whoa nvidia inspector

ag55

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Jun 10, 2010
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there are so many options in this thing, i mainly want to know more about anti aliasing.

how come there is an anti aliasing setting and anti aliasing transparency, do you need both

and whats better out of this lot
MSAA vs CSAA
SSAA vs SGSSAA
higher AA or higher transparency (e.g. 8xMSAA with 2xSS or 2xMSAA with 8xSS)

thanks!
 
Some of my own posts as sources: http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1591352

I'm also currently working on an AA guide which I will move somewhere better once I complete it, it's going to take a long time though: http://naturalviolence.webs.com/nvidia.htm

how come there is an anti aliasing setting and anti aliasing transparency, do you need both

Transparency AA is an enhancement that adds an additional component so that you can use MSAA and still get rid of aliasing on transparent textures.

I recommend you search around online for forum posts about nvidia inspector and play around with it yourself (take lots of screenshots to make comparisons). It's the best way to learn.

and whats better out of this lot
MSAA vs CSAA
SSAA vs SGSSAA
higher AA or higher transparency (e.g. 8xMSAA with 2xSS or 2xMSAA with 8xSS)

SSAA, regardless of what type, is king. It will totally rape your framerate on a modern game though (more pixels rendered = longer time to run the pixel shaders and more video ram used).

You have OGSSAA (ordered grid supersampling):
1x2 SSAA (2xSSAA)
2x1 SSAA (2xSSAA)
2x2 SSAA (4xSSAA)
3x3 SSAA (9xSSAA)
4x4 SSAA (16xSSAA)

HSAA (hybridsampling, MSAA + SSAA + auto lod bias):
4xS (2xMSAA + 2xSSAA)
8xS (4xMSAA + 2xSSAA)
8xSQ (2xMSAA + 4xSSAA)
12xS (4xOGMSAA + 4xSSAA)
16xS (4xMSAA + 4xSSAA)
32xS (8xMSAA + 4xSSAA)

I love hyrbidsampling personally. It gives a nice balance between the performance of MSAA and the quality of SSAA. Plus it's less likely to blur, it's more likely to be compatible, it works with openGL not just d3d9, and it has an auto lod bias.

And then MSAA + SGSSAA (you can find SGSSAA in the transparency supersampling box):

4xMSAA + 4xSGSSAA = 4xMSAA + 4xSSAA, and so on....
 
thanks for the info, i have 3GB of VRAM on 2x 580s so its not a problem.

on a few games VRAM can be at 1.5GB with about 70% GPU useage but FPS still dips at times, i checked task manager and cpu load spiked very high during these fps drops.

am i being cpu limited (4.5ghz i7 2600k)
 
thanks for the info, i have 3GB of VRAM on 2x 580s so its not a problem.

on a few games VRAM can be at 1.5GB with about 70% GPU useage but FPS still dips at times, i checked task manager and cpu load spiked very high during these fps drops.

am i being cpu limited (4.5ghz i7 2600k)

You have 2 580s w 3gb ram each or 2 with 3 total? The 1.5 does run out after a bit and causes fps drops.
 
thanks for the info, i have 3GB of VRAM on 2x 580s so its not a problem.

on a few games VRAM can be at 1.5GB with about 70% GPU useage but FPS still dips at times, i checked task manager and cpu load spiked very high during these fps drops.

am i being cpu limited (4.5ghz i7 2600k)

3GB on each card right?

SSAA (or MSAA) will not increase cpu load at all no matter how much you use, only vdram usage and shader throughput. Of course regardless of this you're not going to be cpu limited by an i7 2600k at 4.5GHz.

Lucky for you SLI is perfect for SSAA since it essentially just boosts shader throughput. If you use enough SSAA you'll use up all the shader throughput on both cards and get perfect scaling.

What resolution are you running at?

