User:Neovalen/W3R - The Wild Hunt Revisited

W3R: The Wild Hunt Revisited
A STEP hosted mod guide created and maintained by Neovalen.
Last Update: 5:31:04 25 May 2016 (UTC)

- Visit the comment and feedback thread on the STEP forums to submit any feedback or support questions related to this guide.
- This guide is graciously hosted by STEP and solely maintained by Neovalen in his spare time. Contributions directly to the author, or alternatively to STEP for site hosting are welcome.

Introduction and Summary

W3R: The Wild Hunt Revisited is a mod guide designed to keep up with the ever changing Witcher 3 mod landscape. Key tenets of this mod guide include:

• Increased Immersion and Realism including but not limited to blood/gore, intense combat, nudity/sex, realistic needs, and survival.
• Maintained Lore Friendliness meaning remaining true to the majority of The Witcher lore - but not in a purist sense - some liberties will be taken.
• Maintained Stability with Maximum Functionality including conflict resolution, mod ordering, and more.

Author's Development System

The system used for the creation of this guide is as follows:

Processor: Intel Core i5 3570k @ 4.4 Ghz
Motherboard: Gigabyte G1 Sniper 3
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 1600
Video Card: Gigabyte GTX 980 G1 Gaming 4GB @ +135 Core + 350 Memory
Hard Drive (OS): Samsung 840 PRO 256GB SSD
Hard Drive (Games): Samsung 840 PRO 256GB SSD
Hard Drive (Data Backup): Western Digital Black 500GB 7200RPM

Prerequisites

Spectacular achievement is always preceded by unspectacular preparation. --Robert H. Schuller

To use this guide to it's fullest extent, the following software must be installed and configured as specified.

Official CD Projekt RED Content

• The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt v1.12.1
• The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Free DLC Program
• The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Expansion Pass *Hearts of Stone Now Available!*

Tools

• 7-Zip v9.20

The function of this tool is to open archives manually when not using other tools as it handles most modern compression schemes and is free to use.

• Nexus Mod Manager 0.61.15

If you use Mod Organizer to handle nxm links for other games: uncheck all file association options in the installer then configure Mod Organizers nxmhander to point to NMM for witcher3.
The function of this tool is to manage mods and is the mod manager of choice for this guide.

• Nvidia Inspector 1.9.7.3

The function of this tool is to configure advanced settings for Nvidia graphics drivers. AMD users should download an equivalent program such as RadeonPro.

• Witcher 3 Script Merger 0.5.8

The function of this tool is to check the mods folder for conflicts and displays them in the UI. If the conflict is a .ws script or .xml file inside a .bundle package, then this tool can merge the different versions.

All Journeys Begin With The First Step...

The first step, my son, which one makes in the world, is the one on which depends the rest of our days. --Voltaire

The road of the White Wolf begins slowly yet with purposeful resolve.

Configure The Witcher 3

Upon downloading The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt there are no settings files pre-generated. Thus, it is imperative to run the game once to generate the initial set of configuration files and do basic setup.

• Note 1: Some of the user interface settings provided assume a basic knowledge of game mechanics such as disabling tutorials and control hints. If this is a first play-through, it is advised to leave these options enabled temporarily.
• Note 2: The video settings provided assume a PC similar to the authors system. Some settings may need to be adjusted to maintain FPS on the target system.

Start The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt directly or via the game manager of your choice (GOG Galaxy / Steam).
Click "Options" on the main menu.
Click "Gameplay" in the options menu.
Set "On Screen Tutorials" to Off.
Set "Movement Response" to Alternative.
Return to the options menu.
Click "HUD Configuration".
Set "HUD Size" to Small.
Set "Minimap" to Off.
Set "Active Quests" to Off.
Set "Display Witcher Medallion and Stat Bars" to Off.
Set "Display Current Buffs" to Off.
Set "Control Hints" to Off.
Set "Additional Equipment" to Off.
Return to the options menu.
Click "Postprocessing".
Click "High".
Set "Sharpening" to Low.
Set "Ambient Occlusion" to HBAO+.
Return to the options menu.
Click "Graphics".
Click "Ultra".
Set "Maximum Frames Per Second" to Unlimited.
Set "Resolution" to the monitors native resolution.
Set "Display Mode" to Fullscreen.
Set "Hardware Cursor" to On.
Return to the options menu.
Return to the main menu.
Click "Downloadable Content".
Click "Options".
Set "Alternative Look For Yennefer" to Off.
Set "Alternative Look For Triss" to Off.
Set "Alternative Look For Ciri" to Off.
Return to the downloadable content menu.
Return to the main menu.
Exit the game.

