Blocky/Jagged Shadows RCRN v36 HDR

[bigstroonz]

I've run into a bigger problem, and it's so frustrating I'm throwing in the towel until someone can help me fix it because I honestly don't know what else to do.

 

The issue is Jagged Blocky Shadows. I've tried every single recommended setting on the internet, and literally it doesn't change a thing. I don't know what else to do. If maybe I installed something and forgot to remove it (even though I completely removed everything from "The Wilds") or what but this is so annoying and it completely takes away from the game with how disgusting it looks.

 

I was playing with this Mod called "The Wilds" and for the most part I thoroughly enjoyed the visuals from it. However one downfall it had was these blocky shadows, no matter what settings I did (even what it recommended in the readme) nothing changed. So I decided to give up and install RCRN v36 instead.

 

Low an behold a few mins into installing the mod and closer inspection came to show that this mod also had disturbingly blocky and jagged shadows. What bothers me the most, is when I go take a screenshot of it, so I can post it here and show you. It doesn't look nearly as bad in the screenshots as it does in game. It blows my mind how bad the shadows look. Every screen shot I've take though smooths out the shadows and makes them look fine which is even more frustrating. Only thing I can think of is making a movie in FRAPS, because god it's bad.

 

Is there any fix for this? I've searched everywhere and cannot find anything that works. I spent about 3 hours trying to fix it with various settings with no success. The different settings dont even alter it any differently, tried hundreds of different combinations and it still looks the same.

 

I really want to enjoy this game, and I am getting into it. However these shadows are taking me right out of the game.

 

Thanks.

Edited January 16, 2013 by bigstroonz

[SomeWelshGuy]

Shadows are jagged and pretty awful regardless. Your best bet is to reduce shadow distance and increase resolution. Also add a bit of blur to the edge of shadows.

[Liudeius]

Firstly, do not use the refreshini command, it only reloads Skyrim.ini, not SkyrimPrefs.ini. You MUST restart your game to see changes.

 

Shadows are hard coded into Skyrim such that long load distance FORCES crap quality shadows. Set your fShadowDistance to 1000 (or 400 if you really want clear shadows), and make sure your shadow resolution is either 4096 or 8192. They look amazing.

 

But Bethesda hates you, so there is no way for you to make shadows more than four feet away look like that. Thus far, I've seen no mod or ini change which has any impact. I've heard that supposedly some people can set their shadow resolution as high as 16384, but doing that myself, I see no change.

[MShoap13]

ENBSeries can replace Skyrim's shadows with it's own. They're definitely an improvement over vanilla but they're still not as good as vanilla with a really short draw distance (1500 or lower).

 

The problem with having really short draw distance is you get a lot of pop-in and this effect could be worse (overall) than having bad shadows was to begin with.

Edited January 16, 2013 by MShoap13

[bigstroonz]

If I post my config can you give me some settings I can save or remove?

 

I dont even know what refreshini is, nor have I used it I just try to reload game.

 

Also like I said, I tried so many different config settings. Even ones recommended in here, I really dont know what else to do:

 

[General]

sLanguage=ENGLISH

uExterior Cell Buffer=108

uInterior Cell Buffer=9

iStoryManagerLoggingEvent=-1

bEnableStoryManagerLogging=0

bUseThreadedMeshes=1

bUseThreadedLOD=1

bUseThreadedTextures=1

[Display]

iEquippedTorchesCastShadows=1

fShadowLODMaxStartFade=1750.0

fSpecularLODMaxStartFade=3500.0

fLightLODMaxStartFade=6125.0

iShadowMapResolutionPrimary=4096

iShadowMapResolutionInt=4096

iShadowMapResolutionSecondary=4096

bAllowScreenshot=1

sD3DDevice="NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670"

