[TWEAKS] Improve your Dungeon Defenders

[ajilejay]

*UPDATED*! New Config!

What are we trying to improve?
Slight decrease in load times.
Slight increase in graphic quality.
Eliminate or greatly reduce screen tearing.
May slightly increase FPS no guarantee though.

Console Commands: (Not Tested)
FOV [degrees] - Changes the Field of View to the specified degrees

Step 1: Go to:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\dungeon defenders\UDKGame\Config

Step 2: Copy and Paste this file as a back up in case something goes wrong. Now open the original file.
UDKEngine.ini

Step 3:
Key
Red = Best Quality (If this causes low FPS drop to orange settings)
Orange = High Quality {at least GFX with DX10}(If this causes low FPS use only yellow settings)
Yellow = Better Quality {GFX cards with DX9 DX10 DX11}

Scroll down nearly to the bottom and find
[SystemSettings]
Trilinear=True <-(Can't find it? That's because you have to add it in)
UseVsync=True
Fullscreen=True
MaxAnisotropy=16 or 12
MaxMultisamples=16 or 4
bEnableBranchingPCFShadows=True
bAllowBetterModulatedShadows=True
bEnableForegroundShadowsOnWorld=True
bEnableForegroundSelfShadowing=True
ParticleLODBias=-1

Step 4:Scroll up to the section above to
[TextureStreaming]
PoolSize=320
HysteresisLimit=20
DropMipLevelsLimit=16
StopIncreasingLimit=12
StopStreamingLimit=8
MinEvictSize=12
MinFudgeFactor=.5
FudgeFactorIncreaseRateOfChange=0.5
FudgeFactorDecreaseRateOfChange=-0.4
MinRequestedMipsToConsider=11
MinTimeToGuaranteeMinMipCount=0
MaxTimeToGuaranteeMinMipCount=0
UseTextureFileCache=TRUE
LoadMapTimeLimit=4.0
LightmapStreamingFactor=0.04
MaxLightmapRadius=2000.0
AllowStreamingLightmaps=False

Step 5:
Save UDKEngine.ini

Step 6:
Right click UDKEngine.ini and click properties check the Read Only box.
*Note* This is just to keep steam from restoring the default settings. To modify, delete, or change the file in any way you will have to uncheck the Read Only box.

Step 7: Run the Game

Step 8: Post your results! or at least give rating

*Additional Notes*
*bump*
I'd also add that using MLAA (Morphological Anti-aliasing (http://sites.amd.com/us/game/technology/Pages/morphological-aa.aspx)) on my AMD card made the biggest visual improvement, getting rid of all the jaggies on the black outlines around everything. Regular AA does not work with Unreal Engine games, right?
To disable outline you have to modify:
GraphicsQualityMode=
from 2 or 1 to 0.

This will disable outline, but also shadows and other little things such as lens flares.
Make sure your game is set on High or Medium from the Launcher.

Hope it helps. :)

[Euphytose]

I won't change settings there but thanks for reminding me of this "mousesmoothing=true" which is a total pain.

Disabled now.

[DarkenX]

Isn't there a risk of breaking something important when attempting this kind of thing? x-x'

[Satoru]

Isn't there a risk of breaking something important when attempting this kind of thing? x-x'

Yes.

Which is why Step 2 clearly states "MAKE A BACKUP" :D

But it won't fry your video card or anything. Worse case the game won't launch.

[ajilejay]

Isn't there a risk of breaking something important when attempting this kind of thing? x-x'

Not as long as you make a backup. Worst case scenario, you don't make a back up and something goes wrong. You have to verify file integrity or delete and re-download dungeon defenders. Either way make a backup to prevent such things!

[clouden]

files in '\dungeon defenders\Engine\Config' should never be edited. Instead edit the files in '\dungeon defenders\UDKGame\Config' for a better result and no need for read-only crap.

[ajilejay]

files in '\dungeon defenders\Engine\Config' should never be edited. Instead edit the files in '\dungeon defenders\UDKGame\Config' for a better result and no need for read-only crap.

He is correct sorry I copied the wrong file path, However often Steam will restore the setting to the default settings. Selecting Read Only will prevent this.

If you already followed the instructions restore the original from the backup you made by deleting the modified file and restoring the copied files original name. Sorry for the inconvenience this is a work in progress for the benefit of the Dungeon Defenders Community.

[ajilejay]

Ok it seems to work very well for me a noticeable improvement has been made please post you results to verify.

[Omnigoose]

I've been forcing settings through Inspector, but will give this a go. (The jaggies killed my eyes at first, unfortunately 16Q brings the game down to around 30-40 fps with a GTX 580, though 8xcsaa was fine.)

[ajilejay]

I've been forcing settings through Inspector, but will give this a go. (The jaggies killed my eyes at first, unfortunately 16Q brings the game down to around 30-40 fps with a GTX 580, though 8xcsaa was fine.)

This should probably help you out, again you may have to adjust the filter settings but even with no changes to them it is a noticeable improvement.

[boojangels]

Is there a way to turn off the heavy auto aim?

[ajilejay]

Is there a way to turn off the heavy auto aim?

I don't think so.There might be a way to change the range of it but I wouldn't know where to look.

[graspee]

I've been forcing settings through Inspector, but will give this a go. (The jaggies killed my eyes at first, unfortunately 16Q brings the game down to around 30-40 fps with a GTX 580, though 8xcsaa was fine.)

What is wrong with people these days? 30 fps is fine. I have no idea when this silliness started when people were demanding a minimum of like 60 fps...

[Kerotan]

Is there more commands to change to improve performance? Some to change texture quality or something like that

[Omnigoose]

This should probably help you out, again you may have to adjust the filter settings but even with no changes to them it is a noticeable improvement.