This is already awesome. Can't wait till it's finished

Why thank you :)

Don't get your hopes up too much though, all I've done so far is make the framework and add SOME content. I still have a lot of content to fill in and a lot of content sitting on my computer that needs to be organized into articles before it can posted. And thanks to finals I probably won't have time to get around to it until summer (even then it's going to take weeks at the minimum). I love being an engineering student but the class load/difficulty really sucks sometimes.
 
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The best combo I found when I was rocking 470 SLI was 4xMSAA + 1x2 OGTRSSAA (or maybe it was SGTRSSAA). Whatever the case, it was ridiculous. Mass Effect 2 looks too smooth to even be real; it looks like an FMV.
 
It depends on the game and the resolution you're running at. Simply put, use as much as your rig is capable of.

I find anything up to 16xS (4xMSAA + 4xOGSSAA) to be a great improvement, and anything past it to be pointless. I've become so accustomed to it that any game I can't use it with looks like shit to me because of all the aliasing.

Crysis and BFBC2 are probably the only games I have right now where I can't use SSAA at all without unacceptable framerates or huge cutbacks in in-game settings.
 
im back, so 2 cards each have 3gb vram and i play at 2560x1600.
what would you recommend AA wise at my res, considering the amount of vram i have?


also using sgssa my vram useage doesn't increase that much, however gpu useage hits about
70-80% at times, but fps takes a big hit. why is this happening if the card and ram is not
maxed out yet.

FkoEN.png
 
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what would you recommend AA wise at my res, considering the amount of vram i have?
Depends on the game. At such a high resolution even with SLI SSAA will only be usable without a performance hit on older games. List some games and the in-game settings you are using with them and if I have any of them I'll make some suggestions based on your hardware.

It's really all about testing with each game to see what your rig is capable of.

also using sgssa my vram useage doesn't increase that much, however gpu useage hits about
70-80% at times, but fps takes a big hit. why is this happening if the card and ram is not
maxed out yet.

It is impossible for current software to measure gpu load in any accurate way, it likely measures total load of all operations on all logic. The shader throughput is probably insufficient and creating a bottleneck.
 
ah i get it, here is some stuff in my backlog which i will play pretty soon and a few games i play regularly. i bump the settings to the max on every title @ 2560x1600. just need to hit 60fps.

- crysis 2
- dragon age 2
- bulletstorm
- half life 2
- crysis warhead
- civ 5
- shogun 2
- ac brotherhood
- fallout 3 and new vegas
- fifa 11
- black ops

edit: does this look right
FkoEN.png
 
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Last post for the day.

edit: does this look right

Not really. It makes no sense to combine HSAA with TRSSAA. HSAA has a fullscene SSAA component built in, plus I doubt the TRSSAA would even work with it.

The only game on that list that I have is crysis warhead, and using SSAA in that game would be like putting a gun to your video card.

- fallout 3 and new vegas
- fifa 11
- black ops
- half life 2

These are all lightweight games that should be easy to run with SSAA.

- ac brotherhood
- civ 5
- dragon age 2
- bulletstorm

These are in the "I don't know" pile. I would have to guess that dragon age 2 and bullterstrom are light weight based on some screenshots I've seen of them so they should respond well to SSAA. ac brotherhood and civ 5 I have no idea.

- crysis warhead
-Shogun 2

I don't actually have shogun 2 but from what I've heard it's extremely taxing so neither of these games should be used with SSAA.

- crysis 2
You MIGHT be able to do 2xMSAA + 2xSGSSAA or 4xS without having unacceptable framerates but even that's a stretch since your resolution is so high.

If you experience any bluriness caused by SSAA (I almost garauntee you will) remember to check the lists for AA compatibility bits:

http://forums.guru3d.com/showthread.php?t=336854

http://translate.googleusercontent....&twu=1&usg=ALkJrhiYADe2LDg7AkgX7ldzn7FVDOL0Zg

For d3d10+ games you need to use in-game AA and set the profile to "enhance the application" mode so that you can add SGSSAA to the in-game MSAA.

Remember to pay attention to whether a set of AA comp. bits is for SGSSAA or OGSSAA/HSAA.

