Looking for decisive information on tweaking the .ini files : V

» Tue May 29, 2012 2:39 am

Because there are lots of different sites that offer varying advice about .ini tweaks, I wonder if there is a more or less decisive thread about what to tweak, and how. I have a powerful rig and think I can run Skyrim with uGrids at 7 and at max settings, so I'm curious to know about all the ini settings (and if I need to make them in both Skyrim.ini, Skyrimprefs.ini, and Skyrimdefault.ini) I can alter.

It would also be nice to have a constantly updated thread in case best practices have change due to any recent official Bethesda patches.
Thanks.

» Tue May 29, 2012 12:17 am

Post your specs but the NVIDIA pinned thread is good but you can still use it if you have an AMD card.

» Mon May 28, 2012 3:29 pm

in terms of draw distance...

this can't get any more decisive...

http://www.gamesas.com/topic/1274926-ugridstoload-skyrimini-comparisons-and-explanation-default-57911/

» Mon May 28, 2012 10:37 pm

Thanks folks

Another question-- used this great config tool to generate my .ini files:
http://donotargue.com/cfg-makers/skyrim/

Pasted the info into them, saved.

WHen I loaded Skyrim, the launcher detected (well, re-detected) my video settings and applied its own settings, reigning in draw distances, fades, high/ultra settings, etc.

Did it just undo all or some of the ini settings that I applied from the dontargue site, and if so, must I recopy them from the site's cfg maker and then only run Skyrim with the Launch SKSE function from Nexus Mod Manager?

Edit- I think the Skyrim launcher did @#$! it up. I was able to load a saved game fine with those new .ini cfg settings, but after the Skyrim launcher reset stuff, I cannot load prior games.

Thanks.

» Mon May 28, 2012 3:41 pm

Thanks folks

Another question-- used this great config tool to generate my .ini files:
http://donotargue.com/cfg-makers/skyrim/

Pasted the info into them, saved.

WHen I loaded Skyrim, the launcher detected (well, re-detected) my video settings and applied its own settings, reigning in draw distances, fades, high/ultra settings, etc.

Did it just undo all or some of the ini settings that I applied from the dontargue site, and if so, must I recopy them from the site's cfg maker and then only run Skyrim with the Launch SKSE function from Nexus Mod Manager?

Edit- I think the Skyrim launcher did @#$! it up. I was able to load a saved game fine with those new .ini cfg settings, but after the Skyrim launcher reset stuff, I cannot load prior games.

Thanks.

That thing is going to bombard your ini with a bunch of useless stuff and clog it up. I recommend using the launcher to get your basic values, then going into your ini files to bump up your ugridstoload and your shadows. Also, if you are on an AMD card, I strongly suggest running AA and AF from the CCC and not from the game. If you are interested, I can give you my ini's which have the shadows at about the best you can get them and the ugridstoload at 7.

» Mon May 28, 2012 4:43 pm

Hey Angry,

Yeah, i am using AMD cards- 2 6970 MSI cards in crossfire. Thanks for the advice.

Yes please, I would like your ini files...that sounds like the settings i am going for.

PS- i have been advised to do the opposite....let the game handle AA and AF and not let CCC handle it. I dont have any thoughts either way, so i am curious to hear your (and others) take on why CCC is better for handling AA and AF.

Thanks!

» Tue May 29, 2012 12:56 am

Hey Angry,

Yeah, i am using AMD cards- 2 6970 MSI cards in crossfire. Thanks for the advice.

Yes please, I would like your ini files...that sounds like the settings i am going for.

PS- i have been advised to do the opposite....let the game handle AA and AF and not let CCC handle it. I dont have any thoughts either way, so i am curious to hear your (and others) take on why CCC is better for handling AA and AF.

Thanks!

I use it because it gives me about 10 extra FPS using 8x Super Sample AA instead of using the in game 4x AA and getting an FPS hit. The CCC AF makes the water for Realistic Water look a lot better than the in game AF. It even says so on his directions. Anyway, here are my ini's.

