Q2PRO-X 1.6 Beta 5 by ly — Q2PRO-X 1.6 Beta 5 Visual Highlights Guide
The complete guide in HTML. The original DOCX is available from its documentation card.
Q2PRO-X 1.6 Beta 5 by ly
Q2PRO-X 1.6 Beta 5 Visual Highlights Guide
Project author: ly
Item, weapon and player visibility: colours, rules and model parts
English edition • Q2PRO-X 1.6 Beta 5 by ly • 2026-10-10
Contents
The entries are links: click one to jump to that section.
Highlights and Bloom in beta 3
2.2. The player highlighting page
3.1. The complete settings page
4. Commands, presets and diagnostics
4.1. Where highlighting applies
6. What highlighting does not do
Beta4: highlights in WGL/EGL
Model-part colors no longer wash out in EGL/ANGLE. Palette, alpha and skin blending match WGL, including reflections. Item, held/world weapon, male/female/cyborg, MD2/MD5 and Bloom/HDR paths were checked. WGL cel outlines render after colored layers with depth testing; EGL uses pixel-width edges instead of an inflated shell. A new factory visibility preset is «Фиолетовые мужики, салатовые бабы».
Highlights and Bloom in beta 3
The Bloom menu combines overall strength with independent 0–100% category multipliers. 100% uses overall strength; 0% skips that category as a Bloom source. Comets retain their own controls. AVFX categories remain in this menu but are excluded from Visibility presets.
Overall strength and Bloom categories.
Fixed Bloom with zero fill opacity, uneven model contribution, RGB tint and male/female/cyborg skin replacement. Player parts can exclude outlines independently of fill. Highlights are reproduced in mirrors and puddles.
Visibility presets offer four shared custom slots and one-click random generation. They save highlights and ordinary Bloom, excluding skin overrides, player identity, downloads and AVFX Bloom categories. A factory preset disables all highlight masters. Applying a preset retains each variable's existing global/mod save scope.
Highlight fixes in beta 2
Using outline and fill together preserves their separate transparency instead of turning the item into an opaque color patch. Fixed temporal-stability and model-pass consistency errors. Reflections use the same highlight plan. No new setting is required to enable these fixes.
The general idea
Q2PRO-X highlights are a local visual layer. They change no server, no hitboxes, no damage, no movement and no network protocol. Their job is to make items, weapons and players easier to read, especially in demos, in practice, in single player and in visual presets.
To start quickly: enable the highlight layer, then configure items, weapons or players.
Where the settings live
| What you are setting | Menu path |
|---|---|
| The highlight layer, items, weapons | Main menu → Online Play Setup → Visibility Highlights |
| Item highlighting | Main menu → Online Play Setup → Visibility Highlights → Visibility / Items |
| Weapon highlighting | Main menu → Online Play Setup → Visibility Highlights → Visibility / Weapons |
| Player highlighting | Main menu → Options → Skins & Models → Visibility / Players |
| Model part colours | Main menu → Options → Skins & Models → Visibility / Players → Player Part Colors |
| Teams and duel | Main menu → Options → Skins & Models → Visibility / Players → Visibility / Teams and Duel |
| Visibility presets | Main menu → Options → Visibility & Visuals → Visibility presets |
1. Items and weapons
1.1. The main page
Visibility Highlights
| Type | Section | Row | Variable or target | What it does |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| List | Graphics quality | cl_vis_overlay_batch | Renderer path for visibility overlays. Applies immediately. [High / Performance] | |
| Toggle | Enable highlighting | cl_vis_enable | Master switch for all visibility highlighting. Applies immediately. | |
| Toggle | Single-player | cl_vis_singleplayer | Allow visibility highlights in local single-player/training. Applies immediately. | |
| Navigation | Items... | q2prox_vis_items | Item highlight settings: style, alpha, scale, class toggles and colours. | |
| Navigation | Weapons... | q2prox_vis_weapons | Weapon highlight settings: scale, per-weapon toggles and colours. | |
| Navigation | Players... | q2prox_vis_players | Player highlight settings: mode, style, colours, team and duel logic. | |
| Navigation | Visual effects... | q2prox_vfx | Bloom, colour grading and other visual effects. | |
| Navigation | Lighting presets... | q2prox_lighting_presets_hub | Apply lighting and colour presets. | |
| Navigation | Visibility presets... | q2prox_visibility_presets | Apply visibility highlight and bloom presets. | |
| Navigation | Visibility info... | cl_vis_items_info | Print item classification and visibility status. |
1.2. Items
Items have a style (off, shell, tint, shell and tint), opacity, shell opacity, shell thickness, brightness and scale. Item classes are enabled separately: health, armor, ammo, powerups and keys. Colours are configured per class.