I generally stick to HSAA (the xS modes) if I want SSAA unless I'm running a d3d10+ game or one of the few d3d9 games that doesn't work with it.
 
ok last question, enabling any type of SSAA like 4-16xS or 4x4/2x2 etc is too much for the gpu probably because of my resolution, at lower levels its still playable but fps dips at points.

so would it be better to just go with the highest options in nivida control panel, e.g 32x aa with 8x super sampling or go to nvidia inspector and stick with low level SSAA like 1x2.

and finally in nvidia inspector, i only need to enable ss transparency if im using msaa. if im already using something like 4x4/2x2 or combined like 4xS i can leave the transparency box set to off/multisampling,
or do i need to set it to just "supersampling"?

thanks your great
 
ok last question, enabling any type of SSAA like 4-16xS or 4x4/2x2 etc is too much for the gpu probably because of my resolution, at lower levels its still playable but fps dips at points.

Well yes, SSAA is mainly meant for use on older games where performance isn't an issue.

so would it be better to just go with the highest options in nivida control panel, e.g 32x aa with 8x super sampling or go to nvidia inspector and stick with low level SSAA like 1x2.

Use SSAA whenever you have the peformance to do so. Otherwise you have to stick to MSAA.

I see no reason not to use nvidia inspector. It's essentially just a better control panel that reveals some extra options that are supported by the driver but have no option in nvcp. If you set 32x CSAA in nvidia inspector it's the same as setting it in nvcp, you can think of it as a better gui with more options. Everything that nvidia inspector does already exists in the drivers, it just provides a way to activate some of the extra stuff that's not in nvcp. Nvidia inspector should essentially just replace nvcp for you regardless of whether you want to use the extra options or not.

and finally in nvidia inspector, i only need to enable ss transparency if im using msaa. if im already using something like 4x4/2x2 or combined like 4xS i can leave the transparency box set to off/multisampling,
or do i need to set it to just "supersampling"?

That is correct, only use transparency AA if you're using MSAA. Keep in mind that you will see supersampling and SGSSAA in the drop down box for transparency supersampling. If you set that box to supersampling you are supersampling only those pixels which are at the edge of an alpha texture, TRSSAA (transparency supersampling). But SGSSAA is different. SGSSAA is a hack that causes the alpha test to always fail, so it gets applied to EVERY pixel. It is a form of fullscene SSAA that needs to be combined with MSAA. Depending on the situation MSAA + SGSSAA can sometimes be a great alternative to HSAA.

ok last question

I would hope not, it seems you have a lot more to learn.
 
i have your site bookmarked, and i'll come back if i get stuck again thanks
 
It's not going to be done for a long time. I would suggest you just google anything you're confused about in the meantime. A week of doing that for an hour or 2 everyday should be enough to make everything clear as day (referring to understanding the options, not image quality).

Their are still some questions that even I haven't been able to find an answer for yet.
For example: Why does HSAA work with openGL but OGSSAA does not? The SSAA component in HSAA is OGSSAA so what's different about it?
I'm still looking for an answer to that one.

And of course play around with it. Searching/reading + doing = learning. Use fraps to monitor your framerate and take screenshots to compare image quality. That reminds me....

Reminder to myself: Write a section on theoretical framerate calculations to use for predicting framerates.
 
ssaa is too taxing on most of the stuff im gonna be playing as its all pretty new, i have plenty of VRAM but the actual gpu is too slow (you mentioned shader throughput was bottlenecking it).

i think im going to stick with 16-32x msaa with trssaa instead of just 8xS.
surely 32x msaa+8xtrssaa will look better than 8xS hybrid
 
i think im going to stick with 16-32x msaa with trssaa instead of just 8xS.
surely 32x msaa+8xtrssaa will look better than 8xS hybrid

In most situations no it won't. 8xS, even though it only has a 2xSSAA component tends to look better than any amount of MSAA/CSAA + TRAA simply because it has some fullscene SSAA. 8xS will probably still give you lower performance though. 16xS is even more amazing. I tend to find that anything past 16xS is pointless.

