

    • For the Windows version, your directory is most likely: C:\Program Files (x86)\SquareEnix\FINAL FANTASY XIV - A Realm Reborn\game\

Note. The existing folders should be named reshade-presets and reshade-shaders. If they are called gshade-presets and gshade-shaders please read the section below as you have an installation that has been migrated from a GShade install.

  1. Once in-game, open the ReShade overlay (by pressing the Home key by default) and navigate to the ipsuShade folder inside your reshade-presets folder.

    • If you dragged the files while the game was still open, you need to press Reload on the bottom left of the overlay to get them to show up.

  2. Simply double click to navigate the ipsuShade folders, and click any of the .ini presets to enable them. See here about an explanation of the presets.

    • Click the two dots at the top (the "..") to go up / back one folder.

  3. You should now have a perfectly working install of ipsuShade.


How do I use ipsuShade if I migrated to ReShade from a GShade install?

The simplest way forward here would be to just install ReShade again from scratch using the guide above, and then only use presets verified to work with this standard. The problem is that people are using a bunch of outdated shaders in the GShade file structure format, which causes shader duplication issues when using the proper ReShade standard.

However, the majority of other creators presets are only compatible with GShade, and will have issues working with the ReShade standrard adopted by ipsuShade 2.0.0. It's a big problem, and it's why packages like GPosingway now exist.

As of ipsuShade version 2.0.0, my presets use shaders that will not be included in any old GShade installs. If you add these specific shader packages to your gshade-shaders folder, and then use my new preset files, it will work:

How do I use ipsuShade with a GShade install?

ipsuShade is included with GShade by default.

Disclaimer:

GShade is a closed source fork of ReShade that includes specific improvements to usability and compatibility with whitelisted games. There was an incident in Feburary 2023 where a poor decision was made by GShade's sole developer. The 4.1.1 update included anti-tampering code within the GShade installer that would restart Windows if a specific 3rd-party program was used to trigger functions within the installer to download certain assets independently (in an attempt to bypass a new GShade license agreement for certain textures and shaders). This code was removed after the obvious extremely negative reaction to the restart function from the community, but the reputational damage was already done. Therefore, do use this program at your own judgement. However, I do not want to punish innocent users who may not be able to use ReShade (e.g., Linux and Mac users) or may not have the technical ability to follow the install guides above. I have always held the stance that anyone may use and redistribute my presets or textures (as explained in my license). My assets were excluded from the GShade license as they have always been offered freely and independently on my GitHub. I encourage my presets to be bundled with any possible ReShade forks in the future (please do get in touch!).

Click here to download the latest release of GShade, which includes ipsuShade by default.

After installation, you will be able to find the ipsuShade presets in the gshade-presets\ipsuShade\ folder.

  1. Click the gshade-presets folder if it is not already selected, and scroll down to find the ipsuShade folder.

  2. Simply browse into your desired folder, and click any of the .ini presets to enable them. See here for an explanation of the presets.

    • Click the two dots at the top (the "..") to go back to the main folder if you would like to swap to another creator's preset.

How do I update from ipsuShade v1.0.1 to v2.0.0+?

1. GPosingway.

  • GPosingway will automatically clean up your install and install ipsuShade.
  • Please follow the Installation Script instructions listed here: GPosingway Latest Release
  • Note. You must say yes to the iMMERSE and METEOR optional packages when prompted by the installation script, as they are required by ipsuShade!

2. GShade.

  • GShade will automatically clean up your install and install ipsuShade.
  • Download the latest release: here.

3. Manually Update (Not Recommended)

  • Due to the significant changes between ipsuShade 1.0.1 and 2.0.0, your old /reshade-shaders/ folder is incompatible with the update.
  • As such you must backup (copy it to a safe place) and delete then your old /reshade-shaders/ folder, located in your FFXIV /game/ folder.
    • I just create a new backup folder and then drag and drop the old reshade-shaders into it, like this:

  • Then, you need to download the latest version of ReShade: here. Specifically the with full add-on support version.
  • Run the ReShade Setup executuable and select FINAL FANTASY XIV (ffxiv_dx11.exe) in the game/application list.
    You can search using the text input box above Browse....
  • Ensure it's ffxiv_dx11.exe and not ffxiv.exe or ffxivboot.exe or ffxivsysinfo.exe etc.
    • You may have to click the Browse... button and navigate to your FFXIV /game/ folder to find the correct installation.