Visibility / Items
| Type | Section | Row | Variable or target | What it does |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Toggle | Item highlighting | cl_vis_items | Toggle item highlighting. Applies immediately. | |
| List | Item style | cl_vis_items_style | Item highlight style: outline shell, color fill, or both. Applies immediately. [off / shell / tint / shell+tint] | |
| Slider | Tint alpha | cl_vis_items_alpha | Opacity of the item highlight overlay (tint and shell). Applies immediately. | |
| Slider | Shell alpha | cl_vis_items_shell_alpha | Opacity of the item outline (shell) pass only. Applies immediately. | |
| Slider | Shell thickness | cl_vis_items_shell_scale | Thickness of the item outline shell. Applies immediately. | |
| Slider | Item brightness | cl_vis_items_brightness | Brightness of item highlights; above 1 boosts saturation. Applies immediately. | |
| Slider | Item scale | cl_vis_items_scale | Enlarge pickup items so they read from range; 1 = stock size. Applies immediately. | |
| Navigation | Item toggles... | q2prox_vis_toggles | Per-class item toggles: health, armor, ammo, powerups and keys. | |
| Navigation | Item colors... | q2prox_vis_colors | Per-class item colours. |
1.3. Weapons
Weapons have their own master switch, a scale, per-weapon toggles and per-weapon colours. Those same colours can be used as the palette for the carried weapon in model-parts mode.
Visibility / Weapons
| Type | Section | Row | Variable or target | What it does |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Toggle | Weapon highlighting | cl_vis_weapons | Toggle weapon highlighting. Applies immediately. | |
| Slider | Weapon scale | cl_vis_weapons_scale | Enlarge dropped weapons so they read from range; 1 = stock size. Applies immediately. | |
| Navigation | Weapon toggles... | q2prox_vis_weapon_toggles | Per-weapon enable toggles. | |
| Navigation | Weapon colors... | q2prox_vis_weapon_colors | Per-weapon colours. |
2. Players
2.1. Highlight modes
| Variable | Accepted values | Description |
|---|---|---|
| cl_vis_players_mode | 0=off / 1=all / 2=random FFA / 3=duel / 4=auto / 5=team / 6=model / 7=model parts | Player highlight classification mode. 0=off; 1=all; 2=random FFA; 3=duel; 4=auto; 5=team; 6=model (old uniform colour per resolved player-model directory); 7=model parts (separate head/arms/torso/legs/weapon colours, with detailed controls in Player part colors). |
| Mode | What it does |
|---|---|
| Off | Players are not highlighted |
| All | One common mode for everybody |
| Random FFA | Different colours in free-for-all |
| Duel | Marks the duel pair |
| Auto | Automatic logic with a safe fallback |
| Team | Friendly and enemy colours from the team source |
| Model | A uniform colour per model |
| Model parts | Separate colours for head, arms, torso, legs and weapon |
The player style also has off, shell, tint and shell-and-tint variants, opacity, shell opacity and thickness, scale and brightness.
