SweetFX – Explosion

Explosion is a SweetFX effect that scatters pixels. And by pixels, that means all pixels, including any text, HUD, or life bars. This produces a fuzzy image that appears as if it is being viewed through a frosted glass window.

SweetFX – Cineon DPX

The SweetFX Cineon DPX setting allows limited post-production image effects that (somewhat) resemble the results obtained with the Cineon System released by Kodak sometime around 1992-1993.

Just as SweetFX Technicolor attempts to mimic the three-strip Technicolor process, Cineon DPX attempts to mimic the Cineon digital processing system by providing more color controls over the resulting image. The results produce effects different from SweetFX Technicolor and produce color effects that cannot be easily achieved with other SweetFX effects.

Whether SweetFX Cineon DPX is better than other effects or not depends upon the result trying to be achieved, but it does provide an added level of color control not possible with SweetFX Technicolor, and this can be used as a foundation for further effects.

SweetFX – Vibrance

SweetFX Vibrance saturates or desaturates the image by a specified color. Vibrance offers more flexibility over which color influences the image.

Vibrance does not remove all colors the way the monochrome effect produces a black and white image, but vibrance will make colors more colorful or less colorful depending upon the values used to adjust the effect. Faded colors can give the image a washed out film effect that other effects can refine.

SweetFX – SMAA

⌚ February 17, 2014
SweetFX SMAA (Subpixel Morphological Anti-Aliasing) is the one effect that probably justifies SweetFX’s existence. Sure, the other effects, such as Technicolor, Border, and HDR, provide novel post-processing enhancements, but SMAA is a serious anti-aliasing effect that often improves a game’s scene better than the game’s built-in anti-aliasing settings and without the additional slowdown that is usually introduced with high anti-aliasing modes. Think of SMAA as SweetFX’s killer app.

SweetFX – Sepia

SweetFX Sepia desaturates and colorizes the image with a specified color. The most obvious application is the traditional old-time photograph effect where the image colors are faded and then overlayed with a yellowish color, but other effects are possible for those seeking a quick two-in-one desaturation/toning effect on the image.

SweetFX – HDR

SweetFX HDR (High Dynamic Range) is one of the essential effects that improves the quality of the image by producing better blacks and better whites without losing detail in those areas. Colors appear richer and more full compared to the unprocessed image, so games appear more natural and less washed out with HDR enabled.