You were certainly right about that man! Thanks a bunch. It runs beautifully, and looks a million times better.

I had one issue though: I set Multisamples to 16 (After being dissatisfied with 8), and still couldn't bare the jaggies, so I went back to forcing 8xCSAA (along with TSS AA x2 which I can't be sure works.) which indeed looks a hundred times better - it is immediately noticeable upon loading the menu.

I changed my shadow settings to this

ShadowFilterQualityBias=1
MaxAnisotropy=16
MaxMultisamples=16
MinShadowResolution=4096
MaxShadowResolution=4096
MaxWholeSceneDominantShadowResolution=4096
ShadowFadeResolution=1024

I had the 4096 all set to 8192 and it worked just the same, however with no noticeable quality gain, and what seemed to be even worse pop-in than before.

Is there more commands to change to improve performance? Some to change texture quality or something like that

You can look at the settings, and most will be somewhat obvious as to what they alter. If you are unsure of how to change it, or what to change it to if at all, then google the setting, and that should lead you to a tweak guide. Scratch that - http://www.tweakguides.com/UT3_8.html

[Torgul]

STICKY THIS PLEASE.

[DarkenX]

Step 4 cannot be done in UDKEngine.ini for there is no section marked as such.

[ajilejay]

Yes it is. It is right above [SystemSettings]

[DarkenX]

I just tried to find it again, nothing there. I even used the Find feature and there is nothing in there from under that list nor is there that section header anywhere to be found. Also, Step 3 had no noticable effect once applied.

[ceemeeir]

What is wrong with people these days? 30 fps is fine. I have no idea when this silliness started when people were demanding a minimum of like 60 fps...

Because 30 fps is nowhere near continuous.
I guess you think it would be fine because it is fine for Movies, and that kind of entertainment.
Well, the difference between the two is movies use 1 black, 2 picture technique, and the 2 picture is somewhat meshed together.
If they were photo sharp, you would feel it tearing too, and this is the issue with PC. each frame is sharp, so you need as much frame as your monitor can handle.

[Torgul]

Any luck on adjusting FOV or camera distance from character in the 1st view mode?

[graspee]

Because 30 fps is nowhere near continuous.
I guess you think it would be fine because it is fine for Movies, and that kind of entertainment.
Well, the difference between the two is movies use 1 black, 2 picture technique, and the 2 picture is somewhat meshed together.
If they were photo sharp, you would feel it tearing too, and this is the issue with PC. each frame is sharp, so you need as much frame as your monitor can handle.

I have no idea what you are talking about with movies- maybe you're referring to interlacing.

25-30 FPS is fine and looks smooth. You definitely do not need to have the FPS the same as your monitor refresh rate in order to look smooth because I'm looking at it on my pc. There is no tearing. The refresh rate is 60 Hz and the FPS is 25-30 and it looks really smooth.

[Torgul]

I won't change settings there but thanks for reminding me of this "mousesmoothing=true" which is a total pain.

Disabled now.

where did you find that setting?

[spartan0078]

What is wrong with people these days? 30 fps is fine. I have no idea when this silliness started when people were demanding a minimum of like 60 fps...

Not sure if serious, I know people say the human eye cannot discern 30FPS from 60FPS but you can feel it in the way a game handles. I prefer to at least have 45FPS and above.

*EDIT* 25FPS is choppy as ♥♥♥♥ for me. Don't care what you say as I can feel it and it bothers me to no end. Almost like the games going in slow-motion.

[ajilejay]

I just tried to find it again, nothing there. I even used the Find feature and there is nothing in there from under that list nor is there that section header anywhere to be found. Also, Step 3 had no noticable effect once applied.

Please confirm you are looking in the right directory
C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\dungeon defenders\UDKGame\Config

Please Confirm you are using the right file
UDKEngine.ini

@Other posts
*Please* try to stay on topic, this should serve as a help guide for people trying to find the best settings. As well as confirmation that this has a positive effect. Please post your results or questions.

[Hi2u! Tw1TcH]

I know people say the human eye cannot discern 30FPS from 60FPS...

Generally, that's one of those silly facts that people read somewhere on the internet and belive its true.

Although you do have to keep in my mind the number of people that do not have 20/20 vision and play games without their glasses or contacts. Or sit at different distances from their monitors, and have different monitor sizes, running at different resolutions.

It also has something to do with the amount of time one has played PC games. A complete novice may not be able to tell the difference. A professional Quake player can probably spot the difference between 75 and 100 fps. Much like professional baseball players can spot the difference between a 80 and 90 mph fastball.

Also! it comes down to the specific settings used and even differs from game to game and engine to engine.


Offering generalized blanket statements about what the human eye can and cannot tell a difference between is for the most part an ignorant thing to do. At the end of the day it changes so much from game to game and person to person.

[ajilejay]

Can you all bring this discussion to a different thread you guys are hi-jacking my thread.

[Omnigoose]

ajilejay, I was just wondering if you experience any weird texture pop-in issues, or if it's just me?

Sorry for asking you directly, I figured it was at least relevant to the topic, and I didn't want to make a thread about it.

[Torgul]

Well I used all the settings you posted and the settings the other guy posted (shadow stuff) ... all worked ok here.

[Tigerhawk71]

Can the people arguing about FPS please be silent. Don't derail the thread with your useless barking.


Reporting in to say the changes gave a notable improvement to my dungeon defending experience.

[ajilejay]

ajilejay, I was just wondering if you experience any weird texture pop-in issues, or if it's just me?

Sorry for asking you directly, I figured it was at least relevant to the topic, and I didn't want to make a thread about it.

