Autumn Depression is added to Extra Quality. Metallic Lustre and Mirror Hell have updated authored snapshots; Mirror Hell includes beam and projectile reflections. Full factory snapshots include current object/material settings while retaining authored values.

The Presets hub groups AVFX, Lighting, Visibility and the separate Player Contact domain. Lighting/Visibility snapshots are not AVFX presets. A musical AVFX preset explicitly starts its track and takes priority over automatic pause and health ambient; a second Play action is not required.

New beta 2 factory preset

Extra Quality now includes Metallic Lustre, a complete author-tuned AVFX snapshot with metallic materials and reflections. File: baseq2/q2pro-x/visual_presets/v_p_ml_e.cfg. It is available through baseq2 in every mod and consumes no user slot. As an ordinary preset it stops inherited online music but starts no track. It does not alter display/HDR mode, input or network settings, global AVFX-disable policy, or separate Contact presets.

All factory AVFX presets were checked against the current complete parameter schema. Adding missing parameters does not replace authored values with another preset's snapshot.

What an AVFX preset is

An AVFX preset is a ready-made set of visual-layer settings applied with one press. A preset enables the AVFX master and sets the related parameters for weather, sky, water, surfaces, lighting, sound and performance.

Presets come in two kinds:

ordinary — they change only the visual profile;

music — they are additionally tied to an online-music track.

	An important rule. An ordinary preset stops a music preset's music. Music actions are permitted to music presets only: an ordinary preset can never accidentally inherit and start someone else's track.

Where the presets live

Menu path: Main menu → Advanced Visual Effects → AVFX Preset Generator → AVFX Presets

AVFX Presets

Type	Section	Row	Variable or target	What it does
Section	Standard presets	Standard presets
Navigation	Standard presets	Basic presets	q2prox_avfx_presets_basic	Open the existing AVFX preset package list.
Navigation	Standard presets	Space	q2prox_avfx_presets_space	Open space-themed AVFX preset packages.
Navigation	Standard presets	Surfaces	q2prox_avfx_presets_surfaces	Open AVFX presets that combine surface objects with atmospheric and celestial scenes.
Navigation	Standard presets	Aesthetic	q2prox_avfx_presets_aesthetic	Open aesthetic AVFX preset packages.
Navigation	Standard presets	Misc	q2prox_avfx_presets_misc	Open miscellaneous AVFX preset packages.
Navigation	Standard presets	Musical	q2prox_avfx_presets_music	Open music-linked AVFX preset packages.
Navigation	Standard presets	Extra quality	q2prox_avfx_presets_extra	Open extra quality AVFX preset packages based on the Ultra presets.
Navigation	Standard presets	Can you run Q2PRO-X ?	q2prox_avfx_presets_can_run	These presets are intended exclusively for Hi-End PCs and testing.
Navigation	Standard presets	HDR (High Dynamic Range)	q2prox_avfx_presets_hdr	Open AVFX presets tuned for HDR rendering. / For the best HDR effect, use the win32wgl backend.
Navigation	Standard presets	Demonstration	q2prox_avfx_presets_demo	Open map-specific demonstration presets with authored drawings and volumetric steam/smoke.
Section	Custom presets	Custom presets
Navigation	Custom presets	Custom (global)	q2prox_avfx_presets_custom_global	Open 12 global custom AVFX preset slots shared by every mod.
Navigation	Custom presets	Custom (mod-dependent)	q2prox_avfx_presets_custom	Open the existing 12 mod-dependent custom AVFX preset slots for the current game directory.
Navigation	Custom presets	Musical custom (global)	q2prox_avfx_presets_music_custom_global	Open 6 global musical custom presets. Each stores a full AVFX snapshot and one validated PROMODJ track.
Navigation	Custom presets	Musical custom (mod-dependent)	q2prox_avfx_presets_music_custom	Open 6 mod-dependent musical custom presets for the current game directory.
Section	Actions	Actions
Navigation	Actions	Enable AVFX defaults	q2prox_cfg_preset_apply; cl_avfx_defaults; set cl_avfx 1; q2prox_cfg_save_local	Reset all AVFX cvars to defaults, enable AVFX and save the local profile.
Navigation	Actions	Stop preset music (once)	music_online_stop	Stop the currently playing preset music once. This does not disable music presets or change any AVFX settings.
Section	Generator	Generator
Navigation	Generator	AVFX Preset Generator...	q2prox_avfx_generator	Generate a safe random AVFX scene: pick a quality envelope, optionally fix the atmosphere, press Generate. Save a result you like as a custom preset.

