I've been testing the new settings on the exterior of stations and currently there are some issues regarding the shadow sharpness at certain distances and lighting angles. With the default ultra shadows are a bit more well defined but with more edge / step / ladder alias effect. With the modified Morbad's ultra shadows are less aliased and more smooth but with more blurriness and less definition / sharpness. I am not saying it is bad but I think it may need some further tweaking. I have uploaded 4 30'' sec. videos on YT for comparison:
Graphics Settings Beyond Ultra -- Shadows
- Thread starter Morbad
- Start date
Thanks for the comparison.
The first one looks like you are right on the edge of one of the frustum transitions, which makes assessment difficult.
In the second one my profile is clearly softer. I could harden/sharpen it by reducing the fade amount or playing with the kernel filter size, but I don't want perfectly hard shadows; they aren't really very realistic at such distances and sharpening them too much makes it harder to conceal artifacting elsewhere. I was a bit on the fence about sharpening the SRV shadows earlier, but it seemed more rational given the distances involved.
If you prefer the harder shadows, just find all the <Fade>1.0</Fade> entires and change the value to 0.01 and see if that improves things.
The first one looks like you are right on the edge of one of the frustum transitions, which makes assessment difficult.
In the second one my profile is clearly softer. I could harden/sharpen it by reducing the fade amount or playing with the kernel filter size, but I don't want perfectly hard shadows; they aren't really very realistic at such distances and sharpening them too much makes it harder to conceal artifacting elsewhere. I was a bit on the fence about sharpening the SRV shadows earlier, but it seemed more rational given the distances involved.
If you prefer the harder shadows, just find all the <Fade>1.0</Fade> entires and change the value to 0.01 and see if that improves things.
Thanks for the info.
Would this need to be done for all profiles? I've also noticed that for profile_station interior it is already set to 0 - don't know if this has an effect since here it is the exterior that I was referring to.
Would this need to be done for all profiles? I've also noticed that for profile_station interior it is already set to 0 - don't know if this has an effect since here it is the exterior that I was referring to.
You can do it to all profiles except station interior, which is unique since it only concerns the docking tube of starports and hangars of other outposts.
However, the general profile is probably the only one that would really benefit, even if you prefer the crisper shadows, as the sorts of geometry possible in the other profiles will induce artifacting much easier.
Play with the setting and see what you like.
For the record, the current Beta GraphicsConfiguration.xml is identical to the ones from 3.5.03, so these changes should be a drop in replacement for them.
However, if you are beta testing and reporting on any client performance or stability fixed, you should refrain from using modified files so as to not introduce any excess variables into the testing process.
However, if you are beta testing and reporting on any client performance or stability fixed, you should refrain from using modified files so as to not introduce any excess variables into the testing process.
No changes in 3.6b2 either, in case anyone was wondering.
After the beta ends I will see if I can clean up some of the edges of some shadows without softening them overly much, probably by reducing the degree of fade and increasing the filter kernel sizes again. After that I'll see if I can reduce some depth slope biases on the planet surface and planet approach profiles to mitigate some of the more annoying transitions, at the cost of reintroducing some self-shadowing artifacts on a few ships like the Mamba. I've decided that it's not really the place of these shadow profiles to hide the glaring geometry problems on a few of the more extreme outliers of ship models...hopefully Frontier's art department can be compelled to address that.
After the beta ends I will see if I can clean up some of the edges of some shadows without softening them overly much, probably by reducing the degree of fade and increasing the filter kernel sizes again. After that I'll see if I can reduce some depth slope biases on the planet surface and planet approach profiles to mitigate some of the more annoying transitions, at the cost of reintroducing some self-shadowing artifacts on a few ships like the Mamba. I've decided that it's not really the place of these shadow profiles to hide the glaring geometry problems on a few of the more extreme outliers of ship models...hopefully Frontier's art department can be compelled to address that.
Wasted a whole morning tweaking settings and wondering why I wasn't seeing any differences...turns out I had reset my custom.fxcfg and accidentally left shadows on ultra instead of my custom profile. Oh well, guess I'll have a few more radical than planned changes to roll back rather than push forward.
We can do the same tests again Morbad. Not at all a problem! 
Been testing the following profiles for the last few days, but wanted to get to some Guardian ruins and check some very specific transitions before releasing them.