Skyrim.ini

Spoiler

[General]
sLanguage=ENGLISH
ugridstoload=7
uExterior Cell Buffer=64
iPreloadSizeLimit=51380224

[Display]
fShadowLODMaxStartFade=1000.0
fSpecularLODMaxStartFade=2000.0
fLightLODMaxStartFade=3500.0
iShadowMapResolutionPrimary=4096
bAllowScreenshot=1
fSunShadowUpdateTime=0.000
fSunUpdateThreshold=0.100
fDefaultWorldFOV=78
fDefault1stPersonFOV=78

[Audio]
fMusicDuckingSeconds=6.0
fMusicUnDuckingSeconds=8.0
fMenuModeFadeOutTime=3.0
fMenuModeFadeInTime=1.0

[Grass]
bAllowCreateGrass=1
bAllowLoadGrass=0

[GeneralWarnings]
SGeneralMasterMismatchWarning=One or more plugins could not find the correct versions of the master files they depend on. Errors may occur during load or game play. Check the "Warnings.txt" file for more information.

[Archive]
sResourceArchiveList=Skyrim - Misc.bsa, Skyrim - Shaders.bsa, Skyrim - Textures.bsa, Skyrim - Interface.bsa, Skyrim - Animations.bsa, Skyrim - Meshes.bsa, Skyrim - Sounds.bsa
sResourceArchiveList2=Skyrim - Voices.bsa, Skyrim - Voicesixtra.bsa

[Combat]
fMagnetismStrafeHeadingMult=0.0
fMagnetismLookingMult=0.0

[Papyrus]
fPostLoadUpdateTimeMS=500.0
bEnableLogging=0
bEnableTrace=0
bLoadDebugInformation=0
[Water]
bReflectLODObjects=1
bReflectLODLand=1
bReflectSky=1
bReflectLODTrees=1
[Interface]
fSafeZoneX=15
fSafeZoneY=15
fSafeZoneXWide=15
fSafeZoneYWide=15
[MapMenu]
uLockedObjectMapLOD=8
uLockedTerrainLOD=8
fMapWorldMaxHeight=150000.0000
fMapWorldMinHeight=1500.0000
fMapWorldZoomSpeed=0.0800

