ARCADIA TRUELIGHT 1.1 - HDR & SDR Beta Release - Cyberpunk 2077 [PC only]
What is Arcadia TrueLight?
Arcadia TrueLight is a visual overhaul project primarily based in Reshade.
The goal is to push games' graphics toward a more photorealistic look, enhancing lighting, color balance and overall atmosphere.
Rather than flattening the image, TrueLight focuses on maintaining vibrant colors, controlled contrast and a more impactful sense of light.
The approach
Arcadia TrueLight is built as a full visual workflow, not a single preset.
Each element works together to create a consistent result across different lighting conditions, times of day and environments.
The focus is not just realism, but impact: a look that feels grounded, yet visually striking.
Performance & scalability
This setup is designed to deliver the best results at higher settings, where lighting and visual fidelity can fully come through.
For the full visual result shown in my work, features like path tracing and higher-end hardware will make a significant difference.
That said, the setup remains scalable, a similar visual style can still be achieved with lighter configurations.
Compatibility & Setup Notes
This setup is designed and balanced around a clean (vanilla) game installation.
The included components are curated to work together as intended. Adding or mixing other mods — especially those affecting lighting, weather, LUTs or graphics settings — may lead to inconsistent results.
For the most accurate outcome, a clean setup is strongly recommended.
If something looks off, it’s usually due to conflicts or installation differences rather than the setup itself.
Full compatibility with every possible mod combination cannot be guaranteed.
General tips to get the best quality/Performance balance
For HDR: In-game, go into Settings>Video and swicth "HDR mode" to "HDR10 PQ"
my settings are: Max Brightness 400 (Adjust depending on your monitor max nit brightness)
Tone Mapping 1.30
For SDR: I recommend setting in game Gamma to 1.05
Use DLSS Quality or Balance.
Path Tracing: Enabled.
Ray Reconstruction: it’s an AI-based denoiser that helps clean up the image, especially when using ray tracing/path tracing, giving you sharper and more stable lighting overall.
I personally switch it on and off depending on the scene, since in some cases it can introduce noise or artifacts, especially on some reflections and character faces.
FPS CAP:
I cap my FPS close to my average to keep performance stable and avoid stutters.
For example: if you average 35–45 FPS, cap at 28/30; if you’re around 60, cap at 58/60; if you’re near 120, cap at 120. This keeps frame times consistent and the game smoother overall.
Frame Generation ON: FrameGen isn’t meant to “save” a setup that runs at 20 FPS, it can’t fix a game that already struggles natively.
Instead, you should first optimize your settings and resolution to reach a solid base framerate (for example 40–60 FPS), and only then enable Frame Gen to smooth things out and push fps higher in a stable and clean way.
If you have a G-SYNC monitor, make sure it’s enable in your monitor settings, this will help fix screen tearing caused by Frame-Gen.
INSTALLATION
Reshade
Download ARCADIA TRUELIGHT RESHADE_1.1, extract the .zip
Choose HDR or SDR
Copy the .ini preset from Arcadia TrueLight Reshade folder and paste it in bin/x64 of your main game directory. (for example: Steam\steamapps\common\Cyberpunk 2077\bin\x64)
Install ReShade with full addon support
IMPORTANT: during the installation, select my preset “Arcadia TrueLight Reshade”
Click "Next" and Skip the following section for add-ons, don't check anything there.
Install RenoDX (renodx-cp2077.addon64 goes in bin/x64)
Once Reshade and RenoDX are installed, launch the game, once loading is complete you can click the "HOME" key to open Reshade, you will see the RenoDX tab as well, open it and copy my RenoDX_Settings (check image included)
You can toggle On/Off the DOF effect in game by pressing the key “O”
(It's possible to rebind any Reshade effect with your desired shortcut, simply right-click over a Resahde effect and input the key.)
ARCADIA main mods
Inside the “Arcadia Main Mods” folder you’ll find three modules:
Arcadia TrueAtmos (environment & lighting)
Arcadia TrueSkin (skin materials)
Arcadia TrueGraphics (engine tweaks)
Each module is already pre-structured.
Simply extract each folder and copy it into your main game directory.
IMPORTANT: Do NOT copy the Arcadia folders directly.
Open them and copy the contents inside (e.g. the “archive” folder in Arcadia TrueLight) into your main game directory.
OTHER MODS RECCOMENDATIONS
Third-Party Mods Notice
The following mods are optional third-party recommendations that I personally use as part of my setup.
Because these mods are created by different authors, compatibility may vary depending on your hardware and existing mod configuration.
Some users may experience crashes, stuttering or performance issues when combining multiple heavy mods.
Neither Reshade nor the Arcadia modules themselves should cause startup crashes or major instability under normal conditions.
For the best experience, install carefully and avoid conflicting mods.
Remember to check the description AND requirements page of mods you download to better understand what they do and how to use them.
-ESSENTIALS (required to run most mods)-
The following are essential “core mods” that act like the foundation of Cyberpunk modding: they don’t change the game by themselves, but they allow other mods to work properly. Without them, many mods won’t load, will cause errors, or simply won’t appear in-game.
That’s why I recommend installing them first for any build—they make everything more stable, compatible, and easier to manage as you add more mods later.
Cyber Engine Tweaks is a simple tool that adds an in-game menu and console, letting you easily change and control settings for many mods. Even if you’re new to modding, it helps you manage and tweak things without needing complicated steps.
When you first start the game, a window will appear prompting you to choose a keybind to bring up the Overlay. Pick any key you want and save it. You can open up the CET overlay with that key from now on.
-UTILITY-
Used for Camera tweaking, refer to the included documentation (“Shift Settings”) if you want to replicate my settings.
Used for turning on/off the HUD. To create a keyboard shortcut, open the CET overlay, select "Bindings", scroll and look for Toggle HUD, input your desired key, then Save and close the CET overlay.
Useful tool if you want to quickly change weather/time of day
-GRAPHICS-
(My settings: 6 Rays, 1 Bounce. Alter 4 Rays, 1 Bounce)
LUT Switcher Adjustments (Standalone)
After installing it, in-game open the CET overlay and look for the LUT Adjustments tab, then select “Shadow Boost: Med”
Particles Flickering Fix : (Removes a bug from Vanilla that causes flickering on smokes and neons in some areas)
Dogtown Location Visuals Nulled
Disable Fake Lights with Path Tracing
Inplace Streamingsectors Nulled
Improved Distant Shadows (Volumetric Fog Leaking Fixed)
Not So Good Draw Distance Mod: (OPTIONAL, it has a huge fps impact)
Recommended Optimized settings:Enabled : Yes Stability Mode : Yes Level of Detail : 5Max Nodes Per Frame : 300Proxy Meshes : 10Lights : 30Decals : 10Terrain : 1.2Debris : 1.2Roads : 1.5Culling Offset : 150Improved Vehicle Lights Draw Distance
Extended and Improved Headlights
-TEXTURES-
Cyberpunk 2077 HD Reworked Project
Environment Textures Overhaul (2K recommended)
Preem Water 2.0: (I’m using "Canon" version)
Morph Texture Removal - Cleaner and better skin details
4k Complexion and Body for Female V: (ONLY IF YOU PLAY WITH FEM V, I’m using Better Body 4K and Better Abs 4K)
NPCs Enhancement - Hyst Bodies
High Res Architecture - V's Apartment
-ENVIRONMENT-
Enable Advert Animations (Ads)