Modernizing GTR2 with the Crew Chief GTR2 Enhancements Plugin

Modern GTR2

I've added the @The Iron Wolf's Crew Chief GTR2 Enhancements Plugin to my list of Modern GTR2 tweaks.

You can see quite an extensive feature list below.

I have things in my Modern GTR2 tweaks like Skip Intro Videos, NVIDIA Profile Settings for AA/etc., High Resolution Mirrors, 4GB Patch, Force Feedback Settings, and now I've added the GTR2 Enhancements Plugin with download and install instructions and a features list.

Crew Chief GTR2 Enhancements Plugin

• Requires Steam GTR2 or HQ Anniversary Patch compatibility options

Currently, here's what Crew Chief and the plugin bring to the table:

I especially like the flicker fixes, various crash fixes, borderless windowed mode, automatic use-all-cores, changeable weather patch fix, and high refresh rate physics and high refresh rate ffb enhancements

• Crew Chief
  • Spotter with real voice call-outs for things like “car left/right”, time remaining, cars gaining from behind, etc. It’s extremely well done. Absolutely recommend downloading Crew Chief.
• GTR2 Enhancements Plugin
  • Spotter Implementation and some Accuracy Customization
  • VR Support
  • Custom Rules
    • Customize various stock rules
    • Add DRS Rules
  • FFB Changes
    • Stationary Tyre Friction
    • Fix for losing FFB
    • Flat Spots
    • Dirt Pickup
  • Gearbox Changes
    • Lift-to-Shift
    • Antistall
    • Damage
    • Gear grinding on mis-shifts
  • Graphics Changes
    • Flicker fix
    • Borderless Windowed Mode (excellent implementation; feels native)
    • UI Squeeze for Triples and Ultrawide Screens
    • Wiper Animation
    • Backfire Effects
    • Improved Rain Reflection Quality
    • Improved Rain Reflection Performance
  • Motec Changes
    • Enhanced Motec (more information)
    • Additional Data Pages
    • Additional Data Page Unit Styles
  • Tire Enhancements
    • Separate Visual Tire Per Compound
  • DXVK Integration
    • “DXVK implements DX9 by using Vulkan. On some hardware, when used with GTR2 it improves framerate (especially in VR), memory usage and image quality.”
    • DXVK “SGSSAA”
      • “GTR2 specific DXVK fork supports AA form that looks similar to SGSSAA”
  • Memory Usage Optimizations
  • Decoupled High Refresh Rate Physics
    • A new physics thread can now run at native rate (tied to fps) or 400hz, 800hz, 1600hz, and 3200hz (real-world performance depends on your cpu)
  • Decoupled High Refresh Rate Inputs/FFB
    • A new Inputs/FFB thread can now run at native rate (tied to fps) or 200hz, 400hz, 800hz, or 1600hz (real-world performance depends on your cpu)
  • Additional Fixes
    • Always-on Fixes
      • Various crash case fixes
      • Optimized Framerate, memory usage, and image quality (on some hardware)
      • Reduce Headlight/Shadow Flicker (introduced with Steam GTR2)
      • Fix Missing rF1 Plugin API Telemetry Data
      • Enable Championship/Driving School Page Icons
      • Disable Use of My Documents for Game User Profile
      • Applies Changeable Weather Patch by Jstn
      • Add New Control Bindings In-Game Under Controls->Extra (scroll to bottom to view them)
    • Automatic Use-All-Cores-or-Some-CPU-Cores Setting for Improved FPS
    • VR Lens Flare Effect adjustment
    • Motion System Mode
    • Per-Car Settings File for Modders (mostly)
    • Per-Track Settings File

Absolutely recommended.

Installation

Note: You don't have to install every part all at once. You can do Crew Chief one day, DXVK another, and ReShade on another. I know it's a bit much, so take your time.

First download Crew Chief and it'll come with the latest GTR2 Enhancements Plugin:

https://thecrewchief.org/

Once you run GTR2, the plugin will generate Plugins\CrewChief.ini which you can then configure.

