Which .ini file to use? : V

» Wed May 16, 2012 2:26 am

Someone else posted this question over at thenexusforums - http://www.thenexusforums.com/index.php?/topic/457953-skyrimini-or-skyrimprefsini-confused/

But as no-one is answering, I'll shamelessly copy and paste the actual question:

Hi everyone,

Like many of you i'm also suffering from lags when using the mouse. In fact it is so terrible i haven't been able to play the game yet. After googling the problem for an hour and a half i found some answers and tried them. I have changed the default setting of the bMouseAccelaration to 0, (after making a back up of course) which helped somewhat but the Vsync is giving me nightmares. Trouble is the advices given on various websites all contradict one another.

Steam showed an article from the PC Gamer and it tells you to disable Vsync if you suffer from sluggish framerate and elimates mouselag.

Quote<Access the SkyrimPrefs.ini again and add iPresentInterval=0 to the bottom of the [Display] section. This can improve a sluggish framerate and eliminate instances of mouse lag. Thanks to Tweak Guides for this one.>>

Access the SkyrimPrefs.ini......which one? There are two, one is located under C\Documents\Games\Skyrim. The other is located in Steamapps\Common\Skyrim\Skyrim.
The SkryrimPrefs.ini file in Documents\Games already has the iPresentInterval (set to 1 by default) so i doubt if that's the one they mean. And i find it a bit redudant to add something that is already there (yes i did try changing the default setting 1 to 0. No difference.)

Because the PC gamer gave thanks to Tweak Guides i decided to take a look there.

Quote<<
To disable VSync in Skyrim, add iPresentInterval=0 to the bottom of the [Display] section of theSkyrim.ini file in the \Users\[Username]\My Documents\My Games\Skyrim directory.>>

Ok, now that is confusing. One tells you to make the changes in the SkyrimPrefs.ini file and the other one tells you to do it in the Skyrim.ini :unsure:

Skyrim reddit was also quoted so i decided to take a look there, which confused me even more.

Quote <
Go to your Steam Directory -> steamapps -> common -> skyrim -> Skyrim
Create a backup of the SkyrimPrefs.ini file
Open the file, then scroll down to where it says [Display]
Add to the bottom of the section iPresentInterval=0
Save, exit, and play>>

It now seems i have to make changes in the SkyrimPrefs.ini file located under steamapps\common\etc, NOT the one located under Documents\Games.

hdear:
To add to the confusemants, it seems that all these websites credit the same person. Either people are misquoting him or they found out what works for them. I don't know. All i know is i'm confused and i don't want to meddle with the wrong ini file and end up messing everything up.

I would appreciate it if there's someone who could set me straight. I may not be a native english speaker but my comprehension of the language is good enough. I doubt if i misread something, but if i did please let me know because after installing the game over 30 hours ago i'm desperate to start playing it..properly.
Thanks in advance.

Wolfsangeleyes

Now, I'm wondering the same in relations to FOV. I've tried to change my FOV according to various instructions, but editing these .ini files don't change anything in-game... adding "fdefaultfov=XX" (where XX is your desired fov) in skyrim.ini don't work. I realize, I can change it with the console, but then apparently, I'm unable to change it back, or chose a different FOV after saving the game?

» Wed May 16, 2012 5:30 am

It's a mix of Skyrim.ini and SkyrimPrefs.ini. Don't edit Skyrim_Defaullt.ini.

» Wed May 16, 2012 5:23 pm

In my game, the ini file in the first example's location is showing it's been modified alongside the game.
This location..."\Users\[Username]\My Documents\My Games\Skyrim "

Other location's file is dated the same time as when I installed the game.

Still not for sure what file to change. The examples I've seen on internet are not consistent.

» Wed May 16, 2012 3:16 pm

It's a mix of Skyrim.ini and SkyrimPrefs.ini. Don't edit Skyrim_Defaullt.ini.

