Cyberpunk 2077

How to Setup RenoDX in Cyberpunk 2077

What is Wrong with Cyberpunk’s HDR?

This is the answer provided directly from ShortFuse, the creator of RenoDX:
    • SDR uses LUTs that clip, they don't properly roll off. But they're all baked with ACES. So they're graded, with ACES per channel coloring, and their color tuning.
    • For HDR, they took the SDR LUT, and as they were stretched them to 1900 nits. If the SDR LUT went to 100 nits, then it stretched them to 1900. If the SDR LUTs went to 325 nits (clipping over 100 nits), they were also stretched to 1900 nits. So they have inconsistent stretching.
    • Then, after taking their ACES-baked SDR LUTs stretched to 1900 nits, they apply their custom ACES HDR to apply a second round of ACES to try to tonemap it down to user selected peak. Except they didn't.
    • First of all, a LUT that only goes to 1900 nits would never hit peak, because that's not how you're supposed to use ACES. It's supposed to be the render. They're supposed to do Render => ACES-HDR. They did Render => ACESSDR-LUT-Stretched-to-1900-nits => CustomStretchedACESHDR.
    • And they still overshot user peak by about 10%. And their custom ACES would scale and stretch based on what you put. The more peak nits your put, the more it did per channel stretching, meaning overcoloring things.
    • It's basically nonsense and had no metric of sanity. The original RenoDX fix I did was to at least fix the stretching from their custom ACES HDR. I redid the CP2077 mod, and the one that's in the Discord targets the SDR look, fully knowing their HDR LUT is just cooked, ITM ACES-SDR.

My other Cyberpunk 2077 Guides

A TROUBLESHOOTING SECTION IS PROVIDED TOWARD THE OF THE GUIDE.

  • This lists commonly asked questions and issues with possible solutions.
  • A list of crash log locations is also provided.

How to Fix Cyberpunk’s HDR using RenoDX

If you haven’t done the Windows HDR Calibration, please do so now before continuing with the guide. Full instructions can be found here: Windows HDR Calibration.

PART 1 - Steps 0-10: Installing ReShade and RenoDX

0) Install Cyberpunk 2077. Make sure you’re using the latest version of the game, 2.31.

1) Download the LATEST version of ReShade WITH FULL ADD-ON SUPPORT from https://reshade.me/#download

  • When running the ReShade installer, make sure to not run it directly from the Windows Downloads folder or the Cyberpunk 2077 install folder, because both options can cause issues. At the very least make a new folder in Downloads or the Desktop and place the ReShade installer there.
The latest ReShade version as of writing this guide is 6.7.3

2) Install ReShade to Cyberpunk2077.exe that is located in \bin\x64 folder (which the installer should default to once you pick Cyberpunk 2077). Click Next

  • Note about mod managers: I do not recommend installing ReShade as a mod within Vortex or MO2 (Mod Organizer 2) unless you know what you’re doing.
  • This guide also does not cover using Special K with ReShade, Display Commander, or using Optiscaler.
ReShade: Select Game or Application

3) For the rendering API pick DirectX 10/11/12, as the game is DirectX 12. Click Next

ReShade: Choose the Rendering API


4) Choose from the following options:

Click here if you have no interest in shaders or presets If updating ReShade:
  1. Select Update ReShade only
  2. Click Next
  3. Click Finish
If new ReShade installation:
  1. Click Skip on the effect selection screen.
  2. Click Skip again on the add-on selection screen.
  3. Click Finish
Click here if you also want to install shaders such as Lilium's RCAS
  1. Select Update ReShade and effects if updating ReShade.
    2. If installing ReShade for the first time you'll already be at the effect (shader) selection screen.
  2. Change the effect sorting from Default to A to Z to make it easier to find the various shader packs (also known as "repositories" because of how they're stored on GitHub). Change shader sorting from Default to A to Z
  3. For Lilium's shaders, scroll down unti you see ReShade_HDR_shaders by Lilium.
  4. Check the box ReShade_HDR_shaders by Lilium to download all of Lilium's shaders (recommended). Pick shaders
    • I DO NOT recommend clicking the Check All button and picking all of the shaders. This will just lead to longer compile times when you start the game. Most shaders won't work with HDR so there's not much point to picking all of them anyways.
    • List of HDR Compatible Shaders
    • The repository Standard effects is always downloaded when clicking Next instead of Skip, even if you don't pick any other shader packs to install. This includes important shaders such as Deband (used to fix banding issues, especially in the sky) and Display Depth (used to help setup the depth buffer for shaders that require it such as Deband). It also includes the helper shaders ReShade.fxh and ReShadeUI.fxh which most other shaders make use of.
  5. Click Next
  6. Click Skip on the add-on selection screen.
  7. Click Finish
Click here if installing Creepy's Ultra HDR ReShade preset
  • You'll need the Ultra HDR VP.ini preset file from the Creepy Ultra HDR mod page. These will be easier to find in-game if placed in the /bin/x64 folder of the Cyberpunk 2077 installation.
  • This will automatically select any shaders that can be grabbed from the installer that can then be used in both presets.
  • You'll still need a few more shaders from GitHub, but this will save you the bulk of the work.
  1. Select Update ReShade and effects if updating ReShade.
    2. If installing ReShade for the first time you'll already be at the effect (shader) selection screen.
  2. Click the Browse... button toward the bottom and pick the Ultra HDR VP preset file.
    • This will automatically pick: Soop's HDR Converters, Zenteon's Local Contrast, Lilium's HDR Brightness Adjustment, Lilium's RCAS, and Marty's Meteor Film Grain shaders. This will also pick the entire Standard Shaders repository that includes shaders such as Deband (which is optional for the preset).
    • You may not see the HDR Brightness Adjustment shader listed within Lilium's ReShade HDR Shaders. This is normal so don't worry. The checkbox is missing for that shader, but it will still download it for you.
      • Download Shaders
    • You're welcome to pick any other shaders you want. A recommended option would be to grab the rest of Lilium's shaders because they're always handy to have, especially the HDR Analysis Tool.
    • I DO NOT recommend clicking the Check All button and picking all of the shaders. This will just lead to longer compile times when you start the game. Most shaders won't work without Soop's HDR Converters so keep that in mind.
    • List of HDR Compatible Shaders
  3. Click Next
  4. Click Skip on the add-on selection screen.
  5. Click Finish
  6. Do not start the game until the remaining shaders are downloaded and placed within the reshade-shaders folder! Failing to adhere to this warning will result in both presets missing shaders, and the presets won't look as intended.
  7. Download the remaining shaders from GitHub:
  8. Extract the contents of the ZIP folders to the reshade-shaders folder located in the /bin/x64 folder within the Cyberpunk 2077 installation.

5) Grab the RenoDX addon from RenoDX Discord server. Look in the pinned comments of the Cyberpunk 2077 channel.

Click for RenoDX server info and screenshots of the Cyberpunk 2077 addon location.
    • The GitHub and Nexus Mods versions of Cyberpunk's RenoDX are outdated as mentioned in the bubble at the top of this guide. The version pinned in the comments has the new fancy PsychoV-11 tone mapper, which makes colors look a lot more accurate and neon lights should look a lot better.
    • RenoDX server invite: https://discord.gg/jz6ujVpgFB
    • Direct link to the RenoDX Cyberpunk 2077 thread: Cyberpunk 2077 Thread
Cyberpunk 2077 thread location in the RenoDX server: Cyberpunk 2077 addon pinned in the Cyberpunk 2077 thread:

6) Place the RenoDX addon renodx-cp2077.addon64 in the \bin\x64 folder where Cyberpunk 2077 is installed. If you previously installed the WIP version of RenoDX, renodx-cp2077-wip.addon64, then delete it.

IF YOU HAVEN’T DONE THE WINDOWS HDR CALIBRATION, PLEASE DO SO NOW BEFORE CONTINUING WITH THE GUIDE!

7) Start the game. Open the Settings menu.

8) Go to Video > HDR settings. Make sure Cyberpunk’s HDR is turned ON (recommend setting to HDR10 PQ)

  • Maximum Brightness: Leave at the default value. This setting is ignored when using RenoDX. This gets replaced with the Peak Brightness setting in the RenoDX addon.

  • Paper White: (UI Brightness) 200 or change as desired. This setting has no other effect when RenoDX is installed.

While some RenoDX mods have a dedicated UI slider, the Cyberpunk one does not. However, the actual paper white setting, in terms of what you’re probably used to with HDR settings (aka the average brightness), is called Game Brightness in the RenoDX addon.

  • Set Tone-Mapping Midpoint to 1. Tone-Mapping Midpoint is critical for the overall brightness of the game. If the game is too bright then doublecheck this setting.

  • Make sure HDR10 PQ saturation is 0!!! This will cause issues with Frame Generation if changed. Just use the Saturation slider within RenoDX instead.

HDR settings Ignore the Maximum Brightness setting.

9) Within Cyberpunk’s Graphics settings, make sure Color Precision is set to High or it will result in a washed out / gray image.

Color precision setting

10) Open the ReShade interface, default button is the Home key.

PART 2: RENODX SETTINGS

Click on the RenoDX tab along the top of the ReShade UI. I did not list every setting here, only the commonly changed ones. Feel free to come up with your own RenoDX presets.

Tone Mapper: PsychoV-11

  • This is probably the most important tweak you can make now. I do not recommend using any other tone mapper. The game’s color grading as a whole just feels more natural with it. Neon lights look amazing!

Peak Brightness: Set the Peak Brightness to match the results from the Windows HDR Calibration test you did earlier.

