GPreset tweaks (better ssao, increased saturation, ect)

[LizLemon 1072]

The gpresets.ini file contains a few variables that allow some nice tweaks of the game. By default this file isn't exposed to the player, but by extracting this file into the root install of bos, typically "X:\Steam\steamapps\common\IL-2 Sturmovik Battle of Stalingrad" then you will have a copy of the file under X:\Steam\steamapps\common\IL-2 Sturmovik Battle of Stalingrad\data\luascripts" and you can then edit it.

 

Once you open the file up you will find several sections broken down like this;

//******** Preset 0 ************
[preset=0].....................

................

//******** Preset 1 ************
[preset=1]

.....................

//******** Preset 3 ************
[preset=3]

 

These preset sections correspond to the presets in game, ie preset 0 is minimum and preset 3 is ultra. For editing you should start by choosing the preset section that corresponds to your in game setting.

 

Here is the section of the variables worth changing taken from preset 3, only a few of these arent exposed in the in game video settings but what is there is worth messing around with

 

//Post effects
    post_effects_enable=true        //this controls all post effects, this can be changed in game
    post_bloom_enable=true        //turn bloom on or off, this can be changed in game
    post_contrast=true                 //this controls a post contrast filter, changing it to false greatly reduces the brightness/contrast of the image
    post_sharpen=false               //post sharpening that can be changed in game
    post_drops_enable=true       //raindrops, this can be changed in game
    post_hdr=3                           //HDR level change this and see which one you like best, 0-3 for values
    saturation=1.0                      //saturation of the game, where 0 is black and white. I have tried values as high as 2, which is very very saturated. I like 1.2 or so.
    post_motion_samples=24;  //samples for motion blur, increasing this will increase the motion blur quality.

//Screen depth, SSAO, SSR
    depth_res=1                       //dont mess with this
    ssao_res=1                        //dont mess with this
    ssao_samples=16             //number of samples for the ambient occlusion, increasing this reduces the noise of the ssao and improves quality. I have tried 32 but higher values may work       
    ssr_samples=30                 //number of reflection samples, higher will be higher quality reflections but this is hard to notice in game.

    clouds_samples=96           //number of cloud samples, a larger number reduces cloud shimmering. I have tried 512 but another user has done 1024

    effects_samples=1

gpresets.zip

[LizLemon 1072]

Turns out setting depth_res=0 causes the depth buffer to be full resolution, which makes ssao look better if you turn ssao_res to 0 as well.

[THERION 1212]

On 9/6/2018 at 11:07 PM, LizLemon said:

The gpresets.ini file contains a few variables that allow some nice tweaks of the game. By default this file isn't exposed to the player, but by extracting this file into the root install of bos, typically "X:\Steam\steamapps\common\IL-2 Sturmovik Battle of Stalingrad" then you will have a copy of the file under X:\Steam\steamapps\common\IL-2 Sturmovik Battle of Stalingrad\data\luascripts" and you can then edit it.

 

Once you open the file up you will find several sections broken down like this;

//******** Preset 0 ************
[preset=0].....................

................

//******** Preset 1 ************
[preset=1]

.....................

//******** Preset 3 ************
[preset=3]

 

These preset sections correspond to the presets in game, ie preset 0 is minimum and preset 3 is ultra. For editing you should start by choosing the preset section that corresponds to your in game setting.

 

Here is the section of the variables worth changing taken from preset 3, only a few of these arent exposed in the in game video settings but what is there is worth messing around with

 

//Post effects
    post_effects_enable=true        //this controls all post effects, this can be changed in game
    post_bloom_enable=true        //turn bloom on or off, this can be changed in game
    post_contrast=true                 //this controls a post contrast filter, changing it to false greatly reduces the brightness/contrast of the image
    post_sharpen=false               //post sharpening that can be changed in game
    post_drops_enable=true       //raindrops, this can be changed in game
    post_hdr=3                           //HDR level change this and see which one you like best, 0-3 for values
    saturation=1.0                      //saturation of the game, where 0 is black and white. I have tried values as high as 2, which is very very saturated. I like 1.2 or so.
    post_motion_samples=24;  //samples for motion blur, increasing this will increase the motion blur quality.

