Visual Vanilla V2.0 mod for Gta 5 – Visual Vanilla Version 2.0

Experience the vivid skies of the city of Los Santos and surrounding hills, countryside, and beaches in VisualVanilla: An alternate take to the great VisualV that aims to stay faithful to Rockstar Games’ vision of “that thing, that magic” for the world of Grand Theft Auto V.

DISCLAIMER: The screenshots provided were taken during the mod’s development phase, so things may or may not look different in-game (in a good way, of course!).

AUTHOR’S NOTE:
I always dreamed for a graphics mod that subtly improves graphics without altering Rockstar Games’ idea of how the game’s setting will feel like for the players. VisualV and Old Gen Visual were my go-to mods, but almost always, I alternate between them and Vanilla GTA V every time I play or mod the game because something always felt lacking. After a few years of waiting for the perfect graphics mod to suite my eyes, I finally took matters into my own hands.

If you’re like me, who believes in subtlety in order to make this already-beautiful game bearable to look at and play for its age, then I hope VisualVanilla doesn’t disappoint.

SUMMARY OF FEATURES:

All weathers have been reworked to match the vibe and colors to be as close as possible to Rockstar Games’ design with vast improvements to make V feel less of a dated game
The beautiful VisualV’s edited modifiers for areas & interiors, improved color correction, fixed rendering code, etc.
Underwater has been overhauled, so expect a new, yet familiar playing experience under the sea
Godrays have been enabled for every weather, and lightning strikes!
Increased draw distance of lights & puddles so they are more visible.
Moon movement is corrected (no more moonrise in the west!).
Improved volumetric fog, now it’s stunning as it should be.
Shadows under vehicles are in higher quality, so they aren’t blocky anymore.
No Chromatic Aberration & Vignette for normal gameplay.
Dithering effect from the grass was removed for good, rainy weathers will make it great!
Vanilla/Old Gen Visual’s Skies: Colors, Clouds, Sun & Moon sizes
Restored Light Pollution from the old gen version of the game to give vibes
Restored Bloom levels, Godray effects, and weather transitions from the vanilla game
Reorganized code & Documented in English
Slightly longer lightning duration as seen from Alex106’s Old Gen Visual mod
New HD moon texture carefully tailored to be a replica of the vanilla moon texture
Razed’s Puddles from NaturalVision Evolved
New puddle layout texture from Alex106 that’s a hybrid of both old gen and current gen
Clean and automatic installation methods made possible through the .OIV Package Installer, coded from scratch to make sure it works as efficient and stable as can be for all users. No redundancies!
Highly Configurable: Have the liberty to choose how you want your game to look like! Mix & Match Old Gen, Current Gen, and other misc. stuff to your liking.
Choose your Emissives Intensity: Brighter Vehicle Emissives, Default Vehicle Emissives, Intense Vehicle Emissives
Choose your Sky Colors: Current Gen Sky Colors, Old Gen Sky Colors
Choose your Starfield: Max Payne 3 Starfield, Red Dead Redemption 2 Starfield, Vanilla Starfield
Choose your Lens Flare: Current Gen Lens Flare, E3 2014 Lens Flare, Michael’s Lens Flare, Franklin’s Lens Flare, Trevor’s Lens Flare, Old Gen Lens Flare, Alternative Old Gen Lens Flare, No Lens Flare
Misc. Optionals: Additional Rockstar Editor Filters, Old Gen Damage Overlay, Old Gen Snapmatic Filters, Pause Menu Blur, Pre-release Top Gradient, Procedural Shadows, Shorter Cloud Generation
Effects Reduction: No Ambient Lights, No Animorphic Flares, No Coronas, No Godrays for Fog-reliant Weathers, No Godrays for Lightning Strikes, No Lens Artefacts, No Light Pollution, No NG Coronas
External Scripts: Advanced Motion Blur, Dynamic Shadows From Vehicles
Shader Tweaks and ENB Settings: VisualV’s ENB Series config for the latest version of ENBSeries which enables the enhanced screen-space reflections with little to no performance loss, ReShade preset (performance loss), Vanilla Chrome Shader, Vanilla Vehicle Glass Shaders
Map Enhancements: Enabled Tree Reflections, No Grass Dithering, Pre-release Mirror Park Lake
And many, many more minor, yet effective fixes.

COMPATIBILITY:
VisualVanilla should be compatible with any other mod that does not replace the same files as this one does. Graphic mods, in particular, must automatically be assumed to be incompatible for this is a STANDALONE graphics mod in itself which may or may not work well alongside others (for it may completely overwrite the files) such as VisualV, Old Gen Visual, NaturalVision Evolved/Remastered, RadianceV, MVGA, etc.

REQUIREMENTS:
This mod is standalone. Nothing but a clean install of Grand Theft Auto V is required to make it work.

