Estranged Auto HDR Update
[p]Update 1.5.51 is now available for Estranged: The Departure, which provides support for the "Auto HDR" feature of Windows 11, and other minor fixes.[/p][p][/p][h3]Auto HDR Update[/h3][p]Here's a preview using YouTube's HDR support (you will need a browser and display with HDR support to see the expanded color range and brightness).[/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][p]HDR could be supported natively in the future, but for now this approach does provide good HDR results without the need to re-work assets, levels and post-processing.[/p][p][/p][h3]Enabling Auto HDR[/h3][p]If you have an HDR display, auto HDR can be enabled in the Windows 11 "Graphics settings" menu:[/p][p]![]()
[/p][p]Windows 11 requires that the game is in exclusive fullscreen mode to enable Auto HDR. Enable exclusive fullscreen via the in-game Options -> Screen menu:[/p][p]![]()
[/p][p]The HDR intensity can be controlled via game bar, with the Windows key + G, then heading to "Settings", "More settings", and "Gaming features" menu:[/p][p]![]()
[/p][p]For the technical details as to why this feature didn't work before: Estranged: The Departure was previously using an HDR back-buffer, but only rendering into the SDR color range.[/p][p]This wasn't a problem for the GPU, but it did make Windows 11 believe The Departure was already rendering in HDR. Estranged: The Departure now runs with an SDR back-buffer, which enables Windows to detect that it can use Auto HDR.[/p][p][/p][h3]Other Changes[/h3][p]Other changes in this update:[/p]
- [p]Added the flyspeed cheat, which controls the noclip speed (used in conjunction with a gamepad to capture the video at the top of this post)[/p]
- [p]Improvements to the soundscape in Wentworth, including adding a soundscape to cover the gate control area (a bug caused the existing outdoor soundscape to end without looping - something you notice if you spend a while there capturing video 👀)[/p]
- [p]Steam branding has been tweaked the better reflect the title of the game, since while the older cave branding was quite visually striking, it didn't really reflect what the game was about.[/p]