Just start at the top and go down this list until performance becomes acceptable:

32xS
16xS
8xS
32xCSAA + 8xTRSSAA
32xCSAA + 4xTRSSAA
32xCSAA + 2xTRSSAA
32xCSAA + TRMSAA
32xCSAA + alpha test
16xQ CSAA
8xQ CSAA
16x CSAA
8x CSAA
4x MSAA
2x MSAA

I also tend to find 8xTRSSAA pointless since 4xTRSSAA is usually enough to get rid of all visible aliasing on transparent textures. You can of course combine TRAA modes with lower levels of AA and you can substitute the hybrid modes with MSAA + SGSSAA if needed/preferable.
 
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thanks for explaining all this man, both my 580s are running at pcix8 - do you think this could be causing some sort of slowdown in regards to bandwidth?
especially with my res and the amount of aa we're talking about, this could be the bottleneck.
 
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thanks for explaining all this man, both my 580s are running at pcix8 - do you think this could be causing some sort of slowdown in regards to bandwidth?
especially with my res and the amount of aa we're talking about, this could be the bottleneck.


Nah, it's already been proven dual x8 is merely a frame or frame and a half different than x16.
 
Ugh, tomshardware.

They skipped over nearly everything about current nvidia/ati AA methods/implementations but that barebone basics that any retarded monkey can figure out.

If you want to see a guide to the current state of nvidia/ati AA methods/implementations that actually goes into some depth check out alienbabeltech

They have quite a few good articles on nvidia/ati AA.

especially with my res and the amount of aa we're talking about, this could be the bottleneck.

Actually the exact reverse. The higher your AA level and resolution are the less likely you are to run into external bottlenecks (external from the point of view of the gpu). Jacking up your resolution and AA almost garuntees an internal bottleneck within the gpu (usually shader throughput).

Is this the successor of nHancer?

Not directly no. It was made by a totally different developer but it serves the same purpose so I guess it can be thought of as a spiritual successor in a way.
 
Sorry for bumping up this old thread but I'm having trouble with Nvidia Inspector and Just Cause 2.

For some reason there seems to be no way to "override" the ingame AA settings. Say if ingame is at only 2xAA but inside Inspector I've set the game to run at 16xS, the game will still be running at only 2xAA.

Is this an incompatibility problem or a driver issue?

Any help would be appreciated.
 
Just Cause2 is a DX10 Game and the Hybrid 16xS are limited to DX9, therefore it does not work. You can use 2x, 4x or 8xSGSSAA @Just Cause 2
 
Just Cause2 is a DX10 Game and the Hybrid 16xS are limited to DX9, therefore it does not work. You can use 2x, 4x or 8xSGSSAA @Just Cause 2

Ok I see.

So I'm limited to "MSAA" and "CSAA"?

By SGSSAA, you're talking about Sparse Grid Transparency Supersampling right? That brings down my fps a lot. Does regular Supersampling transparency work (Is regular SSAA = OGSSAA)?
 
By SGSSAA, you're talking about Sparse Grid Transparency Supersampling right? That brings down my fps a lot.

Then why were you trying to use hybridsampling? In most circumstances 4xMSAA + 4xSGSSAA should have roughly the same performance hit as 16xS HSAA.

Does regular Supersampling transparency work (Is regular SSAA = OGSSAA)?

No. That's TRSSAA, it only affects alpha textures.

So I'm limited to "MSAA" and "CSAA"?

And SGSSAA.
 
Then why were you trying to use hybridsampling? In most circumstances 4xMSAA + 4xSGSSAA should have roughly the same performance hit as 16xS HSAA.



No. That's TRSSAA, it only affects alpha textures.



And SGSSAA.

Hmm, what is OGSSAA then? How do I enable it?

I'm been trying out MSAA + SGSSAA, the performance dip is too much for me in Just Cause 2.

However, regular TRSSAA works well, for the most part. 2x TRSSAA still gives me shimmering at certain angles even with LOD adjustment of -0.5. 4x TRSSAA with adjustment to -1.0 eliminates all shimmering.