I've set TexelStability to 0 for the general profile. This appears to allow allows for lower filter kernel sizes without adding too much aliasing or making them overly hard and has proved to be much more workable than reducing the degree of fade. The issues I've had with changing the texel stability setting on the planet profiles don't apply to the situations where the general profile is used, so it's a good tweak here, IMO.
For most profiles I've reduced the depth slope biases to clear up some detached shadows and smooth a few of the more glaring cascade transitions a bit. For the same reason I've reduce the planet approach profile basic depth biases. This has the side effect of reintroducing flickering shadows on some geometry when it's lit from very shallow angles, but such trade offs are unavoidable to some degree.
Additionally, I've increased the shader and shader slope biases for the asteroid field profile as the lower figures were causing a strange shimmering on ice at close range. I have not yet noticed any downsides from this.
Oh yeah, I increased the filter kernel size in the cockpits to soften those shadows more and make it easier to cross fade with the next cascade, helping to make some ship self-shadowing cleaner with less noticeable transitions.
Performance should be about the same as the prior few profiles that are also using 16k slice sizes, maybe slightly better from the reduced kernel filter size.
Instructions are the same as before.
As always, if you notice any problems, I'd appreciate feedback, preferably with screen shots and/or video, so I can diagnose the issue.
I've set TexelStability to 0 for the general profile. This appears to allow allows for lower filter kernel sizes without adding too much aliasing or making them overly hard and has proved to be much more workable than reducing the degree of fade. The issues I've had with changing the texel stability setting on the planet profiles don't apply to the situations where the general profile is used, so it's a good tweak here, IMO.
For most profiles I've reduced the depth slope biases to clear up some detached shadows and smooth a few of the more glaring cascade transitions a bit. For the same reason I've reduce the planet approach profile basic depth biases. This has the side effect of reintroducing flickering shadows on some geometry when it's lit from very shallow angles, but such trade offs are unavoidable to some degree.
Additionally, I've increased the shader and shader slope biases for the asteroid field profile as the lower figures were causing a strange shimmering on ice at close range. I have not yet noticed any downsides from this.
Oh yeah, I increased the filter kernel size in the cockpits to soften those shadows more and make it easier to cross fade with the next cascade, helping to make some ship self-shadowing cleaner with less noticeable transitions.
Performance should be about the same as the prior few profiles that are also using 16k slice sizes, maybe slightly better from the reduced kernel filter size.
XML:
<Profile_General>
<SliceSize>16384</SliceSize>
<NumFrustums>9</NumFrustums>
<FilterQuality>2</FilterQuality>
<Fade>1.0</Fade>
