What's Changed

Hey yall, just managed to sneak in one more update before the release of MC Volume 2!

For folks who are gonna ask, yes - MGSVol2Fix is already planned. (Peace Walker using upscaling for all resolution beyond 1080p is... icky.)

Lots of fixes and new features again. Here's a few of the major ones though!

MGS3's broken lighting/bloom has been FIXED.
Added support for DualShock 2/3 controllers (PRESSURE SENSITIVE CONTROLS BABY)
HF.Blade Anywhere has been added to the tweaks tab. Use the HF Blade as any character at any point of the game! :3
MGS2's Strut C Stillman crash/hang has been fixed!

Comparison screenshots can be found here: https://github.com/dotlessone/MGSHDFix-Media/blob/main/Changelog%20Comparisons/4-1-0.md

(Check out the Johnny ones towards the bottom. Man, does the fixed lighting make a difference in some areas...)

🎮 MGS2 Specific Restoration:

Restored several flashing effects (ie explosion flashes) which were censored in the Master Collection for photo-sensitivity reasons.

This censorship has not been previously documented. ♥
For individuals with photo-sensitivity, a new "reduce photosensitive effects" option has been added under the Config Tool's graphics tab.
- If you notice any other particularly extreme effects that need to be reduced, please report it - we're more than happy to implement & improve user accessibility features. ♥

Restored broken water droplet effect on the camera when in first-person view during gameplay. [2011 HDC]

Restored the Codec screen's background to have its intended cyan hue. [2011 HDC]

Restored the game's on-demand slowdown effect (ie when defeating Olga), which was left unimplemented by Bluepoint. [2011 HDC]

Fixed incorrect framing during cutscenes where Raiden is aiming down the PSG-1's scope. [2011 HDC]

Fixed more effects which ran at the incorrect speed. [2011 HDC]

Depth of field transition speed, lightning, hair physics speed, traffic speed on Tanker opening bridge, & a few other misc. things.

Fixed codec's CRT vertical scanline effect running at the wrong speed. [2011 HDC]

Improved the previous fix for AI Ray vision during Arsenal Gear cutscene after Ray boss fight. [2002 Xbox]

Shadow edges have been softened to match their appearance on the PS2. [2011 HDC]

Fixed depth of field effects incorrectly contributing to scene lighting. [2011 HDC]

Fixed some instances of GS over-bright simulation not working as intended. [2011 HDC]

Fixed several scripted sequences where the game takes control of the player incorrectly using PAL (50 Hz / 50 FPS) timings. [2011 HDC]

Bluepoint sloppily compiled a number of asset files using PAL defines, which resulted in those files having PAL timings meant for 50 Hz / 50 FPS baked into them.
The correct NTSC (60 Hz / 60 FPS) timings have been restored.
This was responsible for momentary pauses during these scripted sequences, which sometimes also caused them to freeze outright.
Such sequences include Snake's M9 tutorial right after the Tanker's opening cutscene, and Raiden using the scope to look at Semtex on the 1-2 Connecting bridge.
This fix requires the MGS2 Community Bugfix Compilation's restored NTSC .row files.

Fixed incorrect scanline effect scaling & color during several cutscenes. [2011 HDC]

🎮 MGS3 Specific Restoration:

Fixed MGS3's broken lighting system. [2011 HDC]

Bluepoint's engine was throwing away all of the original PS2 lighting dimension / radius information.
This affected most of the game, but was particularly noticeable during cutscenes, where it was mistakenly thought to just be blown-out bloom.

Fixed light emitting textures not working. [2011 HDC]

Bluepoint again fucked up lighting; this time, textures which were supposed to emit light were not actually functional & just flat.
This was particularly noticeable during the hangar scenes after fighting Volgin.

Fixed god-rays not blending properly. [2011 HDC]

Bluepoint lighting memes once more.
The PS2 version would throw away these fractional values when blending god-rays together.
Bluepoint was keeping these fractional values & adding them to the scene's lighting.
This resulted in blowout during several cutscenes, most notably the final graveyard cutscene.

Before & after shots with all the above lighting corrections can be viewed here: https://github.com/dotlessone/MGSHDFix-Media/blob/main/Changelog%20Comparisons/4-1-0.md

🐛 New Bugfixes:

Fixed the launcher not automatically defaulting to a user's dedicated GPU, which sometimes prevented the game from launching properly for multi-GPU/laptop setups.

🐛 MGS2 Specific Bugfixes:

Fixed the infamous Stillman / Strut C crash (which occurs both on PC & on console). [2023 MC - Patch 2.0.0]

In patch 2.0.0 Konami updated the spawner function for the breakable glass in Strut C, but forgot to update the amount of memory allocated for its rendering packet.
- The packet was allocating 0x40 bytes, when the updated function now requires 0x50 bytes.
As a result, the level-transition cleanup was clearing memory beyond the packet's allocated block, corrupting nearby data, and ultimately causing the crash.
The fact that it doesn't crash 100% of the time is purely luck.