My best guess would be it was from resizing the shadow textures. Did you have texture pop-in with the unmodified config?

1.Reset the Shadow Texture to default. then test

2.If that doesn't work reset the whole ini to the backup. then test

3.Try
[TextureStreaming]
PoolSize=158
HysteresisLimit=20
DropMipLevelsLimit=16
StopIncreasingLimit=12
StopStreamingLimit=7
MinEvictSize=12
MinFudgeFactor=.5
FudgeFactorIncreaseRateOfChange=0.5
FudgeFactorDecreaseRateOfChange=-0.4
MinRequestedMipsToConsider=11
MinTimeToGuaranteeMinMipCount=0
MaxTimeToGuaranteeMinMipCount=0
UseTextureFileCache=TRUE

[ViciousXUSMC]

Instead of just increasing generic computer game settings to higher settings has anybody actually tested to see if they make any sort of good visual impact on the game?

Lets face it DD is not a very detailed game, this is not Crysis so manually increasing your AA to 16x or something is not really going to do anything for you.

A thread like this REALLY needs somebody willing to take the time and show you what your doing with before/after screenshots.

I helped with the tweaks on Dead Island and that game had some significant changes visually via tweaks but I also showed the tweaks beforehand in a video so people can see what they are changing before they do it.

[ajilejay]

Instead of just increasing generic computer game settings to higher settings has anybody actually tested to see if they make any sort of good visual impact on the game?

Lets face it DD is not a very detailed game, this is not Crysis so manually increasing your AA to 16x or something is not really going to do anything for you.

A thread like this REALLY needs somebody willing to take the time and show you what your doing with before/after screenshots.

I helped with the tweaks on Dead Island and that game had some significant changes visually via tweaks but I also showed the tweaks beforehand in a video so people can see what they are changing before they do it.

To me the difference is self evident you are free to do as you wish but I request you don't try to sabotage or derail the thread.

[ViciousXUSMC]

Im not im asking to improve the thread. Take the time to post screen shots to back up what you are advertising.

Its like telling somebody to buy a car before they get to test drive it or even see it in person.

[Torgul]

Im not im asking to improve the thread. Take the time to post screen shots to back up what you are advertising.

Its like telling somebody to buy a car before they get to test drive it or even see it in person.

A guys tried to be helpful ... and what does he get?

I found his info helpful w/o screens.

[ajilejay]

Im not im asking to improve the thread. Take the time to post screen shots to back up what you are advertising.

Its like telling somebody to buy a car before they get to test drive it or even see it in person.

It's nothing like that. Anyone that puts the time in to make the simple changes will reap the rewards those that don't won't. I'm not trying to sell anything here do, don't do it, it doesn't make a difference to me. I personally put the time in configuring the file and testing what worked best to me. It wasn't much extra effort to share my findings with the community so that's what I did.

[spartan0078]

Offering generalized blanket statements about what the human eye can and cannot tell a difference between is for the most part an ignorant thing to do. At the end of the day it changes so much from game to game and person to person.

I wasn't saying I agree with it, as I never have. I was just stating it because it's usually the fall back excuse for people that CAN'T see the difference. I can however notice the difference and it's because the of the reason you said, like length of time playing, not being a novice etc etc. As long as I get over 45FPS I'm happy, anything that gets around 30FPS and below really starts to give me a headache.

*EDIT* ON TOPIC. I don't notice a huge difference from the tweak guide, but I am getting an extra 15FPS from the tweaks so thanks for showing it!

[ajilejay]

bump.

[Rzep]

Is there any way to make the game zoom out without changing the control scheme? Or maybe an FOV option? The camera is way too close to the character for me.

[DarkenX]

Just change the two buttons required for zoom control. Not that hard.

On-Topic: It felt like a difference in FPS when I redid the steps, or at least I could swing the Squire's sword once every second while before it looked like he was swinging it through water. x-x Hope we can find more tweaks like this to make it even faster.

[ogboot]

Is there any way to make the game zoom out without changing the control scheme? Or maybe an FOV option? The camera is way too close to the character for me.

Scrolling with the wheel mouse does that, or are you trying to zoom out even farther?

[Omnigoose]

My best guess would be it was from resizing the shadow textures. Did you have texture pop-in with the unmodified config?

1.Reset the Shadow Texture to default. then test

2.If that doesn't work reset the whole ini to the backup. then test

3.Try
[TextureStreaming]
PoolSize=158
HysteresisLimit=20
DropMipLevelsLimit=16
StopIncreasingLimit=12
StopStreamingLimit=7
MinEvictSize=12
MinFudgeFactor=.5
FudgeFactorIncreaseRateOfChange=0.5
FudgeFactorDecreaseRateOfChange=-0.4
MinRequestedMipsToConsider=11
MinTimeToGuaranteeMinMipCount=0
MaxTimeToGuaranteeMinMipCount=0
UseTextureFileCache=TRUE

The problem was there from the get go,though seems to happen a tiny tiny bit more with the new settings. It only gets real bad if I make the shadowsres 8192. 4096 doesn't seem much different, if at all, from the default as far as the texture pop, or rather disappearing objects (including character) go.

[ajilejay]

The problem was there from the get go,though seems to happen a tiny tiny bit more with the new settings. It only gets real bad if I make the shadowsres 8192. 4096 doesn't seem much different, if at all, from the default as far as the texture pop, or rather disappearing objects (including character) go.

Might be incompatible drivers you should try a different one.

[Omnigoose]

Might be incompatible drivers you should try a different one.

I'm using 285.38, though perhaps I'll try a different set at some point this weekend. I don't mind the pop in too much, it's just a bit strange.

