Nvidia tweaks to SH3/SH4

[ConteBlecio]

Hello everyone, I'd like some advice if possible.

I run SH4 @ 1680x1050 60Hz with these mods:
- TMO 2-5
- RSRDC TMO V502 with V5xx patch
- SCAF for RSRDC V502_2.0
- SErgei's Skinpack

My configuration is:
WIN XP SP2
Core2 DUO E7200 @2.53GHz
4 GB RAM
Zotac GeForce GTX 560 1GB (with the latest drivers 301.42 WHQL)

I try this config for Nvidia Inspector with a Performance Level 2 (P0) and i never unlock min & max for the GPU,and default clock and GPU clock are @822 MHz:

Anisotropic filtering: 8x
Antialiasing - Gamma correction: On
Antialiasing - Mode: Override any application setting
Antialiasing - Setting: 16xQ
Antialiasing - Transparency: Supersampling
Conformant texture clamp: Use hardware
Error reporting: Off
Extension limit: Off
Force mipmaps: None
Multi-display/mixed_GPU acceleration: Single display performance mode
Stereo - Display mode: Use vertical interlace monitor
Texture filtering - Anisotropic sample optimization: Off (greyed out)
Texture filtering - Negative LOD bias: Clamp
Texture filtering - Quality: High quality
Texture filtering - Trilinear optimization: Off (greyed out)
Threaded optimization: Auto
Triple buffering: On
Vertical sync: Force on

Everything seems to work perfectly at the highest levels of setting,taking into account that I have limited the display of characters to a minimum and that I have not activated the post process filters,full scene glare,light shaft and env. effects.

But I have a small problem...rotating the view from left to right and vice versa I noticed very light stutters.The view is not perfectly smooth.
Can you give me explanations to eliminate this fault please?
I tried various settings but never solve it.
So I did not understand what I do...
Maybe I can not ask more from my system .. but I did not realize

Forgive the length and my bad english.
Thank you.

[0rpheus]

Reduce your texture quality option in nvidia inspector, or in game. Reduce AA & AF to half their current values.

[ConteBlecio]

Hi 0rpheus, thank you.
Seems to be going much better.
AF-4x AA-8x
Is correct? or u mean 8xQ?

Although with 16 in AA and AF appeared only turn quickly (what was happening earlier).
The values ***8203;***8203;of 16 or higher than those you suggested are appropriate only on a computer more powerful? Or SH4 does not would take advantage them anyway?

Thanks again.

[0rpheus]

Anti-aliasing removes the 'jagged lines' on a rendered image; Anisotropic Filtering is a lighting effect. Both are reasonably heavy in terms of GPU/CPU useage depending on the level you set them at; higher levels mean more performance impact.

'8xQ' and '8x' are two different types of Anti-aliasing. With the current Nvidia architecture, '8x' provides 8x AA at the performance cost of 4x AA, due to a number of improvements.

'8xQ' and '16xQ' (in fact any AA with 'Q' at the end) uses a different aliasing process - much better quality, but also a much higher performance hit. Avoid using these options unless you have a really powerful PC.

If you still get stuttering, continue to reduce the options until it stops. You may find something like 2x AA and 2x AF allow you to increase the texture setting back to full, you'll just have to see what works best for you.

*As a side note, 'Texture filtering - Quality: High quality' is the maximum texture quality setting for your GPU. If this is in your 'global settings' it will be applied to all games, all the time - you might find dropping the setting one notch to 'quality' helps not only in SH4, but in all other games as well.

[stanger]

ConteBlecio, with your graphic card you should be able to run SH4 with absolutely maximum settings (in game) and all "fireworks" turned on in nvidia control panel (even with your CPU being a bottleneck to that GPU). That means 16x AF (it makes the game look sharper and helps reducing aliasing), but 4xAA (if you want to retain sun halo) and ambient occlusion set to very high in inspector. Take a look few posts above for good inspector settings (AO and AA compatibility bits being quite important).
Try to turn off triple buffering - I know from my own experience it gives a lot of stutter. I also learnt that SH4 is, for some reason, very sensitive to vsync settings, so dont touch any of it, just turn it on (or off) in game, not in inspector (pointless).
There is also new setting in inspector (with 300 series drivers) that allows you to limit your fps to a value you want, I use 73 with 75Hz desktop refresh rate - help to reduce stuttering and mouse lag a little bit.
And, as usual, keep your system clean, defragmented, watch for overheating and dont run any unnecessary programs in background when playing.

[artao]

First off, let me request please that someone update the first post in this thread to indicate CLEARLY that nHancer is NOT for cards newer than the 400 series. .. I almost went ahead and installed it, but fortunately read the installer readme .. then came back here to discover Inspector .. I've got a GTX560 Ti you see, with the 301.42 drivers. That coulda gone badly.

