Shadow Quality

[Cosmo]

Update: moved global illumination to suggestions thread.

 

[Kimosabe_X]

Can we please keep this thread just about Morbads shadow modification and not about any speculations about other (non Elite) versions of the Cobra engine ? thx

 

[Bondrewd The Novel]

First of all I want to thank Morbad for all the patience and passion he has put in so far to help the many people who have problems with shadows in Elite Dangerous... you have all my respect.

I'm an old ED player (I've been playing since the BETA) but I never bought Oddyssey until yesterday.
I have an RX 6650 XT paired with a Ryzen 7 5700X and I play at 1080p - Ultra setting + FSR + FXAA + AMD Frame Generation v2 (AFMF)

In the initial tutorial (walking in a base) I have several problems: shadows that appear and disappear if I change point of view, shadows that flicker, shadows that appear and disappear if I move closer/further away from them.

I tried both v22 and v26... both configuration files seem to fix the flickering but don't fix the problem of shadows disappearing when you change your point of view or move closer/further away from them.

To better explain my problem I attach two images of the tutorial (on foot)

If I move even imperceptibly, a piece of shadow appears/disappears. This image was captured using the V26... but the same problem occurs with the V22 and V27 as well.

 

[Morbad]

In the initial tutorial (walking in a base) I have several problems: shadows that appear and disappear if I change point of view, shadows that flicker, shadows that appear and disappear if I move closer/further away from them.

I tried both v22 and v26... both configuration files seem to fix the flickering but don't fix the problem of shadows disappearing when you change your point of view or move closer/further away from them.

To better explain my problem I attach two images of the tutorial (on foot)

If I move even imperceptibly, a piece of shadow appears/disappears. This image was captured using the V26... but the same problem occurs with the V22 and V27 as well.

This is an issue Frontier (re)introduced a short while back and there isn't really much I can do about it. Using the stock tables, or those with fewer frustums than I'm using mitigates things somewhat, but as long as shadows are enabled you're going to encounter problems of this sort sooner or later, until Frontier addresses things.

 

[Bondrewd The Novel]

This is an issue Frontier (re)introduced a short while back and there isn't really much I can do about it. Using the stock tables, or those with fewer frustums than I'm using mitigates things somewhat, but as long as shadows are enabled you're going to encounter problems of this sort sooner or later, until Frontier addresses things.

Thank you for the very quick response! We hope that with the update at the end of November something will change and a better previous situation will be restored. However your V22 and V26 config files work great at removing flicker in the cockpit and around cities on planets (external near landing pads). I noticed that the V27 is being tested, when do you think it will be ready?

One question, are these visual shadow issues something that affects all hardware configurations or more specifically the AMD 6000 series?

Thanks again for all the work you have done so far.

P.S.: Thanks for the clarification aRJay

 

[GraphicEqualizer]

Thank you for the very quick response! We hope that with the update at the end of November something will change and a better previous situation will be restored. However your V22 and V26 config files work great at removing flicker in the cockpit and around cities on planets (external near landing pads). I noticed that the V27 is being tested, when do you think it will be ready?

One question, are these visual shadow issues something that affects all hardware configurations or more specifically the AMD 6000 series?

Thanks again for all the work you have done so far.

P.S.: Thanks for the clarification aRJay

There is an update coming on 22nd Oct (not Nov) I'm hoping THAT brings an end to the shadow snafu, and afaik this affects all players, not just AMD ones

 

[Morbad]

One question, are these visual shadow issues something that affects all hardware configurations or more specifically the AMD 6000 series?

As GraphicEqualizer mentioned, this is issue isn't hardware or driver related.

 

[Morbad]

4.0.0.1900 has the same shadow bugs as the previous build. Furthermore, the GraphicsConfiguration.xml file is identical to the previous version.

 

[Valorin]

Click here regarding U18 Update 2.

