HOW TO INSTALL GTR2 and PnG3 in 2019 ?

GTR233 · Oct 5, 2019

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| HOW TO INSTALL GTR2 HQ Anniversary PATCH |
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IMPORTANT :
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- NEW CLEAN GTR2 INSTALL FROM DVD or STEAM + GTR2 HQ ANNIVERSARY PATCH (PART1+PART2) ARE FULLY WORKING ON WINDOWS XP/VISTA/7/8/10/11 !!!

- DO NOT INSTALL SIMBIN PATCH 1.1 / NOCD GTR2.EXE / 4GB PATCH BECAUSE THEY ARE ALREADY INCLUDED AND YOU WILL BREAK GTR2 SETUP !!!

First you will need to install :
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- 7zip archiver to create/open archives : https://www.7-zip.org

Included in GTR2 HQ Anniversary Patch : GTR2_SETUP.CMD will install them automatically if required*
- Microsoft DirectX 9c June 2010
- Microsoft Visual C++ VC redist 2010 sp1 with MFC security update
- Microsoft Visual C++ VC redist 2015-2019

(*) a POP PUP will be prompted if install is required : you just need to click YES to allow install program in this case.

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| 1a) PRELIMINARY FOR DISC VERSION ONLY |
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- insert GTR2 DISC

- choose any language

- install GTR2 directly at the root of one of your drives like D:\GTR2HQ

- DO NOT SET 3D CONFIG : UNTICK 3D CONFIG BOX at the end of install !!!

- DO NOT RUN GTR2 YET !!!

- REMOVE GTR2 DISC and go to 2)

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| 1b) PRELIMINARY FOR STEAM VERSION ONLY |
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- Buy and install GTR2 from STEAM

- NEVER MODIFY ORIGINAL GTR2 STEAM INSTALL, KEEP IT ALWAYS CLEAN!!!

- Copy or make an archive (7z/zip/rar) of your clean GTR2 folder from STEAM\steamapps\common\GTR 2 - FIA GT Racing Game

- Copy or extract your clean GTR2 archive directly at the root of one of your drives like D:\GTR2HQ

- go to 2)

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| 2) GTR2 INSTALL |
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- download and install GTR2 HQ Anniversary PATCH : 1 SINGLE ARCHIVE SPLIT in 3 parts (001 is the header file and this is THE ONLY ONE YOU MUST OPEN, IGNORE 002/003 FILES BECAUSE THEY ARE ONLY READABLE BY 7zip DURING EXTRACTION), YOU MUST DOWNLOAD THE 3 PARTS FIRST THEN YOU CAN EXTRACT 7z.001 FILE (I REPEAT, IGNORE 002/003 FILES BUT THEY ARE REQUIRED AT SAME PLACE AS 001 FOR 7zip EXTRACTION) : RIGHT CLICK ON 7Z.001 FILE, WHILE YOU HOLD RIGHT MOUSE BUTTON YOU MOVE MOUSE POINTER IN YOUR GTR2 FOLDER (where GTR2.EXE is), THEN RELEASE RIGHT MOUSE BUTTON, LEFT CLICK ON "7-zip" >> "EXTRACT HERE" AND click "YES" to overwrite ALL files/folders (check "APPLY TO ALL")
part-1 : https://www.racedepartment.com/downloads/gtr2-hq-anniversary-patch-part-1.21415/
part-2 : https://www.racedepartment.com/downloads/gtr2-hq-anniversary-patch-part-2.32658/
part-3 : https://www.racedepartment.com/downloads/gtr2-hq-anniversary-patch-part-3.54224/

- you can also add HQ 2005 FiaGT season : https://www.racedepartment.com/downloads/gtr2-hq-2005-fiagt-mod.32765/

- and finally there is a hotfix to apply :

https://www.racedepartment.com/downloads/gtr2-16th-anniversary-patch-hotfix.54281/

- right click on GTR2CONFIG.EXE >> left click PROPERTY >> COMPATIBILITY >> tick ADMINISTRATOR RIGHTS box (you can skip this step only if you use CrewChief plugin because without CrewChief plugin GTR2 will not launch if administrator rights are not set to both GTR2config.EXE and GTR2.EXE)

- right click on GTR2.EXE >> left click PROPERTY >> COMPATIBILITY >> tick ADMINISTRATOR RIGHTS box (you can skip this step only if you use CrewChief plugin because without CrewChief plugin GTR2 will not launch if administrator rights are not set to both GTR2config.EXE and GTR2.EXE)

- use RadeonMod or Nvidia Profile Inspector (available in [OPTIONS]\f-[Windows TOOLS]) to set AA/AF (NVIDIA ONLY: set Antialiasing compatibility to Diablo III and select "replace/override application setting" for AA mode, you can also enable DSRX4).