The pop in is directly related to the flickering of distant objects which isn't everywhere, or on all things.

[ajilejay]

did you try the LOD -1 setting i added it late?

[Omnigoose]

did you try the LOD -1 setting i added it late?

I did, but haven't tried it in an actual game. Just the menu/tavern. I still see the usual pop in, though for some reason after the patch it doesn't seem as bad.

To be honest with you I think I've narrowed it down to me forcing AA through inspector using Bioshock 2 flags. Setting that to default seemed to clear it up, but yuck.

[Rulzo]

bump for good info

edit: just put everything as high as it could on gtx 580 looks 10x better and runs at 60fps with vsync! Thanks

[Metro]

I'd give anything for a bigger FoV...

[LordHavoc01]

What is wrong with people these days? 30 fps is fine. I have no idea when this silliness started when people were demanding a minimum of like 60 fps...

Urgh
Call be a twitch gamer but...
I remember CRT monitors. And when 30fps were showing I could see them flicker something rotten. I just had to have the refresh and FPS maxed out. Even at 60 I felt like my eyeballs were vibrating.

Higher the better IMHO

[Chronomaly!]

I have no idea what you are talking about with movies- maybe you're referring to interlacing.

25-30 FPS is fine and looks smooth. You definitely do not need to have the FPS the same as your monitor refresh rate in order to look smooth because I'm looking at it on my pc. There is no tearing. The refresh rate is 60 Hz and the FPS is 25-30 and it looks really smooth.

Can't speak for others but below 30fps and I start feeling ill. I need 50-60 to play continuously for long periods of time.

[graspee]

I'm pretty sure at least one of you are confusing refresh rate and fps.

[Chronomaly!]

I'm pretty sure at least one of you are confusing refresh rate and fps.

I know I'm not. I always run games on at least 60Hz (120 when applicable) and that's never been an issue.

[graspee]

So is it impossible for you to watch a movie on your computer then? If you're watching a movie in windows movie player or smplayer or whatever movie player, full screen then it's showing at let's say 23.9 fps. How is this any different (in fact it should be worse) than playing a game at 30 fps?

[ajilejay]

Please take your FPS debate elsewhere.

[rowan_u]

This has no effect at all for me, I see no multisampling. Ditto goes for forcing via Nvidia Inspector. I'm using a GTX 480 SLI and driver 280.26. No luck unlocking the frame-rate either. Here's to hating the unreal engine.

Edit: I just looked at your screenshot. You aren't getting any multisampling either :) Unless it's hidden under that horrific edge shader.

[ogboot]

I've heard that AA is almost useless on games that use a cel-shaded type edge. Regardless, I did the tweak, including Omni's Shadow tweaks a couple posts from the top and if nothing else the shadows are much smoother now. I guess vsync worked, I had been getting some pretty awful tearing.
Another SLI user, GTX460's. Good guide, got a little visual improvement.

I saw an interesting variable, Detail Mode? Anyone can elaborate? it's set to 2.

[clouden]

This has no effect at all for me, I see no multisampling. Ditto goes for forcing via Nvidia Inspector. I'm using a GTX 480 SLI and driver 280.26. No luck unlocking the frame-rate either. Here's to hating the unreal engine.

Edit: I just looked at your screenshot. You aren't getting any multisampling either :) Unless it's hidden under that horrific edge shader.
I've heard that AA is almost useless on games that use a cel-shaded type edge.
From what I know, UE3 doesn't support AA even though it's configurable.

I saw an interesting variable, Detail Mode? Anyone can elaborate? it's set to 2.

This setting controls the additional details on various maps, such as fog, ice and dripping water. Lowering this value to 1 or 0 removes such additional effects, which can reduce atmosphere but may increase FPS and also may provide a gameplay advantage.

[Derek4Real412]

Works amazing for me thanks man +rep

[psyko12]

Nice post! Thank you for this, playing round with the config seemed to make my game less sluggish :)

[KyrenCross]

where did you find that setting?

Found the mouse smoothing in UDKInput.ini

[soullos]

Any way to cap the fps to whatever you want?

[Lurpsukka]

Didn't get anything out of those commands, waste of time.

[somerandom]

So I take it there is no mouse inversion tweak?

[lonfar]

Thanks work nicely for me +rep

[jsmucha]

-I don't even have loading times in this game. =]

[NanostrikeX]

-I don't even have loading times in this game. =]

Same here. The only thing even resembling load times is when it has to connect to a server.

[k3Ck]

Yay for vsync.

[ogboot]

This setting controls the additional details on various maps, such as fog, ice and dripping water. Lowering this value to 1 or 0 removes such additional effects, which can reduce atmosphere but may increase FPS and also may provide a gameplay advantage.

Ok, so what are the thresholds for it. Would setting it to say.. 5 be a problem? Moar Bettrz?

[DJ Cryotek]

*bump*

Could someone sticky this? ajilejay deleted the data in it from the DD forums for some reason.

I'd rather have everything here anyway, I hate having to sign up for yet another stupid forum when everything could just be here on Steam.

I'd also add that using MLAA (Morphological Anti-aliasing (http://sites.amd.com/us/game/technology/Pages/morphological-aa.aspx)) on my AMD card made the biggest visual improvement, getting rid of all the jaggies on the black outlines around everything. Regular AA does not work with Unreal Engine games, right?

[ajilejay]

Getting harassed by few different Trendy moderators for posting this in a my little pony troll's thread.
http://i43.tinypic.com/29mm0ig.png
And they say i'm the one who should be banned for inappropriate content.

