Tweaking Skyrim Image Quality @ [H]

FrgMstr

FrgMstr

Just Plain Mean
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Tweaking Skyrim Image Quality - Before the proverbial ink was dry on our Skyrim performance and image quality review, we were already busy planning to investigate INI configuration settings and see what we could come up with to improve Skyrim's graphics. We've found some changes that make the game look and feel a little more alive, and we're here to show you what we've come up with.
 
Looks good, I think the problem with increasing the number of grids to load was probably due to a ram issue. I remember in oblivion you had to use an LAA patch of some sort to get it all to work. By the way after all this testing do you think I could max out skyrim at 1080p on a 6950?
 
Tried the .ini tweaks on my rig (6970 cfx) and brought it to a standstill... in a dungeon. Sure is purty though...

Nicely done, btw. Was looking for some analysis on how much of a hit these tweaks would take.
 
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Thanks Kyle! I was looking for a place that brought the INI tweaks together along with comparison screenshots, and the [H] comes through once again!
 
For water-

Change iWaterReflectHeight=512 and iWaterReflectWidth=512 to 1024.
Add the following to the SkyrimPrefs.ini to improve the quality of water reflections.

bUseWaterReflectionBlur=1
bReflectExplosions=1
iWaterBlurAmount=4
bAutoWaterSilhouetteReflections=0
bForceHighDetailReflections=1

I love the investigation you all did with shadow resolution and soft shadows. I use the other tweaks you've mentioned. I'm about to try iBlurDeferredShadowMask=32 with iShadowMapResolution=8192.
 
^ That is the Water tweak we tried, it didn't have any noticeable visual impact we could see on the water.
 
Brent_Justice said:
^ That is the Water tweak we tried, it didn't have any noticeable visual impact we could see on the water.
Click to expand...

Hmm, very well. I admit I've not tried it on and off. I was tweaking the .ini right at the start.

Anywho, thanks again for the shadow resolution + soft shadow tip :)
 
The blocky shadows could use some work for sure, I'll have to try this and see how it hits my performance.
 
:) love that u guyz even considered doing an article on improving the vanilla experience :D

There's a warning about SAVE FILES using ugrids tho that i found if you save your game with uGrids set to 7 for example, but then decide to change your mind and change it down to 5, the file will not open. this setting is not retroactive with saves.

you'll have to do this:

1) Load game with uGridsToLoad at your current setting.
2) Load the save, which should load correctly.
3) Open the console and type the following:

setini "ugridstoload:general" 5
saveini
refreshini

This has restored the uGridsToLoad setting to its default while your save is already open.

4) Save the game. The save you create now will work at any uGrids setting from the default up

I didn t come up with this its on the internet but might help ppl who play with it

No mention bout upping the fov ? 65 default is just too low imho
 
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Nice overview of what actually does what. Other guides seems to have been more or less fumbling in the dark. About the uGridsToLoad though - did you try the 13 setting while using the LAA mode enabling the game to use 4GB? There's a loader which will enable LAA despite the new patch.
 
"The last image above shows what it looks like when uGridsToLoad was set to 13. It's not stable, but it is damn impressive. The river, rocks, beasts, trees, and all manner of other things are visible all the way up to the mountains blocking the horizon. Unfortunately, the game crashed after about 2 minutes of playing every time we had this option set this high."

Was this the CTD with no error message? I've seen that a lot when I don't use the 4GB hack.
 
I've also heard that if you make a save indoors, you can then load that save with a lower uGrids later. So if you decide to drop back on uGrids, just save indoors before you make the change. I haven't tried it, but worth checking.
 
I have now done my own testing. With a uGridsToLoad setting of 13 I have played completely stable for over an hour using the LAA-mod. My rig is:

Core i7 980X@4GHz
12GB RAM, 1600MHz, CAS 8
GTX 580 SLI running 285.79 drivers
Win7 Ultimate 64-bit
 
Godofmosquitos said:
I have now done my own testing. With a uGridsToLoad setting of 13 I have played completely stable for over an hour using the LAA-mod. My rig is:

Core i7 980X@4GHz
12GB RAM, 1600MHz, CAS 8
GTX 580 SLI running 285.79 drivers
Win7 Ultimate 64-bit
Click to expand...
How's the performance though?
 
Perfect. Runs without a hitch. 2560x1600. Ultra "base" with all ini tweaks mentioned here in article with uGridsToLoad on 13. Immersive Environment and Water post process injector, HD environment textures, character textures etc. from skyrimnexus.
 
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Godofmosquitos said:
Perfect. Runs without a hitch. 2560x1600. Ultra "base" with all ini tweaks mentioned here in article with uGridsToLoad on 13. Immersive Environment and Water post process injector, HD environment textures, character textures etc. from skyrimnexus.
Click to expand...

sorry but i dont buy that at all. ugridstoload at 13 and your getting perfect performance? :rolleyes:
 
So i finally got home and i put these tweaks into my ini files. Outside it's perfectly fine at 1920x1200 with all ultra + tweaks on my i7 2600k @ 4.4GHz with 16GB RAM and GTX580 1.5GB. However, inside i'd say i get around 3fps, no joke, it's a complete slideshow. I'll have to figure out which setting is causing this and put it back to normal.
 