SkyrimPrefs.ini

Spoiler

[General]
fBrightLightColorB=1.0000
fBrightLightColorG=1.0000
fBrightLightColorR=1.0000
iStoryManagerLoggingEvent=-1
bEnableStoryManagerLogging=0
[Imagespace]
bDoDepthOfField=1
iRadialBlurLevel=2
[Display]
iBlurDeferredShadowMask=5
fInteriorShadowDistance=2500.0000
fShadowDistance=3000.0000
iShadowMapResolutionSecondary=1024
iShadowMapResolutionPrimary=2048
iShadowSplitCount=2
iMaxAnisotropy=0
fLeafAnimDampenDistEnd=4600.0000
fLeafAnimDampenDistStart=3600.0000
fTreesMidLODSwitchDist=5000.0000
fGamma=1.0000
fDecalLOD2=1500.0000
fDecalLOD1=1000.0000
fSpecularLODStartFade=2000.0000
fShadowLODStartFade=200.0000
fLightLODStartFade=3500.0000
iTexMipMapMinimum=0
iTexMipMapSkip=0
iWaterMultiSamples=4
iMultiSample=0
iShadowMode=3
bTreesReceiveShadows=1
bDrawLandShadows=1
bFull Screen=1
iSize H=1080
iSize W=1920
fMeshLODFadePercentDefault=1.2000
fMeshLODFadeBoundDefault=256.0000
fMeshLODLevel2FadeTreeDistance=2048.0000
fMeshLODLevel1FadeTreeDistance=2844.0000
fMeshLODLevel2FadeDist=10000000.0000
fMeshLODLevel1FadeDist=10000000.0000
iScreenShotIndex=2
bShadowMaskZPrepass=0
bMainZPrepass=0
iMaxSkinDecalsPerFrame=25
iMaxDecalsPerFrame=100
bFloatPointRenderTarget=0
sD3DDevice="AMD Radeon HD 6900 Series"
bFXAAEnabled=0
iShadowMapResolution=4096
fShadowBiasScale=0.2500
iShadowMaskQuarter=6
iAdapter=0
iPresentInterval=1
iShadowFilter=3
bTransparencyMultisampling=0
bDrawShadows=1
[Grass]
b30GrassVS=0
fGrassStartFadeDistance=7000.0000
fGrassMaxStartFadeDistance=7000.0000
fGrassMinStartFadeDistance=0.0000
[MAIN]
bGamepadEnable=1
bCrosshairEnabled=1
fHUDOpacity=1.0000
bSaveOnPause=1
bSaveOnTravel=1
bSaveOnWait=1
bSaveOnRest=1
fSkyCellRefFadeDistance=150000.0000
[GamePlay]
bShowFloatingQuestMarkers=1
bShowQuestMarkers=1
iDifficulty=2
[Interface]
bDialogueSubtitles=0
bGeneralSubtitles=0
fMouseCursorSpeed=1.0000
bShowCompass=1
[Controls]
fGamepadHeadingSensitivity=1.0000
fMouseHeadingSensitivity=0.0125
bAlwaysRunByDefault=1
bInvertYValues=0
bGamePadRumble=1
bMouseAcceleration=1
[Particles]
iMaxDesired=750
[SaveGame]
fAutosaveEveryXMins=15.0000
[AudioMenu]
fAudioMasterVolume=1.0000
fVal7=1.0000
uID7=0
fVal6=1.0000
uID6=0
fVal5=1.0000
uID5=0
fVal4=1.0000
uID4=0
fVal3=1.0000
uID3=94881
fVal2=0.4000
uID2=466532
fVal1=1.0000
uID1=554685
fVal0=0.8000
uID0=1007612
[Clouds]
fCloudLevel2Distance=262144.0000
fCloudLevel1Distance=32768.0000
fCloudLevel0Distance=16384.0000
fCloudNearFadeDistance=9000.0000
[TerrainManager]
fTreeLoadDistance=75000.0000
fBlockMaximumDistance=250000.0000
fBlockLevel1Distance=70000.0000
fBlockLevel0Distance=35000.0000
fSplitDistanceMult=1.5000
bShowLODInEditor=0
[NavMesh]
fObstacleAlpha=0.5000
fCoverSideHighAlpha=0.8000
fCoverSideLowAlpha=0.6500
fEdgeFullAlpha=1.0000
fEdgeHighAlpha=0.7500
fEdgeLowAlpha=0.5000
fTriangleFullAlpha=0.7000
fTriangleHighAlpha=0.3500
fTriangleLowAlpha=0.2000
fLedgeBoxHalfHeight=25.0000
fEdgeDistFromVert=10.0000
fEdgeThickness=10.0000
fPointSize=2.5000
[Trees]
bRenderSkinnedTrees=1
uiMaxSkinnedTreesToRender=20
[Decals]
uMaxDecals=1000
bDecals=1
bSkinnedDecals=1
uMaxSkinDecals=100
uMaxSkinDecalsPerActor=60
[LOD]
fLODFadeOutMultObjects=15.0000
fLODFadeOutMultItems=15.0000
fLODFadeOutMultActors=15.0000
fLODFadeOutMultSkyCell=1.0000
[Launcher]
bEnableFileSelection=1
bShowAllResolutions=1
uLastAspectRatio=3
[BlurShaderHDR]
bDoHighDynamicRange=1
[BlurShader]
bUseBlurShader=0
[Water]
iWaterReflectHeight=1024
iWaterReflectWidth=1024
bUseWaterDisplacements=1
bUseWaterRefractions=1
bUseWaterReflections=1
bUseWaterDepth=1

Also, I recommend trying it with and without crossfire to see which works better for you. Crossfire still has a lot of performance issues with Skyrim.