[DJ Cryotek]

Getting harassed by few different mods for posting this in a my little pony troll's thread.
http://i43.tinypic.com/29mm0ig.png
LOL

I ended up going back to the original config... any time I got near fog/smoke effects (like the fog falling on the chests in level 2) my framerate would dip horribly. I switched the fog volumes value back to false, no effect. Think I just need to go through more carefully instead of changing it all at once lol.

It was subtle, but the game did look/feel more vibrant with all the changes you listed implemented.

[thatguyyouknow]

Does anyone know how to disable the outlines?

[DJ Cryotek]

It's Unreal engine, so possibly something similar to how it is done in Borderlands (http://borderlands.wikia.com/wiki/PC_Tweaks#Disable_outline_shader:)?

You know, I wouldn't want it gone, but I would like it a little less thick...? Like 3/4 its current width?

[ajilejay]

FYI your config was reset today.

[rowan_u]

It's Unreal engine, so possibly something similar to how it is done in Borderlands (http://borderlands.wikia.com/wiki/PC_Tweaks#Disable_outline_shader:)?

You know, I wouldn't want it gone, but I would like it a little less thick...? Like 3/4 its current width?

This would be very handy for 3dvision users also as the outlines are messing up 3d :(

[DAOWAce]

It's Unreal engine, so possibly something similar to how it is done in Borderlands (http://borderlands.wikia.com/wiki/PC_Tweaks#Disable_outline_shader:)?

You know, I wouldn't want it gone, but I would like it a little less thick...? Like 3/4 its current width?
Holy ♥♥♥♥, the outline removal in Borderlands actually looks amazing (aside from the general color tone shift and shadow emphasis removal, which suck).

I would so go back and actually play the game seriously with the border removed like that. I CANNOT STAND cartoon outlines in games. There's nothing wrong with the aesthetic of those games, but I personally loathe it and it detracts from the experience for me. (I never finished the 2009 Prince of Persia either, but hey, that was a pointless grind fest within itself.)

Dungeon Defenders has an incredibly massive outline which really needs to be reduced. Hopefully someone can figure out how to get rid of it (or hope the developers add in a slider for it).

As for the Field of View, definitely needs to be adjustable. There is a massive vision loss in a 16:10 resolution, but even then the FoV feels very narrow and zoomed in.

[rowan_u]

Holy ♥♥♥♥, the outline removal in Borderlands actually looks amazing (aside from the general color tone shift and shadow emphasis removal, which suck).

I would so go back and actually play the game seriously with the border removed like that. I CANNOT STAND cartoon outlines in games. There's nothing wrong with the aesthetic of those games, but I personally loathe it and it detracts from the experience for me. (I never finished the 2009 Prince of Persia either, but hey, that was a pointless grind fest within itself.)

Dungeon Defenders has an incredibly massive outline which really needs to be reduced. Hopefully someone can figure out how to get rid of it (or hope the developers add in a slider for it).

As for the Field of View, definitely needs to be adjustable. There is a massive vision loss in a 16:10 resolution, but even then the FoV feels very narrow and zoomed in.

The main thing I have against outlines (besides breaking 3d) is the amount of aliasing it adds to the scene. Unreal suffers enough from aliasing, without compounding the issue. I play Borderlands with the disable trick, and it looks SOOOO much better. On a positive note, Borderlands did eventually fix their outlines for 3d, way after we figured out how to disable them though :D

[Johnnykey]

This is useless, sorry.

You see, since the .inis are inside the game itself, everytime you do a cache check on Steam, it WILL revert the .inis back. So unless you wanna bother yourself everytime with replacing an .ini, this doesn't work for this game as it doesn't add .inis on a folder inside 'My Documents', like Borderlands.

And yeah, sorry if this has been mentioned already, I admit I didn't read the whole topic except for the first page.

[ajilejay]

This is useless, sorry.

You see, since the .inis are inside the game itself, everytime you do a cache check on Steam, it WILL revert the .inis back. So unless you wanna bother yourself everytime with replacing an .ini, this doesn't work for this game as it doesn't add .inis on a folder inside 'My Documents', like Borderlands.

And yeah, sorry if this has been mentioned already, I admit I didn't read the whole topic except for the first page.

No it hasn't been mentioned because you are wrong. It only resets when the game is patched. Feel free to not post in this thread especially if you have no clue what you are talking about and feel like being a ♥♥♥♥♥♥ based on that lack of knowledge. :D

[Arindel]

To disable outline you have to modify:
GraphicsQualityMode=
from 2 or 1 to 0.

This will disable outline, but also shadows and other little things such as lens flares.
Make sure your game is set on High or Medium from the Launcher.

Hope it helps. :)

[Johnnykey]

No it hasn't been mentioned because you are wrong. It only resets when the game is patched. Feel free to not post in this thread especially if you have no clue what you are talking about and feel like being a ♥♥♥♥♥♥ based on that lack of knowledge. :D

That's even worse. And thanks for showing in a total obvious way how lightly people should take your posts.

[DJ Cryotek]

Is there a performance guide for LOW END machines anywhere? I'd like to get this running on my netbook - it has a crappy Atom processor, but the Nvidia Ion graphics card is quite good. I can get about 15-20 fps on the lowest settings, but no better, and it's kind of laggy- not that fun to play. I'd like to manage at least 25-30. The CPU is definitely the bottleneck for the system (HP Mini 311), as I've noticed in most games that changing the video settings (effects/resolution) don't change the fps much.

[ajilejay]

Is there a performance guide for LOW END machines anywhere? I'd like to get this running on my netbook - it has a crappy Atom processor, but the Nvidia Ion graphics card is quite good. I can get about 15-20 fps on the lowest settings, but no better, and it's kind of laggy- not that fun to play. I'd like to manage at least 25-30. The CPU is definitely the bottleneck for the system (HP Mini 311), as I've noticed in most games that changing the video settings (effects/resolution) don't change the fps much.

