Edit: What I've really found now is that iShadowMaskQuarter is the cause of the flickering. However, you need iShadowMaskQuarter to be at least 1 to take advantage of iBlurDeferredShadowMask which helps reduce jagged edges. So you end up having to choose between which behavior bothers you more.

For me, the flickering was far worse than the jagged edges. So the below fix works a bit better for me. You'll have to make the decision for yourself which part of their shadows bothers you more.



Ok, I've been messing around with the ini for a few hours now. I have gotten the shadows to what I consider a pretty darn good place.

There are two things I have been working to remove:

1. Jagged edges.
2. Massive flickering.


For me, I have gotten rid of both behaviors for the most part. Go to Documents/My Games/Skyrim and open the SkyrimPref.ini file. Change the following settings.

iShadowMapResolution=4096
fShadowBiasScale=0.1500
iShadowMaskQuarter=0
iBlurDeferredShadowMask=5
bFloatPointRenderTarget=1
iShadowFilter=1
iShadowMode=3
bTreesReceiveShadows=1
bDrawLandShadows=1
bDrawShadows=1
bShadowMaskZPrepass=0
bMainZPrepass=0


Let me know if it helps with your personal shadow issues. If you are still getting issues, can you post your ini so that I can compare?

Bump.

These settings really make the shadows look amazingly better. Try them out if you are having any issues at all or even if you just want them to look better.

Shadows are much smoother, however the major flickering is still a problem.

I noticed blocky shadows on ultra from the dude sitting acrossfrom you on the carriage ride at the start. All other shadows seemed okish. Does this fix that type of crappy shadow?

Can you post your ini so that I can see what is specifically different?

impressive. I like the outcome

Did you want the entire ini or just specific parts?

The whole thing for me.

It really does come out looking surprisingly great once you get it working and I want to try to get the ini setting good for everyone.

Alright, I'll post the whole thing.

I think you are changing the wrong ini file.

Go to Documents/My Games/Skyrim/SkyrimPref.ini to find the right one. Make the changes that I said to that file.

Also, I noticed another strange behavior. The ini reverts back to defaults when you start a new game. So don't test it out with a new game. Use a saved game.

I did take that from the SkyrimPrefs.ini file. The only other ini file that is available is just Skyrim.ini

Also, I did test it on my already in progress game, but it still feels like a strobe light in there (hahaha!)

Ok, cool.

It looks like the following didn't get changed:

iShadowMaskQuarter=0.5

And then this was different:

fShadowBiasScale=0.1500

This is madness. We shouldn't have to change the ini files to fix issues like these. But good find

Thanks colddog04, this made the shadows so much better!

Is there a way through the ini to turn shadows off completely?

I would assume that you make the following settings:

bTreesReceiveShadows=0
bDrawLandShadows=0
bDrawShadows=0

I didn't have any flickering problem to begin with, so that wasn't an issue. Shadows just don't look very good. Even on ultra I'm reminded of Minecraft. The changes you proposed basically just made 'em look like ultra settings. But trees receive shadows is nice.

Thanks colddog04, you saved my eyes. My shadows were really broken, flickering all over, irrelevant of whether I put their setting on Low, Ultra or anything in between.

This ini fix made them perfect now!

My shadows don't flicker but they are crude and jagged on ultra, will this soften them, and will I need to omit some of these since I don't have flickering?

I've tried this but there are still shadows. Any other ideas?

I tweaked the shadows and they're now ok, but when I get close to shadows and look down, they change to a lot blocky and ugly. And when I look up again, and still see them below, they change back to crisp and clear. Anyone else got this problem? How to fix it?

My shadow settings:

iBlurDeferredShadowMask=0
fInteriorShadowDistance=3000.0000
fShadowDistance=8000.0000
iShadowSplitCount=2
fShadowLODStartFade=250.0000
iShadowMode=3
bTreesReceiveShadows=1
bDrawLandShadows=1
bShadowMaskZPrepass=0
iShadowMapResolution=8192
fShadowBiasScale=0.1500
iShadowMaskQuarter=4
iShadowFilter=3
bDrawShadows=1

I've tried to change about all of them individually, but nothing has worked.

EDIT: Also there are spots near the shadows where the shadows look ugly even when I'm not looking down.
EDIT2: Actually most of the time the shadows look ugly, and good only in some spots and angles :/

