build(deps): remove orphaned Intel XeSS dependency

[alandtse]

Remove Intel XeSS infrastructure as the upscaling method was previously removed from the codebase but dependency cleanup was incomplete.

Changes:

• Remove intel-xess from vcpkg.json dependencies
• Delete cmake/XeSS-SDK.cmake configuration file
• Delete cmake/ports/intel-xess/ custom port
• Remove XeSS-SDK include from CMakeLists.txt
• Update documentation to remove XeSS references (FSR/DLSS only)

The UpscaleMethod enum only supports kNONE, kTAA, kFSR, and kDLSS. All XeSS references in code were outdated comments from when the feature was previously supported.

Summary by CodeRabbit

Release Notes

• Chores
  • Removed Intel XeSS upscaling support from the application. Supported upscaling technologies now include Nvidia DLSS, AMD FidelityFX FSR3, and Temporal Anti-Aliasing (TAA).

[coderabbitai]

Walkthrough

This PR removes Intel XeSS (Xe Super Sampling) upscaling integration from the project entirely. The removal spans build configuration, vcpkg dependency management, CMake modules, and source code references. No new features are introduced.

Changes

Cohort / File(s)	Summary
Build system & CMake configuration CMakeLists.txt, vcpkg.json	Removed XeSS SDK include directive and intel-xess dependency entries
CMake modules cmake/XeSS-SDK.cmake	Deleted entire XeSS SDK integration script that configured headers, D3D12 libraries, and XESS_SUPPORT preprocessor definition
VCpkg port files cmake/ports/intel-xess/portfile.cmake, cmake/ports/intel-xess/vcpkg.json	Deleted XeSS vcpkg portfile and manifest (v2.1.0 headers-only package definition)
Documentation README.md	Removed Intel XeSS from hardware drivers list, leaving only DLSS and FSR3
Upscaling feature src/Features/Upscaling.h, src/Features/Upscaling.cpp	Updated documentation and comments to remove XeSS from supported upscaling technologies
VR feature src/Features/VR.cpp	Removed XeSS references from comments and tooltip text describing active upscalers

Estimated code review effort

🎯 2 (Simple) | ⏱️ ~12 minutes

• Changes are primarily homogeneous deletions and documentation updates with no logic modifications
• File spread is moderate but changes within each file are straightforward removals
• Consider verifying no remaining build-time references to XeSS infrastructure exist elsewhere in the codebase

Possibly related PRs

• feat(upscaling): sharpening slider #1527 — Both PRs remove Intel XeSS artifacts, including deletion of XeSS LICENSE file and adjustment of upscaling code to rely on other upscalers
• fix(upscaling): more upscaling fixes #1498 — Both PRs modify the same Upscaling implementation files (src/Features/Upscaling.cpp and Upscaling.h), with this PR removing XeSS references while the related PR refactors upscaling methods
• feat(VR): enable upscaling #1507 — Both PRs modify Upscaling functionality including IsUpscalingActive checks, with the related PR adding VR-aware upscaling logic

Suggested reviewers

• doodlum

Poem

🐰 The XeSS code bids farewell today,
vcpkg and cmake files swept away,
DLSS and FSR remain to play,
Comments cleaned in every way,
The rabbit cheers: simplicity's sway! ✨

Pre-merge checks and finishing touches

❌ Failed checks (1 warning)

Check name	Status	Explanation	Resolution
Docstring Coverage	⚠️ Warning	Docstring coverage is 25.00% which is insufficient. The required threshold is 80.00%.	You can run @coderabbitai generate docstrings to improve docstring coverage.

✅ Passed checks (2 passed)

Check name	Status	Explanation
Description Check	✅ Passed	Check skipped - CodeRabbit’s high-level summary is enabled.
Title check	✅ Passed	The title clearly and concisely summarizes the main change: removing Intel XeSS dependency infrastructure. It accurately reflects the changeset, which removes XeSS-related build configuration, CMake files, vcpkg manifests, and documentation references.

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[github-actions]

Using provided base ref: 0015163
Using base ref: 0015163
Base commit date: 2025-11-17T00:05:28Z (Monday, November 17, 2025 12:05 AM)
No actionable suggestions for changed features.

[coderabbitai]

Actionable comments posted: 0

🧹 Nitpick comments (1)

README.md (1)

200-205: License “Modded Code” drivers bullet now matches supported upscalers

The hardware drivers bullet correctly drops XeSS and only mentions DLSS and FSR3, which aligns with the current Upscaling feature set and the rest of this PR’s XeSS removal work. If there is a tracking issue for deprecating XeSS, consider referencing it in the PR description (e.g., “Related to #123”) to make the cleanup traceable, but that’s optional.

📜 Review details

Configuration used: Path: .coderabbit.yaml

Review profile: CHILL

Plan: Pro

📥 Commits

Reviewing files that changed from the base of the PR and between 0015163 and a5d245a.