And also, ENB shaders are FPS hogs. I use this and it works beautifully. I highly recommend it http://skyrimnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=1875

Please let me know if you like it :]

» Mon May 28, 2012 9:45 pm

Yah I wouldn't use that site to generate the INI, I'd use it to get at least a decent idea of what all the settings' range of values and what they do but I'd just edit your current one rather then paste what that thing outputs in.
On the AA & AF in your driver setup vs the game at least on the Nvidia front I can attest that indeed things are better if when I force those two to a setting using the driver profile vs the game's own values. Especially the AF vs water reflections, Turning it off via the prefs file and instead using the Nvidia profile to set the 16xAF really reduced the amount of flickering I'd experience with water vs its reflections, for instance.

» Mon May 28, 2012 8:52 pm

Thanks!

Angry, I run at 2560x1600 so assume I am good to change mine to:

iSize H=1600
iSize W=2560

PS- what setting is the one that keeps vsync enabled? I definitely want to make sure I have that enabled.

Finally, I posted earlier about getting FOV changes to apply and stick in the game (I set my FOV at 80). Someone replied with the below advice, which I tried once but closing the map minimized the game window, and b/c Skyrim doesn't open properly after minimizing, I was unable to save the game.
Did you need to follow these steps to get the FOV to take?

"fDefault1stPersonFOV is only for hands in 1st person. Don't set above 75 or greatsword might look like dagger.
fDefaultWorldFOV is for the world in both 1st and 3rd and map. Around 80 is ok, fisheye if too high.
fDefaultFOV is for inventory 3D icons, books and lockpicking. Do not change, leave it at 65 or icons get misplaced.

Put them in Skyrim.ini only under display section.

To see changes in game press tab for character menu then go map and close it. Don't use console fov command before or after, it won't load ini values properly and won't save these values to your savegame. So just start game, do the map trick, save game and never worry again about fov changing on its own."

Edit- just incorporated your ini settings Angry. I'm in a new game in the Helgen Keep, so it's not hardware intensive, but even so, I have to say---THANKS! It runs really, really well.

I am running the Skyrim HD 2K textures mod, too, btw.

I appreciate the assist.

» Mon May 28, 2012 2:52 pm

Thanks!

Angry, I run at 2560x1600 so assume I am good to change mine to:

iSize H=1600
iSize W=2560

PS- what setting is the one that keeps vsync enabled? I definitely want to make sure I have that enabled.

Finally, I posted earlier about getting FOV changes to apply and stick in the game (I set my FOV at 80). Someone replied with the below advice, which I tried once but closing the map minimized the game window, and b/c Skyrim doesn't open properly after minimizing, I was unable to save the game.
Did you need to follow these steps to get the FOV to take?

"fDefault1stPersonFOV is only for hands in 1st person. Don't set above 75 or greatsword might look like dagger.
fDefaultWorldFOV is for the world in both 1st and 3rd and map. Around 80 is ok, fisheye if too high.
fDefaultFOV is for inventory 3D icons, books and lockpicking. Do not change, leave it at 65 or icons get misplaced.

Put them in Skyrim.ini only under display section.

To see changes in game press tab for character menu then go map and close it. Don't use console fov command before or after, it won't load ini values properly and won't save these values to your savegame. So just start game, do the map trick, save game and never worry again about fov changing on its own."

Edit- just incorporated your ini settings Angry. I'm in a new game in the Helgen Keep, so it's not hardware intensive, but even so, I have to say---THANKS! It runs really, really well.

I am running the Skyrim HD 2K textures mod, too, btw.

I appreciate the assist.

No problem. Also, with the FOV stuff, you make the changes to your Skyrim.ini just like you said, go in game and open up the console and make your type FOV 80 and close it, then open your skills menu and close it. Should be dead set now.

» Mon May 28, 2012 5:05 pm

I am encountering microstuttering, mainly indoors. This is the first time I've experienced this, and wonder if you guys have any suggestions. Like perhaps there's an .ini setting that might fix it?

» Mon May 28, 2012 11:05 pm

I have a suggestion, though it's not one you want to hear!