A copy of Grand Theft Auto V, recommended to be running the LATEST patch, “v1.58 or v1.0.2545.0 (The Contract DLC)” as of time of this writing. Regardless, it should work on older versions without problems
OpenIV
OpenIV.ASI (for the mods folder)
ASI Loader (Can be installed from OpenIV -> Tools -> ASI Manager)

INSTALLATION INTRUCTIONS:
VERY IMPORTANT NOTE: Folders with numbered names/labels need to be installed in that very order.

Make sure you have 1) OpenIV installed with ASI Loader, and 2) Enabled the “mods” folder with OpenIV.asi
Right click the .OIV Package, select properties, “Open with…” then select OpenIV
Open the folder named “1. Core Mod,” then Double-click on the .OIV package.
Click “Install” then select “mods folder” as the installation location.
At this point, you may run and enjoy the game! HOWEVER, if you wish to discover other stuff to your liking, you may proceed to the “2. Configure it!” folder and configure the mod to your liking. More information below.

CONFIGURATIONS INFO:

The following are brief descriptions (yes, this is still brief lol) on what to expect if you’re configuring the mod yourself. VisualVanilla Comparisons & Previews

Choose Your Emissives Intensity
Brighter Vehicle Emissives – Brightens up emissives on all vehicles (Headlights, Siren Lights, Taillights, etc.). Useful if you find vanilla lights too dim. If you’re a fan of emergency stuff, this is highly recommended! NOTE: It is HIGHLY recommended to install Vanilla Vehicles Emissives Fix alongside this optional.
Default Vehicle Emissives – This will restore the default intensity for vehicle emissives and restore the “visualsettings.dat” file from the core mod. Only use if you want to revert from “Brighter Vehicle Emissives” or “Intense Vehicle Emissives”
Intense Vehicle Emissives – Intensifies emissives on all vehicles (Headlights, Siren Lights, Taillights, etc.) and adjusts corona size to be larger in size. Useful if you find vanilla lights too dim and feel discontent with “Brighter Vehicle Emissives.” If you’re a fan of emergency stuff, this is highly recommended! NOTE: It is HIGHLY recommended to install Vanilla Vehicles Emissives Fix alongside this optional.

Choose Your Sky Colors
Current Gen Sky Colors (Default) – Changes the sky colors as seen in the PC, PS4, and XBOX One versions of the game. This is installed by default in the Core Mod. Only use if you want to swap from Old Gen Sky Colors.
Old Gen Sky Colors – Changes the sky colors as seen in the PS3 and XBOX 360 versions of the game.

Choose Your Starfields
Max Payne 3 Starfield – Replaces the Starfield texture with one directly extracted from the PC version of Max Payne 3.
Red Dead Redemption 2 Starfield – Replaces the Starfield texture with one directly extracted from the PC version of Red Dead Redemption 2.
Current Gen Clouds (Default) – Restores the vanilla Starfield texture from the core mod.

Choose Your Lens Flare
Current Gen Lens Flare (Default) – Changes the lens flare to the vanilla version. A unique look for each of the protagonists. This is installed by default in the Core Mod. Only use if you want to swap from the other lens flares.
E3 2014 Lens Flare – Changes the lens flare with the version seen in the E3 2014 trailer and a few pre-release next gen screens.
Michael’s Lens Flare – Changes each characters’ lens flare to Michael’s from the base game.
Franklin’s Lens Flare – Changes each characters’ lens flare to Franklin’s from the base game. Also serves as VisualV’s default lens flare.
Trevor’s Lens Flare – Changes each characters’ lens flare to Trevor’s from the base game.
Old Gen Lens Flare – Changes the lens flare to the one seen in the PS3/XBOX 360 version of the game.
Old Gen Lens Flare (Alternative) – Changes the lens flare to the one seen in the PS3/XBOX 360 version of the game. This alternate version changes the color of two flare animorphics from yellow to blue.
No Lens Flare – Removes the lens flare rendered when facing the Sun.

Misc. Optionals
Additional Rockstar Editor Filters – Adds all of the Snapmatic filters to the Rockstar Editor.
Light Pollution – Adds light pollution in the city at night time.
Old Gen Damage Overlay – Changes the various RGB and positioning values of the damage overlay to the ones from the PS3/XBOX 360 versions of the game. Make sure to install the texture too for the full experience!
Old Gen Snapmatic Filters – Changes all of the Snapmatic filters with the ones from the PS3/XBOX 360 version of the game.
Pause Menu Blur – Restores the blur on the pause menu from the base game.
Pre-release Top Gradient – Recreated top gradient effect based on a couple of pre-release screenshots.
Procedural Shadows – Enables shadows casted by small objects like cans, rubbish on the tarmac, etc. (may cause reduced game performance).
Shorter Cloud Generation – Reduces the time it takes for clouds to render when transitioning to a new weather. Useful if you’re changing weathers via trainer all the time… or if you’re just the instant-gratifcation type.