📒 Files selected for processing (9)

• CMakeLists.txt (0 hunks)
• README.md (1 hunks)
• cmake/XeSS-SDK.cmake (0 hunks)
• cmake/ports/intel-xess/portfile.cmake (0 hunks)
• cmake/ports/intel-xess/vcpkg.json (0 hunks)
• src/Features/Upscaling.cpp (1 hunks)
• src/Features/Upscaling.h (1 hunks)
• src/Features/VR.cpp (4 hunks)
• vcpkg.json (0 hunks)

💤 Files with no reviewable changes (5)

• vcpkg.json
• CMakeLists.txt
• cmake/XeSS-SDK.cmake
• cmake/ports/intel-xess/vcpkg.json
• cmake/ports/intel-xess/portfile.cmake

🧰 Additional context used

📓 Path-based instructions (3)

**/*

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**/*: When reviewing PRs, please provide suggestions for:

1. Conventional Commit Titles (if not following https://www.conventionalcommits.org/ or
   if the existing title does not describe the code changes):
   Format: type(scope): description
   Length: 50 characters limit for title, 72 for body
   Style: lowercase description, no ending period
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   • feat(vr): add cross-eye sampling
   • fix(water): resolve flowmap bug
   • docs: update shader documentation

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   Suggest adding appropriate GitHub keywords:

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Otherwise, use your standard review approach focusing on code quality.

Files:

• README.md
• src/Features/Upscaling.h
• src/Features/VR.cpp
• src/Features/Upscaling.cpp

**/*.{cpp,cxx,cc,c,h,hpp,hxx,hlsl,hlsli,fx,fxh,py}

📄 CodeRabbit inference engine (.github/copilot-instructions.md)

Do not include TODO/FIXME placeholders; provide complete, working solutions

Files:

• src/Features/Upscaling.h
• src/Features/VR.cpp
• src/Features/Upscaling.cpp

src/**/*.{cpp,cxx,cc,h,hpp,hxx}

📄 CodeRabbit inference engine (.github/copilot-instructions.md)

src/**/*.{cpp,cxx,cc,h,hpp,hxx}: Ensure SE/AE/VR runtime compatibility; use runtime detection patterns (e.g., REL::RelocateMember())
Include robust error handling and resource management with graceful degradation in the plugin code

Files:

• src/Features/Upscaling.h
• src/Features/VR.cpp
• src/Features/Upscaling.cpp

🧠 Learnings (6)

📓 Common learnings

Learnt from: alandtse
Repo: doodlum/skyrim-community-shaders PR: 0
File: :0-0
Timestamp: 2025-07-05T05:20:45.823Z
Learning: In the skyrim-community-shaders repository, file deletion error handling improvements that replace existence checks and try-catch blocks with std::filesystem::remove error-code-based approaches are considered bug fixes rather than refactoring, as they address inadequate error handling and misleading log messages.

Learnt from: ThePagi
Repo: doodlum/skyrim-community-shaders PR: 1369
File: src/Features/SnowCover.cpp:277-293
Timestamp: 2025-08-05T18:22:40.578Z
Learning: In the skyrim-community-shaders SnowCover feature, the wstrtostr and strtowstr utility functions defined in src/Features/SnowCover.cpp are unused and should be removed rather than fixed, as confirmed by the original author ThePagi.

Learnt from: alandtse
Repo: doodlum/skyrim-community-shaders PR: 0
File: :0-0
Timestamp: 2025-06-24T07:17:36.604Z
Learning: When reviewing PRs, always clarify the scope if there are multiple related features or dependencies. WeatherPicker was a separate PR that was already merged, while this PR focuses specifically on WetnessEffects climate preset system enhancements.

📚 Learning: 2025-07-05T05:20:45.823Z

Learnt from: alandtse
Repo: doodlum/skyrim-community-shaders PR: 0
File: :0-0
Timestamp: 2025-07-05T05:20:45.823Z
Learning: In the skyrim-community-shaders repository, file deletion error handling improvements that replace existence checks and try-catch blocks with std::filesystem::remove error-code-based approaches are considered bug fixes rather than refactoring, as they address inadequate error handling and misleading log messages.

Applied to files:

• README.md
• src/Features/VR.cpp

📚 Learning: 2025-08-03T18:37:19.690Z

Learnt from: jiayev
Repo: doodlum/skyrim-community-shaders PR: 0
File: :0-0
Timestamp: 2025-08-03T18:37:19.690Z
Learning: ISReflectionsRayTracing.hlsl and ISWorldMap.hlsl in the skyrim-community-shaders repository are image-space post-processing shaders that perform color sampling and blending operations that need proper linear color space handling for the linear lighting system. ISReflectionsRayTracing handles screen-space reflections and should use conditional Color::IrradianceToLinear/Gamma conversions similar to ISCompositeLensFlareVolumetricLighting.hlsl. ISWorldMap performs 7x7 color accumulation that should be done in linear space similar to the pattern used in ISSAOComposite.hlsl.