Awesome guys, but it murdered my laptop. Hate being a poor student. Oh well...
 
Whisperfang said:
So i finally got home and i put these tweaks into my ini files. Outside it's perfectly fine at 1920x1200 with all ultra + tweaks on my i7 2600k @ 4.4GHz with 16GB RAM and GTX580 1.5GB. However, inside i'd say i get around 3fps, no joke, it's a complete slideshow. I'll have to figure out which setting is causing this and put it back to normal.
Click to expand...

iShadowMapResolution=8192 (i d try half that 4096 or 2048)
iShadowMapResolutionSecondary=4096 or 2048 <==== those as well
iShadowMapResolutionPrimary=4096 or 2048

iBlurDeferredShadowMask=32 <====3 to 7 above that u get the drop in fps that they get in the article.

bShadowMaskZPrepass=1 i put it to 1
 
nice tweaks!

I wish there was a consistent FOV tweak which stuck...mine reverts back to default FOV after some time
 
in skyrim.ini u need to add em manualy.... works on my ati card (nvidia might need to be in pref *shrugs*)

[Display]
fShadowLODMaxStartFade=1000.0
fSpecularLODMaxStartFade=2000.0
fLightLODMaxStartFade=3500.0
iShadowMapResolutionPrimary=2048
bAllowScreenshot=1
iPresentInterval=0
fDefault1stPersonFOV=80.0000
fDefaultWorldFOV=85.0000
fDefaultFOV=65.0000

change it to the one u want worldfov is 3rd person
default is in menus i think
 
However. The shadow settings listed kills off any interior environment for me. As in completely. Stuff just dies. Runs so slow it takes me like 15 seconds to do a 180 degree turn.
 
Godofmosquitos said:
However. The shadow settings listed kills off any interior environment for me. As in completely. Stuff just dies. Runs so slow it takes me like 15 seconds to do a 180 degree turn.
Click to expand...

Set iShadowMapResolution=4096. Having it set to 8192 kills performance when inside buildings. With it at 8192 on my 580 SLI rig, I'm fine outdoors but drop to 7 FPS indoors. Setting it to 4096 fixes it.

Mark / Brent - you might want to update the article to reflect this.
 
It seems setting iShadowMapResolution to 8192 causes my game to stutter horribly indoors, 1-3 fps. Outside it's fine. Setting it to 4096 also seems fine.

All the other settings however work great. Thanks [H]!
 
If you go to http://deadendthrills.com/, this site has an excellent collection of video game art. The author of the site also posted the following guide, http://deadendthrills.com/2011/11/madness-in-the-method/, which covers several topics covered in this [H] article, and it also explains how to use the uGridsToLoad, uExteriorCellBuffer, and the iPreloadSizeLimit properties properly.

Also, it really showcases how utterly beautiful skyrim is when tweaked properly. It's a shame the developers couldn't have the game looking as beautiful as it should on the proper hardware.

NOTE: The author of the site does mention that getting those photos is not an easy task, and that his rig runs unstable at times with the settings he uses. Regardless, I find his guide a great addition to the one posted here.

PS: As my signature says, I'm still using a 4870 512MB. I know, not very [H], but the card has held up. Running Skyrim at High, 1920x1200, AFx16, no AA, FXAA enabled. I get roughly 40-60fps, average closer to 40. In very few areas (Markarth is on example), I've noticed a drop to ~20fps when looking from the bottom left side of the city up towards the waterfalls. This includes several mods, including the High Resolution Water (lots of waterfalls and streams in the described scene).
 
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Hello! Long time reader. iShadowMapResolution to 8192 was definitely causing a drop to 7fps in the snowy mountains. Changed to 4096 and I'm back to 50ish. I enabled all others. However, now I'm getting random crashes to desktop about every 20mins of play or so, no artifacts though. I'll keep trying one at a time and see where the problem lies.

I'm running a 2500k, ATI 6870.
 
I got so sick of the look of the shadows, that I just turned them off by changing the external and internal shadow distance to 0
 
#nrowland try and use the LAA mod for the new patch. Should improve stability (allows the game to use 4GB of RAM instead of the current 2GB limit)
 
OMG!! THIS IS THE BEST FIX FOR SKYRIM!!!!

found it on here to give credit where its due
http://games.on.net/article/14294/Skyrim_Mods_and_Tweaks_Roundup_-_The_First_Wave

I just found this and tried it out , Turning off Xbox 360 Controller Support
It's on by default
It's gonna be an X instead of a [ ] square with nothing....... 15-20 fps ..... just there ?????????????????!?
:eek::eek::eek: @ Bethesda ::rolleyes: ::rolleyes: ::rolleyes:
:cool: Try it and give me feed back!
 
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