didnt help at all
[General]
fBrightLightColorB=1.0000
fBrightLightColorG=1.0000
fBrightLightColorR=1.0000
iStoryManagerLoggingEvent=-1
bEnableStoryManagerLogging=0
[Imagespace]
bDoDepthOfField=1
iRadialBlurLevel=2
[Display]
iBlurDeferredShadowMask=3
fInteriorShadowDistance=3000.0000
fShadowDistance=8000.0000
iShadowMapResolutionSecondary=1024
iShadowMapResolutionPrimary=2048
iShadowSplitCount=2
iMaxAnisotropy=16
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=0
iMultiSample=1
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=4
bShadowMaskZPrepass=0
bMainZPrepass=0
iMaxSkinDecalsPerFrame=25
iMaxDecalsPerFrame=100
bFloatPointRenderTarget=1
sD3DDevice="ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5800 Series"
bFXAAEnabled=0
iShadowMapResolution=4096
fShadowBiasScale=0.1500
iShadowMaskQuarter=4
iAdapter=0
iPresentInterval=1
iShadowFilter=1
bTransparencyMultisampling=0
bDrawShadows=1
[Grass]
b30GrassVS=1
fGrassStartFadeDistance=7000.0000
fGrassMaxStartFadeDistance=7000.0000
fGrassMinStartFadeDistance=0.0000
[MAIN]
bGamepadEnable=0
bCrosshairEnabled=1
fHUDOpacity=0.5000
bSaveOnPause=1
bSaveOnTravel=1
bSaveOnWait=1
bSaveOnRest=1
fSkyCellRefFadeDistance=150000.0000
[GamePlay]
bShowFloatingQuestMarkers=0
bShowQuestMarkers=0
iDifficulty=2
[Interface]
bDialogueSubtitles=1
bGeneralSubtitles=1
bShowCompass=1
[Controls]
fGamepadHeadingSensitivity=1.0000
fMouseHeadingSensitivity=0.0500
bAlwaysRunByDefault=1
bInvertYValues=0
bGamePadRumble=0
bMouseAcceleration=0
[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=1.0000
uID2=466532
fVal1=1.0000
uID1=554685
fVal0=1.0000
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=512
iWaterReflectWidth=512
bUseWaterDisplacements=1
bUseWaterRefractions=1
bUseWaterReflections=1
bUseWaterDepth=1

^

Change these:

iBlurDeferredShadowMask=3 -> 0 or 1 (I prefer 0)

iShadowMapResolutionSecondary=1024 -> 2048 or 4096 (?)
iShadowMapResolutionPrimary=2048 -> 4096


iShadowFilter=1 -> 3 or 4

Still doesnt work well. stupid and ugly [censored]

[General]
fBrightLightColorB=1.0000
fBrightLightColorG=1.0000
fBrightLightColorR=1.0000
iStoryManagerLoggingEvent=-1
bEnableStoryManagerLogging=0
[Imagespace]
bDoDepthOfField=1
iRadialBlurLevel=2
[Display]
iBlurDeferredShadowMask=3
fInteriorShadowDistance=3000.0000
fShadowDistance=8000.0000
iShadowMapResolutionSecondary=2048
iShadowMapResolutionPrimary=4096
iShadowSplitCount=2
iMaxAnisotropy=16
fLeafAnimDampenDistEnd=4600.0000
fLeafAnimDampenDistStart=3600.0000
fTreesMidLODSwitchDist=10000000.0000
fGamma=1.0000
fDecalLOD2=1500.0000
fDecalLOD1=1000.0000
fSpecularLODStartFade=2000.0000
fShadowLODStartFade=200.0000
fLightLODStartFade=3500.0000
iTexMipMapMinimum=0
iTexMipMapSkip=0
iWaterMultiSamples=0
iMultiSample=1
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=4
bShadowMaskZPrepass=0
bMainZPrepass=0
iMaxSkinDecalsPerFrame=25
iMaxDecalsPerFrame=100
bFloatPointRenderTarget=1
sD3DDevice="ENB"
bFXAAEnabled=0
iShadowMapResolution=4096
fShadowBiasScale=0.1500
iShadowMaskQuarter=4
iAdapter=0
iPresentInterval=1
iShadowFilter=3
bTransparencyMultisampling=0
bDrawShadows=1
[Grass]
b30GrassVS=0
fGrassStartFadeDistance=7000.0000
fGrassMaxStartFadeDistance=7000.0000
fGrassMinStartFadeDistance=0.0000
[MAIN]
bGamepadEnable=0
bCrosshairEnabled=1
fHUDOpacity=0.5000
bSaveOnPause=1
bSaveOnTravel=1
bSaveOnWait=1
bSaveOnRest=1
fSkyCellRefFadeDistance=150000.0000
[GamePlay]
bShowFloatingQuestMarkers=0
bShowQuestMarkers=0
iDifficulty=2
[Interface]
bDialogueSubtitles=1
bGeneralSubtitles=1
bShowCompass=1
[Controls]
fGamepadHeadingSensitivity=1.0000
fMouseHeadingSensitivity=0.0500
bAlwaysRunByDefault=1
bInvertYValues=0
bGamePadRumble=0
bMouseAcceleration=0
[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=1.0000
uID2=466532
fVal1=1.0000
uID1=554685
fVal0=1.0000
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=512
iWaterReflectWidth=512
bUseWaterDisplacements=1
bUseWaterRefractions=1
bUseWaterReflections=1
bUseWaterDepth=1

Hmmm, no idea.

Have you tried looking at the shadows from different angles? My shadows look great from some specific angles, but I don't understand how to fix it so that they're constantly great. Seems like the shadowmap resolution doesn't fully respond to the ini tweaks (iShadowMapResolutionSecondary, iShadowMapResolutionPrimary, iShadowMapResolution) or something.