Game Brightness: The paper white value, also known as average brightnes. You typically want to set this between 150-300 nits.

  • Below 1500 nits or so, having this set to 1/4 to 1/5 of your Peak Brightness is usually good enough.
  • The higher the ratio between game brightness and peak brightness, the more room you have for highlights to standout.

SDR EOTF Emulation: Recommend setting this to UI/Menu only. The On setting will probably be too dark for most people when using the PsychoV-11 tone mapper.

Hue Correction: None

Exposure: Recommend leaving at 1.00, or very minor adjustments. Can easily mess up the look of your game if changed too much.

Highlights: 50, but set as desired. Can easily exceed peak brightness if increased too much. If you can’t see highlight details anymore then this may be too high.

Shadows: 50, but set as desired. If you can’t see details in the shadows then this may be too high. If you want darker interiors / nights, recommend using the Nova City 2 mod instead.

Contrast: 50-60, but set as desired. This setting is particularly sensitive in this game and can easily make you exceed your peak nits if pushed to an extreme setting.

Saturation: 50-60, but set as desired.

Highlight Saturation: Grayed out when using PsychoV-11 tone mapper.

Blowout: Set to 0.

Flare: Grayed out when using PsychoV-11 tone mapper.

White Point: I personally leave this at Vanilla, but you can set this to whatever you want.

LUT Strength: 50-60. This will depend on the LUT, but this seems to work in most cases. Vanilla LUT is way too intense at 100.

Film Grain Type: Perceptual

Film Grain Strength: I personally have set to around 20, but set as desired.

  • If you’re seeing lots of banding, increase the film grain intensity.

  • This is the same filmgrain from ShortFuse’s ReShade shader repository: https://github.com/clshortfuse/reshade-shaders/tree/main/Shaders

  • If using other ReShade shaders such as Lilium’s RCAS (which is commonly recommended), then I would set the filmgrain within RenoDX to 0 and then use ShortFuse’s filmgrain shader and place it at the very end (you never want to sharpen filmgrain, and RCAS is a sharpening shader).

LUT Scaling: Some people have reported this looks better at 75, but I personally keep it at 100.

LUT Order: Only need to change this if using a LUT mod / LUT Switcher pack that doesn’t look right. Can adjust as needed. But otherwise leave this on Vanilla.

DEBUG GRAPH: SET TO OFF!!!

  • Found at the very bottom of RenoDX under Debug.
  • Otherwise you’ll see a colored square on the upper right corner behind the minimap.

If you do not see a Debug Graph slider, you did not correctly install a version hosted in the Discord server!

Debug Graph On Screenshot was taken using older version of RenoDX
Debug Graph Off Screenshot was taken using older version of RenoDX
Click to see RenoDX settings

RenoDX Installation Completed!

  • Please continue reading if you’re installing the Creepy Ultra HDR preset.

PART 3: (Optional) Finishing the Creepy Ultra HDR preset setup

1) Open ReShade, and click the Settings tab

  • Under the Overlay & Styling section, I recommend enabling Group effect files with tabs instead of a tree. When enable it will place each active shader, that has available settings to configure, into it’s own separate tab under the Home screen. If left disabled, all shaders will be listed one after the other.
Click for more ReShade Settings Tab Notes

This is your last chance to grab the remaining shaders from GitHub if you forgot to earlier. Otherwise you’ll have some troubleshooting to do. Check Step 4 of this guide for more details.

2) Click the ReShade Home tab

  • Pick one of the Ultra HDR presets.
  • Click the tab for smolbbsoop_HDR_Converter.fx
    • This tab won’t show up if in scRGB mode, as this setting is only needed when using HDR10.
  • By default the Peak Brightness will show at 800 (nits), which is the peak brightness of my display.
  • Change this to match the peak brightness value found during the Windows HDR calibration test.
  • You will need to do this for both presets.

Ultra HDR Gameplay

Ultra HDR VP

Troubleshooting RenoDX Issues

Washed out / gray image

  • Make sure RTXHDR is turned off globally (or at least for Cyberpunk 2077)
  • Verify HDR is turn on in Windows and in Cyberpunk 2077.
  • Make sure Color Precision is set to High within the graphics settings. RenoDX will not work with this set to medium.
  • Make sure you’re using the latest add-on version of ReShade.

Crushed Black Levels / Shadows Appear Darker Than They Should

  • Disable HDR10+ Gaming within the in-game video settings. This will only appear if your computer detects that you are using an HDR10+ capable display.
HDR10+ Setting Location
  • Is the Tone-Mapping Midpoint, within the in-game HDR settings, set at something lower than 1.0?
  • Some LUTs can cause this issue, especially if the RenoDX settings are not configured to compensate for it. See if the problem goes away by selecting the vanilla LUT with RenoDX at the default settings (but leave Peak Brightness the same).
  • Disable any ReShade shaders if you’re using them, especially if in HDR10 scRGB mode.
  • Are you using Nova City 2? This can cause the game to appear darker in some areas, especially in interior spaces and at night. This is expected behavior of the mod as it recommends using flashlight and night vision mods with it.