Secondly, I jumped to the end here after reading that first post. Glad I did. Soon to try Inspector here. I had no idea nVidia cards had these AA .. issues .. frankly I bought the card for CUDA and GPGPU rendering in 3D software. Gaming with it is just a bonus. =D

Thirdly, I gotta point out an error just a couple posts above: Orpheus said that "Anisotropic Filtering is a lighting effect." and I'm afraid that just is not true. I believe Orpheus must be confusing anisotropic SHADING with anisotropic filtering. Filtering is used in games to remove texturing errors, like moire lines in the distance on a regular grid. :: In general it comes with virtually no FPS hit, so you should generally have it set at 16x, unless that causes problems with any specific games. ::http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anisotropic_filtering
Anisotropic shading, on the other hand, is "kinda" a lighting effect, in that it relates to how light reflects off a surface. It's the effect you get on, say, a flat disk of brushed metal: instead of a point-like specular highlight, you get an line of specular highlighting along the surface. It is generally not anything gamers need to concern themselves with, at it is primarily a setting in 3D rendering applications. Games use it, sure, but it's not a "setting" the player has any control over. :: http://www.3drender.com/glossary/anisotropic.htm

that is all ... except .. is there a thread specific to SH3 for this? or is posting here fine for SH3 on nVidia? ... Not realizing the intricacies of nVidia AA, I just set my brand new card right to 32x AA and was rather shocked to see nasty jaggies on ships in the distance and crawling on bright highlights (windows, waves, etc) D'OH!!! ... I would MUCH rather have AA over the sun glare. I can live without sun glare, but I gotta be able to make out as much detail as possible on ships 20km away .. trying to determine angle on bow when you can barely even make out the masts is nigh impossible.

[stanger]

nvidia is usualy good at updating their drivers with games profiles, but, except for SH3, there is no profile for SH4 and 5, so we need to create one manually. And even build in SH3 profile doesnt have AA compatibility bits, so that must be added too (with inspector). With right compatibility bits you can make AA to work in SH games (even 16xAA, thats max I can use on my GPU, so dont know about 32x). But, of course, you loose sun halo (and the smoke is thinner) with more than 4xAA and gamma correction - on. You can use 4xAA only and make up for it with FXAA (build in drivers) or SMAA (separate injector).

[Dorjun Driver]

Perhaps one of you nVidia gurus can help me out. I’m running SH4 1.5 with a GTS 450 (overclocked to 930x2075) w/1024 MB dual monitor rig. The box is running Win7 64-bit Pro on top of an AMD II x4 975 w/8 GB. Prior to running SH4, I disable the secondary monitor via Realtime Soft’s Ultramon and use the 1920x1080 primary.

Installed mods are TMO 2.5, 3000 Yard Bearing Tool, and Bigger Better Protractors.

My problem is severe color banding. The banding is most noticeable at night with clouds, moon, and/or light fog.

Are there any tweaks available through nVidia Inspector that might alleviate the issue, or does the GTS 450 simply not have enough umph.

Thanks,
Dorj

[Dorjun Driver]

The screen shot doesn’t do the problem justice. I’ve increased the gamma a bit to highlight the issue.

[She-Wolf]

aha! so pleased to see this thread. I used nHancer in SH3 and found it a great treasure, but as artao has mentioned, it ceased to be useful for later cards, and me not really understanding about graphics settings ( though TweakGuides did help), I have not dared to 'fiddle' with graphics properties since. Now I discover Nvidia Inspector ( thank you DD!) and am keen to try some of the suggestions offered here - but is there a 'return to default setting' option if I get unexpected results do you know? I ask because I got some very weird effects when I fiddled with SH4 after it first came out, and had to re-install as I could not find a way to get rid of them.

Overall I am pretty happy with how the game looks on my machine ( 64bit, Geforce GTS 250), and the only bit that bothers me a tad, is the effect of 'birds in the rigging', where the straight lines of the rigging get broken up into blocks or dashes. It isn't a huge bother in SH4 - and compared to how Vanilla SH3 looked before any tweaks, hardly noticeable - but I DO notice and it spoils the immersion a bit. Can you please tell me which setting I need to change to address this particular issue? Thank you!

[Dorjun Driver]

Once you’ve developed a profile you like—or don’t—with Inspector, you can set things back to “normal” by simply removing the sh4.exe application from the profile. Or if you really hate what you’ve done, delete the entire profile.

I wish I were able to recommend some settings for your GPU, but I haven’t the foggiest notion what I’m doing with the damn thing. Using input from this thread and dumb luck, I've hit on a combination that works for me. So far.

GTS 450 (with some overclocking)
Driver r310_00-222

[She-Wolf]

thank you DD. I got brave and changed some of the settings as recommended on this thread - and it all looks good, so I am happy