Would there be a "cheaper" way to get 4xTRSSAA quality? Multi sampling transparency does very little for me.
 
Hmm, what is OGSSAA then? How do I enable it?

1x2 SSAA
2x1 SSAA
2x2 SSAA
3x3 SSAA
4x4 SSAA

Those are all OGSSAA modes. OGSSAA only works with dx9. HSAA works with dx9 and openGL. SGSSAA works with dx9/10/11.

I'm been trying out MSAA + SGSSAA, the performance dip is too much for me in Just Cause 2.

Yeah well that's the main disadvantage of fullscene SSAA. It rapes your performance.

However, regular TRSSAA works well, for the most part.

Yeah, because it barely does anything. You rarely see more than 15% of the pixels being oversampled with TRSSAA. It eliminates aliasing on alpha textures but does nothing to reduce shader aliasing, polygon aliasing, texture shimmering, etc.

2x TRSSAA still gives me shimmering at certain angles even with LOD adjustment of -0.5. 4x TRSSAA with adjustment to -1.0 eliminates all shimmering.

If you want to get rid of the shimmering just raise the LOD bias until it goes away.

Would there be a "cheaper" way to get 4xTRSSAA quality? Multi sampling transparency does very little for me.

No. TRMSAA doesn't work with most game engines (and only works with dx9) so I'm not surprised.
 
Hey guys. Just out of interest, I was wondering how you managed to get nvidia inspector to override AA on JC2. Is there an AA hex code?

I spent hours searching the net and quite a few attempts fiddling with the inspector and at the moment it seems like you're the only ones who talk about it actually working, so I was wondering how you got it done.

Thanks a lot!

p.s. try my first person mod if you haven't already: JC2FPS

:cool:
 
NaturalViolence, thanks for sharing your knowledge on nvidia inspector and AA settings. Good stuff man.

I've been using Inspector for a little while now and it's my trusty little app for AA issues that cannot be resolved through in-game settings or through nvidia control panel.
 
I was wondering how you managed to get nvidia inspector to override AA on JC2. Is there an AA hex code?

From what I understand nobody has discovered a specific set of SSAA compatibility bits that works with that game yet.

I might be able to figure out a hex out if I can identify what post-processing effects the game uses and how to disable them. I do not have the game myself and know little about it so I'll need your help with gathering some information.

This a dx10 game, can it be manually run in dx9 mode via editing a config file?

Can you give me a screenshot of:
1. The in-game graphics settings, all of them
2. The contents of any config files that reference graphics settings (they are usually found in my documents)

What video card are you using? If it's a 400/500 series you might be able to "enhance" the in-game MSAA with SGSSAA even if it's running in dx10 mode.

NaturalViolence, thanks for sharing your knowledge on nvidia inspector and AA settings. Good stuff man.

Why thank you. The idea that someone has actually appreciated or has been helped by my knowledge makes it worth sharing.

This reminds me, I should start working on my AA in the fall when my classload isn't as brutal as it was this term (I'm a computer science major that takes a full class load in the summer + a part time job, crazy isn't it?). I barely made a dent in it before I stopped.
 
Thanks for answering, and before I provide everything let me just point out that 10 posts up someone seems to have got it working, so perhaps to save you the effort, we could wait for him to see this post and tell us how he did it?

I will work, in the meantime, to get all the stuff you requested. By screenshot of the in-game graphics settings, you just mean the graphics settings page in the menu, and not individual screenshots with every setting on/off I assume?

I'll have a root around for a .cfg or .ini or anything that references the graphics, but I am quite an experienced modder for the game and I am fairly certain that I have found just about every game file in existence regarding JC2, and none of them reference the graphics. Even the researched mod files haven't got the type of thing I think you are looking for. It definitely can't be forced into DX9.

I am running it with a 480GTX, so how do you think I could force SGSSAA? I tried that already without a Hex code in NI. Perhaps I should try a higher setting.