| Player scale applies only in single player or while watching .dm2 and .mvd2 recordings. On a live server the model keeps its standard size. |
|---|
2.2. The player highlighting page
Visibility / Players
| Type | Section | Row | Variable or target | What it does |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Section | Main | Main | ||
| Toggle | Main | Player highlighting | cl_vis_players | Toggle player highlighting. Applies immediately. |
| Navigation | Main | Skins & models... | g_skins | Open skin/model override and player setup settings. |
| List | Main | Player mode | cl_vis_players_mode | off/all/random FFA/duel/auto/team/model/model parts. Model = old uniform per-model colour. Model parts = separate head/arms/torso/legs/weapon colours. Applies immediately. [off / all / random FFA / duel / auto / team / model / model parts] |
| Navigation | Main | Player model colors... | q2prox_vis_player_model_colors | Old uniform per-model colours for Player mode = Model. |
| Navigation | Main | Player part colors... | q2prox_vis_player_parts | Body-part colours for Player mode = Model parts. |
| Section | Style & appearance | Style & appearance | ||
| List | Style & appearance | Player style | cl_vis_players_style | Player highlight style: outline shell, color fill, or both. Applies immediately. [off / shell / tint / shell+tint] |
| Slider | Style & appearance | Player tint alpha | cl_vis_players_alpha | Whole-player tint alpha. In Model+parts mode the part tint can replace this tint. Applies immediately. |
| Slider | Style & appearance | Player shell alpha | cl_vis_players_shell_alpha | Opacity of the player outline (shell) pass. Applies immediately. |
| Slider | Style & appearance | Player shell thickness | cl_vis_players_shell_scale | Thickness of the player outline shell. Applies immediately. |
| Slider | Style & appearance | Player scale | cl_vis_players_scale | Player model size. Applied ONLY in single-player or during .dm2/.mvd2 demo playback. Stock size on a live deathmatch server. Range 0.1..5.0, step 0.01. Applies immediately. |
| Slider | Style & appearance | Player brightness | cl_vis_players_brightness | Brightness of player highlights; above 1 adds an emissive glow. Applies immediately. |
| Toggle | Style & appearance | Highlight self | cl_vis_players_self | Also highlight yourself (visible only in third-person/chasecam). Applies immediately. |
| Section | Rules | Rules | ||
| Navigation | Rules | Teams and duel... | q2prox_vis_player_rules | Team, duel and auto-mode rules. |
2.3. Teams and duel
Visibility / Teams and Duel
| Type | Section | Row | Variable or target | What it does |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| List | Auto fallback | cl_vis_players_auto_fallback | Auto-mode fallback when team/duel can't be resolved (default Random FFA). Applies immediately. [all / Random FFA] | |
| Slider | Duel hold | cl_vis_players_duel_hold_ms | How long a detected duel pair stays locked, in ms. Applies immediately. | |
| List | Team source | cl_vis_players_team_source | Team detection source: off, auto (skin-based), or OpenTDM. Applies immediately. [off / auto / opentdm] | |
| List | Team fallback | cl_vis_players_team_fallback | Team-mode fallback when a side can't be resolved (default Duel). Applies immediately. [all / Random FFA / duel] | |
| Slider | Team hold | cl_vis_players_team_hold_ms | How long a team assignment stays held if data goes stale, in ms. Applies immediately. | |
| List | Friendly color | cl_vis_players_team_friendly_color | Highlight color for teammates in Team mode. Applies immediately. [Dark / Grey / Brown / Dark red / Red / Orange / Gold / Yellow / Green-yellow / Green / Lime / Pure green / Mint / Cyan / Sky / Aqua / Blue / Azure / Magenta / Violet / White] | |
| List | Enemy color | cl_vis_players_team_enemy_color | Highlight color for enemies in Team mode. Applies immediately. [Dark / Grey / Brown / Dark red / Red / Orange / Gold / Yellow / Green-yellow / Green / Lime / Pure green / Mint / Cyan / Sky / Aqua / Blue / Azure / Magenta / Violet / White] |
3. Model parts
The Model parts mode colours parts of the model on the fly:
| Variable | Part |
|---|---|
| cl_vis_player_parts_head_color | Head |
| cl_vis_player_parts_arms_color | Arms |
| cl_vis_player_parts_torso_color | Torso |
| cl_vis_player_parts_legs_color | Legs |
| cl_vis_player_parts_weapon_color | The carried weapon |
Both model paths are supported — MD2 and MD5. For MD5 the skeleton, the animation and the skin path are preserved: Q2PRO-X never falls back to MD2 for the sake of a highlight.