UPDATE (March 16th, 2024): Current iteration is v26. However, v22 has sharper close shadows on foot, at the cost of some more artifacts at very shallow illumination angles.

To reiterate, this is a modification of "GraphicsConfiguration.xml" proper, not the override. "GraphicsConfigurationOverride.xml" cannot add missing lines, it can only modify them, which makes it unsuitable for increasing the frustum counts that are critical to these modifications. This should also improve compatability with other tools and mods that rely on the override. Additionally, I have replaced the LOW preset for BOTH spot and (removed spot shadows from the file as these can be handled by the override, and the buggy smoke shader on ultra was corrected a while back) directional shadows. I have done this to make quick comparisons with the Ultra quality preset possible in game.

Installation is simple:

• Rename your current GraphicsConfiguration.xml file, located in the Odyssey product directory. This is the directory that contains EliteDangerous64.exe.
• Download the file attached to the indicated post and place in the directory above.
• Start the game, set directional shadow quality to LOW. Set spot shadow quality as desired (probably ultra).

Uninstallation is also easy:
- Delete my GraphicsConfiguration.xml and rename your backup to the original name.
OR
- Verify the game files with the launcher.

Most of the stuff below this line is depreciated, but I'm retaining it for reference.
----------------------------------------------------

UPDATE (February 3rd, 2021): Switched back to replacing the LOW quality preset. Check my more recent posts in this thread for more up to date information.

UPDATE (August 7th, 2021): Going to put a changelog at the bottom of this post. I'm leaving the old files attached for posterity/reference. Unless there are specific issues, use the most recent GraphicsConfiguration.xml.EDOv_.txt attachment (and be sure to rename it correctly).

The other day I noticed than a recent update (something after 4.0.0.200) split the spot shadow configuration from the main shadow tables in the game's GraphicsConfiguration.xml. This change allowed me to identify, and largely did the work of isolating, variables that were preventing my custom Horizons shadow tables from working correctly.

So, I dumped my most recent profiles (from December 2019) into the newest build. A couple of quick examples, first on foot during the suit tutorial, and one while flying over the surface of a planet with the sun at a low angle (best viewed in 4k or 1440p, no matter the size of your display, because that's where YouTube uses VP9):

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tld3GfG_UX0

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yhe-3cQqx80


Note the relative smoothness of transitions in the first video and distance to which detail is retained as well as the relative lack of flickering in the second video. Going to need some Odyssey specific tuning I think, but even unchanged, they are a significant improvement from the Ultra quality shadows currently in the game.

If anyone who was otherwise running Ultra shadows wants to try these tables, I've attached an updated GraphicsConfiguration.xml (remove the .txt extension and anything after .xml) that should be used to replace the one in the game's main directory (same folder as Odyssey's EliteDangerous64.exe). Selecting Ultra quality in game should use my shadow modifications after doing so. There is no risk to this as verifying the game files will replace the modified file with an original, though you can, of course, just rename or backup the original.

These changes are one of the few GraphicsConfiguration modifications that cannot be placed in the override file as they add frustums that weren't in the original, rather than simply modifying already present values.

I also recommend setting <LODDistanceScale>1.999999</LODDistanceScale> in the "%LocalAppData%\Frontier Developments\Elite Dangerous\Options\Graphics\Custom.4.0.fxcfg" file. This appears to be depreciated in Odyssey.

There is mild performance hit to these changes. If you weren't using Ultra shadows because they were too costly, performance wise, these won't help you.

Spoiler: CHANGELOG

Initial version:
- Mostly a copypasta from my old Horizons profiles here.

v2:
- Reinserted cascade cross-fade clamps into Profile_PlanetApproach to mitigate terrain shadow issue noted here.

v3:

• Removed redundant spot shadow entries from primary profile lists.
• Enabled full resolution EVSM cascades.
• Adjusted Profile_PlanetSurface cascades to improve close-range shadow quality and reduce pixelation at the cost of maximum cascade distance (it's still 5km, which is still further than stock 'Ultra') and slightly increased shadow softness.