Moreover on a LAPTOP you need to set both GTR2Config.EXE + GTR2.EXE to your GPU instead of poor integrated graphics.

- now run GTR2config.EXE (choose 32bits resolution, dx9) but Do NOT choose AA/AF here because the antialiasing/anisotropic settings in gtr2config are basic/outdated and doesn't manage advanced AA/AF that you have got with recent nvidia/AMD panel.
Turn off Vsync as FFB in GTR2 is tied to refresh rate (HIGHER FPS = BETTER FFB), moreover Vsync is never a good idea as you get lag.
Nevertheless, if you have +400 fps then you can get missed gear changes so try to limit the fps to 120 with nvidia/AMD panel.

- install Bill's process manager or Bitsum Process Lasso, and set GTR2.EXE "CPU AFFINITY" to use at least 2 cores of your CPU (you can skip this step if you use CrewChief Plugin)
You can also do it manually each time after launching GTR2 by pressing CTRL+SHIFT+ESC then click on PROCESSUS tab, right click on GTR2.EXE and set AFFINITY to ALL CORES.

- RUN GTR2_SETUP.CMD
>> page I choose language
>> page II choose HUD
>> page VI choose binary (NOCD IS SET BY DEFAULT)
>> page VII choose plugin (MANDATORY EVERY TIME YOU MODIFY BINARY WITH SETUP!!!)
>> page VIII choose defviews FOV (MANDATORY EVERY TIME YOU MODIFY BINARY WITH SETUP!!!)
>> page IX choose PLR* FFB (MANDATORY EVERY TIME YOU MODIFY BINARY WITH SETUP!!!)
(*) you can rename later "PLAYER.PLR" file in "GTR2\UserData\PLAYER" then "PLAYER" folder in "GTR2\UserData" with same NAME of your choice
>> set other options as you like or skip them with S key

- from now you can run GTR2.EXE

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| 3) Power & Glory 3 (PnG3) INSTALL |
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note: since I have made the GTR2_SETUP.CMD the install order GTR2>>HQ PATCH>>PnG3 or GTR2>>PnG3>>HQ PATCH is no more important. Indeed SETUP allows you to install GTR2 or PnG3 UI and other options afterward so you will have the same content in the end. The only small issue if you do GTR2>>HQ PATCH>>PnG3 is that PnG3 installer will detect modified files from HQ Patch as "corrupted" but just ignore these error messages because my HQ files are patched but not corrupted.

- follow STEP 1a) or 1b), then 2) to create a clean GTR2 install in D:\PnG3 by example

- you must run GTR2 at least once before installing PnG3 MOD

- download and install PnG3 mod : https://www.racedepartment.com/downloads/power-glory-for-gtr-2.21450/

- RUN GTR2_SETUP.CMD
>> page I choose language
>> page II choose #9 HUD PnG3 Anniversary
>> page VI choose binary (NOCD IS SET BY DEFAULT) #1 without CrewChief or #2 with CrewChief
>> page VII choose plugin (MANDATORY EVERY TIME YOU MODIFY BINARY WITH SETUP!!!)
>> page VIII choose defviews FOV (MANDATORY EVERY TIME YOU MODIFY BINARY WITH SETUP!!!)
>> page IX choose PLR* FFB (MANDATORY EVERY TIME YOU MODIFY BINARY WITH SETUP!!!)
(*) you can rename later "PLAYER.PLR" file in "GTR2\UserData\PLAYER" and "PLAYER" folder in "GTR2\UserData" with same NAME of your choice
>> page XI choose Settings.DDB file : HQ AI is recommended for offline but PnG3 version is required for festbierbude.de online
>> page XII choose UI PnG3 #A or #B (I added 24h/driving school lines in main menu plus many other tweaks)
>> page XV you can type #1 to remove safely all modern GTR2 cars (base+hq) which are not required for PnG3 mod
>> page XVI choose #1 OR #2 PnG3 HQ Anniversary if you want moving wipers and important fixes
>> page XVII choose #1 for wipers without CrewChief or #2 if you have CrewChief plugin installed (nvidia RTX recommended)
>> page XVIII choose #B for patched Mustang Safety Car
>> page XXXI choose #4 PnG3 Driving School cars