I'll see what I can come up with over the next couple of days.

Again, thanks, and allow me to agree wholeheartedly with hdnut in his thanks and praise of your knowledge and your kindness in sharing it! We are all extremely glad you did and I respect a person who gets joy from sharing his knowledge!

Now I just wish I could do the same....but not many people are interested in Physics :p


EDIT: you know what? scratch that. I realised that SGSSAA was working, it just works so well in this game that there was no noticeable fpsdrop. With the in-game MSAA at 4x and SGSSAA at 2x, the game looks great, and runs amazing. It looks a lot better than 8x MSAA alone, yet has the same fps.

If you still want to figure out the code for JC2, I'll still help, but I have already achieved what I wanted so you don't need to worry about lil' ol' me anymore :D
From what I understand nobody has discovered a specific set of SSAA compatibility bits that works with that game yet.

I might be able to figure out a hex out if I can identify what post-processing effects the game uses and how to disable them. I do not have the game myself and know little about it so I'll need your help with gathering some information.

This a dx10 game, can it be manually run in dx9 mode via editing a config file?



Can you give me a screenshot of:
1. The in-game graphics settings, all of them
2. The contents of any config files that reference graphics settings (they are usually found in my documents)

What video card are you using? If it's a 400/500 series you might be able to "enhance" the in-game MSAA with SGSSAA even if it's running in dx10 mode.



Why thank you. The idea that someone has actually appreciated or has been helped by my knowledge makes it worth sharing.

This reminds me, I should start working on my AA in the fall when my classload isn't as brutal as it was this term (I'm a computer science major that takes a full class load in the summer + a part time job, crazy isn't it?). I barely made a dent in it before I stopped.
 
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you just mean the graphics settings page in the menu

Yes.


EDIT: you know what? scratch that. I realised that SGSSAA was working, it just works so well in this game that there was no noticeable fpsdrop. With the in-game MSAA at 4x and SGSSAA at 2x, the game looks great, and runs amazing. It looks a lot better than 8x MSAA alone, yet has the same fps.

That's what I expected. If the game can't be forced to run in dx9 mode then this is probably the only way to get any form of SSAA working with it. Very few dx10 compatibility bits actually do anything relevan,t so finding a hex code that works would be like trying to build a working rocket ship out of wooden twigs and water.

Since you already figured it out don't bother with those screenshots.

Now I just wish I could do the same....but not many people are interested in Physics :p

Off-topic:

Bullshit. Loads of people are interested in physics. It's just too bad we keep shooting NASA in the foot. Now cosmology research is basically left to the private sector and academia. Quantum physics IS the future, it's one of the last fields that we know almost nothing about, and once we master it we will be able to manipulate matter and energy in ways once thought impossible. And as for any other branches of physics, they're useful right now!

I respect anyone willing to dedicate their lives to one of the disciplines of natural science or formal science (including mathematics). You will have the honor of creating something (research or technology) that benefits society long after your death (or passing down knowledge if you become a professor). On the other hand I view most business fields and social sciences as being almost worthless to society (most, not all). This basically sums up why: http://abstrusegoose.com/363
 
Yes.




That's what I expected. If the game can't be forced to run in dx9 mode then this is probably the only way to get any form of SSAA working with it. Very few dx10 compatibility bits actually do anything relevan,t so finding a hex code that works would be like trying to build a working rocket ship out of wooden twigs and water.

Since you already figured it out don't bother with those screenshots.

I'd love to know how to "build" a hex code. All this stuff is becoming fascinating and I am always on the look out to improve my graphics at minimal cost. AA is something I never even noticed before, until I actually compared screenshots, and now I can't live without some AA. I play in S3D so it makes it really hard to have AA too high in games, which is a shame so I am gonna work on getting another 480 for some SLI action.

I have my own ideas for how AA should work, although I am sure all of them have already been implemented in some way or another. Maybe my physics degree will somehow lead to that path along the way.