iTexMipMapSkip=0

bFXAAEnabled=0

fMeshLODLevel2FadeDist=3072.0000

fMeshLODLevel1FadeDist=4096.0000

fSpecularLODStartFade=2000.0000

fLightLODStartFade=3500.0000

fTreesMidLODSwitchDist=3600.0000

iShadowMapResolution=4096

fShadowBiasScale=0.0000

iShadowMaskQuarter=4

iBlurDeferredShadowMask=2

fShadowDistance=6000.0000

iMaxDecalsPerFrame=100

iMaxSkinDecalsPerFrame=25

iAdapter=0

iSize W=1920

iSize H=1080

iMultiSample=8

iMaxAnisotropy=16

iPresentInterval=1

bFull Screen=1

fInteriorShadowDistance=3000.0000

bFloatPointRenderTarget=1

fGamma=1.0000

iShadowFilter=4

fDecalLOD2=1750.0000

fDecalLOD1=875.0000

fShadowLODStartFade=6000.0000

iTexMipMapMinimum=7

bTransparencyMultisampling=1

iWaterMultiSamples=8

iShadowMode=3

bTreesReceiveShadows=1

bDrawLandShadows=1

bDrawShadows=1

bActorSelfShadowing=1

fLeafAnimDampenDistEnd=8050.0000

fLeafAnimDampenDistStart=6300.0000

fMeshLODFadePercentDefault=2.1000

fMeshLODFadeBoundDefault=448.0000

fMeshLODLevel2FadeTreeDistance=3584.0000

fMeshLODLevel1FadeTreeDistance=4977.0000

iScreenShotIndex=8

bShadowMaskZPrepass=0

bMainZPrepass=0

iShadowSplitCount=8

bShadowsOnGrass=1

bDeferredShadows=1

bEquippedTorchesCastShadows=1

[Audio]

fMusicDuckingSeconds=6.0

fMusicUnDuckingSeconds=8.0

fMenuModeFadeOutTime=3.0

fMenuModeFadeInTime=1.0

[Grass]

bAllowCreateGrass=1

bAllowLoadGrass=1

b30GrassVS=0

fGrassStartFadeDistance=7000.0000

fGrassMaxStartFadeDistance=12250.0000

fGrassMinStartFadeDistance=700.0000

[GeneralWarnings]

SGeneralMasterMismatchWarning=One or more plugins could not find the correct versions of the master files they depend on. Errors may occur during load or game play. Check the Warnings.txt file for more information.

[Archive]

sResourceArchiveList=Skyrim - Misc.bsa, Skyrim - Shaders.bsa, Skyrim - Textures.bsa, Skyrim - Interface.bsa, Skyrim - Animations.bsa, Skyrim - Meshes.bsa, Skyrim - Sounds.bsa

sResourceArchiveList2=Skyrim - Voices.bsa, Skyrim - VoicesExtra.bsa

[Combat]

fMagnetismStrafeHeadingMult=0.0

fMagnetismLookingMult=0.0

[Papyrus]

fPostLoadUpdateTimeMS=500.0

bEnableLogging=1

bEnableTrace=1

bLoadDebugInformation=1

[imagespace]

iRadialBlurLevel=2

bDoDepthOfField=1

bDoRadialBlur=1

[LOD]

fLODFadeOutMultActors=15.0000

fLODFadeOutMultItems=15.0000

fLODFadeOutMultObjects=15.0000

fLODFadeOutMultSkyCell=1.0000

[Decals]

bDecals=1

bSkinnedDecals=1

uMaxDecals=1000

uMaxSkinDecals=100

uMaxSkinDecalsPerActor=60

[TerrainManager]

fTreeLoadDistance=75000.0000

fBlockMaximumDistance=250000.0000

fBlockLevel1Distance=70000.0000

fBlockLevel0Distance=35000.0000

fSplitDistanceMult=1.5000

bShowLODInEditor=0

[blurShaderHDR]

bDoHighDynamicRange=1

[blurShader]

bUseBlurShader=0

[Launcher]