That was never an issue. However you have two SkyrimPrefs.ini. One in your my games directory and the other in the skyrim directory within steam :blink:

» Wed May 16, 2012 3:47 am

I also noticed that when I made the change to disable v-sync, that it only worked indoors.
V-sync still seemed to be on outdoors.
I am confused. :confused:

» Wed May 16, 2012 5:36 am

FYI - if you mess up your SkyrimPrefs.ini file (the one located @ \Steam\steamapps\common\skyrim\Skyrim) and didn't make a backup (or the backup accidentally got edited, too... ;-)

, you can restore the original file by deleting the existing one and then going to your games library in Steam. Right click on "The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim" and select Properties. From the Properties window, select the "Local Files" tab and then click on the "Verify Integrity of Game Cache..." button. When that process is finished, it will recreate the original SkyrimPrefs.ini file.

» Wed May 16, 2012 8:47 am

FYI - if you mess up your SkyrimPrefs.ini file (the one located @ \Steam\steamapps\common\skyrim\Skyrim) and didn't make a backup (or the backup accidentally got edited, too... ;-)

, you can restore the original file by deleting the existing one and then going to your games library in Steam. Right click on "The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim" and select Properties. From the Properties window, select the "Local Files" tab and then click on the "Verify Integrity of Game Cache..." button. When that process is finished, it will recreate the original SkyrimPrefs.ini file.

Yes, I know. The question is this. Should I edit the one located in my games folder or the one in the skyrim folder?

Also, if changing FOV in the console (as I can't get it to work in the .ini) is there a way to reset it to default after saving the new FOV?

When I change the fov and save the game, I'm unable to set a new fov for that save; even when rebooting the game.

C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\skyrim\Skyrim
C:\Users\"user"\Documents\My Games\Skyrim
Both contain a "skyrimprefs.ini"

» Wed May 16, 2012 11:15 am

Bump.

» Wed May 16, 2012 4:02 pm

I have to admit I'm a little confused.

If I open the launcher and check resolution it's 1920x1200. The My Doc\My Games\Skyrim one is correct. The "Wherever"Steam\steamapps\common\skyrim\Skyrim one states it's:

iSize H=900
iSize W=1600

bMouseAcceleration=1 is only present in the Steam directory one, the one with the wrong resolution.

So is it using both?

» Wed May 16, 2012 6:26 am

It has to be the one in your Documents folder, due to modern games being written with UAC in mind. If it modified a file in the Program Files folder, then you would have had to run Skyrim as Administrator in order to change any settings (the ini files aren't just for tweaks, it's where options selected in-game are saved).

I think the other file is for when you run the game for the first time, or if you delete the ini file in your Documents folder. Then it might use the file in the Program Files to build a new one in your Documents folder.

What solved the mouse lag for me was the two tweaks above (iPresentInterval=0, bMouseAcceleration=0 and turn off all gamepad options and force VSync off in the Nvidia drivers), then I also reduced shadows from Ultra to High. My frame rate is fine with Ultra shadows, but for some reason I got really horrible mouse lag, especially indoors and in dungeons.

Edit: I also changed the FOV to 90 by editing the SkyrimPrefs.ini in my Documents folder.

» Wed May 16, 2012 7:19 am

It has to be the one in your Documents folder, due to modern games being written with UAC in mind. If it modified a file in the Program Files folder, then you would have had to run Skyrim as Administrator in order to change any settings (the ini files aren't just for tweaks, it's where options selected in-game are saved).

I think the other file is for when you run the game for the first time, or if you delete the ini file in your Documents folder. Then it might use the file in the Program Files to build a new one in your Documents folder.

What solved the mouse lag for me was the two tweaks above (iPresentInterval=0, bMouseAcceleration=0 and turn off all gamepad options and force VSync off in the Nvidia drivers), then I also reduced shadows from Ultra to High. My frame rate is fine with Ultra shadows, but for some reason I got really horrible mouse lag, especially indoors and in dungeons.

Alright, that makes sense I guess.

Then this article is wrong:
http://www.pcgamer.com/2011/11/11/the-elder-scrolls-v-skyrim-tweaks-improve-graphics-disable-vsync-change-fov-and-more/
and this
http://www.gamefront.com/how-to-improve-skyrim-with-ini-file-tweaks/
Sloppy journalists?

» Wed May 16, 2012 10:28 am

Any INI in the steam folder is a default INI assigned when you run the launcher for the first time. Always edit the ones in My Games.