Shadow Settings

[Caldrumr]

Has anyone been able to find any settings that fix the terrible shadows in this game? Apart from a few small bugs and glitches, just about everything regarding this game is perfect, except the shadows. This game has some of the worst shadows I have seen in a long time. Some shadows look perfect, and other are extremely blocky and pixelated. Also, shadows will periodically dance around for no apparent reason. It is very distracting, and keeps the visual effect of this game from being perfect, for me.

Here are the settings I have in the .ini that refer to shadows. I am using Ultra settings.

 

iBlurDeferredShadowMask=3

fInteriorShadowDistance=3000.0000

fShadowDistance=8000.0000

iShadowMapResolutionSecondary=1024

iShadowMapResolutionPrimary=2048

fShadowLODStartFade=200.0000

iShadowMode=3

bTreesReceiveShadows=1

bDrawLandShadows=1

bShadowMaskZPrepass=0

iShadowSplitCount=2

iShadowMapResolution=4096

fShadowBiasScale=0.1500

iShadowMaskQuarter=4

iShadowFilter=4

bDrawShadows=1

 

Thanks in advance! I would appreciate any advice, if anyone has found a fix for these issues. This game is so close to perfect, it just makes this one glaring issue all the more apparent.

[TheCompiler]

Has anyone been able to find any settings that fix the terrible shadows in this game? Apart from a few small bugs and glitches, just about everything regarding this game is perfect, except the shadows. This game has some of the worst shadows I have seen in a long time. Some shadows look perfect, and other are extremely blocky and pixelated. Also, shadows will periodically dance around for no apparent reason. It is very distracting, and keeps the visual effect of this game from being perfect, for me.

Here are the settings I have in the .ini that refer to shadows. I am using Ultra settings.

 

iBlurDeferredShadowMask=3

fInteriorShadowDistance=3000.0000

fShadowDistance=8000.0000

iShadowMapResolutionSecondary=1024

iShadowMapResolutionPrimary=2048

fShadowLODStartFade=200.0000

iShadowMode=3

bTreesReceiveShadows=1

bDrawLandShadows=1

bShadowMaskZPrepass=0

iShadowSplitCount=2

iShadowMapResolution=4096

fShadowBiasScale=0.1500

iShadowMaskQuarter=4

iShadowFilter=4

bDrawShadows=1

 

Thanks in advance! I would appreciate any advice, if anyone has found a fix for these issues. This game is so close to perfect, it just makes this one glaring issue all the more apparent.

 

 

 

iBlurDeferredShadowMask=3

 

Change to 1

 

it will not improve the real resolution of shadows, but will reduce the blur effect that makes them so terrible, expecially at medium/long distance.

 

Here some other tweaks: http://www.skyrimnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=11

[Caldrumr]

I'll give it a shot. Thanks for the quick response! This game is amazing. =-)

[Caldrumr]

That did not fix the issue at all. Here are some links to videos I uploaded to demonstrate the strange shadow issues. Some shadows are just fine in the game, some seem fine but start dancing periodically, and some just look atrocious (and also dance). I'm hoping there's a graphical fix for this. It's pretty distracting. Otherwise, might have to wait until a mod fix comes out. =-/

 

http://youtu.be/bd1991u47iM

http://youtu.be/1MoJCREX4_g

http://youtu.be/vfsMMpkAdHg

[TheCompiler]

That did not fix the issue at all. Here are some links to videos I uploaded to demonstrate the strange shadow issues. Some shadows are just fine in the game, some seem fine but start dancing periodically, and some just look atrocious (and also dance). I'm hoping there's a graphical fix for this. It's pretty distracting. Otherwise, might have to wait until a mod fix comes out. =-/

 

http://youtu.be/bd1991u47iM

http://youtu.be/1MoJCREX4_g

http://youtu.be/vfsMMpkAdHg

 

 

I think this issue is related to the "timelapse", the movement of the sun. Since they are dynamic shadows they will update every few seconds according to the daytime. i dunno if there is a workaround, but probably in the future something will be out.

[Caldrumr]

Okay, thanks for the additional info. I appreciate it.

[Gh0stF4c3]

That did not fix the issue at all. Here are some links to videos I uploaded to demonstrate the strange shadow issues. Some shadows are just fine in the game, some seem fine but start dancing periodically, and some just look atrocious (and also dance). I'm hoping there's a graphical fix for this. It's pretty distracting. Otherwise, might have to wait until a mod fix comes out. =-/

 

http://youtu.be/bd1991u47iM

http://youtu.be/1MoJCREX4_g

http://youtu.be/vfsMMpkAdHg

 

 

I think this issue is related to the "timelapse", the movement of the sun. Since they are dynamic shadows they will update every few seconds according to the daytime. i dunno if there is a workaround, but probably in the future something will be out.

 

 

Yeah, that's exactly what I thought. The shadows appear to 'dance' around somebody's face as the sun is constantly moving, shifting the light source and therefore the shadows.

 

I guess longer days/nights would help this issue, reducing the frequency that they update/move

 

It doesn't look great though

[rockscrEAM]

That did not fix the issue at all. Here are some links to videos I uploaded to demonstrate the strange shadow issues. Some shadows are just fine in the game, some seem fine but start dancing periodically, and some just look atrocious (and also dance). I'm hoping there's a graphical fix for this. It's pretty distracting. Otherwise, might have to wait until a mod fix comes out. =-/

 

http://youtu.be/bd1991u47iM

http://youtu.be/1MoJCREX4_g

http://youtu.be/vfsMMpkAdHg

 

I have exactly the same problem, it ruins the game for me. I also noticed that my characters shadow is smooth while moving but when I stand still it begins to degrade and looks like the the shadows were cast by a man made out of LEGO-BLOCKS. It's playable out in the wilderness but in the towns it's tragic.

 

FFS...didn't Splinter Cell/Riddick/Thief3 have great shadows on the f*cking Xbox1 years ago, yet a game developed on it's follow up console looks heinous lighting wise. I wish Bethesda gave the guys who made Just Cause 2 a couple of mill for their engine.

 

Asus GTX 570 DCii

Phenom II 940

8GB ram

Windows7 x64

Edited November 11, 2011 by rockscrEAM

[ynamite]

 

I have exactly the same problem, it ruins the game for me. I also noticed that my characters shadow is smooth while moving but when I stand still it begins to degrade and looks like the the shadows were cast by a man made out of LEGO-BLOCKS. It's playable out in the wilderness but in the towns it's tragic.

 

FFS...didn't Splinter Cell/Riddick/Thief3 have great shadows on the f*cking Xbox1 years ago, yet a game developed on it's follow up console looks heinous lighting wise. I wish Bethesda gave the guys who made Just Cause 2 a couple of mill for their engine.

 

 

Yep, they did. And I can't undestand this either ... these shadows really suck, especially how the sun shadows update only every 30 or so seconds.

 

I would pay somebody to find a solution to this ...

[isoku]

That did not fix the issue at all. Here are some links to videos I uploaded to demonstrate the strange shadow issues. Some shadows are just fine in the game, some seem fine but start dancing periodically, and some just look atrocious (and also dance). I'm hoping there's a graphical fix for this. It's pretty distracting. Otherwise, might have to wait until a mod fix comes out. =-/

 

http://youtu.be/bd1991u47iM

http://youtu.be/1MoJCREX4_g

http://youtu.be/vfsMMpkAdHg

The shadows dance in your 2nd and 3rd videos because the game's sun moves in increments. Until someone releases a mod to smooth the sun's movement the shadows will keep shifting like that.

 

A temporary fix is to set your timescale to 1.

Edited November 11, 2011 by isoku