Need for Speed Old Titles working with SweetFX v1.5.1

[BoxCarRacer]

Hi guys.

A while ago I published a way to get NFSHS working with Reshade. However using Reshade can sometimes result in low framerates. A viable alternative that can yield the same results minus the low frames is SweetFX. I managed to get it working on NFSHS in my Windows 10 Laptop.

The instalation is pretty simple just extract all the contents of SweetFX in the instalation forlder where the game is installed. For older titles after extracting the contents you're going to have to delete the folowing two files:

   dxgi.dll                 - DirectX 10/11 proxy dll that will inject shaders into DirectX 10/11 games
   dxgi.fx                  - DirectX 10/11 specific shader code

These two files refer to DirectX 10/11 which the older titles don't support that's why you have to delete them.

After deleting the files you can configure the effects you want to use in the "SweetFX_settings.txt" there you can apply settings like HDR coloring, SMA filters and others. You just have to change the "0" for "1" to activate the effects.

That would be all.

Happy racing. If you need run into any problems let me know.

Regards

[Geminiyo]

Can you post the screenshots ? Really, I never saw HS in other graphics - never!

[BoxCarRacer]

I've managed to get some screenshots.

Mayor changes involve the use of SMAA Antialiasing and Coloring. Both add to the game. For instance SMAA smooths jagged edges, and all the coloring options really help get some nice atmosphere (no washed out colors) at zero performance cost. I just wonder how it would look with high polygon cars.

One Drive Folder:
https://1drv.ms/u/s!AtEzNihD4xoug-tYInfpFXaHkLJ7fg?e=haaZwC

P.S. Try comparing both images at the same time, that will make you spot the differences. Let me know if you run into any trouble.

[Mike]

I'm going to have to try this. Looks great!

[Geminiyo]

I could not make it work!
I did ran the game but no effects were appear.
I tryed to switch Dx7 ThrashDriver to DgVoodoo, but still no effects.

What d3dX.dll are you using to the game? Specific d3d9.dll? Can you upload it here ?

[BoxCarRacer]

Hi.

Ok. Let me check. I've been tweaking the instalation folder a lot since I was testing ReShade before. I will proceed to unistall everything and Install again with the modern patch. With that I can track the precise steps to get it working. I will try to post later in the day.

[BoxCarRacer]

** THIS REPLY IS OBSOLETE - CHECK THE NEXT REPLY ***

Ok!!!

I managed to get it working on a 90%. After creating 10 copies of the installation folder, tweaking every single one. And sleeping past midnight

Steps:
1. Clean install from disk or ISO. (You can view Gustingorriz Youtube video if you need a guide)
2. Install Modern Patch.
3. In installation folder:
    a. On"nfshs.ini" set ThrashDriver=nglide
    b. Configure the "thrash.ini" in the "drivers\nglide\" directory.
4. Download SweetFX v1.5.1 from: https://sfx.thelazy.net/downloads/
5. Extract the contents from SweetFX to the Installation folder and proceed to delete the following files:
    a. dxgi.dll
    b. dxgi.fx
6. Configure the "SweetFX_settings.txt" there you can apply settings like HDR coloring, SMA filters and others. You just have to change the "0" for "1" to activate the effects.

Why 90%. Because I'm still trying to figure out still why is it not picking the 1920x1080 resolution I set. Maybe I messed up in the "thrash.ini" configuration. I still have to figure this out.

Interesting Discovery:
Something I discovered while in the testing face was that after applying the modern patch. I installed nglide v2.1 from http://www.zeus-software.com/  went to their compatible game's list and proceeded to install the required files for NFSHS as explained in that page on their site. Afterwards I then configured the nglide app and copied the "dgvoodoo2a.dll" file located in the "drivers\nglide\" folder to the main root folder. To my surprise it ran. I also deleted the "drivers\nglide\" and" nfshs.ini" from the modern patch and the game ran again. I'm convinced you could apply SweetFX and it will run. However the game asks you to insert the cd for the music. (This last part sucks).

Let me know if you need some assistance. Maybe I can guide you through zoom.

[BoxCarRacer]

*** WORKING METHOD @ 05/21/2020 ***

Ok!!!

I managed to get it working on a 100%.

Steps:
1. Download and install latest nglide from (http://www.zeus-software.com/)
2. Clean Install NFSHS from disk or ISO. (You can view Gustingorriz Youtube video if you need a guide)
3. From the Modern Patch just copy the "Data" folder, the "dgvoodoo2a.dll" located in the "drivers/nglide" folder and the "eacsnd.dll" file to the installation folder. Afterwards copy the "Data" and "SaveData" from your disk to the installation directory.
4. From (http://www.zeus-software.com/) go to their compatible game's list and proceeded to install the required files for NFSHS as explained in that page on their site.
5. Install Stock Patch from (http://www.hsscoring.com/download/NFS_HS_SP_Installer.zip)
6. From the Stock Patch select:
    a. EA's 4.50 Patch
    b. NoCollision & NoCD
    c. EP & Highpoly Menu Patch
    d. Mercury / 1MByte Error Patch
    e. Set NTFS rights
    f. Enable Movies
7. Download SweetFX v1.5.1 from (https://sfx.thelazy.net/downloads/)
8. Extract the contents from SweetFX to the Installation folder and proceed to delete the following files:
    a. dxgi.dll
    b. dxgi.fx
9. Configure the "SweetFX_settings.txt" there you can apply settings like HDR coloring, SMA filters and others. You just have to change the "0" for "1" to activate the effects.
10. Run the Game!

Let me know if you need some assistance. Maybe I can guide you through zoom.