ACE COMBAT™7: SKIES UNKNOWN

ACE COMBAT™7: SKIES UNKNOWN

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Better Graphics for Ace Combat 7 (for Linux/Steam OS)
By Mk1-VULKAN
Ace Combat 7 looks dull out of the box.
Here's how you can make it look better on the Linux desktop or the Steam deck.
   
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Better Graphics Plz
For a 2019 game with 60+ gigs, Ace Combat just looks bad af out of the box.
This guide should help you to fix that to a certain extent.

This guide comprises of 2 sections
  • Installing Reshade and setting it up for Ace Combat 7
  • Modifying the Engine.ini file for Ace Combat 7

Reshade is used to modify the visuals without tweaking the game files, while editing the Engine.ini file requires you to modify the game files for further improvements.
Modifying game files requires a basic understanding of how paths work in Linux.
Proceed with caution before editing the game files.

Note : This guide is meant for Linux based operating systems only, however these steps can be used for Windows also. No different instruction set is provided for windows users since this guide is specifically targeted for Steam Deck/ Linux desktop users.
Setting up Reshade
Reshade[reshade.me] is a free and open source advanced post-processing injector for games that allows users to apply various effects such as ambient occlusion, depth of field, color correction, and many others without having to modify game files. It works by injecting its own rendering pipeline into the game, which can then be customized with different filters and settings. Reshade is designed to work with most modern PC games and supports DirectX 9, 10, 11, and 12.

Though originally developed for Windows, a Linux compatible version exists known as reshade-linux[github.com]

To install Reshade first get the script using curl into a desired directory :

Now make the script into an executable :
chmod u+x reshade-linux.sh

Finally run the script
./reshade-linux.sh

This should update all required Reshade filters and ask for the Game Path where Reshade needs to be installed.

For Ace Combat 7 (steam version) the path should be :
~/.local/share/Steam/steamapps/common/ACE COMBAT 7/

If you have a custom path, then that can be obtained through steam by Ace Combat 7 > Properties > Installed Files > Browse Installed files

Provide the path and hit ENTER, this will be followed by some interactive prompts it is recommended to answer yes(y) to all of them.

Finally set the launch options(steam) for the game
WINEDLLOVERRIDES="d3dcompiler_47=n;dxgi=n,b" %command%

With this Reshade is all setup and ready to go.
Next time when you launch Reshade press the Home Key to bring up the menu.

Complete Newbie?

If you are a complete newbie to linux it is recommended to watch this video by Intelligent Gaming before randomly typing the above commands.


Recommended Filters
  • Fake HDR
  • Clarity
  • AMD Fidelity Fx Contrast Adaptive Sharpening (CAS)
  • DLEC Sharpening

    These filters should greatly improve color quality, clarity & sharpness in the game. Tweak & play with Reshade filters to find what appeals your eyes the most
Modifying Engine.ini
Unlike a lot of Namco games Ace Combat does not use a proprietary engine, and instead uses Unreal Engine 4. This means there exists an Engine.ini file which can be modified.

For a Windows system this file should exist somewhere at

C:\Users\[USERNAME]\AppData\Local\BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment\ACE COMBAT 7\Config\Engine.ini

For linux based systems this file should exist some where under
~/.local/share/Steam/steamapps/compatdata/502500/pfx/drive_c/users/steamuser/AppData/Local/BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment/ACE COMBAT 7/Config

You may also find a similar file under ~/.steam, there is no need to edit this file as steam uses ~/.local/share/Steam/ to symlink ~/.steam

Create a backup of the original Engine.ini file and only then modify the file

The original file consists of a [Core.System] section DO NOT edit or delete this.

Add the following contents below the [Core.System] section.

[SystemSettings] r.MaxAnisotropy=16 r.Streaming.UseAllMips=1 r.Streaming.FullyLoadUsedTextures=1 r.Streaming.HLODStrategy=2 r.Streaming.FramesForFullUpdate=0 r.Streaming.UseFixedPoolSize=False r.Streaming.PoolSize=0 r.MipMapLODBias=-2 r.DisableLODFade=True r.SceneColorFringe.Max=0 r.SceneColorFringeQuality=0 r.ViewDistanceScale=6 r.SkeletalMeshLODBias=-2 r.StaticMeshLODDistanceScale=0.1 r.TextureStreaming=False

Now save this file and start the game. The changes should be applied.

Originally posted by author:
This section was made possible thanks to :
https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1672258383
&
Community Discussion https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/app/502500/discussions/0/3774483849434072452/
2 Comments
TTV:craig__0810 28 Sep, 2024 @ 12:57am 
cant find DLEC Sharpening and Clarity
_utara 20 Jul, 2024 @ 4:03pm 
Wow thank you so much for this, the thing feels like a different game. Amazing