Suggested Graphics Settings

[CaptSopwith 26]

I've been doing a bit of reading here on the forum lately and I've noticed several different approaches to the graphics set up in P3. So I thought I'd post my system specs and see what the graphics tweaking gurus might have to offer.

 

Gateway FX 7024 Desktop PC

Intel Core 2 Quad Core @ 2.40ghz

3GB RAM

nVidia GeForce 8800GT Factory Overclocked

Windows Vista SP2

 

I've been running OFF at 1440x900 with 2x anisotropic filtering and 4x anti-aliasing. My CFS3config is set to: Overall = 5 Terrain = 4 Scenery = 3 Effects = 4 and Clouds = 1.

 

So, any suggestions or am I on the right track? It runs pretty smooth with some minor lag over large cities or during incredibly intense furballs, but otherwise I can't complain. But you know us PC users, we want to squeeze every last ounce of detail without sacrificing performance.

[Test Pilot 0]

Use nhancer and see if you can crank up the AA and AF since the game is more CPU dependent than GPU. Modern CPUs still are stretched by the flight sim engine but usually a modern GPU has a lot of headroom relatively. Im running a 2.2ghz quad and a 9800gtx+ and have my settings at 5 except for terrain and scenery at 2. But my AA is set at 16xS and the AF is at 4x. I for one prefer to have the clouds and effects maxed out while "sacrificing" a bit on the terrain. Backing off the scenery and terrain will thus help smooth it out while letting you use higher settings for the other stuff. Also, be sure to lock the frame rates to something like 20-30 to help smooth things out if that's a concern.

Edited July 15, 2009 by Test Pilot

[Check Six 2]

I have still got to install OFF on my new computer, but I'm certain it will handle everything adequately, as I got the best setup that my "computer guy" could find. It runs pretty good on my old computer, and that's saying something. I will be installing it this weekend, as I got the weekend off ( Yay!)

 

I'm afraid all the figures quoted here are mostly over my head, but I'm curious about "anisotropic filtering" and "anti-aliasing". Can anyone enlighten me as to what is being referred to? What should I set these to on my rig?

 

Intel Core 2 Quad Q9650 CPU.

Kingston 4GB DDR2 800 RAM.

3300GB 10KRPM SATA Hard Disk.

Nvidia 1.792GB GTX295 PCI Express Card.

 

What should I set my sliders to? I plan on maxing them all out and then winding them back if I need to.

 

Thank you

[HomeBoy 1]

Steve,

Here are my settings. Rabu helped me get this optimized and was the first time I started getting 50+ fps. Yours and my machines are not so different that this might work for you as well. If nothing else, it gives you a decent starting place.

 

 

[CaptSopwith 26]

I have still got to install OFF on my new computer, but I'm certain it will handle everything adequately, as I got the best setup that my "computer guy" could find. It runs pretty good on my old computer, and that's saying something. I will be installing it this weekend, as I got the weekend off ( Yay!)

 

I'm afraid all the figures quoted here are mostly over my head, but I'm curious about "anisotropic filtering" and "anti-aliasing". Can anyone enlighten me as to what is being referred to? What should I set these to on my rig?

 

Intel Core 2 Quad Q9650 CPU.

Kingston 4GB DDR2 800 RAM.

3300GB 10KRPM SATA Hard Disk.

Nvidia 1.792GB GTX295 PCI Express Card.

 

What should I set my sliders to? I plan on maxing them all out and then winding them back if I need to.

 

Thank you

 

I can give you some insight in anisotropic filtering and anti-aliasing. As for the rest, I'll need the experts to come in.

 

Anisotropic filtering increases detail at a distance by smoothing out textures - basically it reduces the shimmering effect you see at distance. In other words, when you're flying and looking towards the horizon, the terrain will appear smoother and should look significantly crisper. You should be able to see more detail at a further distance.

 

Anti-aliasing smooths out what a lot of people call "jaggies" on screen. The easiest way to notice is to look at your upper wing. With no anti-aliasing, the wing will be drawn as a series of jagged lines to create the shape. Anti-aliasing is your graphics card's way of smoothing that out to give the appearance of one smooth line, rather than a series of jagged lines. Again, it creates a crisper, sharper picture that gives you more detail. The sacrifice made by both of these options is of course frame rate. So there's a compromise to be struck between graphic prettiness and smoothness of gameplay.

 

Hope that helps!

[HomeBoy 1]

Sorry, I realize now I didn't answer Steve's question. Thanks for that CaptSopwith!

