Best graphics settings for spotting and performance

[RossMarBow]

Edit: updated for 2023

in your game settings reduce the distances to the lowest setting
as reducing the horizon distance benefits fps and spotting greatly

 

these settings are to make multiplayer easier
I hate trees so have them turned down to lowest possible, preset level controls tree distance 

 

keywords: amd spotting graphics 1080 flat screen 

 

I'm running 1080p 27" 144hz freesync monitor 

5700 xt graphics card
cpu is heavily tuned 5600x that scores in the top 100 on timespy

with these settings on multiplayer server 
measuring on occat 
performance is 
with in-game 120 fps cap (this is the best way to reduce input latency, don't cap in amd)
 

 

game should look like the orange graph or be even smooth in single player and multiplayer
if you get big spikes in multiplayer (green) that is because the server is overloaded, and you should change to a different server or wait for the map to change

 

You must turn off all the amd optimised settings 
esp the freesync setting to stop flickering - set it to ON
see amd setup at bottom

 

----

 

in your startup.cfg <-search your il2 install folder for it
edit this part
note if you open up your ingame graphics settings menu and save anything in there it will overwrite this
so adjust that first 

 

AA in this game doesn't apply to
well most things
so theirs no point running msaax2 or x4 if that drops your fps 
preset has a much larger impact on FPS than msaa - i notice hardly any difference between 0x and 8x
and visually its not noticeable and doesn't effect spotting 

set it last 

 

easy way to run max preset is: turn off grass, set RT_res value lower. This will remove most of the performance impact caused by the extended tree rendering distance while still keeping the actual goodies like more plane reflections

 

remove the <--- notes

EDIT: see below for what I run now

[KEY = graphics]
    3dhud = 0
    adapter = 0
    bloom_enable = 0 <- bloom is broken and blocks spotting on the horizon under the sun leave off
    canopy_ref = 0
    desktop_center = 1
    detail_rt_res = 4096 <-- 4k textures on grass trees doesn't do much - 5-10% better performance dropping to 1024 or 512, and changing it can fix tree shimmer. Setting to an incorrect value that is not square with 1024 results in a memory leak.
    draw_distance = 0.00000   <--- ground horizon distance - doesn't effect plane rendering 
    far_blocks = 1    <--- so you can see buildings far away i.e. targets important if you want to see targets on ground disable for less clutter on ground
    fps_counter = 0
    fps_limit = 120 <---ideally set just below your hz
    full_height = 1080
    full_width = 1920
    fullscreen = 0
    gamma = 0.90000    <--- personal low helps spotting against sky, higher helps against ground
    grass_distance = 000.00000    <---- i tank sometimes so this is nice, set to 0 to increase fps down low. I run this on zero now because even at 100m you can have more than half of your GPU power rendering grass.
zero is best grass has really random and extreme performance hits depending on viewing angle even with 100m
    hdr_enable = 0 <- makes the black to white gradient more even - so dark cockpits won't be so dark but blacks won't be so black either
    land_anisotropy = 2  <--- 2 is blurred this is the lowest ansio setting and blures texture detail which makes spotting easier but textures look worse - I don't think it applies to planes just the ground and buildings
    land_detail = 0   <---don't need this rough terrain setting? makes spotting with higher sharpness harder and the ground texture will be sharpened 
    land_tex_lods = 1 <- controls distance landscape details render - higher makes navigation easier but spotting harder because theirs more ground clutter - too high also increases horizon shimmer - 
    landscape_mesh_quality = 1.00000 <- not sure if this works
    max_cache_res = 1
    max_clouds_quality = 2 <--- clouds render out to 120km on = 3 but are the same quality as high = 2 
    mgpu_compatible = 0
    mirrors = 1    <---simple is best,2 if you want to see your plane in the mirror
    msaa = 1 <--- 2x explained 
    multisampling = 1 <--- msaa <- fxaa is bad, AA is bad for spotting in general and is only applied to trees planes and buildings - set this is 2 for x4 msaa - x4 msaa dosn't help spotting more than x2 but makes things smoother for ID
    or_ca = 0.00000
    or_dummy = 0
    or_enable = 0
    post_sharpen = 1   <--- double sharpen helps - I now run this off
    preset = 0 <- with rt res at 512 and grass off I can run this at maximum no issues or big performance loss - increases reflections off planes so can help spotting
    prop_blur_max_rpm_for_vr = 155
    rescale_target = 1.00000
    shadows_quality = 4   <--- max shadows easier to id and spot shadows on ground than directly looking at a plane. easier to id a shadow on the ground than looking at the plane. turn off if you don't plan on looking at the ground much
    ssao_enable = 0
    vsync = 0
    win_height = 1080
    win_width = 1920
[END]

THIS IS WHAT I RUN NOW
[KEY = graphics]
    3dhud = 0
    adapter = 0
    bloom_enable = 0
    canopy_ref = 0
    desktop_center = 1
    detail_rt_res = 256
    draw_distance = 0.00000
    far_blocks = 0
    fps_counter = 0
    fps_limit = 143
    full_height = 1080
    full_width = 1920
    fullscreen = 0
    gamma = 0.90000
    grass_distance = 0.00000
    hdr_enable = 0
    land_anisotropy = 2
    land_detail = 0
    land_tex_lods = 1
    max_cache_res = 1
    max_clouds_quality = 2
    mgpu_compatible = 0
    mirrors = 1
    msaa = 2
    multisampling = 1
    or_ca = 0.00000
    or_dummy = 0
    or_enable = 0
    post_sharpen = 0
    preset = 3
    prop_blur_max_rpm_for_vr = 155
    rescale_target = 1.00000
    shadows_quality = 4
    ssao_enable = 0
    vsync = 0
    win_height = 1080
    win_width = 1920
[END]

 

 

----

 

Either run 2 = blurred  (lowest ansio make the detail of textures higher and clearer)
or 1 = sharp (high ansio makes the detail of textures higher and clearer)

to explain further
imagine looking at a barn wall at 100m
with blurred the texture will have less detail
with sharp you will see the boards and weathering 
generally these type of settings only apply to background things
so in fps games and il2 blurred will give you an advantage as a player/plane in front of the blurred barn wall will be easier to spot

if you are real close to the barn door or perfectly 90 degrees to it ansio doesn't do anything

 

 

Also land_anisotropy = 16 does nothing and forces this to 0 or Off as its an invalid value
Its only valid options are 0, 1 and 2.