Don't copy paste ini lines from one persons ini to yours, or from some ini settings program. Nothing good comes of it! As you've found out. Messing with the ini is usually going to end up screwing the game up. There's a lot of draw backs to it, and IMO nothing worth gaining to outway them. Look at ugridstoload. Sure it looks better, but now your save file is going to be gigantic, to the point where your going to be unable to play.

Read every thread here with people experiencing problems. 90% probably did some so called tweaks, and screwed themselves in the long run. Just get some texture mods and wait for the creation kit to be released. Then great mods will be here, and you don't have to guess in the ini file.

Also, there's a reason there is no decisive ini tweaks page, because half the changes aren't meaningful and no one really knows what they do. It's mainly a placebo effect, and your going to screw your game up! Oops! You already did! My point exactly! Btw, I did it too, so I know first hand.

» Mon May 28, 2012 3:17 pm

I am encountering microstuttering, mainly indoors. This is the first time I've experienced this, and wonder if you guys have any suggestions. Like perhaps there's an .ini setting that might fix it?

Pretty much same advice as Tylerryan84, start reversing the changes you made until it goes away and learn what specifically changed which caused the situation and avoid doing that going forward, that's all.

» Mon May 28, 2012 3:09 pm

Get Rivatuner, it comes with D3DOverrider which allows you to have triple buffer one and can make the game run smoother and reduce lag, especially with V-Sync enabled.

» Tue May 29, 2012 5:33 am

just an fyi...

I've tested this thoroughly....

If angry eeyore can post 2 identical screenshots (easy thing to do is go to a spot... get lined up with a point of few..... save the game.. load it... don't touch the mouse and take a screenshot...

then exit and change the FSAA setting to something else or disable it...load the game.. and take a screenshot. and let us compare it.

I'm 99.9% sure angry eeyore doesn't have FSAA being applied at all in an attempt to FORCE/OVERIDE the games fsaa with whatever he has set.

Using the 11.11/a/b/c 12.1 previews... and the leaked beta as well as another set which i cannot mention a version number on..... Disabling FSAA in the game followed by attempting any CCC applied setting or even using radeon pro to try to force a AA method has netted a zero change in frame rate as well as no visual change either.

The only way i could get FSAA to actually come on.. was via the games FSAA mode select. At that point, if you have super sampling or edge detect selected.... it'll attempt to apply those FSAA values.

» Mon May 28, 2012 8:02 pm

http://www.geforce.com/Optimize/Guides/the-elder-scrolls-v-skyrim-tweak-guide?sf2686171=1 is very informative. He includes a lot of animated gifs demonstrating the visual effect of various tweaks as well as the relative fps cost of each setting.

» Mon May 28, 2012 5:15 pm

just an fyi...

I've tested this thoroughly....

If angry eeyore can post 2 identical screenshots (easy thing to do is go to a spot... get lined up with a point of few..... save the game.. load it... don't touch the mouse and take a screenshot...

then exit and change the FSAA setting to something else or disable it...load the game.. and take a screenshot. and let us compare it.

I'm 99.9% sure angry eeyore doesn't have FSAA being applied at all in an attempt to FORCE/OVERIDE the games fsaa with whatever he has set.

Using the 11.11/a/b/c 12.1 previews... and the leaked beta as well as another set which i cannot mention a version number on..... Disabling FSAA in the game followed by attempting any CCC applied setting or even using radeon pro to try to force a AA method has netted a zero change in frame rate as well as no visual change either.

The only way i could get FSAA to actually come on.. was via the games FSAA mode select. At that point, if you have super sampling or edge detect selected.... it'll attempt to apply those FSAA values.

I dunno about all that. I've asked questions about weather or not using CCC to force AA needed any additional tweaking and got a clear answer of "no". I just know that I get better FPS using my GPU to render the AA and AF rather than the in game settings. It has made me wonder if indeed it is genuinely applying it. But my game looks amazing and runs smooth so I don't think too much about it.

*edit: What is FSAA? I am kind of drunk right now and read through your statement a little too quickly to respond.