[Check Six 2]

Mark and Capt. Sopwith,

 

Thanks for your help. With those nuggets of information, I'm certain I'll be up and running again in no time, and looking MUCH better than ever.

 

Helpful as always. You guys are great.

 

PS. Mark, you didn't HAVE to answer my question. It was basically in two parts. Just what was this alien language referring to, and how do I set up MY particular rig to optimise the graphics. You did (as usual) an outstanding job on answering the second part. Whether anyone cared to answer what these two parameters meant was truly immaterial if you showed me how to optimise the graphics.

Edited July 15, 2009 by Steve Drew

[CaptSopwith 26]

Holy Cow!

 

Mark, I just went through and implemented your settings. I dialed a few things back accordingly as my rig isn't quite as powerful as your setup and the results have been nothing short of remarkable!

 

I'm not flying at my native resolution of 1680x1050 with your settings applied and I'm frequently running in the 50-60 fps territory! I was never that smooth with my more conservative settings. Dogfighting doesn't seem to be compromised. I did run a campaign mission and came across some seemingly inept Sopwith Tripes which we downed pretty easily. But I fired up a QC with some SE5's and some Fokker D7's and was quickly thrashed as usual. I don't see any sacrifice on the part of the AI's performance and the graphics are both stunning and smooth as silk. I owe you one mate, this is quite a change!

[HomeBoy 1]

Holy Cow!

 

Mark, I just went through and implemented your settings. I dialed a few things back accordingly as my rig isn't quite as powerful as your setup and the results have been nothing short of remarkable!

 

I'm not flying at my native resolution of 1680x1050 with your settings applied and I'm frequently running in the 50-60 fps territory! I was never that smooth with my more conservative settings. Dogfighting doesn't seem to be compromised. I did run a campaign mission and came across some seemingly inept Sopwith Tripes which we downed pretty easily. But I fired up a QC with some SE5's and some Fokker D7's and was quickly thrashed as usual. I don't see any sacrifice on the part of the AI's performance and the graphics are both stunning and smooth as silk. I owe you one mate, this is quite a change!

 

Great to hear CS.

 

But.......

Don't give me credit for this. Your thanks goes to Rabu who worked with me to get these settings. He and I have almost identical machines and was reporting 50s+ fps and I was lucky to see 25 at best at the time. I was really discouraged and he went the extra mile to help me.

 

Regardless of credit, I am really glad you've gotten tuned up!

 

regards

-mark

[CaptSopwith 26]

Great to hear CS.

 

But.......

Don't give me credit for this. Your thanks goes to Rabu who worked with me to get these settings. He and I have almost identical machines and was reporting 50s+ fps and I was lucky to see 25 at best at the time. I was really discouraged and he went the extra mile to help me.

 

Regardless of credit, I am really glad you've gotten tuned up!

 

regards

-mark

 

Mark,

 

That definitely sounds like Rabu to me. I've known him since the old Red Baron II days - that's the kind of guy he is. Regardless, thanks to you both - the performance increase has made this a whole new sim. I just watched a wingman of mine engage a Sopwith Tripe on the deck. The tripe kept weaving, trying to avoid being hit, and all I could see was my wingman and a stream of tracer rounds whizzing towards his target at 60fps. Fantastic stuff.

[Check Six 2]

Right, uncleal. I'll cancel my order for that Kray 2 then. Damn. Felt sure that that one could handle it. Maybe it will do the trick if I put all the sliders on 1.

 

Thanks for the heads-up. Your information was....umm....useful. It would have been even more so if you could remember if it was terrain or scenery that no computer on earth could handle on 5.

 

Devs, why did you make such detailed scenery if no computer on earth could handle it?

 

(or...could uncleal be wrong?)

 

[sitting_duck 3]

homeboy...wow...those settings are definatly not "norm" to say the least. But you have always been right in the past, so will try them out....

 

But wondering why you set antialising in the game, and not in your nvidai control panel (assuming from your settings your nvidia)

 

and that last pic, is that a nvidia application?

 

 

lol..oh,,,,says nvidia in your signature,,,,never notiece that...

Edited July 16, 2009 by sitting_duck

[HomeBoy 1]

...

But wondering why you set antialising in the game, and not in your nvidai control panel (assuming from your settings your nvidia)

...

