Skyrim ENB Visual Dehazing Techniques

 

WL

Looking at the images gemmated by skyrim using ENB or shaders It seems they are generally hazy. Can anything done to dehaze them

Edit

The hazy appearance in Skyrim with ENB or shader mods is a common issue that can be addressed through several methods:

ENB-specific solutions:

  • Adjust atmospheric scattering settings - Many ENBs have overly aggressive fog/haze effects. Look for settings like EnableSunGlare, EnableLens, or atmospheric parameters in your ENB configuration
  • Modify weather settings - ENBs often enhance weather effects including fog. Check enbseries.ini for weather-related parameters you can tone down
  • Try different ENB presets - Some ENBs prioritize atmospheric effects over clarity. Consider switching to presets known for crisp visuals like Rudy ENB or Silent Horizons

Shader mod adjustments:

  • Reduce depth of field effects - Many shader packs add aggressive DOF that can create a hazy look
  • Lower bloom and lens effects - Excessive bloom can wash out the image and create haziness
  • Adjust contrast and clarity settings - Most shader mods have built-in sharpening and contrast options

General fixes:

  • Check your weather mod compatibility - Weather mods like Climates of Tamriel can conflict with visual overhauls
  • Verify fog distance settings - In Skyrim's ini files, look for fTreesMidLODSwitchDist and fog-related parameters
  • Consider using IMAGINATOR - This mod allows real-time adjustment of contrast, brightness, and saturation to counteract haziness

Quick test: Try disabling your ENB temporarily (Shift+F12) to see if the haziness persists - this will help identify whether it's ENB-related or from other mods.

What specific ENB or shader setup are you currently using? That would help narrow down more targeted solutions.

Retry

WL

I am using several mod lists. My screen capturing mod is capturing hazy results which cause me to edit the images in lightroom to dehaze them

Edit

Since you're dealing with hazy screen captures that require post-processing in Lightroom, there are several approaches to get cleaner captures directly:

Screen capture tool adjustments:

  • Try different capture software - Some tools compress or process images differently. Consider MSI Afterburner, OBS, or NVIDIA Anshot if you're not already using them
  • Capture in uncompressed formats - Use PNG or uncompressed formats instead of JPEG to avoid compression artifacts that can worsen haziness
  • Check capture settings - Ensure you're capturing at native resolution without any built-in filtering or enhancement

In-game solutions:

  • Disable TAA (Temporal Anti-Aliasing) - TAA can create a soft, hazy look that's particularly noticeable in screenshots
  • Adjust in-game brightness/contrast - Sometimes the game's base settings contribute to washed-out captures
  • Use console commands for screenshots - tm (toggle menus) and tfc (free camera) for cleaner composition

ENB capture mode:

  • Enable ENB screenshot function - Many ENBs have built-in screenshot capabilities (usually Print Screen) that capture the image before certain post-processing effects
  • Try different ENB capture formats - Some ENBs offer PNG vs BMP options with different processing

Lightroom automation: Since you're already using Lightroom, consider creating a preset with your standard dehaze settings, clarity adjustments, and contrast tweaks. This would streamline your workflow if the capture quality can't be improved at the source.

What screen capture software are you currently using, and have you tried the ENB's built-in screenshot function?

Retry

WL

I am using a mod of my own creation for screen capture. It uses windows desktop duplication to capture an image and WIC/DirectxTek to write the files to disk. The mod supports most WIC formats as well as the DDS formats. I am not overly familiar with enb image capture. I have not tried to do any adjustments in my mod.

Edit

Since you're using Windows Desktop Duplication with your own mod, the haziness is likely being captured as-is from the rendered frame buffer. Here are some technical approaches:

ENB screenshot comparison: ENB's built-in capture (usually Print Screen key) grabs the image at different points in the rendering pipeline - sometimes before certain atmospheric effects are applied. Try comparing:

  • Your mod's captures vs ENB screenshots of the same scene
  • This will tell you if the haziness is in the final render or added by post-processing

Potential mod adjustments:

  • Color space handling - Ensure you're capturing in the correct color space (sRGB vs linear)
  • Bit depth - Try capturing at higher bit depths (16-bit vs 8-bit) to preserve more data for potential correction
  • Timing of capture - Desktop Duplication captures the final presented frame; you might experiment with different capture timing

ENB integration options:

  • ENB API hooks - Some ENBs expose APIs that let you capture at different pipeline stages
  • Pre-effect capture - You could potentially hook into the rendering pipeline before atmospheric effects are applied
  • ENB parameter access - Some ENBs allow runtime parameter modification, which you could use to temporarily disable haze effects during capture

WIC format considerations:

  • TIFF or PNG 16-bit - Better for preserving data if you plan to post-process
  • Avoid JPEG - Compression can worsen the soft/hazy appearance

Would you be interested in exploring ENB API integration, or do you prefer to focus on optimizing your current Desktop Duplication approach? Also, what format are you currently saving in?

Retry

WL

I think I will just sharpen or dehazs via lightroom for now. I am not sure what bit depth I am capturing aas I did not specify it when the mod was created. I should probably have the source code analyzed as I generated it with Claude Desktop.

Edit

That's a practical approach - Lightroom's dehaze and clarity tools are quite effective for this. Since you generated the code with Claude Desktop, here are some things to look for when you analyze the source:

Key areas to check in your code:

  • DXGI format specification - Look for DXGI_FORMAT_ constants in your Desktop Duplication setup. Common ones are DXGI_FORMAT_B8G8R8A8_UNORM (8-bit) vs DXGI_FORMAT_R16G16B16A16_FLOAT (16-bit)
  • WIC pixel format - Check what WICPixelFormat you're using when converting. GUID_WICPixelFormat32bppBGRA is 8-bit, while GUID_WICPixelFormat64bppRGBA would be 16-bit
  • DirectXTek save parameters - If using DirectXTek for DDS, look at the compression and format settings

Quick Lightroom workflow tip: Since you're doing this repeatedly, create a custom preset with your typical dehaze/clarity/contrast adjustments. You can also use Lightroom's auto-sync feature to apply the same corrections across multiple screenshots at once.

Future consideration: If you decide to modify the mod later, capturing at 16-bit would give you more headroom for post-processing corrections without quality loss.

For now though, the Lightroom approach will definitely get you the results you want without diving into code changes.

Retry

Claude can make mistakes. Please double-check responses.

 

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