December 4, 2008 (15 years ago)

How To Improve The 3D Graphics and Game Experience of Resident Evil 4 for PC


First, we must forgive the conversion team at Ubisoft for rushing out the release of Resident Evil 4 for PC in time for the Christmas rush of 2006 and leaving out 3d lighting for later. Resident Evil 4 looks best in the GameCube where it was originally developed for. The lightning casts shadows. The flashlight on Leon's belt casts light on objects. The textures are high in details. All that are absent in the PC version.

From the GameCube version, Resident Evil 4 was later ported to PS2 and from there to PC. Limited by the PS2's hardware capacity, the game suffered downgrades including 3d resolution (polygon count), lighting and texture resolution. The PC version inherited these downgrades from PS2. Furthermore, the conversion of realtime cut scenes to pre-rendered video was brutal. It's like getting a pirated GameCube rip of the game.

Nevertheless, Resident Evil 4 is one head-blasting game for PC fans who released improvement patches for better graphics and game experience. After Resident Evil 4 is installed, install the following improvement patches.

Add Lighting

Without this patch, Resident Evil 4 is nauseatingly flat and disorienting. The lack of depth makes it difficult to follow paths and identify objects at a distance.

Add High Resolution Environment Textures

The guy who prepared these textures for eight months, Albert Marin Garau, ripped most them from the Gamecube disc. Some were manually edited probably because they do not match the PC files or belong to the extra games unlocked after finishing Normal mode and are not found in the Gamecube version.

  • Visit this page and download from the links given:
    • http://z6.invisionfree.com/Resident_Evil_4_PC/index.php?showtopic=1631
  • To install: extract the files to your Resident Evil 4 install directory. Typically, this would be in C:\Program Files\CAPCOM\resident evil 4\ or C:\Program Files\CAPCOM\biohazard 4\. Don't worry, the original files will not be overwritten.

Enhance Color and Depth

Resident Evil 4 was meant to have that gloomy cold day mood. For those who might prefer it to be sunny and bright, install Bloom Mod, the ENBSeries mod for Resident Evil 4 Biohazard. Originally made for the game Oblivion, it enhances the environment like the skies have cleared and the sun is shining bright. It's a beautiful day for a walk.

  • Visit this page and download from the links given:
    http://z6.invisionfree.com/Resident_Evil_4_PC/index.php?showtopic=2236
  • To install: extract somewhere and copy files d3d9.dll and enbseries.ini to your Resident Evil 4 install directory. Typically, this would be in C:\Program Files\CAPCOM\resident evil 4\ or C:\Program Files\CAPCOM\biohazard 4\.
  • To disable the blurry environment effect, open enbseries.ini with Notepad and set EnableOcclusion=1 to 0.
    EnableOcclusion=0
  • To run, press Shift+F12 keys on the keyboard while the game is running. You have to do this again if you pressed Alt+Tab to minimize the game.
  • To take into effect what we have edited, run the game from game.exe found in the install directory instead of the RE4 Launcher which is launcher.exe. Create a shortcut to game.exe by right-click dragging it to the desktop. If you run the game through the RE4 Launcher, you will have to edit enbseries.ini again since this will overwrite enbseries.ini with the default settings.

Replace Wrong In-game Button Symbols

Oops! Capcom forgot to provide Ubisoft with the correct button symbols displayed in certain parts of the game where you have to push certain keys to dodge, run, or climb. This issue was not even addressed in the official 1.10 patch. Because of this, a lot of first-time gamers were stuck the first time this is encountered in the game where Leon has to run from a rolling boulder and dodge it quickly at the bottom of the hill.

  • Visit this page and download Keyboard Buttons Auto-Replacer v2.1 from the links given:
    http://z6.invisionfree.com/Resident_Evil_4_PC/index.php?showtopic=141
  • To install: extract somewhere and copy folders KBR Files and ss to your Resident Evil 4 install directory. Typically, this would be in C:\Program Files\CAPCOM\resident evil 4\ or C:\Program Files\CAPCOM\biohazard 4\.
  • Run KBReplacer.exe and click Patch.

Mouse Aim Support

Many players prefer using the mouse to control aiming the weapon in the game while others prefer the stability of the keyboard keys.

  • Download Mouse Aim 2.00 for Resident Evil 4 Patch 1.1
  • Extract contents and copy DInputHook.dll and Loader.exe to your Resident Evil 4 install directory. Typically, this would be in C:\Program Files\CAPCOM\resident evil 4\ or C:\Program Files\CAPCOM\biohazard 4\.
  • Open Loader.exe to configure and click Load Game button.
  • If the game crashes or mouse aim support is not working. Backup DInput8.dll in your Resident Evil 4 install directory and replace it with DInput8.dll from MouseAim_Fix. Try running the game through Loader.exe again. You can now subsequently run the game without going through Loader.exe.

There are more patches out there and some are even bundled as one download. The ones that are listed here are basic necessities to enhance the game.

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