» Fri May 18, 2012 2:01 am By setting shadow detail options to ultra, and then changing
fShadowDistance=2000
you get maximum fps without blurry shadows
this is the "blocky shadow fix" mentioned in other threads
[low] http://i1096.photobucket.com/albums/g325/rmusergm/low.jpg
[medium] http://i1096.photobucket.com/albums/g325/rmusergm/medium.jpg
[ultra] http://i1096.photobucket.com/albums/g325/rmusergm/ultra2.jpg
[ultra fixed] http://i1096.photobucket.com/albums/g325/rmusergm/ultra2fixed.jpg
Two problems exist. First, you don't see far away shadows, as you walk towards things shadows fill in.
[ultra] http://i1096.photobucket.com/albums/g325/rmusergm/shadowfillultra.jpg
[ultra fixed] http://i1096.photobucket.com/albums/g325/rmusergm/shadowfillultrafixed.jpg
The second problem is noticeable when you are outside in the dark. Past 2000 (where shadows don't exist) the ground will appear slightly darker than normal.
[ultra] http://i1096.photobucket.com/albums/g325/rmusergm/normalground.jpg
[ultra fixed] http://i1096.photobucket.com/albums/g325/rmusergm/darkground.jpg
Setting fShadowDistance any lower makes these two problems stand out like sore thumbs. Shadows fill in right next to you, and the dark ground is right in your face.
If you can't stand either of these problems, then you can't get nice shadows at this time.
I think it is unlikely that changing any more INI settings will allow for sharp shadows and far away shadows.
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The shadow detail options change only five lines in the SkyrimPrefs.ini
located in MyGames/Skyrim
Low Med High Ultra
iBlurDeferredShadowMask= 0 1 3 3
fShadowDistance= 2000 2500 4000 8000
iShadowMapResolution= 512 1024 2048 4096
fShadowBiasScale= 0.5 0.3 0.25 0.15
iShadowMaskQuarter= 3 3 4 4
above you can see what the default values are
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iBlurDeferredShadowMask
has about a 1 fps decrease when changed from 0 to 3
fShadowDistance
is what drains fps
~1-2 fps at 2500
~5 fps at 4000
~10 fps at 8000
iShadowMapResolution
does not seem to have any effect on fps
SHADOW LINE FIX: Changing this to 2048 or 4096 will get rid of the "shadow lines" that are visible on low or medium shadow detail settings. But remember what I said before. There is no reason for you to be using the default low or medium shadow detail options. If you are getting the "shadow lines" change your default settings to ultra and then change fShadowDistance=2000 Not only will this get rid of the shadow lines, you get maximum fps without blurry shadows.
[default low] http://i1096.photobucket.com/albums/g325/rmusergm/defaultlow.jpg
[default medium] http://i1096.photobucket.com/albums/g325/rmusergm/defaultmedium.jpg
[default high] http://i1096.photobucket.com/albums/g325/rmusergm/defaulthigh.jpg
[default ultra] http://i1096.photobucket.com/albums/g325/rmusergm/defaultultra.jpg
[default ultra fixed] http://i1096.photobucket.com/albums/g325/rmusergm/defaultultrafixed.jpg
Also note that iShadowMapResolution is tied to your default shadow detail settings, if you go into the options after you have set this, all options will be set to the level of your iShadowMapResolution. To prevent this you can change SkyrimPrefs.ini to be read only, but this may cause problems in the future.
fShadowBiasScale
does not seem to have any effect on fps
iShadowMaskQuarter
most of the time does not have an effect on fps, in some rare instances there will be a 3fps decrease
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(it is possible this shadow line fix will not work with nvidia cards, I need confirmation)
(it is possible that on very low end rigs the "blocky shadow fix" may result in slightly lowered fps compared to low or med shadow detail settings)
(certain indoor shadows look good on ultra without the fix)
[ultra] http://i1096.photobucket.com/albums/g325/rmusergm/ultraindoors.jpg
(certain indoor shadows remain blocky even with the fix, like in the beginning dungeon)
[ultra fixed] http://i1096.photobucket.com/albums/g325/rmusergm/jailfixed.jpg
(changing the variable fInteriorShadowDistance does not affect these shadows)