Colored Square Behind Minimap / Upper Right Corner

  • This is the debug graph from the WIP RenoDX. Look at the very bottom of the RenoDX settings, under Debug turn off Debug Graph
Debug Graph Off

Banding / Grid Pattern in the Sky

  • Switch to Ray Reconstruction preset D, which seems to be a little bit better for HDR. Easiest way is to use DLSS Swapper: https://github.com/beeradmoore/dlss-swapper/releases
  • Preset E is typically recommended over D because it has less issues with boiling and has less artifacts overall. So don’t switch to D unless you’re having the banding / grid pattern issue.
  • When using Ray Reconstruction it overrides the SR model completely, meaning presets K, L, M, etc. won’t get applied when using RR.

Ray Reconstruction Preset D vs E:

Preset D
Preset E
Preset D Preset E
◀ ▶
  • Credit to squarto and Gn3xus for figuring this out and taking these comparison images.

Frame Generation artifacts when moving

Especially in light sources

Make sure HDR10 PQ Saturation is set to 0 in the base game / vanilla HDR settings.

Before and After Changing HDR10 PQ Saturation:

Credit to Invictus for figuring out this issue and supplying the video showing the fix!

Map is hard to read

RenoDX Map Bug

Known issue with this version of RenoDX (and the WIP version before it). This bug affects the vanilla map and every map mod.

  • HUD Painter can change the contrast, saturation, and colors of the World Map: https://www.nexusmods.com/cyberpunk2077/mods/14935
    • Color options do not work on the realistic map mod
    • HUD Painter does require most of the core mods such as redscript and codeware, but if you have a full modlist then you’ll probably have these anyways. Make sure to install the mod settings optional mod so you can see the World Map options.
    • Can be used in combination with the MapLUTBegone fix or on its own.
MOD Settings HUD Painter Settings listed only for reference, please adjust to your liking.

How do I adjust the UI brightness?

You can change the UI brightness by adjusting the paper white value in the game’s HDR settings. This value has no other effect when RenoDX is installed.

How to Provide More Info for Troubleshooting

1) Make sure view file name extensions is enabled within Windows File Viewer. This will allow you to see the commonly used file types such as .ini, .txt, .log, and .exe.

How to view file name extensions in Windows 11:
    • 1) Open File Explorer.
    • 2) Along the top bar of File Explorer, left click View.
    • 3) Hover over Show, then make sure File name extensions is checked.

2) Take screenshots of the issue with ReShade! This will take HDR PNGs that can be uploaded to Discord. You’re also using ReShade to inject RenoDX anyways so there’s little to no reason to use another option.

  • The only other accurate alternative is SKIV.
  • Special K can technically work as well, but like I said in the beginning of this guide, this option isn’t supported due to issues Special K can have with RenoDX. If you need to use Special K, just use the Display Commander addon instead. It has most of the same features as Special K but is more compatible with RenoDX because it loads as a ReShade addon.
  • Nvidia overlay isn’t always accurate, and it takes JXR screenshots which need to be converted to HDR PNG with another program such as SKIV.
  • Windows Gamebar can suffer from accuracy issues as well.
  • The Windows snipping tool, and similar apps such as ShareX, are not capable of taking HDR screenshots at all. The most they can do is tonemap an HDR image to SDR, which is equally as useless for troubleshooting.
  • Please do not take pictures of your monitor/TV with your phone unless we’re troubleshooting an issue with the display itself. This prevents us from separating the issues that are present in the game, and which are just artifacts from the phone’s camera sensor.

3) Common troubleshooting questions:

  • What version of ReShade are you using?
Can be found at the very top of the ReShade About tab:
  • Are you using any other ReShade shaders? (checkmarks enabled in the ReShade Home tab)?
  • Is HDR turned on within Windows and in Cyberpunk 2077?
  • What RenoDX settings are you using? (just take a screenshot to show this)

4) Log file locations: Unless otherwise noted, all file paths are assumed to start within the Cyberpunk 2077 game folder

  • ReShade.log - \bin\x64
    • By far the most important log for RenoDX issues

====OTHER MOD LOGS====

  • Cyberpunk 2077 Crash Dump - %LocalAppData%\REDEngine\ReportQueue for the main game crash log
  • Cyber Engine Tweaks - \bin\x64\plugins\cyber_engine_tweaks
  • Redscript - \r6\logs
  • Red4Ext - \red4ext\logs and \red4ext\plugins for specific mod logs
  • Ultra Plus - \bin\x64\plugins\cyber_engine_tweaks\mods\UltraPlus