bShowAllResolutions=1

uLastAspectRatio=3

bEnableFileSelection=1

[Water]

iWaterReflectHeight=2048

iWaterReflectWidth=2048

bUseWaterDisplacements=1

bUseWaterRefractions=1

bUseWaterReflections=1

bUseWaterDepth=1

bUseWaterReflectionBlur=NULL

bReflectExplosions=1

iWaterBlurAmount=4

bAutoWaterSilhouetteReflections=1

bForceHighDetailReflections=1

[MAIN]

fSkyCellRefFadeDistance=262500.0000

bGamepadEnable=1

bCrosshairEnabled=1

fHUDOpacity=1.0000

bSaveOnPause=1

bSaveOnTravel=1

bSaveOnWait=1

bSaveOnRest=1

[GamePlay]

bShowFloatingQuestMarkers=1

bShowQuestMarkers=1

iDifficulty=2

[interface]

bDialogueSubtitles=1

bGeneralSubtitles=1

bShowCompass=1

fMouseCursorSpeed=1.0000

[Controls]

fMouseHeadingSensitivity=0.0500

fGamepadHeadingSensitivity=1.9000

bAlwaysRunByDefault=1

bInvertYValues=0

bGamePadRumble=1

bUseKinect=0

[Particles]

iMaxDesired=2119

[saveGame]

fAutosaveEveryXMins=15.0000

[AudioMenu]

fAudioMasterVolume=1.0000

fVal7=1.0000

uID7=0

fVal6=1.0000

uID6=0

fVal5=1.0000

uID5=0

fVal4=1.0000

uID4=0

fVal3=0.5000

uID3=466532

fVal2=0.8000

uID2=554685

fVal1=0.8000

uID1=1007612

fVal0=1.0000

uID0=94881

[Clouds]

fCloudLevel2Distance=262144.0000

fCloudLevel1Distance=32768.0000

fCloudLevel0Distance=16384.0000

fCloudNearFadeDistance=15750.0000

[Trees]

bRenderSkinnedTrees=1

uiMaxSkinnedTreesToRender=160

[MShoap13]

fShadowBiasScale=0.0000 '<-- Bump this up, This is the minimum angle at which a surface has to be at for a lightsource to cast shadows on it. Values that are too low cause "striping" (a strobe-like effect) on trees, rocks and landscapes; decrease shadow quality in general; and look unnatural. 0.2 to 0.3 is recommended'
iShadowMaskQuarter=4 '<-- This setting softens shadows. The higher the value, the lighter they will be. It has a slight affect on how noticeable the blockiness is. Settings between 2 and 5 are recommended based on personal preference.'
iBlurDeferredShadowMask=2 '<-- Blurs shadows. Can majorly affect the blockiness, but can also cause shodws to completely lose definition. I personally run this on 3.'
fShadowDistance=6000.0000 '<-- There is your problem. The "ultra" setting is 3000 and the higher you go the worse shadows look. I personally run 2600 here (with an ENB series though) but as previously discussed for really great looking shadows <1800 is recommended. Again, setting this too low will cause "pop-in" while you move about.'

 

The way the game handles shadows, in any given scene, only X number of shadow blocks can be used. The more shadowed area there is, the larger it has to make each block. That's why decreasing the draw distance of shadows improves their quality; it makes it so less area needs to be covered and more, smaller, blocks can be used to compose highly defined shadows. Increasing your Shadow Bias also reduces the area in any given scene that is currently shadowed.

Edited January 17, 2013 by MShoap13

[Liudeius]

What MShoap13 said, but I think you are editing the wrong ini file.

 

Some of those settings are supposed to be in My Documents>My Games>Skyrim>Skyrim.ini, others are supposed to be in My Documents>My Games>Skyrim>SkyrimPrefs.ini.

In this case, the shadow settings belong in SkyrimPrefs.ini.

 

If you don't really know what you're doing, you might just want to delete the ini files in My Games>Skyrim, then open the launcher for the unmodified ini files to be restored.

