All I did was search it up on google and ended up finding http://nerdtrek.com/skyrim-jagged-shadows-fix/ It completely fixes the shadow problem and it doesn't affect the fps as much.

Do any of you guys use google?

*Facepalm* Please read my post here:
http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1263528-jaggypixelated-shadows-heres-the-reason-why/page__view__findpost__p__19204380
Your fix is not actually a fix. You've just raised shadowmap's atlas dimensions and that's all. You'll still have bad looking shadows from small objects etc. Raising shadowmap's dimensions is not a solution to this problem. Proper filtering is. I hope Bethesda will implement good filtering in their next patch.

You can forget about the face palm, because what the op posted, actually works. You can't tell the difference at all between the two methods of making shadows look better. But there's one major difference - for me, anyhow. It's this:

Decreasing the shadow distance introduced a glitch. In the woods, my game was hitching up momentarily every fifteen seconds or so. It was driving me bananas. Well, guess what. Increasing these values to 4096, and leaving the distances at 4000, has removed the hitching AND the shadows look every bit as good.

For me, this is a much better method. That hitching was just driving me up the wall.

Yea there are a million shadow posts now. The problem is the shaow map stretches. This is a decent solution but I wouldnt call it a fix because its unnofficial.
lets all just agree to hold bethesda responsible for not making it default.

Actually, this fix works.

Guy, take a look at the before and after shots provided in the link. Clearly this works. And unlike your solution, this one doesn't cause hitching when on horseback in heavily wooded terrain.

does not work for me. Like, nothing happens when I do it.

I am editing skyrimprefs.ini in the mygames folder, made sure its the same as the things he outlined in the picture.
Shadows did not change at all.

Make sure after you make the changes to your INI that you load up using TESV.exe and not the Steam launcher. Also, don't open and make any changes to your shadows settings while the game is running. Either of these can reset your changes.

This work, thanks!

Is it possible to change these settings in the console then use saveini to save the ini? How do I change them with the console I don't think my ini is being read.

I changed it in the mygames/skyrim and use steam to launch the game.
When I change the shadow distance it does recognize the changes.

Can someone please paste up the fix itself? I cannot access that website for some reason.

We've beaten the Shadows horse quite dead. The majority have taken to increasing the shadow map dimensions AND decreasing the render distance.

You guys realize this "fix" only works because of the fShadowDistance setting is low, right? Try upping your fShadowDistance and the shadows will go right back to looking blocky like before.

fShadowDistance is THE one and only setting that has any significant impact on how your shadows look.

T

^This.

If everyone would look at both of the screenshots at that website, you will notice he has the fShadowdistance=2500. That is the fix that causes shadows to look smooth. Yes, the 4096 on shadowmaps is a good change, but that is not the main reason his shadows look good. Now I would like all of you to go set fShadowDistance=8000 or 4000 or 16000. While including 4096 on all the shadowmaps as suggested. You will see that your shadows go back to being jagged and crappy.

Nope.

My shadows did not revert to looking bad. I'm at a shadow distance of 4000. Plus, as I've said a bunch of times now, decreasing my shadow distance introduced severe hitching when riding on horseback through the mountains. That solution is terrible.

This solution actually works.

As WabeWalker is the one saying this I don't believe it. Just going to leave it at that. The soultion is not new, it is old. All of these settings have been thrown around for the past few days. Also notice the screenshots are of someone who didn't set everything to Ultra, you can tell by the other settings. Change only works for most people with fShadowdistance 2500 and under. Around 2500 I start to see a slight jag show up but only if I look.

Provide screens!

As you can plainly see in the first screenshot, his shadow distance remains unchanged. It's 2500 in the first shot, where the shadows are jaggy. It's also 2500 in the second shot, where the shadows are sharp.

Clearly, the shadow distance in these two shots has nothing to do with it. The shadows are clearer because he bumped the numbers up to 4096,

You're wrong. Your shadows did not go back to looking horrible, but they didn't stay looking the same as they would have at 2500. The "fix" in this thread helps, but the single biggest factor in how shadows look is fShadowDistance and that's a fact.

Take a screenshot of your shadows a 2500, then at 4000...they won't look as good at 4000. Now take one at 8000 and they look even worse. Even with all of your Shadowmaps a 4096 shadows still degrade over distance the higher the number.

I'm glad your shadows are looking better, but this fix isn't going to help all the people who have already had their Shadowmaps at 4096 and still have blocky shadows because their shadow distance is too high.

This fix does nothing without the right fShadowDistance setting.

And your logic makes no sense.

Okay, then change your distance setting to 4000. End of discussion. I mean, duh.

Hey wabewalker!
I dont know if you ignored it
but
provide screens.

Which is why ShadowDistance is the fix. I mean, duh.

Doesn't work for me. Merely increasing the shadowmap resolution to 4096 is not enough, I also have to decrease fShadowDistance to something below 2500, and the shadows are still choppy.