- from now you can run GTR2.EXE

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| 4) CrewChief plugin (CC) INSTALL |
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- visit thecrewchief.org to download CC app called "CrewChiefV4.msi"
- install CrewChiefV4.msi in DEFAULT PATH (DO NOT CHANGE IT!)
- run GTR2_SETUP.CMD :
>> page VI you MUST set #2
>> page VII select either #4 to copy CC files in your GTR2 without openvr_api.dll (NO VR), or #5 if you want to use openvr_api.dll for VR headset
>> page VIII you MUST update defviews FOV
>> page IX you MUST update PLR
>> page XVII choose #2
Now you can exit setup with "X" key

- now your GTR2/PnG3 install is READY FOR CREWCHIEF

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| UNINSTALL |
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Just delete folder D:\GTR2HQ or D:\PnG3

That's all folks!

AMA_King · Jan 16, 2023

I'm going to try GTR2config.EXE (32bits resolution, dx9) and CHECKING the AA/AF BOX

Ran both = C:\GTR2 + C:\GTR2pNg - as follows w/ no issues.

GTR233 · Jan 19, 2023

Troy Bjerke said:
Ran both = C:\GTR2 + C:\GTR2pNg - as follows w/ no issues.

View attachment 631923

It is recommended to not use original 2006 AA settings with level X because modern graphic cards are really different : the best is to let it disabled in gtr2config.exe and to tweak your own dedicated graphic panel or, if you own nvidia card then use Diablo III profile with any dsr AA in nvidia inspector tool (provided in hq patch inside options\windows tools folder), or if you run crewchief then use Crew Chief's DXVK.

AMA_King · Jan 19, 2023

Thanks for the reply...

I'm using Crew Chief & searched for how to set DXVK - but can't find HOW to set it?

Nothing I found shows or tells me where or how to use it.

set Crew Chief DXVK at DuckDuckGo

DuckDuckGo. Privacy, Simplified.

duckduckgo.com

Crew Chief GTR2 Enhancements Plugin Setup Instructions, Known Issues and Changelog

The Manual: https://thecrewchief.org/downloads/gtr2/GTR2_CC_EP.pdf It is updated often to match the new/changed features, so I suggest simply bookmarking it for viewing in the browser. You can see the changelog at the end of the Manual if you want to see what’s changed. Plugin itself is...

thecrewchief.org

https://www.racedepartment.com/threads/plugin-crewchief.219635/page-2

NOTE TO SELF: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2461019058

Jempy · Jan 19, 2023

It is explained in the Manual with the link you're showing at Crew Chief Site
I didn't install it yet but that should be working perfectly ... this manual is mostly perfectly explaining things also.

AMA_King · Jan 19, 2023

I'm getting closer to the answer (playing shooter & Batman games ATM but GTR2 "as-is" right now is pretty damn nice).

DXVK is documented in the "The Manual" on pages 45-47
https://thecrewchief.org/downloads/gtr2/GTR2_CC_EP.pdf

dwightyone · Jan 19, 2023

Troy Bjerke said:
I'm getting closer to the answer (playing shooter & Batman games ATM but GTR2 "as-is" right now is pretty damn nice).

DXVK is documented in the "The Manual" on pages 45-47
https://thecrewchief.org/downloads/gtr2/GTR2_CC_EP.pdf

...but it can get even more damn nice with DXVK. I only use beta versions of DXVK from Iron wolf's discord channel so I could be giving you wrong information with regards to the latest public builds. I'm watching vikings of valhalla on netflix atm so I will tidy this post up on the weekend as my wording may be wrong - here we go...