  • For the rendering API step, select Microsoft DirectX 10/11/12.
  • If you've selected the correct ffxiv_dx11.exe, it should detect your previous ReShade installation and show the screen in the image below. You need to select the Update ReShade and effects option, then click Next.

- This step is a bit counterintuitive, but:

When it asks you to select the effects (Shaders) you wish to install, you please first click Uncheck All in the top right of the window.

  • Please then click the same box again, which should have changed to Check All.
  • Every shader package should now be checked to download. Please ensure it looks like the image below:

  • Click Next on the add-ons page.

    • You can manually install add-ons later if needed, just put the .addon64 files in your FFXIV /game/ folder.

  • You should now have a working ReShade install for FFXIV with the correct shaders, however you now need to update to the new ipsuShade v2.0.0 presets.

  • Click HERE to download a .zip of the current ipsuShade files.

  • You need to open your FFXIV /game/ folder and navigate inside the /reshade-presets/ folder.

  • Open the the ipsuShade .zip you just downloaded, navigate inside it's /reshade-presets/ folder.

  • Copy the ipsuShade folder from inside here, into the /reshade-presets/ folder inside your FFXIV /game/ folder.

  • You can now safely delete the old Ipsusu folder from the game presets folder also, this is the old folder containing the v1.0.1 presets. These will no longer work properly with the new shaders, so you should probably do this.

  • You should now have manually updated your ReShade to use the standard ReShade shaders and installed the new ipsuShade presets!

  • For XIV Dawntrail and onwards, due to the Graphics Update, you require one last ReShade configuration step.

    • Boot into FFXIV, and open the ReShade overlay (By default, the keybind for this is the Home key, above your arrow keys.)
    • Click the Edit global preprocessor definitions box in the middle of the overlay.
    • In this menu, under the RESHADE_DEPTH_INPUT_IS_REVERSED section, change the value from 0 to 1.
    • Now click away from the menu, and your shaders should recompile. The depth buffer should now be working in Dawntrail (required for Depth of Field, MXAO shaders etc.)

Troubleshooting and Common Issues (Updated for Dawntrail Graphics Update)

Please first ensure your install is correct:

1. Check that you don't have duplicate shaders.

  • If you have multiple of the exact same shader enabled (shown in the ReShade overlay), this means you have duplicates of shaders in your reshade-shaders/Shaders folder.

    • This is likely caused by trying to manually merge shader packages or update shaders in an imprecise way.

    • To solve this, either manually clean your reshade-shaders/Shaders by searching for and deleting duplicates (for example, delete one of the MultiLUT.fx files), or entirely delete your reshade-shaders/Shaders folder and reinstall the shaders fresh via one of the methods listed at the start of this document.

2. Make sure you are using the "with full add-on support" version of ReShade.

  • You can check this by going to the "Add-ons" tab in the ReShade overlay and checking if you see this message at the top:

  • If you see this message, you are using the wrong version of ReShade. You need to reinstall with the "full add-on support" version, which can be found here.

3. Make sure your ReShade has a reversed depth buffer.

  • The depth buffer (the thing that ReShade reads for depth information) has been reversed with the Dawntrail Graphics Update.

  • You can check if your ReShade install has been configured to accept the reversed depth buffer by checking here:

    If you cannot see the "Edit Global Preprocessor Definitions" button, disable Performance Mode by unchecking the box at the bottom of the overlay)

  • The value should be 1, if it is 0, you need to set it to 1 for it to work in FFXIV.

My shaders are not lined up with the edge of my character, they're floating to the top left!

This is because of the in-game Graphics Upscaling setting and/or 3D Resolution Scaling settings. This is currently most often the issue when people tried to set their FSR ingame to 99, to enable the built in sharpening filter of FSR. This setting should not be used in conjunction with ReShade, as it causes issues for ReShade and you can instead just enable a shader like iMMERSE: Sharpen and get a better quality effect anyway. As for this issue: FSR will be "static" and just respect your resolution scaling percentage, offsetting the effects by a fixed amount. DLSS will vary to the demands of the current scene, making the effects scale and move.

