The ReShade Question

GShade is dead, long live ReShade? In the immediate aftermath of the end of the popular fork of ReShade, many GShade users flocked to the original, myself included. But was that the right move? Having played Final Fantasy XIV for so long with GShade, I wasn't going back to the standard graphics. At the same time, I wasn't eager to install another mod. I had questions I needed to answer about whether I should search for another solution.

The first was the fact ReShade is a game modification. Third party mods aren't entirely reliably supported. Sometimes the developer leaves the game and loses interest in supporting their creation. At that point, functionality players rely on goes away. I've played EVE Online long enough to see that happen to several third-party tools. Now imagine something like that happening inside a game.

Sure, ReShade is open source software. GShade itself came into existence as a popular fork of the base project. But I've heard that ReShade would kind of go dormant at times. The question became, do I make the break now?

The second question was whether I wanted a more terms of service friendly solution to the fuzzy graphics problem in FFXIV. In the wake of the scandal involving the world first race for The Omega Protocol, did I want to leave myself vulnerable to using prohibited software? On FFXIV's FAQ page for prohibited activities in the game, Square Enix states:

Behavior that disrupts the game balance

Square Enix strictly prohibits the use of third-party programs or tools as these disrupt the balance of the game. Third-party programs and tools that permit automated or "absentee" play are prohibited. A Game Master (GM) may speak to players to investigate and confirm "absentee" play, and if the player continues with this behavior, contrary to the GM's instructions, they will be treated as participating in "absentee" play and subject to penalties.

Accordingly, the following activities are prohibited:

- Modifying, analyzing, integrating, and/or reverse-engineering game software or data.

- Creating, distributing, using, or promoting utilities that interact with the game.

Does ReShade perform any of the prohibited activities? I found a video from Digital Foundry that suggests that yes, ReShade does.

The way ReShade works is pretty simple. Basically it is based around the way Windows loads up programs. By utilizing specialized Direct3D or OpenGL dll injector files ReShade is able to load into the target program's memory at runtime and can also be modified in real time. ReShade is simply taking advantage of the intended open design of how exe programs utilizing graphics libraries such as Direct3D or OpenGL work in Windows. 

But since it is still modifying the game I do not recommend using ReShade necessarily in online games that have anti-cheat as ReShade's use may trigger automatic protections and earn you a ban you probably do not want. So definitely stick to older online games that don't have such anti-cheat measures or single player games with ReShade. 

Interestingly enough, someone in the comments section of an article on MassivelyOP argued that Square Enix has stated that ReShade and similar programs do not violate the terms of service. The argument started throwing up red flags for me as the poster linked to a forum post from October 2013.
Which statement has more weight, a 9 1/2 year old forum post from a community rep, or a two week old statement from Final Fantasy XIV Producer and Director Naoki Yoshida stating he has never allowed the use of mods? I think taking what Yoshi-P says as the rules is the prudent way to proceed.

On a personal note, I decided to do a little more digging and found another solution. After using ReShade for less than 24 hours, I uninstalled the program last night. But I'm not going to judge those using ReShade. As far as I can see, ReShade users are complying with the spirit, if not the letter, of the ToS. I just wanted to come up with a solution that wouldn't have me scrambling for a replacement like the downfall of GShade did. For me, ReShade wasn't that solution.