These settings have now been saved into the configuration files. These settings have accomplished the following:

• Setup the user interface for minimal obstruction and disabled tutorial messages.
• Setup the graphics for maximum fidelity.
• Setup movement for maximum responsiveness and disabled mouse acceleration.
• Setup the DLC to be lore friendly. Some mods may use the alternative looks at various points in the game.

Configure Nexus Mod Manager

With The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt properly configured, the next step is to initially set up our mod management utility. When starting Nexus Mod Manager for the first time, it will scan for any supported games. Once this process has finished, perform the following:

Verify any game paths found by clicking the checkmark icon by each game then click [OK].
In the "Game Selection" window, select "The Witcher 3", check the box to prevent being asked on the next time, then click [OK].
In the "The Witcher 3 Setup" window, modify any file paths as desired. Default is recommended for ease of use.
In the "Category Setup" window, select [Yes].
Click through any news or warnings until you are at the main UI screen.
Click the bottom icon on the left side of the mods tab to switch view from category to files.
Exit Nexus Mod Manager.

Nexus Mod Manager has now been configured to install mods for The Witcher 3. When downloading a mod for the first time a prompt will appear asking for a Nexus username and password. Enter valid credentials, check the box to save them, and click [OK].

Mods for The Witcher 3 are installed to the <The Witcher 3>/Mods folder for use by the game. Each mod is installed with its own folder prefixed with "mod". Mods for The Witcher 3 generally consist of bundles for textures or .ws files for script changes. Mods are loaded in alphabetical order and use the first instance of each file found.

Configure Graphics Driver

Template:Notice Small With the base game and mod manager setup, it is now time to begin tweaking the graphics. Modern graphics drivers can be used to enhance a games built in functionality and add additional features. Perform the following:

Open Nvidia Inspector.
Cick the wrench and screwdriver icon adjacent to the Driver Version to open the profile settings window.
In the profiles drop down, select "The Witcher 3".
Under "AntiAliasing", set the following values:
   "Antialiasing - Gamma correction" to Off.
Under "Texture Filtering", set the following values:
   "Anisotropic Filtering Mode" to User-defined / Off.
   "Anisotropic Filtering Setting" to 16x.
   "Texture Filtering - Quality" to High Quality.
At the top of the window, click "Apply Changes".
Close the profile settings window.
Exit Nvidia Inspector.

These changes have accomplished the following:

• High quality anisotropic filtering will now be provided by the driver improving image quality.

ReShade Graphics Modification

Crosire's ReShade is an advanced, fully generic post-processing injector for games or alike. Imagine your favorite game with ambient occlusion, real high quality bokeh depth of field, color correction and more ... ReShade provides a generic way to access both color and depth information (latter is automatically disabled during multiplayer to prevent exploitation) and all the tools to make it happen.

TBD

Initial Settings Tweaks

The following tweaks aim to increase gameplay and visuals in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt by tweaking the game engine to provide a better than vanilla experience. If a section exists, simply add the tweak to the bottom of that section or update existing parameter if present. If a section does not exist, add it at the bottom of the file.

gameplay.ini

This file can be found in <Witcher 3>/bin/config/base.

Witcher Sense Motion Sickness Fix

This tweak removes the blurred edges and FOV change when using Witcher sense to help prevent motion sickness.

[Gameplay]
MotionSicknessFocusMode=true

user.settings

This file can be found in <My Documents>/The Witcher 3.

High Quality Mipmaps Tweak

This tweak will force the game to use much higher quality mip textures, improving the visual fidelity of the game at little to no performance cost.

[Streaming/Textures]
UseMipRefiner=true

HUD Position Tweak

This tweak fixes the position of HUD elements at aspect ratios higher than 16:9.

• For 16:10 aspect ratio:

[Hidden]
uiVerticalFrameScale=1.1253

• For 21:9 aspect ratio:

[Hidden]
uiHorizontalFrameScale=1.3125

Occlusion Culling Tweak

The Witcher 3 makes heavy use of occlusion culling to improve performance but sometimes this leads to visual bugs such as shadows popping in very close to Geralt or sunlight streaming through windows that disappears while moving in-doors. This tweak alleviates some of these issues.

• Note: The in-game "Shadow Quality" slider will reset to "Low". This is expected and the game will use the tweaked values appropriately as long as the slider is not moved in game.

[Rendering]
CascadeShadowDistanceScale0=1.5
CascadeShadowDistanceScale1=3
CascadeShadowDistanceScale2=2.5
CascadeShadowDistanceScale3=2

Alternatively, for even higher fidelity at higher performance cost:

[Rendering]
CascadeShadowDistanceScale0=4
CascadeShadowDistanceScale1=4
CascadeShadowDistanceScale2=3
CascadeShadowDistanceScale3=2
CascadeShadowQuality=4

Texture Pop-In Tweak

The Witcher 3 currently has some issues with character texture pop-in. These tweaks alleviate the issue.