Applied to files:

• README.md

📚 Learning: 2025-10-02T14:20:33.454Z

Learnt from: ThePagi
Repo: doodlum/skyrim-community-shaders PR: 1369
File: src/Features/SnowCover.cpp:515-515
Timestamp: 2025-10-02T14:20:33.454Z
Learning: In the Community Shaders codebase (skyrim-community-shaders repository), hardcoded shader resource slot numbers are used directly in code rather than being defined as named constants. This is the established convention and should not be flagged as an issue.

Applied to files:

• README.md

📚 Learning: 2025-08-17T18:37:35.839Z

Learnt from: CR
Repo: doodlum/skyrim-community-shaders PR: 0
File: .github/copilot-instructions.md:0-0
Timestamp: 2025-08-17T18:37:35.839Z
Learning: Applies to src/**/*.{cpp,cxx,cc,h,hpp,hxx} : Ensure SE/AE/VR runtime compatibility; use runtime detection patterns (e.g., REL::RelocateMember())

Applied to files:

• src/Features/VR.cpp

📚 Learning: 2025-08-05T18:22:40.578Z

Learnt from: ThePagi
Repo: doodlum/skyrim-community-shaders PR: 1369
File: src/Features/SnowCover.cpp:277-293
Timestamp: 2025-08-05T18:22:40.578Z
Learning: In the skyrim-community-shaders SnowCover feature, the wstrtostr and strtowstr utility functions defined in src/Features/SnowCover.cpp are unused and should be removed rather than fixed, as confirmed by the original author ThePagi.

Applied to files:

• src/Features/VR.cpp

⏰ Context from checks skipped due to timeout of 90000ms. You can increase the timeout in your CodeRabbit configuration to a maximum of 15 minutes (900000ms). (4)

• GitHub Check: Validate shader compilation (Flatrim, .github/configs/shader-validation.yaml)
• GitHub Check: Build plugin and addons
• GitHub Check: Validate shader compilation (VR, .github/configs/shader-validation-vr.yaml)
• GitHub Check: Agent

🔇 Additional comments (4)

src/Features/VR.cpp (2)

131-151: VR depth-buffer culling comments now correctly scope to FSR/DLSS

The updated comment describing forced depth-buffer culling disablement in VR now matches Upscaling::IsUpscalingActive(), which only considers FSR/DLSS vendor upscalers. This keeps VR behavior docs aligned with the actual gating logic.

---

585-629: VR settings UI text is consistent with supported upscalers and gating logic

The General Settings description and tooltips now refer only to FSR/DLSS when explaining why depth-buffer culling is disabled under an “external upscaler,” matching both the UpscaleMethod enum and IsUpscalingActive()’s vendor-only behavior. No functional changes, just clearer and accurate messaging.

src/Features/Upscaling.h (1)

11-16: Upscaling feature docstring aligned with actual methods

The brief now lists DLSS, FSR, and TAA only, matching the UpscaleMethod enum and GetFeatureSummary() text. This removes the stale XeSS mention and keeps the header comment accurate.

src/Features/Upscaling.cpp (1)

1090-1104: IsUpscalingActive vendor-only comment matches current behavior

The updated comment explicitly restricting “active” status to FSR/DLSS and only when a real downscale is in effect matches the existing implementation and current enum (no XeSS). This keeps VR depth-buffer culling and other callers aligned with the actual semantics.

[Copilot]

Pull Request Overview

This PR removes orphaned Intel XeSS upscaling infrastructure after the feature was previously removed from the codebase. The cleanup ensures all XeSS-related dependencies, configuration files, and documentation references are eliminated, leaving only FSR and DLSS as supported upscaling technologies.

Key Changes:

• Removed intel-xess vcpkg dependency and custom port implementation
• Deleted XeSS CMake configuration and build system integration
• Updated all code comments and documentation to reference only FSR/DLSS

Reviewed Changes

Copilot reviewed 9 out of 9 changed files in this pull request and generated no comments.

Show a summary per file

File	Description
vcpkg.json	Removed intel-xess dependency from project dependencies list
cmake/XeSS-SDK.cmake	Deleted XeSS SDK configuration file that added includes, defines, and library linkages
cmake/ports/intel-xess/vcpkg.json	Deleted custom vcpkg port metadata for intel-xess package
cmake/ports/intel-xess/portfile.cmake	Deleted custom vcpkg port build script for intel-xess
CMakeLists.txt	Removed XeSS-SDK.cmake include statement from build configuration
src/Features/VR.cpp	Updated 4 comments to remove XeSS references from upscaler documentation
src/Features/Upscaling.h	Updated class documentation and feature summary to remove XeSS support claims
src/Features/Upscaling.cpp	Updated comment to reflect FSR/DLSS-only upscaler support
README.md	Removed Intel XeSS from license section's proprietary SDK list

[github-actions]

✅ A pre-release build is available for this PR:
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[davo0411]

nothing to note, looks good