 

Howdy SD,

Yeah, that's a strange one. It is a special nVidia mode called CSAA (Coverage Sampling Anti-Ailising). nVidia claims it is faster than SSAA (Super Sampling) and better quality than MSAA (Multi Sampling). It took Rabu to help me figure out how to set it and it did seem to give a bit better quality with no appreciable hit in performance. If you get bored and want to read the thread we exchanged, you can look here:

 

http://forum.combatace.com/index.php?showt...5&hl=nvidia

 

As for using my settings, keep in mind that this is for MY system with an nVidia card. Your mileage may vary. I have been surprised though that several people have tried my (Rabu's actually) settings and have gotten remarkable results.

 

Hope you see great results!

[Broadside uda Barn 0]

As for using my settings, keep in mind that this is for MY system with an nVidia card. Your mileage may vary. I have been surprised though that several people have tried my (Rabu's actually) settings and have gotten remarkable results.

 

Hope you see great results!

 

Homeboy, I finally got rid of all my white triangles when using TrackIR with yours and Rabu's settings.

However, my system is quite a bit more powerful as is my video card:

i920

260 GTX 896mb nvidia gfx

 

can you recommend any settings that I might be able to change in order to get better graphics/results?

[+Polovski 460]

Great thread. BTW "disable in cloud effect" just stops you getting the foggy effect when in a cloud, not sure it enhances speed to turn that off, probably best to leave it on unless you feel a difference as it looks good :)

As uncleal says

 

My sliders are

5

5

4 Terrain

4 Scenery

5

5

 

Don't do 5's on terrain (maybe scenery but not much point).

[HomeBoy 1]

Great advice there Pol! Thank you for that.

 

My settings are sort of a "sweetspot" for machines like mine anyway but I don't understand some of the settings. I just followed Rabu's lead. It's always helpful to review them once in a while.

[Check Six 2]

Homeboy,

 

I installed OFF on my new computer (YAY!) and took it for a quick spin. It worked fine, then I started "messing" with the graphics and now it doesn't recognise my CD. I set the graphics just as rabu suggested to you, and since then it has all gone "pear shaped".

 

Could it be the new 1.3L version? I'll uninstall and take baby steps but it's 5 am now, and I'm bushed.

 

The new install worked fine. Then I messed with the graphics, then I downloaded the updates. Maybe that's it. My DVD says it's version 1.0. As far as I could work out from reading posts here and stickies, I just needed to upgrade to 1.3, then 1.3c. Is that right? (Of course, then I should upgrade to 1.3L for the latest, but it was working fine with 1.3c on my old beast...thought I'd mess with the graphics a bit then upgrade to latest).

 

I get an error message "Please insert the correct CD-ROM, select OK and restart application". Then "Patch DLL Error: game terminated prematurely. Patch memory sync: Done: Terminated Process () failed (5)"

 

Has anyone else encountered this?

[HomeBoy 1]

Checksix,

Fiddling with graphics should not affect the installation of the game or make the CD unrecognizable.

 

It is true that you need to patch your way up to 1.3c before you go to 1.3L. I don't recall if there is a direct upgrade path to 1.3c but the readme should clear that up for you.

 

Good luck!

[+Polovski 460]

Sounds like something became corrupt.

 

 

Check the instructions on the download page on our website, spent a fair bit of time on that so it should make some sense :)

 

http://www.overflandersfields.com/Downloads.htm

 

 

 

Important install notes:

 

If you have V1.28a or earlier installed: Grab ALL of these patches and install in order.

So install 1.30 then 1.30c then 1.31L then any optional DM if used.

 

If you have V1.30 : You need BOTH minipatches installed. So install 1.30c then 1.31L

Then any optional DM if used. .

 

If you have V1.30c already installed: Just download the 1.31L minipatch and apply that!

No need for DM reinstall if you used any optional.

[Check Six 2]

Thanks Homeboy and Pol,

 

I'll try an uninstall/reinstall/update, check it's all working, then start tweaking the graphics.

[Broadside uda Barn 0]

Thanks Homeboy and Pol,

 

I'll try an uninstall/reinstall/update, check it's all working, then start tweaking the graphics.

 

 

Steve/Check (how did you change your login name?), I just did an uninstall and reinstall/update a few hours ago. Yes, load it, try it, then start tweaking.

 

For reference, I have been tweaking my settings and have some outstanding results.

 

first of all specs:

i920

6GB RAM (3GB recognized by XP)

260 GTX nvidia with 896mb

 

I started with HomeBoy and Condor's settings. Got regular 60 FPS, for some reason only 32 or so at take off. and 51+ when looking at the ground from the air. Smooth. No jaggies or white triangles.