To fix this you can:

  • Select the upscaled scaled depth buffer value in the settings of the "Generic Depth" addon.

    • To do this, go to the "Add-ons" tab in your ReShade overlay, and look under the Generic Depth addon.

    • You need to click the checkbox next to one of the values that match your monitor's native resolution (for me, in this screenshot, it's 2560x1440).

      • It's normally the top one, but use trial and error and iterate through these settings until you can see the shaders line up properly with the in-game image.
      • For me, it was this one:

      • Your stuff should now work!
      • If not, you may need to simply disable the Graphics Upscaling. You can currently do this by turning the Graphics Upscaling value to FSR and then setting the 3D Resolution Scaling slider to 100.

Alternative Method: I think you can instead add RESHADE_DEPTH_INPUT_X_SCALE and RESHADE_DEPTH_INPUT_Y_SCALE to in the global preprocessor settings, and then set their values to a value above 1 to scale the depth buffer to match the native resolution. For the FSR at 99 trick, it would be setting these to 1.01 or 1.02 etc. until everything matches up. If you're scaling staticly via DLSSTweaks and have disabled the dynamic resolution, you can set this again to your static scaling. A 0.75 internal scaling preset requires a 1.33 scaling via the ReShade preprocessors, for some reason, so idk how that works.

My game is green! (or Pink!)

FIRST ENSURE YOUR INSTALL IS CORRECT BY FOLLOWING THE 3 STEPS AT THE START OF THIS SECTION!!!

This issue can also be caused by duplicate shaders. If your install is seemingly fine, then:

If you are using GPosingway:

  • Update your MultiLUT.fx file (found in /game/reshade-shaders/Shaders/MultiLut.fx) with the latest version from GShade: https://github.com/Mortalitas/GShade/blob/master/Shaders/MultiLUT.fx
  • Ensure you are using the most up-to-date version of my MultiLut_Ipsusu.png file. Replace the one found in your /game/reshade-shaders/Textures/MultiLut_Ipsusu.png directory with the one downloaded from here.

If you are using a standalone install of ipsuShade:

  • Update your MultiLUT.fx file (found in /game/reshade-shaders/Shaders/MultiLut.fx) with the latest version from the offical repo: https://github.com/FransBouma/OtisFX/blob/master/Shaders/MultiLUT.fx
  • Ensure you are using the most up-to-date version of my MultiLut_Ipsusu.png file. Replace the one found in your /game/reshade-shaders/Textures/MultiLut_Ipsusu.png directory with the one downloaded from here.

My game is super dark! OR My ReShade keeps getting disabled every time a dialog box opens!

This seems to be an issue with the ReShade installer downloading an old version of the REST (ReshadeEffectShaderToggler) add-on for exclusion of UI filtering, that doesn't play well with the Glamarye Fast Effects shader.

This can be fixed by updating your REST add-on and it's FFXIV specific config. Both the ReshadeEffectShaderToggler.addon64 and ReshadeEffectShaderToggler.ini should be copied into your /game/ folder. Replace/overwrite.

Update your REST here: https://github.com/4lex4nder/ReshadeEffectShaderToggler/releases/latest/

Update your REST FFXIV specific config here: https://github.com/4lex4nder/ReshadeEffectShaderToggler-FFXIV

Shadows and the shaders of the preset are rendering through the HUD and UI!

This issue is caused by ReShade not having a way of detecting the UI and HUD of the game. Therefore, it renders through it. You can fix this by the following methods:

If you are using ReShade: You need to use the REST (ReshadeEffectShaderToggler) add-on for exclusion of UI in the filtering. Or, if you are using GPosingway, you can optionally enable both FFKeepUI and FFRestoreUI in the preset instead of using REST. Don't use both at the same time.

Bear in mind, the FFKeepUI shader relies on GShade specific code to function, so it will not work on certain HUD elements in ReShade. This method also requires FXAA to be enabled for the ingame settings, so it is less than ideal. Do use REST if you can.