After that, make MShoap13's changes, and whatever is necessary for the mod you are using (make sure you are editing the right file).

You can also use Skyrim Configurator to modify the files automatically with a more user friendly menu. (It is still very possible to make game-breaking changes though, so avoid setting anything too high if you do use it.)

[bigstroonz]

fShadowBiasScale=0.0000 '<-- Bump this up, This is the minimum angle at which a surface has to be at for a lightsource to cast shadows on it. Values that are too low cause "striping" (a strobe-like effect) on trees, rocks and landscapes; decrease shadow quality in general; and look unnatural. 0.2 to 0.3 is recommended'iShadowMaskQuarter=4 '<-- This setting softens shadows. The higher the value, the lighter they will be. It has a slight affect on how noticeable the blockiness is. Settings between 2 and 5 are recommended based on personal preference.'iBlurDeferredShadowMask=2 '<-- Blurs shadows. Can majorly affect the blockiness, but can also cause shodws to completely lose definition. I personally run this on 3.'fShadowDistance=6000.0000 '<-- There is your problem. The "ultra" setting is 3000 and the higher you go the worse shadows look. I personally run 2600 here (with an ENB series though) but as previously discussed for really great looking shadows <1800 is recommended. Again, setting this too low will cause "pop-in" while you move about.'

The way the game handles shadows, in any given scene, only X number of shadow blocks can be used. The more shadowed area there is, the larger it has to make each block. That's why decreasing the draw distance of shadows improves their quality; it makes it so less area needs to be covered and more, smaller, blocks can be used to compose highly defined shadows. Increasing your Shadow Bias also reduces the area in any given scene that is currently shadowed.

 

 

Changed everything here, still blocky/jagged.

 

What MShoap13 said, but I think you are editing the wrong ini file.Some of those settings are supposed to be in My Documents>My Games>Skyrim>Skyrim.ini, others are supposed to be in My Documents>My Games>Skyrim>SkyrimPrefs.ini.In this case, the shadow settings belong in SkyrimPrefs.ini.If you don't really know what you're doing, you might just want to delete the ini files in My Games>Skyrim, then open the launcher for the unmodified ini files to be restored.After that, make MShoap13's changes, and whatever is necessary for the mod you are using (make sure you are editing the right file).You can also use Skyrim Configurator to modify the files automatically with a more user friendly menu. (It is still very possible to make game-breaking changes though, so avoid setting anything too high if you do use it.)

 

Most of my shadow settings are in my Prefs.ini. Anyway, I tried to delete my ini files and restart it from the launcher. However after I did that I was no longer able to load my saved games. Even after I added in the settings for the Mod. I've been using Skyrim conifg, really doesn't help the shadow issue.

 

I've tried everything possible. Recommended on multiple forums. Still jagged moving shadows.

 

Maybe I should reiterate, the shadows are moving all wavy like and jagged edged.

 

Here I made a video:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDQ4qkS6pa8

 

If you look at the corners of the shadows they are pixelated and moving all around.

Edited January 17, 2013 by bigstroonz

[MShoap13]

That's just Skyrim's shadows. Even at 1000 draw distance, there will be some graininess to the edges while moving. It's a matter of balancing how much graininess you can deal with vs. how much pop-in you can deal with lol.

 

Again, ENB series can replace the default shadows with it's own. They're a definite improvement over Skyrim's shadows but they still aren't perfect.

[bigstroonz]

That's just Skyrim's shadows. Even at 1000 draw distance, there will be some graininess to the edges while moving. It's a matter of balancing how much graininess you can deal with vs. how much pop-in you can deal with lol.

 

Again, ENB series can replace the default shadows with it's own. They're a definite improvement over Skyrim's shadows but they still aren't perfect.

 

 

Thanks and youre right because after about 3 days I finally found a couple settings within the ENB that made the shadows look 100% better.