C13 AEGIS 2.42

I should perhaps start by re-iterating that for Patrons, joining the Discord is of paramount importance to have access to all of the perks of the membership. Early access to skins, cars and even to all the intermediary filter updates is available on discord first. So, if you haven't connected your Patreon and Discord accounts already, I urge you to do so. Here's the guide

With that out of the way, let's focus on the developments that C13 AEGIS has seen since the last Patreon post - that being 2.35.

Auto Exposure

2.35 was a big step forward in many ways, but a few issues with auto exposure snuck through the cracks. The fix wasn't as straightforward as I'd have hoped, and many thing needed changing and reconfiguring to get us back to the happy place of world brightness being truly representative of daytime - something C13 AEGIS has always excelled at. Where 2.35 tended to overexpose dusk and dawn, 2.42 is now gentler on exposure ramp up.
but what are all of these changes?

Well:

• Obviously internal exposure logic sensitivity has been reworked

• The VAO component of exposure gain is now more sensitive to the concept of "inside"

• Daytime control has been reworked which in practice extends the day by a touch, as it now more accurately maintains some world illumination even while the sun is a few degrees below the horizon.

These changes result in a softer twilight, with exposure now correctly informing you that the sun is low. Whereas 2.35, there was a definite overcast vibe.

Low sun angles no longer cause exaggerated exposure gain,drastically improving the look of golden hour.

World

When adjusting world parameters, you may as well dig deep. Ambient light specifically has seen a massive overhaul, with ambient radiosity now entirely managed by the filter. This allows C13 AEGIS to achieve improved softness, while retaining punchy shadows with the rich blue tones that you'd expect on a clear day.

The improvements to the world lighting system provide an exceptional visual experience in all conditions.

Speaking of world lighting however, there has always been a fundamental issue in ac, that has been made much worse in Pure. The issue itself stems from the way content for ac is built, and the freedom allowed in material setup. Surely, you've found yourself loading into a session, and the track is either unreasonably dark, or - much worse - inconceivably bright. The prime culprit of the latter would be, of course, the Kunos Laguna Seca. A track that's so bright on summer solstice, it's almost undriveable. Well, with the new peak sun brightness limit, some of that edge can now be rolled back.

At its default setting, Sun brightness limit ratio has been configured to provide the most dynamic range possible across as many tracks and conditions as possible. But should you want increased or decreased peak brightness, this slider is for you.

Sun brightness limit default. Restoring highlight detail, and controlling peak world brightness.

Sun brightness limit 3.0 - essentially no clamping at all.

And many other fixes

Beyond simply improving the visuals, there have also been many fixes implemented.

• C13 Spice shaders are more independent, and shouldn't cause any conflicts when disabled

• New chromakey shader because why not

  Adjustable chroma plane distance, and fully adjustable rgb color.

• Added sun and ambient ratio sliders to provide more granularity - works with Power of the sun on or off

• Removed camera style exposure because it was broken

• Tweaked and enabled GADU spec godrays by default

• Optimized tone mapping presets

• Improved gamma calculation in tone mapping, resulting in better color gamut preservation

• Adjusted scale of adjustment for minimum ambient light

• Fixed sun disc having green hue

Now also for Pure Gamma

With 2.42 there is also the first meaningful Pure Gamma update in a while. The basis of 2.42 is 2.21 - a very very good world lighting baseline, but with the new improvements in tone mapping and auto exposure. While Pure LCS remains the clear winner for soft and true to life world lighting, if you want powerful speculars, or are very sensitive to minor aliasing artifacts, gamma will likely continue to hold an andvantage for you.
Some gamma screenshots:

In closing, i'd just like to re-iterate my gratitude to all supporters who make all of this possible. As you've no doubt seen, C13 Automotive is embarking on a number of ambitious projects aimed at bringing new and exciting experiences to the AC community. A new LAC server is now in operation, featuring a custom traffic spline, Time Attack sections with visible checkpoints, head to head challenges, with more coming soon!

See you out there!

For my Patrons, you will find the download for 2.42 here. Thank you so much for the support, it means the world. Love you all!