No but I'm sure we could work something out.

[ajilejay]

Is there a performance guide for LOW END machines anywhere? I'd like to get this running on my netbook - it has a crappy Atom processor, but the Nvidia Ion graphics card is quite good. I can get about 15-20 fps on the lowest settings, but no better, and it's kind of laggy- not that fun to play. I'd like to manage at least 25-30. The CPU is definitely the bottleneck for the system (HP Mini 311), as I've noticed in most games that changing the video settings (effects/resolution) don't change the fps much.

Let's try this out. Let me know what you would like changed as well as performance increases / decreases.

[TextureStreaming]
PoolSize=320
HysteresisLimit=20
DropMipLevelsLimit=16
StopIncreasingLimit=12
StopStreamingLimit=8
MinEvictSize=12
MinFudgeFactor=0.5
FudgeFactorIncreaseRateOfChange=0.5
FudgeFactorDecreaseRateOfChange=-0.4
MinRequestedMipsToConsider=11
MinTimeToGuaranteeMinMipCount=0
MaxTimeToGuaranteeMinMipCount=0
UseTextureFileCache=TRUE
LoadMapTimeLimit=5.0
LightmapStreamingFactor=0.04
MaxLightmapRadius=2000.0
AllowStreamingLightmaps=False
SeamlessTravelLoadTextureStream=2.5

[SystemSettings]
StaticDecals=False
DynamicDecals=False
UnbatchedDecals=True
DecalCullDistanceScale=1.000000
DynamicLights=False
DynamicShadows=False
LightEnvironmentShadows=False
CompositeDynamicLights=True
SHSecondaryLighting=True
DirectionalLightmaps=True
MotionBlur=False
MotionBlurPause=True
DepthOfField=True
AmbientOcclusion=True
Bloom=True
UseHighQualityBloom=False
Distortion=False
FilteredDistortion=True
DropParticleDistortion=False
SpeedTreeLeaves=False
SpeedTreeFronds=False
OnlyStreamInTextures=False
LensFlares=False
FogVolumes=False
FloatingPointRenderTargets=True
OneFrameThreadLag=True
UseVsync=True
bRendererUsesOneThread=False
UpscaleScreenPercentage=True
Fullscreen=True
AllowD3D10=False
AllowRadialBlur=True
SkeletalMeshLODBias=0
ParticleLODBias=1
DetailMode=2
ShadowFilterQualityBias=0
MaxAnisotropy=0
MaxMultisamples=0
MinShadowResolution=32
MaxShadowResolution=512
MaxWholeSceneDominantShadowResolution=1344
ShadowFadeResolution=128
ShadowFadeExponent=2.200000
ResX=1920
ResY=1200
ScreenPercentage=100.000000
SceneCaptureStreamingMultiplier=1.000000
FoliageDrawRadiusMultiplier=1.000000
ShadowTexelsPerPixel=1.273240
PreShadowResolutionFactor=0.500000
bEnableVSMShadows=False
bEnableBranchingPCFShadows=False
bAllowBetterModulatedShadows=False
bEnableForegroundShadowsOnWorld=False
bEnableForegroundSelfShadowing=False
ShadowFilterRadius=2.000000
ShadowDepthBias=0.012000
ShadowVolumeLightRadiusThreshold=1000.000000
ShadowVolumePrimitiveScreenSpacePercentageThreshol d=0.250000
bAllowFracturedDamage=False

You will lose most of the lighting and shadowing effects. Hopefully the tradeoff is smoother gameplay.

[YahooElite]

No it hasn't been mentioned because you are wrong. It only resets when the game is patched. Feel free to not post in this thread especially if you have no clue what you are talking about and feel like being a ♥♥♥♥♥♥ based on that lack of knowledge. :D

Actually thats incorrect, Modified inis do revert to normal when you verify the cache.

And before you try to argue the fact, i do know what im talking about.

And DJ Cryotek, Netbooks are not meant for graphic games such as DD, tbh they arent meant for any type of graphic 3D game. Netbooks are meant for browsing,email, chatting and so forth, not gaming.

They simply arent powerful enough no matter what you do, keep in mind Netbooks are not Laptops, whereas Laptops have better specs than netbooks and can be used for gaming, Netbooks cannot.

Well they can, but the supreme lack of FPS is simply not worth it, and Netbooks dont meet ANY Minimum or Recommended specs for games.

[ajilejay]

Just ignore the trolls try out those changes and let me know the results. I could correct him but there is most likely another one waiting in line behind him. I don't really understand why they feel they have to post in this thread with no intention of being useful but then I remember oh to troll.

"Oh the problem is you need a new computer"

"Why thank you troll man! It never occurred to me that buying a new pc would solve my problems!"

[DJ Cryotek]

@Yahoo:
I know they aren't MEANT for gaming, I'm not an idiot. I build systems and I used to work at a computer store :p The HP Mini is an usual configuration, though, with the Nvidia graphics chip. It's somewhere between netbook and notebook, really (11.6", too).

Remember, DD's minimum specs are pretty low, it even runs on portable devices like the iPad:
Minimum:
OS: Windows XP
Processor: 1 Ghz Dual-Core CPU
Memory: 1 GB RAM
Hard Disk Space: 2GB
Video Card: Graphics Card with Shader Model 3 support, 256 MB video memory
DirectX®: 9.0c
The Atom N70 is a single-core 1.66ghz processor, which makes comparing difficult. The Nvidia Ion is adequate, supporting DX10, Shader Model 4, and over 256mb of DDR3 (it's mostly there to accelerate Win7 and play HD video)

So it's not a stretch for me to think it might be possible to get DD running at 30fps on very low settings on this system with some tweaking. It's close enough to try, anyway.

