So this looks good for screenshots..but practicality is what? 0%?

Wow, this guide is awesome..there is so much here, if I wasn't stuck at work I would be trying all of this out.

He is always taking the screenshot off the ground by X feet... there are no objects in the immediate foreground (except the chair in the one shot)... that's how he is avoiding showing bad textures up close. It's not the same POV that you have when you are actually playing the game.

I did the >2 gig memory address tweak and raised the ugrid value from 5 to 9 in the ini file. Nice difference in visuals but my FPS tanked. Went from I think in the high 70's in the first shot to around 40~ish in the next. After the 2 comparison pics are a few misc shots taken with the tweaked ini.

Before
[img]http://i.imgur.com/1oEJk.jpg[/img]

After
[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/4XeRE.jpg[/IMG]


others

[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/2T4i0.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/RkRu6.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/V8Xlj.jpg[/IMG]

Most of the changes are playable depending on your setup. Stay away from ugrid. The instability it causes is only going to get worse as HD texture packs come out.

This shot was taken on the deck (playable ground level). http://i.imgur.com/7KdU8.jpg

This shot could have been: http://i.imgur.com/7v9Hq.jpg but I thought it framed better by moving the camera to the right over the water. There was a rock ledge I could have stood on but not as Norman Rockwell-y.

I think the game looks great and after some tweaking it is possible to get decent performance and looks while gaming -- On my PII 720 (unlocked 4th core ) @3.2GHz with a single 5770 I can have the shadows updating in realtime ( with a tweak discussed in another thread) which stops the darn flickering every few seconds - use a 4096 shadowmap resolution to clean up the jagged edges and a 3000 unit distance setting and still remain smooth and playable @ 1920x1080 with FPS's in the 30 - 40s. and it looks Fine --- Here's a couple Screens that I took last session at the time they were taken Fraps was showing 30 - 35 FPS which in this game is very playable.

http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc189/JDFanning_bucket/Background01.jpg

http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc189/JDFanning_bucket/Background02-1.jpg

Ugrid is the one that makes the MOST difference though I don't like seeing LOD textures, they are so ugly. Especially non animated water/waterfalls.

According to the NeoGaf guide using Ugrid is fine if you create a safe save? Is that not the case? Is there a way to increase the detail in the distance without using Ugrid..or just have to deal with it?



Actually, there is a difference in the shots you posted. Just have to look close..the detail in the trees and stuff is loading. It's more noticable if you look at distant buildings that aren't loading their full walls/parts or water that is static like a stream or waterfull.

Just based on your comparison though, look at the windmill. In one the actual rotating blades are not there. Usually anything animated, will not be animated outside the Ugrid. So, water, swaying, windmill. Also just look at the trees..the vanilla shot they are blank LOD textures, in the other you can see the snow on them and stuff. Also check out the farm areas. There are rocks in one shot, not the other, also in one the gardens are showing while not in the other. So yeah. You've just proven the POINT of LOD..is that it's hard to notice a difference if you are just playing the game..but if you really look deep..you can see.

I've been back and forth with myself on this and other ini settings but I quickly grow bored of constantly loading saves and scrutinizing comparison screen caps and I decide that I should just play the game.

That said, I'll probably mess with it some more tonight.

LOL I hear you. It's easy to get caught up in too much tweaking and testing and then the hours just rush by, with little to no real gameplay.

Been there, done that, on every Beth release since Oblivion. Now, I set aside so much time for it, the rest goes to game play. Still pop
in here and at the Nexus quite often though to see what's going on, and if anyone managed to discovered anything of real significance.
Think I have it pretty much under control now, for what my machine can handle. Hopefully better AMD drivers and a patch or two can
solve some of the remaining minor annoyances. The rest will happen in the mod section and over at the Nexus.

I responded to NewYear1978's post in this thread. http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1261430-pc-textures/page__view__findpost__p__19252383. I respectfully disagree that ugrid is the end-all of a great looking Skyrim.

Here's the TLDR:

Here's my reference (impractical) shot I took earlier in the day: http://i.imgur.com/7v9Hq.jpg - crazy ugrid settings

I removed ugrid settings and Ambient Occlusion so the game was playable on my rig. I left all other ini tweaks and installed mods intact (view distance, shadow settings, 8x AA, Transparent Multi, texture mods, in-game post filter, everything). In addition, I turned off vsync, and took the screenshot using FRAPS to show FPS.

Practical shot here: http://i.imgur.com/Iw8Tf.jpg

-Chan

I looked pretty hard in this thread and in the neogaf post, but I'm not seeing the thing that made the biggest difference for me:

Ambient Occlusion

Forcing that on using Nvidia Inspector using fallout3 compatibility mode, turned Skyrim into a brand new game that totally matches the images in this post.

I'm so suprised its not in the NeoGaf post.... biggest improvement for me.

Well then today's your lucky day. Change the AO compatibility mode to Oblivion rather than Fallout3, and enjoy your fps boost and better AO quality.

Cheers

Getting 50-60 FPS.

I tried SSAO with the Fallout3 compatibility setting as specified in some post on the Nexus, and my FPS dropped by like 10-20, so I removed it.

So you're saying if I change to Oblivion compatibility, I won't lose 10-20 FPS? I imagine I must lose something?

Thanks.

I found the NeoGAF post to be somewhat difficult to follow, sort of like it's a brain dump that needs to be streamlined and cleaned up. When I read it last night, there was even a section where iBlurDeferredWhatever was set to two different values on two separate lines of the same hunk of ini.

A comprehensively commented (especially if the Bethesda devs were to do it (hint)) SkyrimPrefs.ini would be like mana from heaven.

I concur on the AO via Nvidia Inspector, though.

Can you post the original full-size image? That looks purdy.

Thanks.

So, i didn't read the thread. Can you tell me what i need to do, making the game look like in the first post photo links ?

this should've been ultra settings..

No it should have been "Face-Melting" settings.

And when you select it, you have to digitally sign a waiver.

Like in Indiana jones! Melting faces!

No, I'm saying that you will lose much less FPS vs. Fallout3 setting. It's also been reported that you can use the Performance setting rather than the Quality setting (just forget High Quality-- get that setting out of your mind) because the difference is negligible.

Someone come to my house and set my game up for me..I am too lazy

When it comes to tweaking....

Be
Enthusiastic
To
Hone
Essential
Skills
Demonstrating
Ability

Sure here's a fullsize image (1920x1200). http://i.imgur.com/UXitW.jpg. Do I make your desktop wallpaper cut? That's all i care about.

Yep, you sure did. Glad I have two monitors. Thanks!