aetopia / zetaconfig

A tool to fix performance issues with Halo Infinite.

Warning

This project has been deprecated and abandoned.
For a project which offers the same aim of this project as well as functionality see ZetaLoader.

ZetaPatcher

A tool to optimize and fix performance issues with Halo Infinite.
Note: ZetaPatcher only supports the Steam release of Halo Infinite!

What's ZetaPatcher?

ZetaPatcher aims to fix the glaring technical issues with the Halo Infinite PC experience.
This tool doesn't touch upon every single issue but focuses on the following:

1. High CPU Usage.
2. Window Scaling.
3. Performance.
4. NVIDIA Reflex Support.

These are some of the core issues, you might have encountered while playing Halo Infinite on PC.

ZetaPatcher utilizes the following features from the specified projects:

1. Special K | GitHub

   An extensive game modifying framework allowing for various forms of in-depth tweaking of a game. The focus is primarily on the graphics pipeline but the tool also includes features such as input device blocking/configuring, window and volume management, enhancements for some of the in-game functionality of Steam, and more.

2. Zeta

   A library that aims to fix and add missing technical features into Halo Infinite.

From Special K:

1. Spoof CPU Core Count:
   This option is used to fool the game into thinking that the CPU core count is lower than usual.

   Halo Infinite's December 2022 update fixes the fixes the following:
   "The simulation rate now matches the framerate, meaning uncapped and higher framerates on PC will no longer result in unnecessary CPU usage."
   TLDR; CPU usage should be marginally lower than before but this will depend on your CPU.

   Examples

   All Cores (i7-10700K with Hyper-Threading disabled.)

   Image 1:

   

   Spoofed 4 Cores (i7-10700K with Hyper-Threading disabled.)

   Image 2:

   

   Spoofing the CPU core count seems to determine how many threads should be used for compute.

   In [Image 1], the game is using all threads but in [Image 2], CPUs 3, 4, 5, 6 are being either being less prioritized to be used by the game or just being given less relevance thus leading to lower CPU usage.

   Technically Halo Infinite uses 9 compute threads, explaining why the i7-10700K was having 100% with Hyper Threading disabled.

   If your CPU has more than 9 compute threads those will simply be underutlized by the game or will given less relevance.

   There can decrease peek framerate if the CPU Core count is set to a low value so it is recommended to use this option in conjunction with a framerate limit.

2. NVIDIA Reflex:
   Special K can allow compatible DX11/12 games to utlize NVIDIA Reflex.

3. Framelimiter:
   Special K offers a superior framelimiter as compared to the ingame framelimiter.
   The Special K framelimiter is used since the ingame Min/Max FPS are set to 960 allow for aggressive dynamic resolution scaling for better performance.

From Zeta

Note: Zeta can loaded due to Special K's ability to load third party DLLs.
For more information: https://wiki.special-k.info/en/SpecialK/Tools#custom-plugin

1. Use a specific display mode/display resolution of your choice with a specific windowed program for better performance.

   Adds a Fullscreen Exclusive feature back into the game.

2. Fix for Halo Infinite's Borderless Fullscreen not scaling correctly for resolutions below 1440x810 for 16:9 monitors.

   Fixes an issue where Halo Infinite's Borderless Fullscreen doesn't fill 1360x768 correctly.

3. Automatically minimize a borderless window when its not the foreground window for better multitasking.

Does ZetaPatcher alter any Halo Infinite settings?

ZetaPatcher alters a few ingame options:

1. Minimum Framerate & Maximum Framerate are set to 960.
   Aggressive Dynamic Resolution Scaling is beneficial for improving performance.

2. Ingame Sharpness is set to Max when Minimum Framerate set to 960 the option is set to max to compensate for this for any quality/sharpness lost due to aggressive dynamic resolution scaling.

You see the Pros and Cons of the Minimium Framerate setting can be seen here:
https://github.com/Aetopia/Minimum-Framerate-Halo-Infinite

Configure Special K and Zeta.

To configure Special K, press [Ctrl] + [Shift] + [Backspace] to open the Special K Control Panel.

1. Custom Display Resolution (Provided by Zeta.):
   Note: Ensure Borderless Fullscreen is enabled!

   1. Browse Halo Infinite's local files.
   2. Find Zeta.txt and open it.
   3. It should look like this:

      1920
      1080
      

      By default, these values should the width and height of your monitor's native resolution.
   4. Set a custom display mode/resolution like this:

      1280
      720
      

   5. Save the file.

2. Spoof CPU Cores & NVIDIA Driver Black Magic (Provided by Special K.):
   Expand the Framerate Limiter tab and then click Advanced (Red).

   • Spoof CPU Cores (Yellow) Default: 4
     This option allows one to make their CPU core count to appear lower than actual. Lower values can reduce CPU usage by a significant amount.
     Drag the slider to increase or decrease the Core count.
     Alter this option if necessary!

   • NVIDIA Driver Black Magic (Blue) Default: Nothing But Boost
     Configure NVIDIA Reflex with this option.

   

3. FPS Limit (Provided by Special K.):
   Expand the Framerate Limiter tab.
   Enable the Framerate Limiter, [Ctrl] + Click on the textbox & enter your desired framerate limit.

   Note: Due ZetaPatcher setting the ingame minimum and maximum framerate to 960, we cannot use the ingame framelimiter.

   

Exploring Special K.

Check out the wiki for the all of the features of Special K: https://wiki.special-k.info

Installation

1. Fetch the latest release from GitHub Releases.
2. Run ZetaPatcher.exe.
3. Let ZetaPatcher finish its initialization and optimization process.
4. Launch your game!

Uninstallation

1. Browse Halo Infinite local files.
2. Delete the following files:

   dxgi.dll dxgi.ini Zeta.dll Zeta.txt
   

3. Special K & Zeta are now uninstalled.

Building

Building Instructions: https://github.com/Aetopia/ZetaPatcher/blob/main/src/README.md

FAQ

1. Why is Halo Infinite's launch after installing Special K + Zeta slow?

   The game is compiling shaders since Special K is loaded into the game. Once they compile, launches should be snappy and fast.

2. How to do I fix texture quality loss when using a lower display mode/render resolution?

   If you are on an NVIDIA card, you are in luck!

   1. Download NVIDIA Profile Inspector.

   2. Open it and search for the Halo Infinite profile.

   3. Find the following options:

      • Antialiasing - Transparency Supersampling
        Set its value to: 0x00000008 AA_MODE_REPLAY_MODE_ALL

      • Texture filtering - LOD Bias (DX)
        Set to a negative value of your choice. (Recommended: -1.00 ~ -2.00)