You'll need the very latest matching CC plugins and d3d9.dll - the CC crewchief.dll and crewchief.ini go into the GTR2 plugin folder and the d3d9.dll goes into your GTR2 root folder. Then grab the latest version of DXVK and drop the files within the zip in your GTR2 root folder. One of those files are called d3d9_dxvk.dll and the other is the dxvk config file for it. There are settings which you need to enable the superlative AA for GTR2 within the dxvk config file.

1. In the dxvk config file find the bit where it says something about MSAA - here there are two options; one states -1 and we'll leave that as is and the other number is 4 and that is your MSAA level. Keep it as is or change it up or down to 8 or 2 - to enable this setting delete the hashtag in front of it.

2. Down to the bottom of the config file is another setting stating enable experimental shader - enable it where it says true by deleting the hashtag in front of it.

3. Below the above setting there is another which basically is how low or high you want the above experimental shader to work - this is essentially the SSGGAA shader. It goes from 0.0 to 1.0 with the higher number being more of an fps hit as the level of AA is higher. The experimental SSGGAA shader needs the MSAA setting in point one enabled to work. (can't remember if there is a hashtag that needs to be deleted here for shader level - not near rig)

4. I set the anisotropy setting in the dxvk config from the default 8 to 16 and it looks a LOT better like this - it's like having PP when set to 16 and the lighting of the world is just better and clearer. This setting is to the upper half of the DXVK config file - change the default 8 to 16 and if there is a hashtag in front of it then delete it so it enables the setting.

I use 8xMSAA and 0.2 SSGGAA and I'm 80fps up and it looks better and clearer than using a variety of nvidia inspector settings and the GTR2 video config file. You will now only need to use the GTR2's own video config file to change resolution, vsync and full screen\windowed mode - leave the graphic settings as they are; they're not being used now. The MSAA and shader SSGGAA can be experimented with to try and get the best look and best fps by using different combinations. For example 8xMSAA and 1.0 SSGGAA would look very good and more fps compared to equivalent when using other stuff like nivdia inspector which you won't need anymore btw. Some combinations won't work like 6xMSAA and 0.5 SSGGAA but they may for you, so experiment.

i6700k, rtx 2070 super, 5780x1080p (triple screen)

AMA_King · Jan 20, 2023

Thanks, I'll re-read the above & watch for any edits & try "stuff" over the weekend - maybe.

I hope ya' get my vibe, I just want to race, not pretend I'm a dev & do never ending troubleshooting & updates... wrong role play for me!

EDIT: I can record 4K / 3840 x 2160 vid - so maybe I'll do a before, during and after video so I can see all this "stuff" and deciding what looks best vs getting hypnotized by all of it...

The Iron Wolf · Jan 20, 2023

If your goal is minimal fiddling, I would recommend not touching DXVK, and instead enabling SGSSAA in DX9 by using Nvidia Inspector. Funny thing is it is still fiddly, you would need to reapply it after every driver update. DXVK rendering is not impacted by driver update, so in a way less fiddly

Oh well!

However, if your goal is absolute highest image quality, and you enjoy large grids, then DXVK is recommended. If you decide to try it, make sure you run very recent Nvidia driver.

Lastly, I highly recommend my fork of DXVK for VR users. Multiple people report serious perf boost in VR over DX9. And, latest Beta ( (2.4.3.26) available at CCGEP Discord brings even more perf improvements in VR in DXVK. For 2D nothing changes.

AMA_King · Jan 20, 2023

Thanks again for replies - I do value the "...absolute highest image quality, and enjoy large grids..."

I guess it is like money in / money out - if I put 10 hours (money) in to FAFO (Fiddle Around & Find Out) & thus get 20+ hours (or 200) of GLORIOUS gameplay out, it's worth FAFO.

I'll try to document this experience via video for an objective vs subjective comparo.

AMA_King · Jan 20, 2023

Jempy said:
I didn't install it

What's the hold up?

The Iron Wolf · Jan 20, 2023

Troy Bjerke said:
Thanks again for replies - I do value the "...absolute highest image quality, and enjoy large grids..."

I guess it is like money in / money out - if I put 10 hours (money) in to FAFO (Fiddle Around & Find Out) & thus get 20+ hours (or 200) of GLORIOUS gameplay out, it's worth FAFO.

