Gran Turismo 4 configuration guide+shader!!! Best looking Gran Turismo 4 ever! 2013

[deadlyjoaquin]

Attention: If you stumble upon this old thread, there is a new guide for configuring GT4 on new versions of PCSX2. This guide is now obsolete.

New guide: http://forums.pcsx2.net/Thread-New-Gran-...hader-2017


Hello everybody!

I decided to create a new thread on how to best configure Gran Turismo 4 since there are many old threads and sometimes they confuse you more that anything. This happens because PCSX2 has evolved a lot over the years and old configurations do not apply anymore. It took me a while to get the right info because there is a lot of conflicting opinions on how to run this particular game. Another issue is how to make the game look it's best. As you may know, the emulator does not give you the best image quality for this game, especially in 480p mode. It took me a very long time to figure that out. So, I'm also providing you with the best solution to make this great game look its best, and it's not going to cost you huge amounts of your time to configure this rather complicated issue because I will provide a solution for that as well. So, in a nutshell, the best configuration and image quality you can have for GT4 today!!!.

I'll start by giving you a guide for how to set up your basic PCSX2 installation because I know there will be people asking for it, so I prefer to just do that in advance. I'll go ahead and tell you the way I setup my emulator installation for GT4 on my PC.

1. Download the latest official binary PCSX2 build here. I am asking you to download the binary version because you want to have a standalone PCSX2 folder used exclusively for GT4. (I actually do this for other games I play on the emulator, that way I set my configurations for a game and I don't have to change them for loading another game.)
   
   
2. Save your PCSX2 download wherever you want, but name it GT4-PCSX2-1.0.0 or something like that. (e.g. C:\GT4-PCSX2-1.0.0)
   
   
3. In order for you to be able to use any custom shader, it is imperative that you download the latest GDSX version from here. Make sure you get this and put ONLY the GDSX plugin inside the plugins folder. (e.g. C:\GT4-PCSX2-1.0.0\plugins) (I will provide you with the custom shader a little later. You will need the shader for changing the brightness/gamma of the game. Otherwise you will have a very dark looking game. Even if you use Enable Shade Boost on GDSX you will have a rather bad image quality.)
   
   
4. Open up your new GT4-PCSX2-1.0.0 folder and rename the .exe for the emulator "GT4-PCSX2-1.0.0" without the quotes and then create a shortcut for it on your desktop.
   
   
5. Add your bios file and your .iso for the game if you would like to for this setup on the corresponding folders or simply do that through the emulator by double-clicking your desktop shortcut and going through the initial configuration.
   
   
6. Under your GS plugins, make sure you select your newly downloaded GDSX version and also go ahead and configure all your plugins like you normally would. Make sure you leave everything else on it's default values.
   
   

And that concludes the basic installation of your new PCSX2 folder which we will set up to only play GT4. Next up, the configuration settings for GT4.


EMULATION SETTINGS

Under the PCSX window, go into "Config---Emulation Settings" and change the following settings only. Leave the rest of the settings on default.

1. EE/IOP---Clamping Mode---Full (This setting is used so that the game correctly displays the times during the races)
   
2. VUs---Clamping Mode---Extra (This setting is used so that the game correctly displays all text in main menu)
   
3. Speedhacks---microVU Hacks---MTVU (If you have a 2+ core processor, which you should, this will speed up the emulation)
   
   OPTIONAL
   
   
4. Speedhacks---EE Cyclerate---2 (Use if your game needs a little help with the framerate)
   

Any other Speedhack settings will not really help speed up your emulation. A 3Ghz processor should give you very decent speeds. You will still get some slow downs here and there, even with a good CPU. If your game is running slow you need to either get a faster cpu or overclock your current one. Note: I'm not responsible for damages if you choose to do the latter. Of course you can play with the settings if you want but I found through experience that the settings I provide are the only ones that give results on the framerate.


GS PLUGIN SETTINGS

Before we go on, let me be clear that in order to get this game running in full HD you need to have a good graphics card. You can still play the game if your graphics card is not the greatest as long as you're not using integrated GC. But you will need to be modest with your internal resolution settings here in order to play at a good framerate. The most important thing for a good framerate is your CPU.

Go to "Config---Video GS---Plugin Settings" on the main window. Change the following settings only. Leave the rest on default.

1. Renderer---D3D Hardware (Make sure that if you can use DX10 or DX11 use them because they will work better than DX9)
   
   
2. D3D internal resolution---Custom (Here I always use my monitor's resolution, but you can change as needed so that you don't slow down your framerate if your GC can't handle the higher res.
   