1. The shipped presets

Menu section
Basic Presets
Space Presets
Surface Presets
Aesthetic Presets
Misc Presets
Musical Presets
Extra Quality Presets
Can you run Q2PRO-X ?
HDR (High Dynamic Range)
Demonstration Presets

Both menu variants refer to the same set, and every file exists both in the source tree and in the release tree: the table above is built from the release menu itself rather than typed by hand.

Your personal custom presets are not part of that list and are not shipped.

1.1. The menu sections

Section	What is inside
Basic presets	Rain, storm, snow and other weather profiles across the quality scale
Space	Space and celestial profiles: stars, the Moon, planets, nebulae, the black hole
Surfaces	Surface-material profiles: brick, greenery, mold, wildlife, coverings
Aesthetic presets	Whole authored snapshots of a tuned scene, such as Moss Kingdom
Miscellaneous	Atmospheric variations: summer sky, haze, ash, mixed profiles
Extra quality	Heavy showcase profiles for powerful machines
Can you run Q2PRO-X ?	Stress profiles, including Mirror Hell
HDR (High Dynamic Range)	Profiles that assume the internal HDR renderer is on
Music	A visual profile plus a validated online-music track
Demonstration	Profiles that show authored drawings and volumetric steam on a specific map

1.2. The quality scale

The classic weather groups use the scale Ultra Quality, Quality, Balanced, Performance, Ultra Performance. The lower the profile, the more the density, the secondary effects, the distance-LOD load and the particle cost are reduced.

This is more than the AVFX quality switch alone: a preset also sets the related parameters for rain, snow, sky, water, lightning, sound and the performance limiters.

The Extra quality and Can you run Q2PRO-X ? profiles are not meant for ordinary play. They are a showcase and a stress test. If frame-rate stability matters, start at Balanced or Performance.

1.3. The HDR presets

The HDR section assumes the internal HDR renderer is enabled. For the full effect, enable HDR output and use the win32wgl backend if it suits your system.

HDR (High Dynamic Range)

Type	Section	Row	Variable or target	What it does
Section	HDR (High Dynamic Range)	HDR (High Dynamic Range)
Navigation	HDR (High Dynamic Range)	Nea HDR (musical)	q2pro-x/visual_presets/v_p_h_n.cfg	Nea HDR: music-linked AVFX preset tuned from current local settings for HDR rendering. Stops any currently playing online music before starting its own track.
Navigation	HDR (High Dynamic Range)	July Drops HDR (musical)	q2pro-x/visual_presets/v_p_h_jd.cfg	July Drops HDR: music-linked AVFX preset tuned from current local settings for HDR rendering. Stops any currently playing online music before starting its own track.
Navigation	HDR (High Dynamic Range)	Destroy HDR (musical)	q2pro-x/visual_presets/v_p_h_d.cfg	Destroy HDR: music-linked AVFX preset tuned from current local settings for HDR rendering. Stops any currently playing online music before starting its own track.
Navigation	HDR (High Dynamic Range)	Sunny Space HDR	q2pro-x/visual_presets/v_p_h_sc.cfg	Sunny Space HDR: AVFX preset tuned from current local settings for HDR rendering. No music is started.
Navigation	HDR (High Dynamic Range)	Blue Nebula HDR	q2pro-x/visual_presets/v_p_h_bn.cfg	Blue Nebula HDR: AVFX preset tuned from current local settings for HDR rendering. No music is started.
Navigation	HDR (High Dynamic Range)	Red Space HDR	q2pro-x/visual_presets/v_p_h_rs.cfg	Red Space HDR: AVFX preset tuned from current local settings for HDR rendering. No music is started.
Navigation	HDR (High Dynamic Range)	Green Space HDR	q2pro-x/visual_presets/v_p_h_gs.cfg	Green Space HDR: AVFX preset tuned from current local settings for HDR rendering. No music is started.
Navigation	HDR (High Dynamic Range)	Mystic Space HDR	q2pro-x/visual_presets/v_p_h_ms.cfg	Mystic Space HDR: AVFX preset tuned from current local settings for HDR rendering. No music is started.
Navigation	HDR (High Dynamic Range)	Full Cold HDR (musical)	q2pro-x/visual_presets/v_p_h_fc.cfg	Full Cold HDR: music-linked AVFX preset tuned from current local settings for HDR rendering. Stops any currently playing online music before starting its own track.
Navigation	HDR (High Dynamic Range)	Back to AVFX presets...	q2prox_avfx_presets	Return to the AVFX preset package menu.