I'll try to document this experience via video for an objective vs subjective comparo.

in that case, it should be worth it. My fork of DXVK is required for full memory usage fixes (see "Memory Optimizations" in the manual) which allow bigger grid and if you use command line switches I provide, you can forget about annoying GTR2Config, forever. You won't ever need reruning it, even after driver reinstall.

Not sure if you meant like a tutorial, but a video tutorial would be great for folks who prefer learning from youtube rather than reading.

AMA_King · Jan 20, 2023

There is so much preliminary "stuff" I've already done to make what YOU'VE done work, it would be really tough to put together a proper, worthwhile video tutorial... mostly because I'd be afraid to screw up what I have working right now!

*DING - I could install GTR2 to a totally separate folder... but WOW.

I'll start w/ this one step for now...

The Iron Wolf · Jan 20, 2023

Troy Bjerke said:
There is so much preliminary "stuff" I've already done to make what YOU'VE done work, it would be really tough to put together a proper, worthwhile video tutorial... mostly because I'd be afraid to screw up what I have working right now!

*DING - I could install GTR2 to a totally separate folder... but WOW.

I'll start w/ this one step for now...

in case you did not know, one of the nicest things about those older games you can copy them as many times as you want. I personally try to have each mod in separate GTR2 copy, or drop, how I call it, as it avoids many many problems, conflicts, slow loading, etc etc.

And yeah, a lot got done in last 2.5 years, manual got 60 pages and growing

and game becomes more and more enjoyable.

AMA_King · Jan 20, 2023

The Iron Wolf said:
in case you did not know, one of the nicest things about those older games you can copy them as many times as you want. I personally try to have each mod in separate GTR2 copy, or drop, how I call it, as it avoids many many problems, conflicts, slow loading, etc etc.

And yeah, a lot got done in last 2.5 years, manual got 60 pages and growing and game becomes more and more enjoyable.

You've done spectacular work & I am loving it even if it sounds like I'm griping.

I talked to a buddy on discord who also has a twitch & youtube channel about making a vid and he volunteered to "try to make something" so we're going to screen share in discord.

RE: copy them as many times as you want

^^^Can we copy a replay file between GTR2-steam (stock game), GTR2-A (Anniversary), GTR2-B (DXVK) as an efficient way to "see" visual changes on identical cars & tracks?

Time for more FAFO!

EDIT: LOL, I copied a replay from my Anniversary GTR2HQ to stock steam & it worked - but all my Porsches were gray! Looks like I just need to use a different car...

GTR233 · Jan 20, 2023

AMA_King said:
You've done spectacular work & I am loving it even if it sounds like I'm griping.

I talked to a buddy on discord who also has a twitch & youtube channel about making a vid and he volunteered to "try to make something" so we're going to screen share in discord.

RE: copy them as many times as you want

^^^Can we copy a replay file between GTR2-steam (stock game), GTR2-A (Anniversary), GTR2-B (DXVK) as an efficient way to "see" visual changes on identical cars & tracks?

Time for more FAFO!

EDIT: LOL, I copied a replay from my Anniversary GTR2HQ to stock steam & it worked - but all my Porsches were gray! Looks like I just need to use a different car...

Just replace gtr2.exe with nocd (set admin rights) and grey will be replaced by colors

The Iron Wolf · Jan 20, 2023

AMA_King said:
You've done spectacular work & I am loving it even if it sounds like I'm griping.

I talked to a buddy on discord who also has a twitch & youtube channel about making a vid and he volunteered to "try to make something" so we're going to screen share in discord.

RE: copy them as many times as you want

^^^Can we copy a replay file between GTR2-steam (stock game), GTR2-A (Anniversary), GTR2-B (DXVK) as an efficient way to "see" visual changes on identical cars & tracks?

Time for more FAFO!

EDIT: LOL, I copied a replay from my Anniversary GTR2HQ to stock steam & it worked - but all my Porsches were gray! Looks like I just need to use a different car...

thanks for the kind words. I am enjoying the game more and more with all those fixes, many of them I never dreamt to become a reality, but they worked out. Glad to see some folks enjoy them too. And, hopefully we will start seeing more mods running CCGEP, because more and more features added require actual content changes, especially modern cars and open wheelers.

If you use my plugin it changes GTR2 to not write into Documents, so GTR2 folder is entirely standalone, means you can copy it as many times as you need.