3.1. The complete settings page
Player Part Colors
| Type | Section | Row | Variable or target | What it does |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Section | Settings | Settings | ||
| List | Settings | Color set | cl_vis_player_parts_source | Use one shared color set, or separate colors for male/female/cyborg. Applies immediately. [Global / Per model] |
| List | Settings | Weapon source | cl_vis_player_parts_weapon_source | Carried weapon colour source. Weapon palette uses the existing weapon-highlight colours. Custom uses the shared weapon colour below. Explicit per-model weapon colours override the palette. Applies immediately. [Weapon palette / Custom] |
| Slider | Settings | Alpha | cl_vis_player_parts_alpha | Part fill opacity; 0 hides the fill while keeping bloom. Applies immediately. |
| Toggle | Settings | Fullbright colors | cl_vis_player_parts_fullbright | Use raw part colours without multiplying by the skin texture. Applies immediately. |
| Toggle | Settings | Replace tint | cl_vis_player_parts_replace_tint | Replace the legacy whole-player tint with part tint instead of stacking both. Applies immediately. |
| Toggle | Settings | Disable whole-model outline | cl_vis_player_parts_no_shell | Disable the whole-model outline in Model+parts mode; keep part colours and their bloom. Independent of Replace tint. Applies immediately. |
| Section | Part colors | Part colors | ||
| List | Part colors | Head | cl_vis_player_parts_head_color | Shared head color. Applies immediately. [Dark / Grey / Brown / Dark red / Red / Orange / Gold / Yellow / Green-yellow / Green / Lime / Pure green / Mint / Cyan / Sky / Aqua / Blue / Azure / Magenta / Violet / White] |
| List | Part colors | Arms | cl_vis_player_parts_arms_color | Shared arms color. Applies immediately. [Dark / Grey / Brown / Dark red / Red / Orange / Gold / Yellow / Green-yellow / Green / Lime / Pure green / Mint / Cyan / Sky / Aqua / Blue / Azure / Magenta / Violet / White] |
| List | Part colors | Torso | cl_vis_player_parts_torso_color | Shared torso color. Applies immediately. [Dark / Grey / Brown / Dark red / Red / Orange / Gold / Yellow / Green-yellow / Green / Lime / Pure green / Mint / Cyan / Sky / Aqua / Blue / Azure / Magenta / Violet / White] |
| List | Part colors | Legs | cl_vis_player_parts_legs_color | Shared legs color. Applies immediately. [Dark / Grey / Brown / Dark red / Red / Orange / Gold / Yellow / Green-yellow / Green / Lime / Pure green / Mint / Cyan / Sky / Aqua / Blue / Azure / Magenta / Violet / White] |
| List | Part colors | Weapon | cl_vis_player_parts_weapon_color | Carried weapon custom color. Applies immediately. [Dark / Grey / Brown / Dark red / Red / Orange / Gold / Yellow / Green-yellow / Green / Lime / Pure green / Mint / Cyan / Sky / Aqua / Blue / Azure / Magenta / Violet / White] |
| Section | Body zones | Body zones | ||
| Slider | Body zones | Head start | cl_vis_player_parts_head_start | Normalized height where the head zone starts. Raise this if head colour leaks onto shoulders. Applies immediately. |
| Slider | Body zones | Border softness | cl_vis_player_parts_softness | Softness of head/torso/legs transitions. Lower values make cleaner borders. Applies immediately. |
| Slider | Body zones | Legs end | cl_vis_player_parts_legs_end | Normalized top of the legs zone. Applies immediately. |
| Section | Per model | Per model | ||
| Navigation | Per model | Model male... | q2prox_vis_player_parts_male | Separate part colours for the male model. |
| Navigation | Per model | Model female... | q2prox_vis_player_parts_female | Separate part colours for the female model. |
| Navigation | Per model | Model cyborg... | q2prox_vis_player_parts_cyborg | Separate part colours for the cyborg model. |
| Navigation | Per model | Reset to defaults | reset cl_vis_player_parts_source; reset cl_vis_player_parts_weapon_source; reset cl_vis_player_parts_alpha; reset cl_vis_player_parts_brightness; reset cl_vis_player_parts_fullbright; reset cl_vis_player_parts_replace_tint; reset cl_vis_player_parts_no_shell; reset cl_vis_player_parts_debug; reset cl_vis_player_parts_head_color; reset cl_vis_player_parts_arms_color; reset cl_vis_player_parts_torso_color; reset cl_vis_player_parts_legs_color; reset cl_vis_player_parts_weapon_color; reset cl_vis_player_parts_head_start; reset cl_vis_player_parts_softness; reset cl_vis_player_parts_legs_end | Reset this menu to defaults and refresh visible values immediately. |
3.2. Separate sets per model
The colour set can be shared, or separate for the male, female and cyborg models. Each of the three models has its own part-colour page.