I noticed, when I set directional shadows to LOW, like I am supposed to, self-shadows on foot are completely turned off. Everything else is on ULTRA.

 

[Morbad]

I noticed, when I set directional shadows to LOW, like I am supposed to, self-shadows on foot are completely turned off. Everything else is on ULTRA.

Just to clarify, self-shadows normally refers to shadows cast by an object on itself. Is this what you've observed?

Have a screenshot?

 

[Valorin]

Just to clarify, self-shadows normally refers to shadows cast by an object on itself. Is this what you've observed?

Have a screenshot?

In that case it's not self-shadow, but the shadow my Commander casts. To get the terminology right.
Just tried to recreate that on my carrier, but it works there. Maybe the light source?
On the planet I tried to recreate it, there's actually a leftover shadow visible.

On planet:
directional shadows LOW

directional shadows ULTRA

 

[Morbad]

In that case it's not self-shadow, but the shadow my Commander casts. To get the terminology right.
Just tried to recreate that on my carrier, but it works there. Maybe the light source?
On the planet I tried to recreate it, there's actually a leftover shadow visible.

On planet:
directional shadows LOW
View attachment 406395
View attachment 406396View attachment 406399

That's the first frustum not being rendered in that environment or from that perspective. I may need to do more testing with the 3rd person camera on foot.

What version of my tables are you using here?

 

[Valorin]

That's the first frustum not being rendered in that environment or from that perspective. I may need to do more testing with the 3rd person camera on foot.

What version of my tables are you using here?

This one:
GraphicsConfiguration.xml.EDOv3.txt

 

[Morbad]

This one:
GraphicsConfiguration.xml.EDOv3.txt

v3 is from twenty-three revisions ago and from before I switched to replacing LOW.

The ULTRA preset in that version is mine.

That said, that version is so old that other contents of the file have changed and may cause other compatibility issues.

 

[Valorin]

v3 is from twenty-three revisions ago and from before I switched to replacing LOW.

The ULTRA preset in that version is mine.

That said, that version is so old that other contents of the file have changed and may cause other compatibility issues.

Oh... Sorry for that report than.
I kinda thought the ones in the first post are always those up-to-date. My bad.

 

[Morbad]

I kinda thought the ones in the first post are always those up-to-date.

The links in the first line are to the posts where I've attached the latest versions.

The rest is mostly for posterity and my own reference.

 

[Valorin]

The links in the first line are to the posts where I've attached the latest versions.

The rest is mostly for posterity and my own reference.

Yeah, saw that too now... I guess I'll try v26 instead of... 3.

 

[Morbad]

Yeah, saw that too now... I guess I'll try v26 instead of... 3.

Let me know what you think...keeping in mind the current version of the game has some intractable bugs/regressions that crap up shadows. Basically, if you see it in both LOW and ULTRA on the newest profiles, there is probably nothing I can do to fix it.

 

[Valorin]

Let me know what you think...keeping in mind the current version of the game has some intractable bugs/regressions that crap up shadows. Basically, if you see it in both LOW and ULTRA on the newest profiles, there is probably nothing I can do to fix it.

Yeah... Like the ship shadow blinking in and out of existence when landed...
Once I tried around a bit I'll give you feedback.

 

[GraphicEqualizer]

Yeah... Like the ship shadow blinking in and out of existence when landed...
Once I tried around a bit I'll give you feedback.

I tend to find Morbad's workarounds at least make the shadows less like a techno house party than otherwise. There are some drawbacks for on foot immersion with soft shadow for sure, but it's better stability of the shadows from popping off and on everywhere else.
It's kind of abysmal that a bug could exist for so long in a game that is built upon amazing visuals and immersion - I am really hoping it is taking so long because they are completely reworking the lighting system, and that would be fine IF they told us that. Leaving us in the, pun alert, dark, is just not on.