<CrossFadeCascades>true</CrossFadeCascades>
<AdaptiveCascades>false</AdaptiveCascades>
<NearClipBias>1.0</NearClipBias>
<FrustumCockpit>
<DepthBias>0.000075</DepthBias>
<DepthSlopeBias>6.0</DepthSlopeBias>
<FilterKernelSize>5.0</FilterKernelSize>
</FrustumCockpit>
<Frustum0>
<EndDistance>20.0</EndDistance>
<ShaderBias>0.0003</ShaderBias>
<ShaderSlopeBias>0.0003</ShaderSlopeBias>
<DepthBias>0.0005</DepthBias>
<DepthSlopeBias>5.0</DepthSlopeBias>
<FilterKernelSize>1.0</FilterKernelSize>
<TexelStability>0</TexelStability>
</Frustum0>
<Frustum1>
<EndDistance>50.0</EndDistance>
<ShaderBias>0.0003</ShaderBias>
<ShaderSlopeBias>0.0003</ShaderSlopeBias>
<DepthBias>0.0005</DepthBias>
<DepthSlopeBias>6.0</DepthSlopeBias>
<FilterKernelSize>1.5</FilterKernelSize>
<TexelStability>0</TexelStability>
</Frustum1>
<Frustum2>
<EndDistance>125.0</EndDistance>
<ShaderBias>0.0003</ShaderBias>
<ShaderSlopeBias>0.0003</ShaderSlopeBias>
<DepthBias>0.0005</DepthBias>
<DepthSlopeBias>5.5</DepthSlopeBias>
<FilterKernelSize>1.5</FilterKernelSize>
<TexelStability>0</TexelStability>
</Frustum2>
<Frustum3>
<EndDistance>312.5</EndDistance>
<ShaderBias>0.0003</ShaderBias>
<ShaderSlopeBias>0.0003</ShaderSlopeBias>
<DepthBias>0.0005</DepthBias>
<DepthSlopeBias>5.0</DepthSlopeBias>
<FilterKernelSize>1.5</FilterKernelSize>
<TexelStability>0</TexelStability>
</Frustum3>
<Frustum4>
<EndDistance>625.0</EndDistance>
<ShaderBias>0.0003</ShaderBias>
<ShaderSlopeBias>0.0003</ShaderSlopeBias>
<DepthBias>0.0005</DepthBias>
<DepthSlopeBias>4.0</DepthSlopeBias>
<FilterKernelSize>1.5</FilterKernelSize>
<TexelStability>0</TexelStability>
</Frustum4>
<Frustum5>
<EndDistance>1250.0</EndDistance>
<ShaderBias>0.0003</ShaderBias>
<ShaderSlopeBias>0.0003</ShaderSlopeBias>
<DepthBias>0.0005</DepthBias>
<DepthSlopeBias>3.0</DepthSlopeBias>
<FilterKernelSize>1.5</FilterKernelSize>
<TexelStability>0</TexelStability>
</Frustum5>
<Frustum6>
<EndDistance>2500.0</EndDistance>
<ShaderBias>0.0003</ShaderBias>
<ShaderSlopeBias>0.0003</ShaderSlopeBias>
<DepthBias>0.0005</DepthBias>
<DepthSlopeBias>2.5</DepthSlopeBias>
<FilterKernelSize>1.5</FilterKernelSize>
<TexelStability>0</TexelStability>
</Frustum6>
<Frustum7>
<EndDistance>5000.0</EndDistance>
<ShaderBias>0.0003</ShaderBias>
<ShaderSlopeBias>0.0003</ShaderSlopeBias>
<DepthBias>0.001</DepthBias>
<DepthSlopeBias>2.5</DepthSlopeBias>
<FilterKernelSize>1.5</FilterKernelSize>
<TexelStability>0</TexelStability>
</Frustum7>
<Frustum8>
<EndDistance>12500.0</EndDistance>
<ShaderBias>0.0003</ShaderBias>
<ShaderSlopeBias>0.0003</ShaderSlopeBias>
<DepthBias>0.002</DepthBias>
<DepthSlopeBias>2.5</DepthSlopeBias>
<FilterKernelSize>1.5</FilterKernelSize>
<TexelStability>0</TexelStability>
</Frustum8>
<NumSpotShadows>6</NumSpotShadows>
<SpotFilterQuality>1</SpotFilterQuality>
<FogShadowMapsEnabled>1</FogShadowMapsEnabled>
</Profile_General>
<Profile_PlanetApproach>
<SliceSize>16384</SliceSize>
<NumFrustums>9</NumFrustums>
<FilterQuality>2</FilterQuality>
<Fade>1.0</Fade>
<CrossFadeCascades>true</CrossFadeCascades>
<AdaptiveCascades>false</AdaptiveCascades>
<NearClipBias>1.0</NearClipBias>
<FrustumCockpit>
<DepthBias>0.000075</DepthBias>