//Screen depth, SSAO, SSR
    depth_res=1                       //dont mess with this
    ssao_res=1                        //dont mess with this
    ssao_samples=16             //number of samples for the ambient occlusion, increasing this reduces the noise of the ssao and improves quality. I have tried 32 but higher values may work       
    ssr_samples=30                 //number of reflection samples, higher will be higher quality reflections but this is hard to notice in game.

    clouds_samples=96           //number of cloud samples, a larger number reduces cloud shimmering. I have tried 512 but another user has done 1024

    effects_samples=1

gpresets.zip

 

Does this work without enabling mods?

[Hartigan 38]

Does this work in VR?

[JonRedcorn 1152]

On 4/3/2019 at 8:18 AM, -IRRE-Therion said:

 

Does this work without enabling mods?

No it does not, mods on needs to be enabled.

3 minutes ago, Hartigan said:

Does this work in VR?

Yes but only with mods on.

 

Lemon, in that file can you determine the cause of the clouds setting being tied to preset? On balanced clouds are limited to medium max, on low, I am not sure if it's low only or medium, I don't understand why we have an option for the cloud setting if the preset determines your cloud setting for you.

 

Hope the devs relinquish control of the cloud setting back to us at some point, would be a huge win for VR users. Anything below medium clouds looks horrible in a VR headset of any kind.

[Dutch2 381]

Thanks will give it go in my benchmark sessies. 

[LizLemon 1072]

6 hours ago, JonRedcorn said:

No it does not, mods on needs to be enabled.

Yes but only with mods on.

 

Lemon, in that file can you determine the cause of the clouds setting being tied to preset? On balanced clouds are limited to medium max, on low, I am not sure if it's low only or medium, I don't understand why we have an option for the cloud setting if the preset determines your cloud setting for you.

 

Hope the devs relinquish control of the cloud setting back to us at some point, would be a huge win for VR users. Anything below medium clouds looks horrible in a VR headset of any kind.

 

 

Startup config is current cloud resolution setting, preset is the max resolution for that preset. Ie if you have it set to 2 in startup but are on a preset that is 1, then in game you'll be at one.

 

For reference here are the cloud_quality settings

 

2= half screen res

1= 1/4 screen res

0= 1/8 screen res

-1=1/16 screen res

You could probably do -2 for 1/32, -3 for 1/64, ect but I havent tried that. I also havent found a way to make clouds render at full screen resolution yet, that may need to be some 3dmigoto mod. Not that there is much point with how blurry stock clouds are.

 

cloud_samples = is just how many cloud samples are being done. This reduces the shimmer and makes them look a bit better.

[c6_lefuneste 793]

13 hours ago, LizLemon said:

 I also havent found a way to make clouds render at full screen resolution yet, that may need to be some 3dmigoto mod. Not that there is much point with how blurry stock clouds are.

 

I did not change the cloud render resolution in the mod.

What I did is sampling the cloud mask around the current drawed pixel and use the lowest alpha value for it. So more parts of the plane that are before the cloud are drawn.

[Algy-Lacey 89]

So, I'm asking how do I turn HDR and SSAO off in these settings?

If I turn it off in Game Settings, does it modify the gpresets.cfg? And if I modify gpresets.cfg does it change what I see in Game Settings?

 

Here is what I see for 'Balanced' which is what I use...

 

//******** Preset 1 ************
[preset=1]
//Textures settings
    Filter=3
    texmipdown=0
    land_textures=0

//Quality
    shadows_quality=2
    shadows_dynamic=1,false        //Quality, InGameEnable, Smooth
    reflection=3
    grass_quality=5
    forest_quality=1
    landscape_parallax=1
    clouds_quality=1

//Distance
    objects_distance=1.0
    landscape_mesh_quality=0.75
    forest_distance=5

//Post effects
    post_effects_enable=true
    post_bloom_enable=true
    post_contrast=true
    post_sharpen=false
    post_drops_enable=false
    post_hdr=3
    saturation=1.1
    post_motion_samples=16;

//Screen depth, SSAO, SSR
    depth_res=1
    ssao_res=-1
    ssao_samples=0
    ssr_samples=20

    clouds_samples=128

    effects_samples=0.5
[end]

 

I have put the settings that I have modified in bold

 

Algy-Lacey

[Algy-Lacey 89]

-=-THERION  helped with this one:

 

"what you modified is OK, resp. should lead to what you wanted concerning the tree rendering etc.

