Re5 — Tweaks
Resident Evil 5, released in 2009, was a highly anticipated game that continued the survival horror legacy of the Resident Evil series. Developed and published by Capcom, it received widespread critical acclaim for its engaging storyline, improved graphics, and intense gameplay. However, like many games, RE5 had its share of flaws and areas that could be improved upon. Over the years, the gaming community has come up with various tweaks and modifications to enhance the gaming experience. This essay will explore some of the notable tweaks for Resident Evil 5.
The original release of RE5 was optimized for keyboard and mouse controls on PC, which could make it less accessible for players preferring controller input. Over time, community solutions and patches have improved controller support, making it more intuitive and comparable to the console versions. Aim mechanics have also been a point of discussion; while the game's default aim assist was helpful for console players, PC players found it sometimes imprecise. Tweaks in this area have allowed for a more precise aiming experience, catering to the preferences of PC gamers. re5 tweaks
Performance issues were relatively minimal for RE5, given its age and the capabilities of computers at the time of release. However, as hardware has evolved, players with high-end systems have sought ways to unlock the game's full potential. Tweaks in this area often involve modifying configuration files or using third-party tools to increase frame rates, reduce loading times, and enable wide-screen support. These enhancements ensure that the game can be enjoyed smoothly on modern hardware, improving the overall experience. Resident Evil 5, released in 2009, was a
Gameplay mechanics are another area where tweaks have made significant impacts. Resident Evil 5 introduced the "Action" and "Survival" difficulty levels, offering players a range of challenges. However, some players found certain aspects of the gameplay to be unbalanced or too easy. Community-made mods have addressed these issues by introducing new difficulty levels, adjusting enemy spawn rates, and tweaking weapon stats. For instance, the "No HUD" mod allows players to experience the game without the heads-up display, providing a more immersive experience. Additionally, mods that adjust the inventory system or add new game modes have further diversified the gameplay experience. Over the years, the gaming community has come
The various tweaks available for Resident Evil 5 demonstrate the community's dedication to enhancing and reimagining the game. From graphical overhauls to gameplay mechanics adjustments, these tweaks cater to a wide range of player preferences, extending the game's lifespan and appeal. While Capcom has continued to support the Resident Evil series with new releases and remakes, the community-driven modifications for RE5 serve as a testament to the enduring popularity of the game. They not only provide a fresh experience for returning players but also offer insights into how community engagement can contribute to the longevity and evolution of video games. As gaming technology continues to evolve, it's likely that more tweaks and mods will emerge, further enriching the RE5 experience for both new and veteran players.
One of the most significant tweaks for RE5 involves enhancing its graphics. Although the game was praised for its visuals at the time of release, advancements in technology have made its graphics appear somewhat dated. Several community-created mods and tweaks have been developed to improve the game's textures, lighting, and character models. For example, the RE5 HD Remaster project aimed to enhance the game's resolution, making it more suitable for modern high-definition displays. While not officially supported, such tweaks breathe new life into the game, making it visually appealing to both new and veteran players.
Lighting and shadows are crucial elements in survival horror games, enhancing the sense of tension and fear. Resident Evil 5's lighting was praised for creating a tense atmosphere, but some players felt that it could be improved. Tweaks in this area have focused on enhancing dynamic lighting and shadows, making the game's environments feel more realistic and terrifying. These modifications often involve adjusting shadow resolution and introducing more detailed lighting effects, which are particularly noticeable in darker environments.
This article is a work in progress and will continue to receive ongoing updates and improvements. It’s essentially a collection of notes being assembled. I hope it’s useful to those interested in getting the most out of pfSense.
pfSense has been pure joy learning and configuring for the for past 2 months. It’s protecting all my Linux stuff, and FreeBSD is a close neighbor to Linux.
I plan on comparing OPNsense next. Stay tuned!
Update: June 13th 2025
Diagnostics > Packet Capture
I kept running into a problem where the NordVPN app on my phone refused to connect whenever I was on VLAN 1, the main Wi-Fi SSID/network. Auto-connect spun forever, and a manual tap on Connect did the same.
Rather than guess which rule was guilty or missing, I turned to Diagnostics > Packet Capture in pfSense.
1 — Set up a focused capture
Set the following:
192.168.1.105(my iPhone’s IP address)2 — Stop after 5-10 seconds
That short window is enough to grab the initial handshake. Hit Stop and view or download the capture.
3 — Spot the blocked flow
Opening the file in Wireshark or in this case just scrolling through the plain-text dump showed repeats like:
UDP 51820 is NordLynx/WireGuard’s default port. Every packet was leaving, none were returning. A clear sign the firewall was dropping them.
4 — Create an allow rule
On VLAN 1 I added one outbound pass rule:
The moment the rule went live, NordVPN connected instantly.
Packet Capture is often treated as a heavy-weight troubleshooting tool, but it’s perfect for quick wins like this: isolate one device, capture a short burst, and let the traffic itself tell you which port or host is being blocked.
Update: June 15th 2025
Keeping Suricata lean on a lightly-used secondary WAN
When you bind Suricata to a WAN that only has one or two forwarded ports, loading the full rule corpus is overkill. All unsolicited traffic is already dropped by pfSense’s default WAN policy (and pfBlockerNG also does a sweep at the IP layer), so Suricata’s job is simply to watch the flows you intentionally allow.
That means you enable only the categories that can realistically match those ports, and nothing else.
Here’s what that looks like on my backup interface (
WAN2):The ticked boxes in the screenshot boil down to two small groups:
app-layer-events,decoder-events,http-events,http2-events, andstream-events. These Suricata needs to parse HTTP/S traffic cleanly.emerging-botcc.portgrouped,emerging-botcc,emerging-current_events,emerging-exploit,emerging-exploit_kit,emerging-info,emerging-ja3,emerging-malware,emerging-misc,emerging-threatview_CS_c2,emerging-web_server, andemerging-web_specific_apps.Everything else—mail, VoIP, SCADA, games, shell-code heuristics, and the heavier protocol families, stays unchecked.
The result is a ruleset that compiles in seconds, uses a fraction of the RAM, and only fires when something interesting reaches the ports I’ve purposefully exposed (but restricted by alias list of IPs).
That’s this keeps the fail-over WAN monitoring useful without drowning in alerts or wasting CPU by overlapping with pfSense default blocks.
Update: June 18th 2025
I added a new pfSense package called Status Traffic Totals:
Update: October 7th 2025
Upgraded to pfSense 2.8.1:
Fantastic article @hydn !
Over the years, the RFC 1918 (private addressing) egress configuration had me confused. I think part of the problem is that my ISP likes to send me a modem one year and a combo modem/router the next year…making this setting interesting.
I see that Netgate has finally published a good explanation and guidance for RFC 1918 egress filtering:
I did not notice that addition, thanks for sharing!