[DJ Cryotek]

@ajiejay:
Part of the fun with a little guy like my HP Mini is seeing what you can manage to pull off on it. I probably just need to ditch win7 and do a lite install of XP. It is just on the cusp of playing a LOT of games, that might give it just the edge it needs.

There are people obsessed with gaming on this model, overclocking it and doing other crazy stuff o_O

[ajilejay]

Yeah you are going to have to run the bare min on it either way. I think your biggest problem is freeing up the ram to do so.My DunDefGame.exe is currently taking up 750mb ram. If you can upgrade the ram it would probably come fairly cheap. Other than that yeah strip the graphics down as much as possible. Try that config it should take some load of the cpu.

[DJ Cryotek]

Yeah you are going to have to run the bare min on it either way. I think your biggest problem is freeing up the ram to do so.My DunDefGame.exe is currently taking up 750mb ram. If you can upgrade the ram it would probably come fairly cheap. Other than that yeah strip the graphics down as much as possible. Try that config it should take some load of the cpu.
I had 3GB DDR3 until one stick went bad. 2GB now, I'll be back to 3GB soon again, though. (it has 1GB integrated, and one empty slot).

Was going to tweak it now, but the school wireless is down and Steam won't start in offline mode (which makes me wonder WHAT THE POINT OF OFFLINE MODE IS IF IT DOESN'T WORK OFFLINE).

[YahooElite]

Just ignore the trolls try out those changes and let me know the results. I could correct him but there is most likely another one waiting in line behind him. I don't really understand why they feel they have to post in this thread with no intention of being useful but then I remember oh to troll.

"Oh the problem is you need a new computer"

"Why thank you troll man! It never occurred to me that buying a new pc would solve my problems!"

First of all, i was stating facts that Cryo was already aware of.

Second of all, I DID NOT SAY he would HAVE to buy a new system, Only stating that he may have issues actually playing it on a Netbook.

And yeah, for a netbook thats decent, but i still wouldnt expect much from it.

And actually buddy, i think my information was useful, especially about the part about the ini files returning to normal when you Verify the game cache(When not using Read Only).

Now do everyone a favor and stop trying to act like gods gift to modifying DD ini's and give everyone a break.

Thanks.

Oh, and considering how rude you are to people on here, the only troll here is you sir.

Get over yourself.

[DJ Cryotek]

Played a couple levels last night, it runs at about 20fps (http://www.cryotank.net/gallery/albums/pc-game-screenshots/various/ddnetbook01.jpg)on the lowest settings- playable for a game like this that is largely strategic, but not as fun. FPS fluctuates from 15-25... just need to keep it on the upper end. Note that I haven't done any .ini tweaks yet, just turned down the settings to the lowest. I suspect it will be like BlazBlue and other games, though- the CPU is the bottleneck, so changing graphics settings won't help that much.

@Yahoo:
Sorry if I came off as hostile, I thought it was obvious I was just tinkering around. I have a desktop I regularly play DD on, playing a little on the netbook would just be a bonus. As you can see, it's on the cusp of being playable, so fooling around with the settings might be worthwhile.

Side note:
Changing the settings to lowest and turning off post-processing seems to remove the black outlines. So it *is* possible, we just need to locate the proper setting to change.

[ogboot]

I'll double check my .ini when I get home, but I noticed that the DirectX 10 flag doesn't seem to make any difference. The game is still rendering as D3D9, confirmed by evga precision.

[ajilejay]

I'll double check my .ini when I get home, but I noticed that the DirectX 10 flag doesn't seem to make any difference. The game is still rendering as D3D9, confirmed by evga precision.

Yeah I had suspected so I didn't test every individual option some of them may have no effect. Thanks for posting your findings and being helpful. I removed it from the list.

[YahooElite]

Played a couple levels last night, it runs at about 20fps (http://www.cryotank.net/gallery/albums/pc-game-screenshots/various/ddnetbook01.jpg)on the lowest settings- playable for a game like this that is largely strategic, but not as fun. FPS fluctuates from 15-25... just need to keep it on the upper end. Note that I haven't done any .ini tweaks yet, just turned down the settings to the lowest. I suspect it will be like BlazBlue and other games, though- the CPU is the bottleneck, so changing graphics settings won't help that much.

@Yahoo:
Sorry if I came off as hostile, I thought it was obvious I was just tinkering around. I have a desktop I regularly play DD on, playing a little on the netbook would just be a bonus. As you can see, it's on the cusp of being playable, so fooling around with the settings might be worthwhile.

Side note:
Changing the settings to lowest and turning off post-processing seems to remove the black outlines. So it *is* possible, we just need to locate the proper setting to change.

Nah you were fine.

But are you getting that FPS in single player or in coop? cuz im sure in Coop itd be even less.

[DJ Cryotek]

Single player. No interest in playing co-op on the netbook anyway.

I did notice something odd on my desktop, though. I haven't played with anyone split-screen yet, but I plugged in 3 controllers (+kb/mouse) just to check it out. Strangely, during the build phase the framerate was low- usually around 30fps. But when the round actually started, it shot back up again. Kinda weird.

[WaxPaper]

Is there another thread somewhere that deals with the rest of the various .ini settings, not just in this UDKEngine.ini regarding graphics, but other tweaks as well? For example, I've been looking through the various .ini files and I've seen some interesting-looking values, like a lot of UI stuff. I'm wondering if any of these can be tweaked to change things like UI animations speed and other interesting things.