If you are using GShade: Enable FFKeepUI and FFRestoreUI in the preset. If you want to use REST instead (lets you use an AA method other than FXAA among other benefits, so I recommend it) disable FFKeepUI and FFRestoreUI in the preset. Just put the addon file in your gshade-addons folder alongside the specific FFXIV.ini config for it from, the linked repo.

There are weird unshaded boxes around certain transparencies and particle effects!

This is due to the use of FFKeepUI under ReShade, which is done by default with GPosingway. I don't particularly agree with this choice, due to this very reason. FFKeepUI is a GShade specific shader, and has these issues under ReShade. Instead, REST should be used to stop applying your filters to the base game's HUD and transparencies.

To fix this:

You need to use the REST (ReshadeEffectShaderToggler) add-on for exclusion of UI in the filtering rather than FFKeepUI. Follow the steps in that guide, and download it's recommended version of the REST addon and the FFXIV specific config .ini provided. You need to put both the REST .addon64 file and it's FFXIV config .ini in your FFXIV /game/ folder. For GShade, you need to put these in your gshade-addons folder, which should be in the same location. Ensure you disable the FFKeepUI and FFRestoreUI shaders in all of your presets after enabling REST.

There is a checkerboard pattern beneath my glasses or the glasses of an NPC.

Along with the graphics updates in Dawntrail, they changed how the rendering worked on certain glass materials. As such, ReShade now will see these as opaque objects, and attempt to render a shadow behind them if any Ambient Occlusion (AO) shaders are enabled. In my presets, these shaders would be the Fast AO checkbox under Glamarye Fast Effects, and the entire iMMERSE: MXAO shader and the qUINT MXAO shader, mainly.

To fix this:

Unfortunately, there is no perfect fix to this if you want to keep the AO shaders enabled. You can use one of the following options.

To fix this entirely:

Disable the Fast AO checkbox under Glamarye and also any MXAO shaders used in the preset to add additional shadows to the game. Bear in mind, this means ReShade will no longer contribute any additonal shadows to your game. You might want to use the GTAO Quality Ambient Occlusion setting in-game to somewhat counteract this.

To fix this while keeping AO shaders enabled:

You need to use the experimental REST transparency fix as detailed below in this document. It is a custom config for the REST addon that includes some of the shaders of the preset before the in-game transparencies of the game, by detecting the in-game shaders used and giving that information back to the shader. However, it gives it to the shader in a very raw way that it doesn't expect, so it causes significant flickering issues and black clipping with iMMERSE MXAO and causes glitching of black squares when used with the with_Fake_GI version of Glamarye. Instead, use the without_Fake_GI version.

If this config is not up-to-date, simply take the default FFXIV config and then ingame edit the "Before Effects" group in the Add-ons tab to include any of the AO shaders you use. To do this, just click the checkboxes next to the list of shaders on the first panel of the edit screen. You must click Save toggle groups after, otherwise this change will revert once you reset your game.

Required FFXIV in-game graphics settings:

Recommended:

Required: WIP FOR DAWNTRAIL

Experimental REST Transparency fix.

Please report to me any issues you have with this!

Required REST version: 1.3.20

Last updated: 2024-07-13

Download: 1.3.20 ReshadeEffectShaderToggler.ini config.

Example preset to use with the config - Download: ipsusuQuestingLite - Melon.ini

NOTE: I've significantly increased the sharpening in the preset to counteract some of the softening caused by DLSS (DLAA, specifically), and also the depth blur and fog that the shaders now render underneath.

if the game looks fucked up to you, turn the "Sharpen Strength" slider down under the "Effects Intensity" tab of the Glamarye settings.

Known bugs:

  • Seems to be a flickering issue with iMMERSE MXAO. Disabling iMMERSE fixes this.
  • There's another issue with Glamarye's Fake GI. Use the Glamarye version without FakeGI to fix this.

Donate

You can donate or tip me some lunch money here:

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Contact

You can contact me easiest on my Twitter. Just send me a DM.

If you don't have Twitter you can find and DM me on Discord @ ipsusu.

I also check my Reddit DMs semi-regularly.

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