Effects Reduction & Removal
No Ambient Lights – Removes all ambient lights surrounding buildings around the map. NOTE: This one is useless if you have the shader quality set to ‘Normal.’
No Animorphic Flares – Disables the rendering of vertical animorphic flares that sometimes take up the whole screen. This removes the animorphic flares found on the headlights of a vehicle. NOTE: You will still get horizontal animorphics, but I have provided a texture replacement method that “hides” every animorphic flares rendered in every light source in the game.
No Coronas – Completely disables the rendering of coronas on every light source found in-game such as lamp posts, vehicles, etc. NOTE: Comes with an alternate texture replacement method that “hides” the effect instead of disabling it fully for those of you that want it done that way, but generally, the default method is cleaner and proper.
No Godrays for Fog-reliant Weathers – Prevents Godrays from being rendered on fog-reliant weathers: Blizzard, Foggy, Overcast, Rain, Snow, Thunder, Xmas. NOTE: This will provide you with FPS gain if your FPS went down during these said weathers.
No Godrays for Lightning Strikes – This will disable the Godrays for Lightning Strikes, much like how it was in the PC/PS4/XBOX One versions of the game.
No Lens Artefacts – Removes the Blue Lens Artefacts (the ones present in the ‘Very High’ and ‘Ultra’ Post FX settings). NOTE: This one is useless if you have the Post FX quality set to ‘Normal’ or ‘High’.
No NG Coronas – This optional removes the additional corona texture emitted from light sources (vehicles headlights, street lights, etc).

Shader Tweaks and ENB Settings
ENB settings – VisualV’s ENB Series config for the latest version of ENBSeries which enables the enhanced screen-space reflections.
ReShade preset (performance loss) – VisualV’s custom preset for ReShade with MXAO shading technique, ambient light and heat haze effect.
Vanilla Chrome Shader – Restores the base game vehicle mesh shaders for chrome. Dependent on personal taste. What you lose: VisualV’s edits for how chrome displays on vehicles (lighter, more reflective). What you gain: Restored chrome look as how it was from the vanilla game (darker, less reflective).
Vanilla Vehicle Glass Shaders – Restores the base game shaders for vehicle glass. What you lose: Fixed amount of glass reflections for all vehicles. What you gain: Proper saturation & colors of the siren glass from emergency vehicles.

External Scripts
Advanced Motion Blur – Enables motion blur for both peds and vehicles, effect gets stronger relative to the entity. Comes with a configurable .ini file.
Dynamic Shadows from Vehicles – Renders shadows from vehicle’s headlights like in GTA IV. Comes with a configurable .ini file.

Map Enhancements
Base DLC Package – This will install the base DLC Package needed for map enhancements to work. IMPORTANT: This does NOT include any map edits. Only use if want to install one of the map edits provided inside “Choose Your Enhancements!”
Choose Your Enhancements!
Enabled Tree Reflections – Thanks to edited models, trees are now visible in reflections, adding more immersion to the game. NOTE: May cause decrease in game performance.
No Grass Dithering – Removes stippling from fur grass rendered on the map, especially visible in rainy weathers.
Pre-release Mirror Park Lake – Restores the color of Mirror Park Lake based on an early pre-release screenshot of the game. Comes with a custom timecycle modifier to match its underwater, fine-tuned for VisualVanilla.

Credits:

Rockstar Games – for “that thing, that magic” in this masterpiece of a game!
OpenIV Team – for making this, and a lot of awesome mods possible through OpenIV
dexyfex – for making this, and a lot of awesome mods possible through CodeWalker
alloc8or – for his tool, Visual Settings + Timecycle Reloader making it easier for me to see changes I do without have to reset the game, saved me precious time!
Stryfaar – for creating VisualVanilla, .OIV Installers, & Screenshots
_CP_ & robi29 – for their mod, the stunning and timeless VisualV, this mod and many others wouldn’t have been made without their efforts!
Alex106 – for his efforts in Old Gen Visual which set the foundation for VisualVanilla to deliver the beauty of vintage V
Razed – for guiding me through graphics modding, finding out the right shaders to make enhanced screenspace reflections from ENB to work with VisualV’s shaders, and lending the beautiful puddles found in his mod, the stunning and timeless NaturalVision. If you’re interested, be sure to check out his Patreon to access his latest masterpiece!
11john11 – Testing, “Brighter Vehicle Emissives” config, Screenshots
Vx5 Voltage – Testing, “Brighter Vehicle Emissives with Enhanced Coronas” config, information on the Chrome and Siren Glass shaders from VisualV
nkjellman – For providing valuable feedback on the advnatages and disadvantages of Vanilla and VisualV that served as a foundation for this mod’s development
Mauvzel – For the tips in visualsettings.dat that helped make this mod “cleaner” in its process of implementation and installation of features
INYN – for his hard work and effort in crafting the beautiful trailer, my warmest thanks go to him! Also helped in Testing & Screenshots
Pyri – Gameplay Video, Testing & Screenshots
Sealyx – Testing & Screenshots
Chef – Testing & Screenshots
K1LLFANTASY – Testing & Screenshots
skrungus – Testing & Screenshots
Barış – Testing & Screenshots
Monky – Testing & Feedback
GreenAid -Testing & Feedback