<DepthSlopeBias>6.0</DepthSlopeBias>
<FilterKernelSize>5.0</FilterKernelSize>
</FrustumCockpit>
<Frustum0>
<EndDistance>20.0</EndDistance>
<ShaderBias>0.0003</ShaderBias>
<ShaderSlopeBias>0.0003</ShaderSlopeBias>
<DepthBias>0.0001</DepthBias>
<DepthSlopeBias>5.0</DepthSlopeBias>
<FilterKernelSize>1.0</FilterKernelSize>
<TexelStability>2</TexelStability>
</Frustum0>
<Frustum1>
<EndDistance>50.0</EndDistance>
<ShaderBias>0.0003</ShaderBias>
<ShaderSlopeBias>0.0003</ShaderSlopeBias>
<DepthBias>0.0001</DepthBias>
<DepthSlopeBias>6.0</DepthSlopeBias>
<FilterKernelSize>1.5</FilterKernelSize>
<TexelStability>2</TexelStability>
</Frustum1>
<Frustum2>
<EndDistance>125.0</EndDistance>
<ShaderBias>0.0003</ShaderBias>
<ShaderSlopeBias>0.0003</ShaderSlopeBias>
<DepthBias>0.0001</DepthBias>
<DepthSlopeBias>5.5</DepthSlopeBias>
<FilterKernelSize>1.5</FilterKernelSize>
<TexelStability>2</TexelStability>
</Frustum2>
<Frustum3>
<EndDistance>312.5</EndDistance>
<ShaderBias>0.0003</ShaderBias>
<ShaderSlopeBias>0.0003</ShaderSlopeBias>
<DepthBias>0.0001</DepthBias>
<DepthSlopeBias>5.0</DepthSlopeBias>
<FilterKernelSize>1.5</FilterKernelSize>
<TexelStability>2</TexelStability>
</Frustum3>
<Frustum4>
<EndDistance>625.0</EndDistance>
<ShaderBias>0.0003</ShaderBias>
<ShaderSlopeBias>0.0003</ShaderSlopeBias>
<DepthBias>0.0002</DepthBias>
<DepthSlopeBias>4.0</DepthSlopeBias>
<FilterKernelSize>1.5</FilterKernelSize>
<TexelStability>2</TexelStability>
</Frustum4>
<Frustum5>
<EndDistance>1250.0</EndDistance>
<ShaderBias>0.0003</ShaderBias>
<ShaderSlopeBias>0.0003</ShaderSlopeBias>
<DepthBias>0.0003</DepthBias>
<DepthSlopeBias>3.5</DepthSlopeBias>
<FilterKernelSize>1.5</FilterKernelSize>
<TexelStability>2</TexelStability>
</Frustum5>
<Frustum6>
<EndDistance>2500.0</EndDistance>
<ShaderBias>0.0003</ShaderBias>
<ShaderSlopeBias>0.0003</ShaderSlopeBias>
<DepthBias>0.0005</DepthBias>
<DepthSlopeBias>3.0</DepthSlopeBias>
<FilterKernelSize>1.5</FilterKernelSize>
<TexelStability>2</TexelStability>
</Frustum6>
<Frustum7>
<EndDistance>5000.0</EndDistance>
<ShaderBias>0.0003</ShaderBias>
<ShaderSlopeBias>0.0003</ShaderSlopeBias>
<DepthBias>0.001</DepthBias>
<DepthSlopeBias>3.0</DepthSlopeBias>
<FilterKernelSize>1.5</FilterKernelSize>
<TexelStability>2</TexelStability>
</Frustum7>
<Frustum8>
<EndDistance>12500.0</EndDistance>
<ShaderBias>0.0003</ShaderBias>
<ShaderSlopeBias>0.0003</ShaderSlopeBias>
<DepthBias>0.002</DepthBias>
<DepthSlopeBias>2.5</DepthSlopeBias>
<FilterKernelSize>1.5</FilterKernelSize>
<TexelStability>2</TexelStability>
</Frustum8>
<NumSpotShadows>6</NumSpotShadows>
<SpotFilterQuality>1</SpotFilterQuality>
<FogShadowMapsEnabled>1</FogShadowMapsEnabled>
</Profile_PlanetApproach>
<Profile_PlanetSurface>
<SliceSize>16384</SliceSize>
<NumFrustums>9</NumFrustums>
<FilterQuality>2</FilterQuality>
<Fade>1.0</Fade>
<CrossFadeCascades>true</CrossFadeCascades>
<AdaptiveCascades>false</AdaptiveCascades>
<NearClipBias>1.0</NearClipBias>
<FrustumCockpit>
<DepthBias>0.000025</DepthBias>
<DepthSlopeBias>3.0</DepthSlopeBias>
<FilterKernelSize>3.0</FilterKernelSize>
</FrustumCockpit>
<Frustum0>
<EndDistance>10.0</EndDistance>
<ShaderBias>0.0003</ShaderBias>
<ShaderSlopeBias>0.0003</ShaderSlopeBias>