Check out the latest plugin info from its homepage here:

https://thecrewchief.org/showthread.php?2012-Crew-Chief-GTR2-Enhancements-Plugin-Setup-Instructions-Known-Issues-and-Changelog

Notes

• The plugin comes with some things enabled right off the bat but there are some extra things which can be enabeld by hand in Plugins\CrewChief.ini file.

Beta Installation

Optional: Betas can be found on the discord. Find the invitation link on the plugin homepage.

If you do it this way, you'll download a ZIP and simply extract it into your GTR2 folder. It will typically ovewrite d3d9.dll and Plugins\CrewChief.dll.

Everything should be good to go but check release notes and any READMEs in the zips in case you need to update DXVK, CCGE ReShade Tools, or anything else along with it.

DXVK

Note: You don't have to install every part all at once. You can do Crew Chief one day, DXVK another, and ReShade on another. I know it's a bit much, so take your time.

"DXVK implements DX9 by using Vulkan. On some hardware, when used with GTR2 it improves framerate (especially in VR), memory usage and image quality... Additional benefit of using DXVK is the possibility of moving the near clipping plane as close as 0.03, which can be useful in VR and modern open wheelers... Lastly, DXVK VR rendering path supports OpenXR and ReShade with full depth info available in VR." (from the manual)

Download GTR2 specific fork of DXVK from the manual and extract the files into your GTR2 folder:

https://thecrewchief.org/downloads/gtr2/gtr2_dxvk_TIWF_latest.zip

Run GTR2Config.exe and save your choices.

Tweaks

Edit dxvk.conf to make any changes you may want:

• Fullscreen vs Windowed: You might need to set d3d9.enableDialogMode = True in dxvk.conf to get Windowed mode back. Otherwise, it seems to default to Fullscreen mode.
  • Important! Overlays such as SimHub will not be able to display properly without d3d9.enableDialogMode = True
• Max FrameRate: Check d3d9.maxFrameRate = 100 and set to zero to disable or your desired max framerate

Check out dxvk.conf for DXVK settings, such as MSAA level, max frame limit etc.

Is It Working?

• GTR2_d3d9.log is generated when you run the game
• See if you can switch between windowed and fullscreen modes
• If both of the above are true, congratulations - you have DXVK running correctly!

If you use MSI Afterburner overlays, you can see "VULKAN" where it normally says "DXD9"

Whenever You Enable/Disable DXVK

Every time you turn DXVK on or off, make sure to re-run GTR2Config.exe. In fact, you may want to run it twice, as refresh rate choice may not show up the first time.

Disable DXVK

To turn DXVK off and go back to DX9, simply rename d3d9_dxvk.dll to d3d9_dxvk.dll_off

Notes

Overlays such as SimHub will not be able to display properly without d3d9.enableDialogMode = True

ReShade

Note: You don't have to install every part all at once. You can do Crew Chief one day, DXVK another, and ReShade on another. I know it's a bit much, so take your time.

The following is based on the CCGEP ReShade Tools section of the manual.

Here's the quickest way to try it out:

• Download ReShade and install to your GTR2 folder:
  • Select Vulkan as your renderer (if you setup DXVK per above).
  • Do NOT install any presets, unless you want to, as you will be using the Retrolux Reshade preset for now. You can always run the ReShade installer again and install other presets.
• Download CCGEP Reshade Tools and extract into your GTR2 folder:
  • Read the README file just in case it contradicts these instructions
  • Copy ReShade32.dll to C:\ProgramData\ReShade\
  • Create a reshade-presets folder in your GTR2 folder and move the tiw-vr-preset\*.ini files into it
  • Move tiw-vr-preset\reshade-shaders into your GTR2 folder
• Download Retrolux Reshade for GTR2
  • Copy ReShade\Presets\*.ini files to your reshade-presets folder
  • Copy ReShade\Shaders\*.* and ReShade\Textures\*.* files to your reshade-shaders folder

You can use any ReShade presets you can find on the internet once you get used to where the files go. Watch out for conflicting files, though. ReShade presets often come with their own Shaders and Textures that you'll have to put in the right place.