[Rendering]
TextureStreamingHeadsDistanceLimitSq=200
TextureStreamingReduceGameplayLOD=false
TextureStreamingCharacterDistanceLimitSq=450

The White Wolf Comes

Ooh a man - nay - a wolf, gray, but not old. 'Tis he the pellar awaits. "They shall come whose stench is rape and death, but the wolf shall disperse them. The White Wolf." --The Pellar

With the start of the journey complete, the Butcher of Blaviken strides strongly into the hunt for his adopted daughter Ciri. The important points to remember when installing mods are as follows:

• Mods are sorted into categories; however, the order of installation does not affect the final result.
• The recommended option/texture size will be specified next to the version number when required.
• The recommended configuration changes and file(s) to edit will be specified directly after the mod notes.
• Backup a copy of the original mod archives in case a mod is ever taken down.
• To install/uninstall a mod, select the mod(s) and click the second icon on the left bar indicating a puzzle piece with either a green right or red left arrow respectively.
• If Nexus Mod Manager prompts if you wish to upgrade a mod, always select [No].
• Temporary Note: Due to a bug in the current Nexus Mod Manager version, uninstalling a mod where a file has been modified for configuration may leave files behind. Go to the <Witcher 3>/Mods folder and manually delete the mods folder after uninstallation.

User Interface

All Quest Objectives On Map

Author: Wolfmark
Version: 1.12.6 (Standard)
Mod Notes: This mod displays map icons for all quest objectives in the players journal instead of only the active quest.

Alternate Lightsources Interaction

Author: DJ_Kovrik
Version: 1.12
Mod Notes: This mod hides ignite/extinguish prompts for all in game light sources unless you have Aard/Igni sign selected.

AutoLoot

Author: JupiterTheGod
Version: 1.6.7
Special Installation: After installation, manually install the files from this archive and overwrite the files in the <The Witcher 3>/mods folder. This will make AutoLoot compatible with 1.12 until an official update is made.
Mod Notes: This mod allows the player to loot without having to click loot all on every container or plant.
Mod Configuration Required
Open <My Documents>/The Witcher 3/input.settings in a text editor and add the following text to the top of the file:

[Exploration]
IK_U=(Action=AutoLootRadius)
[Horse]
IK_U=(Action=AutoLootRadius)
[Swimming]
IK_U=(Action=AutoLootRadius)

Beautiful World - Main Menu Replacement

Author: CptYouaredead
Version: 1.0 (HoS Widescreen + HoS Patch for 1.12)
Mod Notes: Tired of watching Geralt sitting by the fire? This mod replaces the main menu background video with scenes from the "Beautiful World" trailer with some cuts to sync with the default menu music.

Colored Map Markers

Author: DJ_Kovrik
Version: 1.12 (All Quest Objectives Compatible)
Mod Notes: Replaces world map and mini map markers with some colored variations.

Friendly HUD

Author: wghost81 aka Wasteland Ghost
Version: 9.2
Mod Notes: This mod is a feature rich user interface overhaul with additional must-have features.
Mod Configuration Required
Navigate to <The Witcher 3>/mods/modFriendlyHud then perform the following steps:

• Move the bin folder to the main Witcher 3 game folder and overwrite the default input.xml when prompted.
• Open input.settings.part.txt and <My Documents>/The Witcher 3/input.settings in a text editor. Copy and paste the contents of input.settings.part.txt into the top of the input.settings file and save.
• Open user.settings.part.txt and <My Documents>/The Witcher 3/user.settings in a text editor. Copy and paste the contents of user.settings.part.txt into the top of the user.settings file and save.
• Open content/scripts/game/modFriendlyHUDConfig.ws in a text editor and edit the following settings as indicated:

Under //---=== 3D Quest Markers Settings ===---
   const var userMarkerTextFont : string; default userMarkerTextFont = "<font face=\"$BoldFont\" size=\"15\" color=\"#3CB371\">";
   const var currentMarkerTextFont : string; default currentMarkerTextFont = "<font face=\"$BoldFont\" size=\"15\" color=\"#FFD700\">";
   const var otherMarkerTextFont : string; default otherMarkerTextFont = "<font face=\"$NormalFont\" size=\"15\" color=\"#EEE8AA\">";

Subtitles for Foreign Languages

Author: Janiskeisari
Version: 1.12
Mod Notes: There are people who like to play games without subtitles on, perhaps they distract us from visuals or break immersion. However, turning subtitles off in The Witcher 3 really turns them off completely in game. This means that you won't be able to see the translated lines for some in-game foreign dialogue. This mod is a very simple tweak to show subtitles for lore-languages that you can't normally understand without turning subtitles on.