<DepthBias>0.00005</DepthBias>
<DepthSlopeBias>5.0</DepthSlopeBias>
<FilterKernelSize>1.0</FilterKernelSize>
<TexelStability>2</TexelStability>
</Frustum0>
<Frustum1>
<EndDistance>20.0</EndDistance>
<ShaderBias>0.0003</ShaderBias>
<ShaderSlopeBias>0.0003</ShaderSlopeBias>
<DepthBias>0.0001</DepthBias>
<DepthSlopeBias>6.0</DepthSlopeBias>
<FilterKernelSize>1.0</FilterKernelSize>
<TexelStability>2</TexelStability>
</Frustum1>
<Frustum2>
<EndDistance>40.0</EndDistance>
<ShaderBias>0.0003</ShaderBias>
<ShaderSlopeBias>0.0003</ShaderSlopeBias>
<DepthBias>0.0001</DepthBias>
<DepthSlopeBias>5.0</DepthSlopeBias>
<FilterKernelSize>1.0</FilterKernelSize>
<TexelStability>2</TexelStability>
</Frustum2>
<Frustum3>
<EndDistance>80.0</EndDistance>
<ShaderBias>0.0003</ShaderBias>
<ShaderSlopeBias>0.0003</ShaderSlopeBias>
<DepthBias>0.0001</DepthBias>
<DepthSlopeBias>4.0</DepthSlopeBias>
<FilterKernelSize>1.0</FilterKernelSize>
<TexelStability>2</TexelStability>
</Frustum3>
<Frustum4>
<EndDistance>160.0</EndDistance>
<ShaderBias>0.0003</ShaderBias>
<ShaderSlopeBias>0.0003</ShaderSlopeBias>
<DepthBias>0.0001</DepthBias>
<DepthSlopeBias>3.5</DepthSlopeBias>
<FilterKernelSize>1.5</FilterKernelSize>
<TexelStability>2</TexelStability>
</Frustum4>
<Frustum5>
<EndDistance>400.0</EndDistance>
<ShaderBias>0.0003</ShaderBias>
<ShaderSlopeBias>0.0003</ShaderSlopeBias>
<DepthBias>0.0003</DepthBias>
<DepthSlopeBias>3.0</DepthSlopeBias>
<FilterKernelSize>1.5</FilterKernelSize>
<TexelStability>2</TexelStability>
</Frustum5>
<Frustum6>
<EndDistance>1000.0</EndDistance>
<ShaderBias>0.0003</ShaderBias>
<ShaderSlopeBias>0.0003</ShaderSlopeBias>
<DepthBias>0.0005</DepthBias>
<DepthSlopeBias>3.0</DepthSlopeBias>
<FilterKernelSize>1.5</FilterKernelSize>
<TexelStability>2</TexelStability>
</Frustum6>
<Frustum7>
<EndDistance>2500.0</EndDistance>
<ShaderBias>0.0003</ShaderBias>
<ShaderSlopeBias>0.0003</ShaderSlopeBias>
<DepthBias>0.001</DepthBias>
<DepthSlopeBias>3.0</DepthSlopeBias>
<FilterKernelSize>1.5</FilterKernelSize>
<TexelStability>2</TexelStability>
</Frustum7>
<Frustum8>
<EndDistance>7500.0</EndDistance>
<ShaderBias>0.0003</ShaderBias>
<ShaderSlopeBias>0.0003</ShaderSlopeBias>
<DepthBias>0.002</DepthBias>
<DepthSlopeBias>3.0</DepthSlopeBias>
<FilterKernelSize>1.5</FilterKernelSize>
<TexelStability>2</TexelStability>
</Frustum8>
<NumSpotShadows>6</NumSpotShadows>
<SpotFilterQuality>1</SpotFilterQuality>
<FogShadowMapsEnabled>1</FogShadowMapsEnabled>
</Profile_PlanetSurface>
<Profile_StationInterior>
<SliceSize>16384</SliceSize>
<NumFrustums>1</NumFrustums>
<FilterQuality>2</FilterQuality>
<Fade>0.0</Fade>
<CrossFadeCascades>false</CrossFadeCascades>
<AdaptiveCascades>false</AdaptiveCascades>
<FrustumCockpit>
<DepthBias>0.000075</DepthBias>
<DepthSlopeBias>6.0</DepthSlopeBias>
<FilterKernelSize>5.0</FilterKernelSize>
</FrustumCockpit>
<Frustum0>
<EndDistance>1470.0</EndDistance>
<ShaderBias>0.0003</ShaderBias>
<ShaderSlopeBias>0.0003</ShaderSlopeBias>
<DepthBias>0.0005</DepthBias>
<DepthSlopeBias>2.0</DepthSlopeBias>
<FilterKernelSize>1.5</FilterKernelSize>
<TexelStability>0</TexelStability>
</Frustum0>
<NumSpotShadows>6</NumSpotShadows>
