Ways to use your Depth Buffer Enhancement on non-UWP games.

[AlexanderVengrus]

Dear MilkyDeveloper,
I come across questions about the possibility of using your Depth Buffer Enhancement in non-UWP games. (Please see the comments on my video about your "ReshadeForUWP" program for more details.)

I see two ways to solve the issue.

a) According to AnticOwl, the "ReshadeForUWP" program can work successfully on the Steam version of the MSFS2020. #8 Therefore, installing the program on non-UWP games is possible. In turn, it means that your depth buffer enhancement will also work in this case.

b) I recently hypothesized that your depth buffer enhancement might work on a regular version of Reshade without using the "ReshadeForUWP" program. Yesterday I did an experiment on this matter. Let me tell you about this experiment.

• First, I compared the "ReShade64.dll" file located inside the standart Reshade distributive with the "dxgi.dll" file that appears after installing the Reshade on Direct3D games in the standard way. As a result, I came to the conclusion that these are the same files.
• Then, I tried to install Reshade in the standard way on a simple non-UWP game and replace the default "dxgi.dll" file with your "unrestrictedDepthBuffer.dll" file. As a result, I got the regular version of Reshade with your depth buffer enhancement! While loading the game, I saw the top horizontal Reshade bar with the word "UNOFFICIAL". Therefore, your modified "dll" file loaded correctly and works.

So I would like to suggest my modification of your instructions for manual installation of the depth buffer enhancement. This modification is specifically for non-UWP games.

1. Install Reshade on a game in the standard way.
2. Launch the game once, check that Reshade is installed correctly and then close the game.
3. Move the default "dxgi.dll" file located in the root directory of the game to some backup folder.
4. Open the "Releases" section of the main "ReshadeForUWP" program page on GitHub.
5. Go to the previous release of the program and download the "unrestrictedDepthBuffer.dll" file.
6. Rename the "unrestrictedDepthBuffer.dll" file to "dxgi.dll" and move it to the root directory of the game.

(These steps describe the exact sequence of my experiment.)

I've done this experiment in only one Direct3D 64bit non-UWP game at the moment, but I hope it will work in other similar games as well. I think the regular version of Reshade might also need your depth buffer enhancement, so the possibility of installing the enhancement in this way is great news!

I would be grateful if you could share your professional opinion on the experiment.

I would like to take this opportunity to express my deep gratitude to you for publishing my video about your "ReshadeForUWP" program on the main GitHub page of the program! This is a great honor for me!
(By the way, not so long ago I published the video on the MSFS2020 forum. You can find it at the end of my thread about your program on the forum.)

I wish you the best in all your amazing projects!