The music variants in that section are tied to online music; the others change only the visuals.

2. Custom presets

2.1. Custom slot sets

Set	Slots	Where it applies
Custom presets (global)	12	In every mod
Custom presets (mod-dependent)	12	Only in the current mod
Musical custom presets (global)	6	In every mod, together with the track
Musical custom presets (mod-dependent)	6	Only in the current mod, together with the track

A global slot lives across mods; a mod-dependent one belongs to the current game folder. That lets you keep one shared favourite profile plus separate profiles for specific mods.

2.2. Actions available for each slot

Every slot has exactly three rows:

Load — apply the stored set.

Save — write the current AVFX state into that slot.

Rename — give it an understandable name.

Saving writes a complete current snapshot of the AVFX layer from the live registry, including the single-player parameters. That matters: new parameters of future versions automatically reach new custom saves.

A musical save additionally records a validated online-music track.

2.3. The same actions from the console

Every slot action has a console command:

Command	What it does
cl_avfx_preset_load_custom <slot>	Load a custom slot
cl_avfx_preset_save_custom <slot>	Save the current AVFX state into a slot
cl_avfx_preset_set_custom_name <slot> <name>	Set the slot's name

The menu uses those same actions, so the result is identical.

2.4. Slot names

A slot's name is edited straight in the menu: select the name row, type a new name, Enter saves it, Esc cancels without writing. The name lives inside the slot's own file.

Give a slot a meaningful name straight away: a week later, "Slot 7" tells you nothing.

2.5. Where the files live

The shipped presets are in:

baseq2\q2pro-x\visual_presets\

The custom slots are saved in the same tree as separate files. Release updates never overwrite your custom names and settings, and source copies of custom slots are not shipped.

3. Building a preset of your own

1. Apply the closest shipped preset.

2. Configure the weather, water, snow, sky, surfaces, sound and performance in the AVFX menu.

3. If you want the single-player layer, configure its parameters too.

4. Save into a free custom slot — global if you want the profile everywhere, mod-dependent if it belongs to one mod.

5. Rename the slot.

6. For comparison, run cl_avfx_info and save the console output if the profile is needed for testing.

The quick way to obtain a new starting point is the AVFX preset generator: it creates a whole scene with one press, inside the budget you chose. A result you like is saved into a custom slot the same way. Details are in the generator guide.

4. What a preset replaces completely

An AVFX preset owns the complete authored content of maps. Loading a preset, resetting to defaults or clearing atomically replaces or empties the drawing and volumetric-steam dataset across every map, leaving no trace of the previous preset.

What survives:

the libraries of portable drawing materials;

the libraries of volumetric-steam shapes;

all the other preset slots.

That separation is deliberate: a map's dataset belongs to the preset, and the template libraries belong to you.

5. Reset and diagnostics

The default preset returns the AVFX layer to its base state.

cl_avfx_info prints the current state of the layer, the active effects, the counters and the budgets.

If a preset looks odd, apply it again: some effects hold runtime state that has to be cleared.

For online play, keep the separate modes in mind: whether AVFX is permitted in multiplayer, and the competitive limit. In a real match heavy atmospheric effects can hinder visibility.

6. Frequently asked questions

Question	Answer
Why did music start after I loaded a preset	You loaded a music preset. An ordinary preset will stop it
Why did the preset not change anything	Check that the AVFX master is on and that the global disable is not in effect
Where did my drawings on the map go	The loaded preset's dataset replaced them. Save your drawings in a custom preset of your own
Can I edit a preset file by hand	Yes, it is an ordinary settings file, but saving through the menu is safer
Why are my slots still there after an update	By design: a release update does not touch custom slots

Q2PRO-X 1.6 Beta 5 by ly — Q2PRO-X 1.6 Beta 5 AVFX Presets Guide

Contents

Beta 3 presets