» Tue May 29, 2012 6:05 am

Thanks for the advice.

The microstutter only occurs in very narrow confines, like in a staircase or in a narrow cave- never outside.
So apparently certain objects in close proximity may cause it?

» Mon May 28, 2012 8:53 pm

Thanks for the advice.

The microstutter only occurs in very narrow confines, like in a staircase or in a narrow cave- never outside.
So apparently certain objects in close proximity may cause it?

I get it too. I can tell you since I am the one whose ini you are using it can only be due to either the CCC settings or the shadows. I am voting on the CCC settings though. Just try and tough it out til a new driver (which I just got an email back from AMD and a Skyrim oriented driver is set to hit next week) or try and default your CCC and up your AA and AF in the ini files.

» Mon May 28, 2012 6:17 pm

I'm on a dual 6950 Crossfire setup.
These are the tweaks I'm using for increased distant textures and overall better looking landscape.

In SkyrimPrefs.ini I changed:
fGrassStartFadeDistance=7000.0000
to
fGrassStartFadeDistance=14000.0000 (doubled the value, grass appears further out and makes distant land less dull)

fSkyCellRefFadeDistance=150000.0000
to
fSkyCellRefFadeDistance=300000.0000 (doubled the value, clouds now appear also on distant mountains)

fBlockMaximumDistance=250000.0000
fBlockLevel1Distance=70000.0000
fBlockLevel0Distance=35000.0000
fSplitDistanceMult=1.5000
to
fBlockMaximumDistance=1000000.0000
fBlockLevel1Distance=280000.0000
fBlockLevel0Distance=140000.0000
fSplitDistanceMult=6.0000
(quadrupled all values here, fBlockMaximumDistance seems to enhance geometry on mountains, making them more realistic. These settings combined make distant land more detailed, and while the difference might be subtle, it makes for a noticeably more vivid scenery)

obviously all of the above settings do a better job with the following values in Skyrim.ini

ugridstoload=7
uExterior Cell Buffer=64

any feedback appreciated! On my system this combo makes the game world look definitely better, and perf hit is absolutely acceptable.

EDIT: forgot to mention I'm also using the noise.dds file from the enhanced distant terrain mod on the nexus. It makes distant LOD look less washed out by adding subtle noise. Essential, imo.

» Mon May 28, 2012 7:15 pm

I'm on a dual 6950 Crossfire setup.
These are the tweaks I'm using for increased distant textures and overall better looking landscape.

In SkyrimPrefs.ini I changed:

fGrassStartFadeDistance=7000.0000
to
fGrassStartFadeDistance=14000.0000 (doubled the value, grass appears further out and makes distant land less dull)

fSkyCellRefFadeDistance=150000.0000
to
fSkyCellRefFadeDistance=300000.0000 (doubled the value, clouds now appear also on distant mountains)

fBlockMaximumDistance=250000.0000
fBlockLevel1Distance=70000.0000
fBlockLevel0Distance=35000.0000
fSplitDistanceMult=1.5000
to
fBlockMaximumDistance=1000000.0000
fBlockLevel1Distance=280000.0000
fBlockLevel0Distance=140000.0000
fSplitDistanceMult=6.0000
(quadrupled all values here, fBlockMaximumDistance seems to enhance geometry on mountains, making them more realistic. These settings combined make distant land more detailed, and while the difference might be subtle, it makes for a noticeable more vivid scenery)

obviously all of the above settings do a better job with the following values in Skyrim.ini

ugridstoload=7
uExterior Cell Buffer=64

any feedback appreciated! On my system this combo makes the game world look definitely better.

These three:
fBlockMaximumDistance=1000000.0000
fBlockLevel1Distance=280000.0000
fBlockLevel0Distance=140000.0000

Damn you, I can only reach roughly into 400K/160K/80K otherwise I'm running into the memory wall due to the rest of the settings I've got in places. (11uGrid being the biggest one I imagine). but I wanted to agree with you about how sweet the more distant views look with higher values in those settings, its my current battle to push higher while retaining the ability to load the game. 1.7-1.9GB system memory + 2.3-2.5GB of vram = maxed out LAA 32bit executable.