   
3. Hardware Mode Settings---Texture Filtering+Allow 8-bit textures (These two settings help with the speed and look of the emulation. Make sure that texture filtering has a check mark and not just a dot on its box)
   

And that's it for your settings on PCSX2.



CUSTOM SHADER FOR BEST LOOKING GT4 EVER!!!



Now you will need to download the attachment I'm providing.

Download here

This attachment is going to be the shader used for modifying the look of the game. Download it and put it in your GT4-PCSX2-1.0.0 folder next to the executable. Do not put it inside any other folder. Then rename the file to: shader.fx


Next, boot the game and go into the options of the game and change the video output to "Progressive 480p" and also make sure that all picture options are set to "0". Get in any race and press the PgUp key on your keyboard to activate the shader. Then, have someone pick up your chin because you will like what you will see. Enjoy!!!

Note. Deactivate shader when not racing by pressing PgUp key again so that you can see the menus normally.

Please comment and give rep+ if you found this guide helpful.


Update:

I decided to update my shader since some people have found it a bit dark. I was aiming for better gamma and contrast without any side effects like overbloom or overbrightness and paying attention to all little details. It turned out so much better than I expected. Here are some pics comparing the old version with the updated one:

------Previous Shader------


------New Shader------



Now let's compare the next pics with no shader and with the new shader:







Note: Don't forget to change the shader's filename to "shader.fx" without quotes.

[rahkunn]

Tried this on stock Q9550 2.8GHz, HD7770, and 4GB DDR2 RAM.

Speed was indeed noticeably better than any setting I could muster, but it's still slow throughout most of the races whenever other cars are within sight. I guess I'll just need a better rig.

Setting the output to progressive 480p gives a glitched, garbled image on races. I had to change it back to normal.

[deadlyjoaquin]

You need to set the brightness within the game to "0" to get rid of the garbled image when using progressive 480p. Do this in: Home---Options---Picture Quality. Just make sure everything there is set to "0".

Edit: You can also access picture options when you pause the game during racing and set everything to "0" like I said before.

[rahkunn]

You need to set the brightness within the game to "0" to get rid of the garbled image when using progressive 480p. Do this in: Home---Options---Picture Quality. Just make sure everything there is set to "0".

Edit: You can also access picture options when you pause the game during racing and set everything to "0" like I said before.

Thanks, set it to 0 and it works. Quite a beauty with the shader on!

Would there be any ways to improve on the speed, even at the expense of good visuals?

[deadlyjoaquin]

Try lowering the internal resolution. That might help. Use something like 1024x1024.

[Isamu]

Try lowering the internal resolution. That might help. Use something like 1024x1024.

Yeah, all that is nice...too bad the game can't be played properly and the way it's meant to be played.

[deadlyjoaquin]

Yeah, all that is nice...too bad the game can't be played properly and the way it's meant to be played.

For me that's not the case, I play the game normally. I do get some slowdowns in a few courses, but it's not that bad. But I think its way better than on the PS2 for the simple fact that it looks fantastic. I am using a PS3 controller (wireless mode) to play it and I would say I am playing it way beyond the way it's meant to be played.

[Isamu]

For me that's not the case, I play the game normally. I do get some slowdowns in a few courses, but it's not that bad. But I think its way better than on the PS2 for the simple fact that it looks fantastic. I am using a PS3 controller (wireless mode) to play it and I would say I am playing it way beyond the way it's meant to be played.

I'm talking about controller-wise, and the fact that we can't play the game using one of these:



I mean, you *CAN* technically use it with Lilypad, but since there is no proper FFB or analog steering support you can't play the game the way Polyphony Digital originally designed it to be played.

[deadlyjoaquin]

---

I'm talking about controller-wise, and the fact that we can't play the game using one of these:



I mean, you *CAN* technically use it with Lilypad, but since there is no proper FFB or analog steering support you can't play the game the way Polyphony Digital originally designed it to be played.

I see what you are saying. In that sense, you are right. Hopefully one day we'll have support for a steering wheel. I had forgotten about them. In fact, I got myself a Logitech steering wheel back when Gran Turismo 3 was released. I don't know what happened to it.

[nabee]

Great thread.

I've recently started GT4 again since I've upgraded my whole system.

now it looks amazing with 3x scale.

I will definitely try it give you an update.

thanks!