Hi! I'm also having MXAO issues. So I have both MXAO and qUINT installed, and qUINT doesn't work at all, but sometimes MXAO does?? But then it randomly turns off. Have you encountered this before?
They aren’t compatible with each other without editing. I don’t know why they’re both included in the general download without explanation, but there we are.
If you only want to use one of them, simply delete the other from the shaders folder. If you want to use them both you’ll need to edit the MXAO shader to change its technique name in a few different places. It’s not difficult, you just have to search for the correct lines to edit.
I’ve done a tutorial before, but I might as well make this an updated one for 4.x
1. Open MXAO.fx in a text editor. I like to use Notepad++ because it sets everything out quite nicely for you.
2. Scroll all the way to the bottom to the section labelled Technique.
3. Find the line that says technique MXAO and change MXAO to something else. This might be MXAO2 or MyMXAO or whatever you want. For this tutorial I’ll use MXAO2.
Below are two screenshots of before and after editing the shader with these changes. (The blue dot is just to help you see which line I’ve edited.)
4. Look a little further down the file and find the three lines in the section directly below, that say:
RenderTarget0 = MXAO_ColorTex;
RenderTarget1 = MXAO_DepthTex;
RenderTarget2 = MXAO_NormalTex;
Now change the MXAO to MXAO2 (or whatever you have chosen), so it now reads:
RenderTarget0 = MXAO2_ColorTex;
RenderTarget1 = MXAO2_DepthTex;
RenderTarget2 = MXAO2_NormalTex;
5. Go one section down from that and find this line:
RenderTarget = MXAO_CullingTex;
And do the same as above, changing MXAO to MXAO2, so it now reads:
RenderTarget = MXAO2_CullingTex;
Below are two screenshots showing the shader before and after these edits:
6. Next, scroll up until you find the section labelled Textures, Samplers.
7. Find the lines below, that at the beginning read:
texture2D MXAO_ColorTex
texture2D MXAO_DepthTex
texture2D MXAO_NormalTex
texture2D MXAO_CullingTex
And change the MXAO to MXAO2 so it now reads:
texture2D MXAO2_ColorTex
texture2D MXAO2_DepthTex
texture2D MXAO2_NormalTex
texture2D MXAO2_CullingTex
8. Look directly below and find the lines, that at the end read:
{ Texture = MXAO_ColorTex; };
{ Texture = MXAO_DepthTex; };
{ Texture = MXAO_NormalTex; };
{ Texture = MXAO_CullingTex; };
And change MXAO to MXAO2 so it now reads:
{ Texture = MXAO2_ColorTex; };
{ Texture = MXAO2_DepthTex; };
{ Texture = MXAO2_NormalTex; };
{ Texture = MXAO2_CullingTex; };
Below are two screenshots showing the lines in steps 7 and 8 before and after editing:
9. Now 'Save As...’ your file with a new name so you can tell it apart from the original unedited version should you need to revert back. It makes sense to call it MXAO2.fx since that’s what we edited the technique name to.
10. Go into your Shaders folder and remove the old MXAO.fx shader (keep it somewhere safe in case you need it again*), and replace it with your newly-edited MXAO2.fx shader. You can now use it alongside qUINT_MXAO.fx without any conflicts.
You can use this method to add additional versions of the MXAO shader if you want. In The Sims 4 I have 3 versions of MXAO.fx and 1 version of qUINT_MXAO.fx all running alongside each other with different settings for different situations. Be mindful that you likely won’t want to have them all turned on at the same time because they’ll make your PC cry.
You can also use this method with other shaders to use multiple versions. I have lots of different MultiLUT.fx files running together, for example. The exact lines you have to edit will change between shaders. The important one is the technique name, as in step 3. From there you should be able to work out, with a little trial and error, which other lines need changing to match this technique name, remembering that it’s often shared textures that can cause conflicts, so that’s where you can start looking and experimenting. Once in a while you might find a shader that only needs the technique line editing. It’s like winning the lottery.
* You should make it a habit to keep a clean, full, unedited backup of the reshade-shaders folder for every version of ReShade you use. You can also keep the dll file (called the binary, will likely either be d3d9.dll or dxgi.dll depending on the game) and the ReShade.ini file for that version together with them. This makes it easy to swap versions in and out without having to go through the installation and download process each time, and ensures should the ReShade creators change how they distribute everything you’re never left in the lurch.
