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Caspian

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Alright blya, before we get started:

• [optional] skip intro videos to save yourself from pressing E by removing credits.webm and legal.webm from game folder
  
• launch the game once so that the config file is created
  
• change defaults to what you think is good for you, most importantly select DirectX 11 and set gamma to 1-2 notches from the left

Settings are sorted alphabetically, I grouped some here for related settings, but in your config those won't be next to each other, search for the config keys if you don't see them rightaway.

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Alright blya, a good portion of the game requires you to sneak around but lighting is so screwed at night you can barely see in front of you, suka.
To help with that, 4A Games kindly tweeted[x.com] 2 launch params that can be added to improve lighting, which you can set up in Steam before we even get to config.
will remove postprocess white effect (it's like looking at a dark room through a sheet of paper, looks brighter but really isn't)
will force HDR off

So, go to game properties and in launch params add those 2, can optionally prefix it with default command:
Does it help? Not sure, I drink too much brake fluid to tell the difference, blya.

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Alright blya, I play on linux with proton so I'm only guessing where it is on other platforms, here goes

Windows: Linux w/ proton: Linux native:
When you open options inside the game, it automatically updates config file, suka, overwriting your changes, so:

• back up config file before making changes
  
• make the config file read-only after you're done tweaking.

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Alright blya, if you prefer toggling crouch instead of holding it, one of the first lines to be changed is bind toggle crouch to left Ctrl:
It's, blya, very important not to have duplicates, so remove the line with "bind crouch"

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Alright blya, if you can't read in Russian, you can have subtitles for signs, translates to your selected language
values on/off
disable annoying background sound when you're hurt
values 0(with sound) / 1(no sound)
set QTE to single press
values 0(tap) / 1(hold) / 2(press)
show background for subtitles
values 0(transparent background) / 1(black background)
show subtitles for ppl with hearing loss, adds lines like "monster X cawing Y meters away at Z o'clock"
values 0(off) / 1(on)
show speaker name in subtitles
values 0(off) / 1(on)
show subtitles
values 0(off) / 1(on)
subtitles size
values 0(small) / 1(medium) / 2(large)
weapon aiming method
values on(toggle) / off(hold)
2 params responsible for mouse acceleration, setting to 0 helps in general
values ranges: unknown

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Alright blya, PFNN or Phase Functioned Neural Networks is a character control mechanism which allows the characters to interact with environment more naturally


unfortunately, it, suka, slows down the game enough to be a nuisance, at least on my rig, disable at your own risk
values 0(off) / 1(on)
PhysX makes a noticeable impact on performance, disabling helps regain some fps
values 0(off) / 1(on)
I believe this one is for draw distance, default value is 150, lowering it to 50 adds another couple fps
values range: unknown
anisotropic, blya, filtering
values 0(x4) / 1(x16)
DirectX version
values 2(dx11) / 3(dx12)
changing aspect ratio from automatic to the exact one also adds some fps(dunno how, blya)
values 0(auto) / 1(16:9) / 2(16:10) / 3(5:4) / 4(4:3) / 5(21:9)
as mentioned in another 20 guides or so, setting up field of view can be done via config
important: FOV value is vertical, see FOV calculator[themetalmuncher.github.io] for your preferred value
"hurt" red frame filter and "cinematic" black frame filter in the ending don't scale, use at your own risk
Note: the watch is visible starting at 65 as well as danger part of Geiger counter
values range 60-90
blur config lines, setting to 0 makes you not hate running
values ranges: 0.0-1.0 for scale
DLSS doesn't work on dx11 to my knowledge
values 0(off) / 1(on)
polygon tessellation, which breaks down complex surfaces into triangles for real time smoothing, disable for more fps
values 0(off) / 1(on)
supersampling, blya, anti-aliasing config lines
values ranges: 1/5/10 for enum, unknown for auto
bloom related
values range: unknown
I believe this one is for grass shadows, disabling adds fps
values 0(off) / 1(on)
hairworks, makes little to no impact for most parts of the game, but bear fight stutters a lot more with it
values 0(off) / 1(on)
gamma
unfortunately, if set manually via config, the game doesn't recognize the exact gamma value and uses default 0.5, so it's best to set it via in-game settings, I found it best to set it 1-2 notches from the left
values range 0.0-1.0 (1.0 being darkest)
might be unnecessary with -forcenohdr launch param but just in case disable HDR in config too
values 0(off) / 1(on)
texture quality
values 0(low) / 1(medium) / 2(high) / 3(ultra) / 4(extreme)
shading rate or resolution scaling
values 0.4(40%) - 4.0(400%)
temporal, blya, antialiasing, highly debatable option, setting it to 1 with lowest gamma possible makes dark areas lit enough to see
values 0(off) / 1(on)
some, blya, terrain values, best left as 0 for performance
values ranges: unknown
vertical synchronisation
values 0(off) / 1(on) / 2(half)
ray tracing
values 0(off) / 1(ultra) / 2(high)

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not listing every single param because I don't understand what some are for

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Alright blya, to balance out the sounds in the game you can set each aspect individually
values range: 0.01-1.00, 1 being 100%
surround sound
values on/off

Alright blya at this point you can go ahead and dive in, but I'll still share some gameplay tips here.
Generic:

• Try and listen to everything people say, sometimes you get intel on side objectives and radiation hotspots.
  
• Picking the highest difficulty may end up costing you the endgame no matter how carefully you get through earlier levels and how much you loot. Without workbenches you won't be able to craft ammo other than arrows/balls for pneumatic weapons.Last workbench available is at the hideout Kirill leads you to, before you part ways with Miller.

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Alright blya, that's all she wrote, if I got something wrong or you know some of my unknowns leave a comment, I'll try and keep this up to date

Ciao cacao, bratukha