 

 

Then I upped the graphics settings to

5

5

4

4

5

5

and got a few white triangles when looking at my 6 using TrackIR. It only happened with a FAST SNAP turn of my neck. Slower turns resulted in barely any white triangles/outline, if at all.

FPS was close:

53 while flying, 49 in combat, 25 at takeoff, and 40 looking at the ground while flying.

 

 

Then, I kept those settings and went into Control Panel for the nvidia card and chose:

Override Application setting (was set on enhance).

I put the A. Filtering from 8x to 16x

 

Now, with these settings I was back to 60 fps while flying, 27at takeoff, and 40 while looking at the ground. No white triangles or outlines AT ALL! No matter how fast I turned, it looked great.

Keep in mind that I have Vsync turned on....hate to do it, but have LCD monitors, so they wont go over 60 anyways.

 

 

I have a feeling that I could get more out of this, with more tweaking, but I'm super happy with the FANTASTIC graphics and FPS results.

 

I hope this helps someone...Start with homeboys recommendations and go up from there, depending on your rig.

 

BuB

[Check Six 2]

Please try to have one alter ego as it becomes rather difficult to determine who's an arsehole and who isn't . .

 

uncleal,

 

I DO have just one alter-ego. If you had noticed, I first used my real name as a log in. THIS "handle" is an alter-ego, and my only one.

[Check Six 2]

Homeboy, rabu, BuB,

 

I did a complete uninstall/install and upgrade, and everything went just fine. So I started tweaking the graphics a bit, and put my settings the same as Homeboy's.

 

Unfortunately, I'm not getting those sorts of figures. The only difference between Mark's settings and mine is the terrain and Scenery settings...he has them set at 3, Pol has his at 4. I thought I had a pretty decent sort of machine, and could handle the 4's. I'll crank them back to 3's and see if that brings my frame rate up. Mind you, it's not pathetic...I'm getting high 30's low 40's most of the time, and down to a 17 in low-level (treetop) combat with two enemies.

[HomeBoy 1]

Homeboy, rabu, BuB,

 

I did a complete uninstall/install and upgrade, and everything went just fine. So I started tweaking the graphics a bit, and put my settings the same as Homeboy's.

 

Unfortunately, I'm not getting those sorts of figures. The only difference between Mark's settings and mine is the terrain and Scenery settings...he has them set at 3, Pol has his at 4. I thought I had a pretty decent sort of machine, and could handle the 4's. I'll crank them back to 3's and see if that brings my frame rate up. Mind you, it's not pathetic...I'm getting high 30's low 40's most of the time, and down to a 17 in low-level (treetop) combat with two enemies.

 

This is a curious problem Steve.

 

I was experiencing exactly what you speak of when rabu first helped me arrive at the settings I've posted. I was resigning that the 30's-40's and occasional 17's were going to be the best I was going to be able to get. That's when rabu came along and showed screenshots of his machine running near 60 consistently. At first, I was certain that he had some monster computer. It turned out that his was not quite as powerful as mine!

 

There is obviously some "sweetspot" that you haven't hit upon and unfortunately (but not surprising) is not the same settings I use. I do think it is interesting how close my settings are to the default. That's a good starting point I think. I suggest you begin making single changes at a time taking notes on what you've changed and see how much difference that makes. Start all over (i.e., go back to defaults) often and try different approaches.

 

Sorry, I know I'm not being much help here. Maybe you'll get lucky as I did and have someone step forward that has a machine similar to yours that is running well.

 

Wish you the best!

-mark

[Check Six 2]

At the moment there's but one, but in your 'Past Life' you weren't 'Check Six' either, unless of course there is another

 

Vice President ( Special Projects ) Australian WWI Aero Historian

 

Running Around on the Lose . .

 

uncleal,

 

An alter ego is "another personality". I used my real name Steve Drew when I first joined here. This nickname I'm using is an alter ego. ergo....ONE alter ego.

 

Sheesh. Is that OK with you?

 

I'm not hiding or anything. If I was, I'd probably remove my name from my signature block. That's a dead giveaway. It seemed like I was out of place, the only one using my real name. Is it ok with you if I try to blend in, or do I have to change it back to please you?

 

 

 

There IS another Vice President of the Australian Society of WW1 Aero Historians, but he is Vice President (Administration)...John Goble, son of WW1 ace and Sqn Leader Stanley James Goble.