Graphics

ALL

Author: ramccoid
Version: 2.0
Mod Notes: This mod combines the authors various mods: BLOOD, SPLASH, WEATHER, and WHITES into a single file. It also includes some additional textures such as: bees retextured to bumble bees, flies to bluebottle flies, some fire texture replacers, dandelion seeds and water replacers.

All NPC Scabbards Updated

Author: vinh1998
Version: 1.0
Mod Notes: This mod gives NPCs around the world a sheath where they can put their sword. Nilfgaardians, The Scoia'tael, and the Wild Ones from Hearts of Stone will have their own unique scabbards.

Chest Hair For Geralt

Author: Rivianbleidd
Version: 1.5.1 (White)
Mod Notes: This mod improves the chest hair on Geralt and makes it white.

Geralt HairWorks Colors and Beard Styles

Author: Rivianbleidd
Version: 1.0 (Less White) + 1.1 (White-Less Eyebrows)
Optionals: GeraltHairWorks_realBeard, GeraltHairWorks_realHair
Special Installation: The "Real Hair" file must be extracted manually and not directly installed through Nexus Mod Manager.

Extract the contents of the zip file to a temporary directory.
Navigate to the full_all-Hairs folder in the temporary directory and compress the modGeraltRealHWhair folder into a new zip file.
Copy the resultant zip file into the <NMM Path>/Witcher3/Mods folder then install using Nexus Mod Manager.
Delete the temporary directory to save disk space.

Mod Notes: This mod provides whiter alternatives for Geralt’s HairWorks beard and eyebrows. With the optional "Real Beard", this mod drastically improves the quality of Geralts beard.

Horse DLC Equipment Fix

Author: Rivianbleidd
Version: 1.0
Mod Notes: This mod fixes some mesh visibility issues with the DLC horse equipment. The LOD and visibility settings were way more conservative than the non DLC equipment.

No Dirty Lens Effect

Author: RumenWest
Version: 1.0
Mod Notes: This mod removes the dirty lens camera effect from the game.

Pesky Sword Trails Begone

Author: Christoffer
Version: 1.2
Mod Notes: This mod removes the fake vapor trail effect from sword swings and projectiles.

Remove Screen Water Droplets Effect

Author: FPSRazR
Version: 1.0
Mod Notes: This mod removes the water droplets camera effect during rain.

The Witcher 3 HD Reworked Project

Author: Halk Hogan
Version: 3.24
Mod Notes: This project aims to improve the graphics by reworking models and textures to better quality.

All Good Things Must Come To An End

We come to the last leg of the journey, the road was long and hard but the end worth it.

Post Install Configuration Tweaks

Some mods installed during the previous section require in-game settings tweaks for intended operation.

Friendly HUD

Click "Options" on the main menu.
Click "Mods" in the options menu.
Click "Friendly HUD" in the mods menu.
Click "HUD" in the friendly hud menu.
Set "Enable combat modules on sword unsheathe" to On.
Set "Enable witcher senses module" to On.
Set "Hide modules delay" to 0.
Click "Quick Items" in the friendly hud menu.
Set "Allow applying oils in combat" to On.
Exit all the way to the main menu.

Conflict Resolution

Various mods will conflict with each other in one way or another, when this happens it must be dealt with. This is essential for bug free game play. Perform the following:

Run Witcher 3 Script Merger.
Click the [...] adjacent to the "Witcher 3 Directory" text box.
Navigate to the Witcher 3 main directory and click [Ok].
A list of conflicting scripts will appear in the left pane.
Select all conflict check boxes and select [Merge Selected Scripts].

If a merge has a conflict, a GUI will open asking you to solve each conflict. After the merge is complete, close the Witcher 3 Script Merger. The following sections will show how to resolve any known merges that require action on the users part. Some non-script based mod conflicts are not able to be merged and these will be noted by the tool. Unless otherwise specified, these conflicts are known and can be ignored.

game/gui/commonMainMenuEp1.ws

There is a single unresolved conflict between Beautiful World - Main Menu Replacement and its update file. When prompted, right-click on the conflict line and select the line from B.

game/player/playerinput.ws

There is a single unresolved conflict here between AutoLoot and Friendly HUD. When prompted, right-click on the conflict line and select line(s) from both B and C.

Tips, Known Issues, and Troubleshooting

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is not a bug free experience and is being patched often. Invariably, issues are going to occur in any adventure on The Continent. That said, this section will list any known issues and some troubleshooting tips any good Witcher should know.

Tips

• None

Known Issues

Visuals

• None

Gameplay

• None

Troubleshooting

TBD

Important Dates

• 09/08/2015 - Comment thread created.
• 08/29/2015 - Development started.

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