<SpotFilterQuality>1</SpotFilterQuality>
<FogShadowMapsEnabled>1</FogShadowMapsEnabled>
</Profile_StationInterior>
<Profile_AsteroidField>
<SliceSize>16384</SliceSize>
<NumFrustums>9</NumFrustums>
<FilterQuality>2</FilterQuality>
<Fade>1.0</Fade>
<CrossFadeCascades>true</CrossFadeCascades>
<AdaptiveCascades>false</AdaptiveCascades>
<NearClipBias>1.0</NearClipBias>
<FrustumCockpit>
<DepthBias>0.000075</DepthBias>
<DepthSlopeBias>6.0</DepthSlopeBias>
<FilterKernelSize>5.0</FilterKernelSize>
</FrustumCockpit>
<Frustum0>
<EndDistance>20.0</EndDistance>
<ShaderBias>0.003</ShaderBias>
<ShaderSlopeBias>0.003</ShaderSlopeBias>
<DepthBias>0.0005</DepthBias>
<DepthSlopeBias>5.0</DepthSlopeBias>
<FilterKernelSize>1.0</FilterKernelSize>
<TexelStability>2</TexelStability>
</Frustum0>
<Frustum1>
<EndDistance>50.0</EndDistance>
<ShaderBias>0.003</ShaderBias>
<ShaderSlopeBias>0.003</ShaderSlopeBias>
<DepthBias>0.0005</DepthBias>
<DepthSlopeBias>6.0</DepthSlopeBias>
<FilterKernelSize>1.5</FilterKernelSize>
<TexelStability>2</TexelStability>
</Frustum1>
<Frustum2>
<EndDistance>125.0</EndDistance>
<ShaderBias>0.003</ShaderBias>
<ShaderSlopeBias>0.003</ShaderSlopeBias>
<DepthBias>0.0005</DepthBias>
<DepthSlopeBias>5.5</DepthSlopeBias>
<FilterKernelSize>2.0</FilterKernelSize>
<TexelStability>2</TexelStability>
</Frustum2>
<Frustum3>
<EndDistance>312.5</EndDistance>
<ShaderBias>0.003</ShaderBias>
<ShaderSlopeBias>0.003</ShaderSlopeBias>
<DepthBias>0.001</DepthBias>
<DepthSlopeBias>4.5</DepthSlopeBias>
<FilterKernelSize>2.0</FilterKernelSize>
<TexelStability>2</TexelStability>
</Frustum3>
<Frustum4>
<EndDistance>625.0</EndDistance>
<ShaderBias>0.003</ShaderBias>
<ShaderSlopeBias>0.003</ShaderSlopeBias>
<DepthBias>0.002</DepthBias>
<DepthSlopeBias>4.0</DepthSlopeBias>
<FilterKernelSize>2.0</FilterKernelSize>
<TexelStability>2</TexelStability>
</Frustum4>
<Frustum5>
<EndDistance>1250.0</EndDistance>
<ShaderBias>0.003</ShaderBias>
<ShaderSlopeBias>0.003</ShaderSlopeBias>
<DepthBias>0.003</DepthBias>
<DepthSlopeBias>4.0</DepthSlopeBias>
<FilterKernelSize>2.0</FilterKernelSize>
<TexelStability>2</TexelStability>
</Frustum5>
<Frustum6>
<EndDistance>2500.0</EndDistance>
<ShaderBias>0.003</ShaderBias>
<ShaderSlopeBias>0.003</ShaderSlopeBias>
<DepthBias>0.003</DepthBias>
<DepthSlopeBias>3.5</DepthSlopeBias>
<FilterKernelSize>2.0</FilterKernelSize>
<TexelStability>2</TexelStability>
</Frustum6>
<Frustum7>
<EndDistance>5000.0</EndDistance>
<ShaderBias>0.003</ShaderBias>
<ShaderSlopeBias>0.003</ShaderSlopeBias>
<DepthBias>0.003</DepthBias>
<DepthSlopeBias>3.0</DepthSlopeBias>
<FilterKernelSize>2.0</FilterKernelSize>
<TexelStability>2</TexelStability>
</Frustum7>
<Frustum8>
<EndDistance>12500.000000</EndDistance>
<ShaderBias>0.003</ShaderBias>
<ShaderSlopeBias>0.003</ShaderSlopeBias>
<DepthBias>0.003</DepthBias>
<DepthSlopeBias>2.5</DepthSlopeBias>
<FilterKernelSize>2.0</FilterKernelSize>
<TexelStability>2</TexelStability>
</Frustum8>
<NumSpotShadows>6</NumSpotShadows>
<SpotFilterQuality>1</SpotFilterQuality>
<AsteroidShadowsEnabled>1</AsteroidShadowsEnabled>
<FogShadowMapsEnabled>1</FogShadowMapsEnabled>
</Profile_AsteroidField>Instructions are the same as before.