Off-topic:

Bullshit. Loads of people are interested in physics. It's just too bad we keep shooting NASA in the foot. Now cosmology research is basically left to the private sector and academia. Quantum physics IS the future, it's one of the last fields that we know almost nothing about, and once we master it we will be able to manipulate matter and energy in ways once thought impossible. And as for any other branches of physics, they're useful right now!

I respect anyone willing to dedicate their lives to one of the disciplines of natural science or formal science (including mathematics). You will have the honor of creating something (research or technology) that benefits society long after your death (or passing down knowledge if you become a professor). On the other hand I view most business fields and social sciences as being almost worthless to society (most, not all). This basically sums up why: http://abstrusegoose.com/363

There are millions of people interested in physics, yes, and I am extremely proud that I am doing it, and I feel exactly the same as you with regards to attitude towards vocations. Either way, millions of people is still less than a fraction of the world and the number of people I meet who actually say "wow" and ask me questions when I tell them what I study are...well about 1 per 3 years. It is a lonely subject. But it is my passion, and I wouldn't trade it for the world.

Still, hard to actually get...studying sometimes, even if it's your passion...

p.s. I saw that abstruse goose when it was released and I had to lol
 
I love these topics. Plenty of other people looking for all the gritty information. I have two 3gb 580 Lightning Xtremes and have been wanting to play Crysis Warhead with supersampling since AA does almost nothing in that game normally.

If I wanted 4x Supersampling OF SOMEKIND what are my options for dx10?

So far it seems 4x SGSSAA with some sort of AA mode that has 4xMSAA combination, yes?
Is there a normal SSAA mode of some kind besides sparse grid?

Can I do this stuff while in global mode or do I need to choose a profile? I hate how complex nvidia makes this stuff. I with they had these options in the panel. All I want is the best visuals and they make us do these complex combinations of edits.

Thanks for all the discussion I love reading it.
 
If I wanted 4x Supersampling OF SOMEKIND what are my options for dx10?

Very limited. Turn on MSAA in-game. Use enhance the application mode in nvidia inspector and use a level of SGSSAA equal to or less than the number of pure MSAA samples used in game (coverage samples don't count).

If that doesn't work it is unlikely that you'll be able to use SSAA with that particular engine without forcing it to run in dx9 mode (which I don't see as problematic with crysis since other than object specific motion blur there is virtually no advantage to running that particular game in dx10 mode).

Is there a normal SSAA mode of some kind besides sparse grid?

Yes. The 1x2 SSAA, 2x1 SSAA, 2x2 SSAA, 3x3 SSAA, and 4x4 SSAA are all good ole OGSSAA. And the 4xS, 8xS, 8xSQ, 12xS, 16xS, 32xS modes are all hybrid modes that combine MSAA and OGSSAA.

So far it seems 4x SGSSAA with some sort of AA mode that has 4xMSAA combination, yes?

Not really. You can think of SGSSAA more as a bug that somebody discovered. I already explained this pretty thoroughly in this thread so I'll just link you to the explanation on my site: http://naturalviolence.webs.com/sgssaa.htm

It's one of the few sections I actually had time to elaborate on.

What resolution are you running the game at and are you using stereoscopic (3D vision) rendering?

Can I do this stuff while in global mode or do I need to choose a profile?

You can do it in global but I don't see why on earth you would want to do that since most games will require different settings to get it working and will have vastly different levels of performance with the same settings.

I hate how complex nvidia makes this stuff. I with they had these options in the panel. All I want is the best visuals and they make us do these complex combinations of edits.

Nvidia does not officially support any of this due to the fact that they cannot guarantee the reliability of any of this. We are basically using driver hacks to force games to do things that the game engine was never originally designed to do. Applications like nhancer and nvidia inspector were created and supported early on by groups of programmers interested in various hacks and workarounds they could get working. You're lucky to have them at all, I would never in a million years complain that they are complicated, of course they are! This complexity is due simply to the fact that we are attempting to force a graphics engine to do something that it was no designed to do, which of course requires per-game workarounds since every engine handles things a bit differently. Plus the more features you have the more complex something gets.