 

EDIT: DON'T THINK THIS DOES ANYTHING IN MULTIPLAYER (don't do this anyway)
Don't do any of this 
to control the amount of Anistropy its located here.)
:\IL-2 Sturmovik Battle of Moscow\data\graphics\filtersettings.inc

 

Default 
MipFilter=LINEAR;
MagFilter=LINEAR;
MinFilter=ANISOTROPIC;
MaxAnisotropy=8;

 

My settings: (I don't do this anymore)
MipFilter=ANISOTROPIC;
MagFilter=ANISOTROPIC;
MinFilter=ANISOTROPIC;
MaxAnisotropy=16;
(This file and ONLY this file must then be set to read only) 

try ansio = 1 for sharp

DON'T THINK THIS DOES ANYTHING IN MULTIPLAYER

Another options I have seen is - but idk if it does anything I couldn't prove it works
Chuck this in your startup.cfg 
---------------------------------
1.00 = Ultra Preset. 
0.75 = high preset terrain settings, 
0.50 = medium
0.25 = balanced.
0.00 = low. 

 

[KEY = graphics]
    landscape_mesh_quality = 1.00000 

-----

Sharpen too high (100) causes flickering bugs - this isn't your fault it's the multiplayers server

Edit: I now run sharpen off

 

 

 

PS:
slightly increasing or decreasing gamma - dependent on setup

lowering gamma while make spotting against the ground harder

try and find a review for your monitor and find out what the gamma is like properly tested and calibrated 
I think the reason why most people run low gamma is because their screens gamma is off
I also run vivid gaming in amd control panel which increases contrast and maybe changes gamma

if you don't plan on bombing turn off long range buildings with far blocks
I always run far blocks off now

 

HDR enabled can help also similar to tweaking gamma
I don't run HDR 


Bloom is broken on the horizon below the sun it will stop you seeing planes.
SSAO is ok, some people say it reduces spotting. And generally is just bad for performance. And doesn't do much for visuals either.

LOD 0 will make details like small streams, roads, and other ground textures disappear at very short range, which can help spotting more but you might get lost more, as nothing on the landscape will be drawn at high definition 

 

 

EDIT:
Reinstalling IL-2 changed some things in the startup.cfg nothing major
but I have also changed my graphics settings up a little bit so the game looks nicer
 

 

Lastly game updates sometimes change what is in the startup.cfg
It might be a good idea to delete it and let the game build a new updated version every so often.
And manually fill back in the details.

 

 

[KEY = account]
    login = ""
    password = ""
[END]

[KEY = graphics]
      3dhud = 0
      adapter = 0
      bloom_enable = 0
      canopy_ref = 0
      desktop_center = 1
      detail_rt_res = 2048
      draw_distance = 0.00000
      far_blocks = 0
      fps_counter = 1
      fps_limit = 0
      full_height = 1080
      full_width = 1920
      fullscreen = 0
      gamma = 1.00000
      grass_distance = 0.00000
      hdr_enable = 0
      land_anisotropy = 2
      land_detail = 0
      land_tex_lods = 1
      max_cache_res = 1
      max_clouds_quality = 2
      mgpu_compatible = 0
      mirrors = 1
      msaa = 1
      multisampling = 2
      or_ca = 0.00000
      or_dummy = 0
      or_enable = 0
      post_sharpen = 0
      preset = 3
      prop_blur_max_rpm_for_vr = 155
      rescale_target = 1.00000
      shadows_quality = 4
      ssao_enable = 0
      vsync = 0
      win_height = 1080
      win_width = 1920
[END]

[KEY = input]
    exclusive = 1
    mouse_plane_control = 0
    old_trackir = 0
    turrets_angle_limit = 0.00000
    turrets_dc = 0
[END]

[KEY = interface]
    forces_color_mode = 2
    language = "eng"
    log = ""
    scale = 1.00000
    showcompas = 1
    showicons = 1
    units = "metric"
[END]

[KEY = network]
    available_ip = "[object Object]"
    client_download_traflimit = 10240
    client_ip = ""
    client_upload_traflimit = 10240
    downloader_port = 28100
    tcp_port = 28000
    udp_port = 28000
[END]

[KEY = sound]
    debug_radio = 0
    interface = 0
    interface_music = 1
    quality = 1
    volume = 1.00000
[END]

[KEY = system]
    bin_log_folder = ""
    debug_render = 0
    gamelog = 0
    keep_binary_log = 0
    mission_text_log = 0
    modes = 0
    playoffline = 0
    reset_configs = 0
    reset_effects = 0
    reset_textures = 0
    sdebug = 0
    show_net_skins = 1
    skin_dir = "graphics\Skins\"
[END]

[KEY = telemetrydevice]
    addr = "127.0.0.1"
    decimation = 2
    enable = true
    port = 4322
[END]

[KEY = track_record]
    fx_sound = 2
    record_graphics_effect = 1
    record_ground_vehicles = 1
    tacviewrecord = 0
[END]

[KEY = updater]
    language = "eng"
    seed = 0
[END]

 

Edited January 1, 2023 by RossMarBow