Fixed English item / weapon descriptions in the item/weapon menus being squished horizontally. [2011 HDC]

This fix no longer requires the MGS2 Community Bugfix Compilation.

Improved the accuracy of sun glare & heat haze positioning. They are now identical in both full-screen and letterbox. [2011 HDC]

Fixed incorrect laser beam color blending when using thermal goggles. [2011 HDC]

Fixed certain sprite particle effects having visible clipping with models / not fading out properly. [2001 SoL]

Fixed visible gaps at the edges of the water during the Tanker exterior cutscenes. [2001 SoL]

Fixed a crash which would occur when trying to watch low-polygon versions of cutscenes from the developer menu. [2011 HDC]

✨ Shared Features:

DualShock 2 / 3 support has been added (pressure-sensitive / analog controller face buttons)

This option (general tab -> controller settings) restores full analog controller functionality to the game, allowing you to raise / lower weapons with the weapon button, slit guards' throats by hard-pressing the CQC button, spray coolant with the weapon button, etc.

https://github.com/ShizCalev/MGSHDFix#dualshock-2--3-setup

Support will not be provided for controller setup / connection issues. Please test your controller using PCSX2 if you are having issues getting pressure detection working properly.
- If it works properly with PCSX2, it should work automatically with our system.
A new option has also been added to the speedrunner overlay to display current pressure values on-screen.

Digital camera photos will now automatically save as Steam screenshots.

Added a hotkey to jump to the developer / level select menu.

✨ MGS2 Specific Features:

Added option for Snake & Raiden to be able to use the High Frequency Blade anywhere / anytime.

(This is equivalent functionality to the broken HF.BLADE Mod.)

Bluepoint's third-person camera is no longer disabled when the HF Blade is equipped.

To swing the blade while the third-person camera is enabled, hold Triangle.

Added an option for Bluepoint's First-Person View mode to persist across room transitions.

Improved the quality of MGS2's depth of field by cleaning up the box-sampling artifacting on everything's edges.

Added an option to make Snake's bandana heavier during cutscenes to reduce the wacky-flailing-arm-inflatable-tube-man wiggle during windy scenes.

Mouse sensitivity can now be adjusted (just like MGS3 had before.)

⚙️ MGSHDFix Internal Bugfixes

Fixed several effects (ie motion trails) breaking & running in overdrive when SMAA was disabled.
Fixed motion trails disappearing when pausing the game.
Fixed speedrunner overlay's total run time resetting between Virtuous Mission & Operation Snake Eater.
Fixed scaled-down captions not properly becoming even smaller during certain parts of the game (ie when listening to Johnny in Shell 1 Core)
Fixed config tool's update checker not properly notifying when updates are available.
Fixed config tool's update checker causing the app to hang when GitHub.com is down.

SteamOS/Linux ONLY: Linux filesystem errors which previously caused crashing with the Snake Holster Fix, Hostage Arm Fix, Shell 1 Core Camera Screen fix, and the Alternative Colonel MSX Sprite feature have been fixed. These features are now re-enabled. (Requires MGS2 Community Bugfix Compilation)

Full Changelog: 4.0.2...4.1.0

Installation

🚩 If updating from a previous version of MGSHDFix:

Delete d3d11.dll from your game folder.

Steps:

Download the file marked MGSHDFix_v4.1.0.zip from the "Assets" section below.
Extract the contents of the release zip into your game folder.
- (e.g., steamapps\common\MGS2 or steamapps\common\MGS3 for Steam.)
Set both "Internal Resolution" & "Internal Upscaling" to Default / Original in the game's launcher. (Resolution is entirely handled by MGSHDFix.)
Launch the MGSHDFix Config Tool (in the game's /plugins folder) to generate a settings file if you're installing the mod for the first time.

Steam Deck/Linux Additional Instructions

🚩 These steps are only needed if you’re on Steam Deck/Linux. Skip if you’re using Windows.

Open up the game properties of either MGS2/MGS3 in Steam and add the following line to the launch options:
```
 `WINEDLLOVERRIDES="wininet,winhttp=n,b" %command%` 
```
When opening the MGSHDFix Config Tool on Steam Deck/Linux, a Proton Tricks Wine Prefix window will pop up. Select any game and hit "OK" to open the MGSHDFix Config Tool.
- If you do not have any games in the list, or the MGSHDFix Config Tool fails to launch, add it as a non-steam game and launch it once through Steam to generate a new Proton Tricks Wine Prefix entry.
- You can remove the Config Tool from your Steam game list and launch it directly after generating this prefix.

Configuration

See MGSHDFix Config Tool.exe in the /plugins folder to adjust settings for the fix.

DualShock 2/3 Setup