3.3. Tuning the body zones
Three sliders solve the most common problem — one zone's colour spilling into its neighbour:
| Variable | Accepted values | Description |
|---|---|---|
| cl_vis_player_parts_head_start | default 0.86 / range 0.60..0.98 | Normalized height where the head tint starts. Increase this when the head colour leaks onto shoulders; decrease it if the lower head/neck is not coloured enough. Default 0.86 is tighter than the first Phase-A prototype. |
| cl_vis_player_parts_softness | default 0.035 / range 0.005..0.20 | Soft transition width for head/torso/legs classifier. Smaller values produce cleaner borders; larger values blend colours more gradually. Default 0.035 reduces head colour bleed on shoulders. |
4. Commands, presets and diagnostics
Visibility presets
| Type | Section | Row | Variable or target | What it does |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Navigation | Default (All Highlights Off) | cl_visibility_preset_load_factory default_off | Disable visibility highlights and ordinary Bloom; AVFX Bloom percentages stay unchanged. | |
| Navigation | Player Parts, Items and Light Bloom | cl_visibility_preset_load_factory parts_items_light | Apply player-part colours, item highlights and the authored light Bloom settings. | |
| Navigation | Red Male, Green Female and Blue Cyborg | cl_visibility_preset_load_factory models_rgb | Apply the captured highlights and Bloom: red male, green female and blue cyborg. | |
| Navigation | Purple Male, Lime Female | cl_visibility_preset_load_factory models_purple_lime | Apply the saved purple/lime visibility and Bloom preset. | |
| Navigation | FFA (Automatic Model Colours) | cl_visibility_preset_load_factory ffa_auto | Apply the captured FFA automatic player colours, highlights and Bloom. | |
| Navigation | Generate random preset | cl_visibility_preset_generate | Enable highlights and apply random colours/settings now. Save a result in a user slot. AVFX Bloom percentages are excluded. | |
| Preset name | Slot 1 name | |||
| Navigation | Load | ui_visibility_load_custom 1 | Load user visibility preset 1; shared by all mods. | |
| Navigation | Save | ui_visibility_save_custom 1 | Save user visibility preset 1; shared by all mods. | |
| Navigation | Rename | ui_visibility_rename_custom 1 | Rename user visibility preset 1; shared by all mods. | |
| Preset name | Slot 2 name | |||
| Navigation | Load | ui_visibility_load_custom 2 | Load user visibility preset 2; shared by all mods. | |
| Navigation | Save | ui_visibility_save_custom 2 | Save user visibility preset 2; shared by all mods. | |
| Navigation | Rename | ui_visibility_rename_custom 2 | Rename user visibility preset 2; shared by all mods. | |
| Preset name | Slot 3 name | |||
| Navigation | Load | ui_visibility_load_custom 3 | Load user visibility preset 3; shared by all mods. | |
| Navigation | Save | ui_visibility_save_custom 3 | Save user visibility preset 3; shared by all mods. | |
| Navigation | Rename | ui_visibility_rename_custom 3 | Rename user visibility preset 3; shared by all mods. | |
| Preset name | Slot 4 name | |||
| Navigation | Load | ui_visibility_load_custom 4 | Load user visibility preset 4; shared by all mods. | |
| Navigation | Save | ui_visibility_save_custom 4 | Save user visibility preset 4; shared by all mods. | |
| Navigation | Rename | ui_visibility_rename_custom 4 | Rename user visibility preset 4; shared by all mods. | |
| Section | Related settings | Related settings | ||
| Navigation | Related settings | Visibility highlights... | q2prox_vis | Item, weapon and player highlights, including model-part colours. |
| Navigation | Related settings | Visual effects... | q2prox_vfx | Bloom, colour grading and other visual effects. |
| Navigation | Related settings | Mod configs... | q2prox_modcfg | Open mod configs: choose and save settings for each mod and manage its default profile. |
4.1. Where highlighting applies
| Variable | Accepted values | Description |
|---|---|---|
| cl_vis_singleplayer | 0=multiplayer only / 1=also singleplayer | Also apply the visibility layer in singleplayer. When off, the highlight system only activates in multiplayer maps (cl.maxclients > 1) since most classic SP players dislike shell overlays on AI. |
By default the layer is aimed at online play and at watching recordings. A separate setting permits it in single player as well.
5. Practical recipes
| Task | Setting |
|---|---|
| Demo analysis | Model parts mode, brightness 1.5–2.5, shell-and-tint style, moderate opacity |
| Single player | Item scale 1.3–1.8, weapon scale 1.2–1.5, permit the layer in single player |
| A good-looking showcase | Part tint with pure colours off, so the skin texture is preserved |
| Maximum readability | Pure colours on, tint replacement on, bright head, torso and leg colours |