/If only Skyrim has a 64bit executable. Screw you ancient XP32bit users that are holding us all back, get in the game.

» Mon May 28, 2012 10:16 pm

*edit: What is FSAA? I am kind of drunk right now and read through your statement a little too quickly to respond.

FSAA is full screen antialiasing...

basically where ever you have lets say a few pixels witch clearly different color patterns or geometry detail, it'll try to smooth these staircase style pixels so that you get a better clearer image... this is most useful at lower resolution where you can most definitely see that uglyness.... many people gaming on a small screen at high resolutions aren't going to notice it... people with a larger screen and smaller resolution will.

Example is some people play at 1080p (1920x1080) on a 20-24 inch monitor.. this is a VERY high pixel density making it usually not entirely necessary to have FSAA.. or to have it at a low value like 2x...

Where as someone playing at 1080p on a 55 inch monitor/tv is going to have a VERY low pixel density compared... resulting in the ailiasing being seen much more clearly.....at which point FSAA settings above 2x would make a significantly larger differences to the picture quality.

The whole idea is simply this

The higher the resolution the less likely you need FSAA or the lower the FSAA will need to be.

The larger the screen at the same resolution, the more FSAA you need to have.

Typically for every additional jump in FSAA will usually require an expontentual amount more vram to provide...... @ 1080p, a 1gb card is typically got room for 2 or 4x fsaa..... anything more and it'll run low on vram.. this is even worse if your using hd textures.

2gb ram at the same resolution will usually make a higher FSAA mode much much easier to handle.

Mutlisampling FSAA is one of the poorest methods of FSAA..... Adaptive is a good idea for high frame rate senarios... but doesn't look much better than a lower mode at low resolution... some games don't like it either..... super sampling cannot be touched... it's the best.. combine that with various type of secondary fsaa modes like narrow tent or edge detect where the later is the most ultimate mode...... will start to sevearly stranging your gpu.

The best mode for the best quality possible with a total disregard for fps. is using Super Samling Edge Detect FSAA .....

» Mon May 28, 2012 7:57 pm

These three:
fBlockMaximumDistance=1000000.0000
fBlockLevel1Distance=280000.0000
fBlockLevel0Distance=140000.0000

Damn you, I can only reach roughly into 400K/160K/80K otherwise I'm running into the memory wall due to the rest of the settings I've got in places. (11uGrid being the biggest one I imagine). but I wanted to agree with you about how sweet the more distant views look with higher values in those settings, its my current battle to push higher while retaining the ability to load the game. 1.7-1.9GB system memory + 2.3-2.5GB of vram = maxed out LAA 32bit executable.

/If only Skyrim has a 64bit executable. Screw you ancient XP32bit users that are holding us all back, get in the game.

your biggest problem there is the insane 11. I don't even now how you can play the game, I started running into crazy engine bugs with 9, 7 being the only known stable value. I wouldn't think twice about lowering uGridstoLoad in your case.

» Tue May 29, 2012 6:20 am

multisample is a lot better now days, good for tranparent textures with a much lower performance hit than supersample but yes, supersample is the best AA supported on NVIDIA cards.

» Tue May 29, 2012 3:45 am

your biggest problem there is the insane 11. I don't even now how you can play the game, I started running into crazy engine bugs with 9, 7 being the only known stable value. I wouldn't think twice about lowering uGridstoLoad in your case.

I have been thinking of dropping it down to 9/100, not due to any instability (seriously, 0 instability, however back when I was playing with this I found 13 was mildly unstable and 15 was garaunteed CTD within a few minutes if I could get it to load an outdoor scene at all). Like at this point I'm running with 144 cells buffered vs one step down would be only 100. I really do like how I can see campfires and what not clear across the plains but at the same time I'd really like to push other things higher and unless Bethesda miraculously includes an executable meant for OS born within the last ten years I'm stuck with the 4GB memory limit.