If you guys want, you can share any video you make with me first. Since I am the author, I know how this plugin works, so I could help in making sure video does not contain misinformation/misleading info. The biggest visual difference is fixed Z-fighting (texture flicker), fixed backfires and SGSSAA in DXVK is higher quality. Also, you can increase resolution of rain reflection - pretty much free on any modern GPU like yours. But then also performance due memory usage optimization and optionally multithreaded physics, not visible in video though. There's also unrealized potential in a sense that now modders can use any size textures they want without worrying, so game potentially could look a bit better. And, as I learn more I'll keep fixing things in DXVK rendering path, although I am happy with how game looks like (with damn flicker gone forever now) and my highest priority is fixing performance in heavy situations - large grids, night, rain etc.

AMA_King · Jan 20, 2023

GTR233 said:
Just replace gtr2.exe with nocd (set admin rights) and grey will be replaced by colors

Yeah, we did that, but were also just laughing about the whole silly gray car thing.

Here we are trying to figure out the easiest way to illustrate the STOCK game vs 16th Anniversary vs DXVK & copying a replay / *.vcr file between games seems best for consistency & thought for a moment that showing the stock game w/ gray cars in a video would be hilarious!

AMA_King · Jan 20, 2023

The Iron Wolf said:
If you use my plugin it changes GTR2 to not write into Documents, so GTR2 folder is entirely standalone, means you can copy it as many times as you need.

I noticed that after asking the question - BRAVO!

The Iron Wolf said:
...share any video you make with me first. Since I am the author, I know how this plugin works, so I could help in making sure video does not contain misinformation/misleading info.

We discussed exactly that - posting an unlisted video on youtube & sending you the link - basically for validation that we don't misrepresent anything...

AMA_King · Jan 20, 2023

After "doing time" w/ my buddy in discord working out 3 installs:
GTR2 - X:\STEAM\steamapps\common\GTR 2 - FIA GT Racing Game
(stock game)
GTR2HQ (16th Anniversary) + crew chief
GTR2-DXVK + crew chief

We went thru GTR2_SETUP.CMD 4 dang times to differentiate each installs using diff colors and features - we even selected diff skies & AI between - GTR2HQ & GTR2-DXVK - which I now see was maybe a mistake for PURE comparo purposes, but we WON the differentiation prize!

When we finally got to "installing" DXVK - we realized it was just the *.dll's we already used on a past (deleted) install & NOT like a whole big-whoopty-do add on driver install that I thought it was!!!! All we had to do was edit the dxvk.conf

However, the manual directed us to 3 settings & only one said "change this to TRUE"

QUOTE MANUAL: To enable this new AA form: dxvk.forceSampleRateShading = True
and, either enable AA in GTR2Config or use: d3d9.forceSwapchainMSAA
setting dxvk.forceSampleRateShadingFactor setting can be used to adjust how AA looks

Some numbers / more direction direction here would be REALLY helpful!

The Iron Wolf · Jan 20, 2023

AMA_King said:
However, the manual directed us to 3 settings & only one said "change this to X"

QUOTE MANUAL: To enable this new AA form: dxvk.forceSampleRateShading = True
and, either enable AA in GTR2Config or use: d3d9.forceSwapchainMSAA
setting dxvk.forceSampleRateShadingFactor setting can be used to adjust how AA looks

Some numbers / more direction direction here would be REALLY helpful!

Please clarify what is unclear to you?

d3d9.forceSwapchainMSAA = 4 or 8
dxvk.forceSampleRateShading = True
d3d9.forceD32FS8DepthStencil = True

is all you need.

# means use default. Remove # before above settings.

You can later try playing with dxvk.forceSampleRateShadingFactor. Correct values are multiples of 2.0, so 0.125, 0.25, 0.5 and 1.0.

d3d9.forceSwapchainMSAA = 4
dxvk.forceSampleRateShading = True
dxvk.forceSampleRateShadingFactor = 1.0

produces image similar to DX9 4xMSAA + 4xSGSSAA.

With your card, in 2D you can easily run
d3d9.forceSwapchainMSAA = 8
Which yields 8xMSAA + 8xSGSSAA (kinda

but better by me).

I wonder if I just make this on by default in the future, as any modern card with Vulkan driver should run this just fine... hmm.