 

Don't change anything about SSAO and HDR here. To deactivate SSAO and HDR you have to do this in your game's graphic settings.

That's all."

 

"If you modify anything in your game's graphic settings, this file will not be modified at any time. The file just tells the game how to
display and render things, it is "passive" as any modification you do in your settings will not be written into the file. This file just defines
the 4 different presets we have in our game's graphic settings (low, balanced, high, ultra).

 

Settings you do in your game are stored in the startup.cfg file, which you will find in your game's main directory (data)."

 

 

I don't know how to properly quote from one thread into another. I hope -=-THERION won't mind...

Edited May 5, 2020 by Algy-Lacey

[Algy-Lacey 89]

When running on the 'Balanced' preset, I don't seem to have moving shadows in the cockpit from the cockpit framing, please could someone help me achieve the most basic level of shadows in the cockpit?

 

 

Here are the settings for the preset I use:

The settings that I suspect need changing are in bold

 

//******** Preset 1 ************
[preset=1]
//Textures settings
    Filter=3
    texmipdown=0
    land_textures=0

//Quality
    shadows_quality=2
    shadows_dynamic=1,false        //Quality, InGameEnable, Smooth
    reflection=3
    grass_quality=5
    forest_quality=1
    landscape_parallax=1
    clouds_quality=1

//Distance
    objects_distance=1.0
    landscape_mesh_quality=0.75
    forest_distance=5

//Post effects
    post_effects_enable=true
    post_bloom_enable=true
    post_contrast=true
    post_sharpen=false
    post_drops_enable=false
    post_hdr=3
    saturation=1.1
    post_motion_samples=16;

//Screen depth, SSAO, SSR
    depth_res=1
    ssao_res=-1
    ssao_samples=0
    ssr_samples=20

    clouds_samples=128

    effects_samples=0.5
[end]

 

 

and here are the same settings in 'Ultra' preset

 

//******** Preset 3 ************
[preset=3]
//Textures settings
    Filter=3
    texmipdown=0
    land_textures=0

//Quality
    shadows_quality=2
    shadows_dynamic=2,true,true        //Quality, InGameEnable, Smooth
    reflection=3
    grass_quality=7
    forest_quality=1
    landscape_parallax=1
    clouds_quality=2

 

 

Could I perhaps use

shadows_quality=2

shadows_dynamic=1,true,true

 

Is it possible to mix and match settings like this?

 

Algy-Lacey

[inexus 80]

I would like to increase the distance the grass is rendered. I find when increase the grass distance in the startup config that bushes starts to flicker as soon as I go beyond 500-600m. Does anybody know if this can be overcome somehow with these advanced settings? 

 

I am interested in it for TC where I find the standard distance of 300 is way too short for being immersive  

[JG_deserteagle540 84]

I need some help please.

 

Could somebody help me with the vanilla gpresets.cfg files please?

[Dutch2 381]

3 hours ago, JG_deserteagle540 said:

I need some help please.

 

Could somebody help me with the vanilla gpresets.cfg files please?

 

What do you wanting to know and what are you trying to achieve with the Gpreset file.

In my case its: I dislike the BoX clouds, but I can not shift to ultra, otherwise my GTX1080 can not handle BoX in VR. So I did copy the cloud settings from ultra to low. So I do still have the best ingame clouds at the low pre-settings. 

[JG_deserteagle540 84]

I would like to experiment with the grass distance, but this can be changed in the startup.cfg.

Really annoying the grass popping up just in front of you on the runway.

 

I also noticed the shadows of the trees/forest popping up nearby which I find annoying too. I wonder if that could be changed somewhere in Gpreset file?

[Dutch2 381]

yep thats the game engine its now showing its age, you have to accept this, or move to FS2020. 

Set ingame to ultra, that sure will help about the forrest, experiment with distant landscape detail, horizon drawing all to the highest settings, think these two settings do have also impact on your question. 

For grass read this