And as far as graphics, there are quite a lot of other values not addressed in this post (and rightly so, since this thread is to improve the visuals), things that could be used to improve FPS and tweak other various aspects of the rendering engine.

Is there another thread being used as a repository for this, or should we create one?

Cheers!

Helpful links:

http://www.tweakguides.com/UT3_8.html
http://wiki.beyondunreal.com/Category:Classes_in_UDK_package_Engine

[WaxPaper]

Dead thread, eh?

[ogboot]

Yeah not a whole lot of traffic. Just dawned on me that my settings have been blown out again anyway due to the patches. -.-

[Aerowinder]

Has anyone made a tweaking program for this yet (like someone did for Dead Island, Borderlands, etc.)? I'm tired of resetting my tweaks all the time.

If there isn't one (that allows for more tweaking than the default tool), maybe I will make one.

[Remoe]

Wow! Thanks to these tweaks I'm defending dungeons like never before!
Thanks ajilejay!

[wild9ride]

[Snip]

Offering generalized blanket statements about what the human eye can and cannot tell a difference between is for the most part an ignorant thing to do. At the end of the day it changes so much from game to game and person to person.

Actually, discerning what the human eye can and cannot detect is completely unrelated to the what they're detecting. It's either the eye can detect a change, or not. It's a lot more noticeable for a complete black image to appear every 30 frames in a white screen movie running 30 FPS. However, that is very rarely the case. The goal of any entertainment (movies, video games) on a screen is not to cause a seizure. Black to white, and white to black again should be avoided at all costs. Aside from any potential safety hazards it's just plain bad art. (Shadows should never be black, for instance).

The nonsense about people detecting sub 60 FPS is probably an artifact from the days of old CRT monitors that would go blank between frames. Again, this is related to White to black, black to white again. Much easier to detect, and much more noticeable. Solution? Get an LCD screen.

[ScratchyGato]

I tried all the tweaks at the highest level. I think its better, but hard to say--it gets so hectic that swinging my sword is all I can think about.

Thanks for posting these either way. I appreciated it.

Now, if we could get sound without music and no beginning splash screens, I'd be in heaven.

[Onomatopesha]

Any way to enable AA on an NVIDIA card? maybe applying a cheap FXAA filter?, i'm running the game flawlessly at 1920x1080, and the jaggies are the one thing that really bothers me the most.

[SirGCal]

What is wrong with people these days? 30 fps is fine. I have no idea when this silliness started when people were demanding a minimum of like 60 fps...

It comes down to the individual... 30 fps gives me a migraine in about 10 minutes... 60 helps, but I specifically have 120Hz monitor so I can get above that also... around 80 to me seems smooth enough to be unnoticable... But everyone is different. General people don't notice above 24ish... A few people can actually see the difference from 60-80.

A rarer few like myself have medical situations which cause them to experience pain with the shuttering effect of slower video, especially high-res, sharp computer video (TV wasn't as much of a problem cause it's res was worse and picture was fuzzier. The sharper the picture becomes, the more problematic at the same time for those who are photosensative).

So while 20-30 fps might be just fine for you; others it's not. 30 fps is NOT fine for me at all. I won't play a game that I can't get to 60 or better. Luckily, I have the equipment to make that no problem in just about any game today. But for me it was more of a necessity to play without headaches instead of wanting faster graphics...

[Zadeis]

In terms of getting AA into the game I have (MAYBE) found a solution for either Nvidia or Ati. I have no guarantees though. Feel free to give my thread a gander and try out what I have found.
So feel free to add the info I found to this tweak thread if you choose to do so.

http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2284488

Quick excerpt of my thread is that I stumbled upon some AA injectors that involve FXAA and SMAA (YES SMAA not MSAA) both of which use the shader cores of your GPU. That being said the effects are quite nice and have very little performance hit.

Also I think this thread should be stickied took me a moment to find it before I found the AA methods.

[Sonikku]

In terms of getting AA into the game I have (MAYBE) found a solution for either Nvidia or Ati. I have no guarantees though. Feel free to give my thread a gander and try out what I have found.
So feel free to add the info I found to this tweak thread if you choose to do so.

http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2284488

Quick excerpt of my thread is that I stumbled upon some AA injectors that involve FXAA and SMAA (YES SMAA not MSAA) both of which use the shader cores of your GPU. That being said the effects are quite nice and have very little performance hit.

Also I think this thread should be stickied took me a moment to find it before I found the AA methods.

The only problem with those injectors are if VAC bans for them or not. I'll have to check Guru3D's forums for that.

Edit: For Nvidia-GPU's one can also use Nvidia's 290.53 beta-drivers and Nvidia Inspector 1.9.5.5 (1.9.5.9 has that relevant setting broken) to enable FXAA through them, without the need for an injector. I can write up a tutorial on how to enable it for DunDef.

Edit 2: Nah, forget it. Game crashes a lot when using FXAA. It's still a beta-feature, after all, and Nvidia themself say it can cause crashes.

It's also sad that deferred AA only works with the outline-shader disabled.

Edit 3: Seems like I made SGSSAA (Sparse Grid Super-Sample Anti-Aliasing) work on DunDef, which also helps making the outline-shader look smooth, but it also eats more performance. Also requires Nvidia Inspector, for which I might make a guide.

[screaminseagull]

Thanks to OP for taking time to share with the community. + rep

[Maxwell_Adams]

The only problem with those injectors are if VAC bans for them or not. I'll have to check Guru3D's forums for that.

I've been playing on ranked servers with the SMAA injector. No problems here.

[DarkUser89]

is this legit. or give a vac or trendynet BAN?