As always, if you notice any problems, I'd appreciate feedback, preferably with screen shots and/or video, so I can diagnose the issue.
This is one of the Guardian sites I've found to be a solid shadow stress test:
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-ZGxQfAHQ8
Shadows cast by the toaster rack with my current 'Profile_General' cascades:
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fmiaea3YXrc
Solid work Morbad. I think, and as long as FD don't change anything in the meantime, it should stay like this.
I tried to make sharper cockpit shadows because those inside some ships looked a bit undefined (especially the Conda which I am currently flying) but the results were disastrous..
I am keeping yours and I am a happy man.
One completely unrelated question: How do you insert a link to the YT video (i.e.: Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fmiaea3YXrc ) exactly below the video itself?? I've been trying to find out but couldn't..
I tried to make sharper cockpit shadows because those inside some ships looked a bit undefined (especially the Conda which I am currently flying) but the results were disastrous..
I am keeping yours and I am a happy man.
One completely unrelated question: How do you insert a link to the YT video (i.e.: Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fmiaea3YXrc ) exactly below the video itself?? I've been trying to find out but couldn't..
Overly sharp cockpit shadows (usually achieved by knocking down the filter kernel size or removing the line entirely) tends to have a few serious problems:
- Adds or exacerbates a jagged sawtooth effect to some shadows.
- Makes artifacts from both too high and too low (and any given setting that isn't way too far in one direction or the other is likely to be both for different items in a complex scene) depth bias and depth slope bias more visible.
- Makes the transition between the cockpit frustum and Frustum0 impossible to adequately cross fade, which is quite jarring for some ship's self-shadowing.
- They're also a bit unrealistic. I want the shadows to look nice and crisp, but I don't want them looking any more artifical than they need to be.
Ultimately, I found the default which I think is 1, much too sharp, especially for higher slice sizes. I had the setting at three for a while, which wasn't bad, but was still a bit rough on some transitions, so I tried all the way up to nine...eventually working my way back down to five as the setting that gave me the effect I though was most well-rounded across as many ships as possible.
One completely unrelated question: How do you insert a link to the YT video (i.e.: Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fmiaea3YXrc ) exactly below the video itself?? I've been trying to find out but couldn't..
I haven't been doing anything special, it's always done that to my posts by default. I can't even find the account setting responsible...might be related to how FireFox reacts to this forum layout.
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The current version (with 16k slice sizes and 12.5km end distances), on reasonably powerful hardware (something you'd be comfortable running 'ultra' on) should be less than a 5% frame rate hit vs. the 'ultra' shadow preset.
Past versions (from post #165 and earlier) were slightly less as they capped out at 4k slice size and ~10km).
Ok here is an issue I spotted while approaching a station. The issue occurs at distances around ~10-15Kms:
Default Ultra Shadows:
Source: https://youtu.be/p5R2pP2uV_I
MorbadCustomShadows.3.5.03v4:
Source: https://youtu.be/6_R6tH6zKjY
It seems that the cockpit shadows are projected onto the object in the distance (short off - not exactly that, sorry English is not my mother language).
Default Ultra Shadows:
MorbadCustomShadows.3.5.03v4:
It seems that the cockpit shadows are projected onto the object in the distance (short off - not exactly that, sorry English is not my mother language).
That's the side effect of the TexelStability=0 I believe. Will test it again later.
Odd that you're even seeing a shadow cast by the toaster rack at that range with the default ultra preset...it should end at 5.3km or there abouts. Are you positive that's an unmodified profile?
Maybe I'll scale back the distances on my general profile again.
Odd that you're even seeing a shadow cast by the toaster rack at that range with the default ultra preset...it should end at 5.3km or there abouts. Are you positive that's an unmodified profile?
Maybe I'll scale back the distances on my general profile again.
That's the high setting in my active GraphicsConfiguration.xml which has the default ultra values.