You should be complaining to the game devs not nvidia. It's their fault for not including these things to begin with. Nvidia is not responsible for adding these things through driver hacks. If nvidia did support these things people would complain about their "shitty drivers" whenever they used one of these hacks/features and it f*cked up one of their games. Put yourself in nvidia's shoes for a moment before you judge them. Think of these compatibility bits like "mods" for each game that allow SSAA to be used properly with the game engine. Would you expect nvidia to try and mod every single game that comes out in order to try and support this? Nvidia is more focused on building reliable drivers so that people don't stop buying their products.

The masses have no idea how to use these hacks properly. These hacks should be used by dedicated individuals like us that understand the possibility that it might screw things up, not the masses. I understand nvidia's reason for their decision and harbor no resentment towards them for it.

I'd love to know how to "build" a hex code.

I wouldn't use the words "hex code" if I were you. Lots of things are written with hexadecimal. It's like watching a programmer make something and saying "I'd love to know how to use alphanumeric text". Use the term AA compatibility bits.

It's not an easy process. You have to figure out what each bit does by realizing patterns in which game engines need it. For example you might notice that one particular bit seems to be used by engines that use HDRR (high dynamic range rendering) and so you can associate that bit with most HDRR engines now. You turn different bits on or off to form a hex code. Every 4 bits = 1 digit hexadecimal (hexadecimal is base 16, binary is base 2, 2^4 = 16 therefore 4 bits). Mostly it's just random guessing until you find the correct sequence of bits but you can at least make it an educated guess by noticing those patterns. Nobody has any idea what these bits actually do at the low level.

All this stuff is becoming fascinating and I am always on the look out to improve my graphics at minimal cost.

I wouldn't use AA and "minimal cost" in the same sentence. Especially SSAA. You're lucky to have such powerful hardware, most people don't have the luxury of being able to use these things (except with old games).

AA is something I never even noticed before, until I actually compared screenshots, and now I can't live without some AA.

Yeah, it gets worse. Once you get used to SSAA you can't live without it. I've reached that point.

I have my own ideas for how AA should work, although I am sure all of them have already been implemented in some way or another. Maybe my physics degree will somehow lead to that path along the way.

Go ahead and state them here. I'm willing to bet AA does not work the way you think it does.

The AA methods used by video games are typically classified with one of the following types:

SSAA

MSAA

Edge detect

Edge blur

Post-processing (excluding edge blur which is also technically post-processing)

Transparency
 
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I got 4xSGSSAA to work, doesn't drop FPS much actually but the mouse feels significantly delayed or laggier. Also I think some sort of edge AA is messing it up. I turned it off but the leaves basically lose detail and blur themselves when I use it.

I'll try those hybrid modes though.

Screenshots.

http://filesmelt.com/dl/crysis_2011-07-25_18-27-37-95.png
http://filesmelt.com/dl/crysis_2011-07-25_18-27-26-12.png
http://filesmelt.com/dl/crysis_2011-07-25_18-26-52-05.png
http://filesmelt.com/dl/crysis_2011-07-25_18-26-34-30.png
http://filesmelt.com/dl/crysis_2011-07-25_18-18-38-57.png
http://filesmelt.com/dl/crysis_2011-07-25_18-18-24-05.png
http://filesmelt.com/dl/crysis_2011-07-25_18-17-17-30.png
http://filesmelt.com/dl/crysis_2011-07-25_18-17-04-41.png
 
Keep in mind the hybrid modes will only work when running the game in dx9 mode. You must force the game to do this by using a System.cfg file (if you need me to tell you how to do this just ask).

Also the "leaves are blurry" problem you're describing is normal. That's what's supposed to happen, it's getting rid of the aliasing on the leaves and making the edges smooth.

Cryengine 2.0 automatically disabled edge blur AA when MSAA is enabled in game. However other post-processing effect could be interfering with it. Try setting post-processing to low quality to disable all post-processing effects.

I need to know what resolution you're running it at and if you're using 3Dvision.
 
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