In July, a modder under the nickname Parallellines (Parallellines0451) introduced a graphics mod for the first Watch Dogs. This is not just an “improvement of textures”; the enthusiast offers an alternative art style and also implements new rendering methods into the game, “bringing the game closer to its sequels, and in some aspects, it even surpasses them.”
Parallellines completely redesigned the sky; now there is support for HDR textures – this allows for a significantly wider range of brightness to be displayed simultaneously. The new textures have twice the resolution compared to the original, and new options for different times of day have appeared.
Volumetric fog and the material system have been improved: “In particular, reflections are no longer artificially attenuated depending on the roughness of the material. This means that any surfaces, regardless of their roughness, will be able to reflect the environment.”
The modder also said that for character skin, a more standard shading model is now used, “better revealing the already existing but previously underutilized subsurface scattering system.” Eyes received dynamic reflections and full specular highlights.
In addition, the modder added HDR LUT support to “bring color reproduction to modern standards”:
In addition, a completely custom bloom shader [glow effect] was created instead of the original one – it is inspired by modern implementations, provides a more pleasant distribution with an emphasis towards the center, and is more stable in motion.
The mod also adds screen space shadows, which “were not present in any of the franchise's games.” The moon will cast shadows.
The modification “The Fall of Windy City II” for the first Watch Dogs is distributed free of charge via Nexus Mods, installation is carried out using the “NexusTools” tool. It is compatible with other well-known mods Living City, Mission Creator, and Source Textures Collection.