[DX11] Help regarding Nvidia Profile Inspector (NPI)

[BenganJ]

@Russ469

Then we are at least two persons!

[theclumsygeek]

What I started comparing is full NPI vs full in-game graphics settings.
With this comparison, I conclude that AA is still much better in NPI, but SSAO itself is better using in-game settings.

So next, I'm trying to see if it's possible to use NPI AA + in-game SSAO.
So far I am not able to do it. If I use NPI at all, I am not able to replicate the SSAO in-game (even if SSAO in NPI is disabled and set to High in-game).

Since NPI also has some SSAO settings inside, I am hoping it is possible to find the right compatibility bits / settings to replicate how the in-game SSAO is doing it. In this way I can use full NPI and get best AA and best SSAO.

At the end of the day, if there is no way to do it, I'll gladly choose NPI as I value more AA than SSAO, but that doesn't stop me from trying first to get the best of both worlds.

Does that make sense?

[BenganJ]

@theclumsygeek

It surely make sense, but as I said earlier, with kept quality on AA we can only compare to what we get
from SCS's SSAO when using NPI with AO disabled. It's a totally other matter if we can, within NPI, find
a better solution than what we have today. For me and obviously for you too, SCS's AA solution doesn't
hold against NPI one, so either we choose to disable NPI AO and use SCS High (100% Scaling though) or
we just keep using what we already have from NPI and hunt for a possible better result there.

[JHTrucker]

@Sansemiano - Ok but you and your 1070 shouldn't need to use 30 fps but it should still be smooth, i do because my old 760 at 3840x1024 requires it for smooth stable motion, in all directions.
Panning the camera view with trackir or my "analogue autocenter solution" which uses the same game input as trackir and your tobii but controls the same view with a gamepad thumbstick, also never stutters, for me.

I'm just trying to workout why you have this issue, not saying you're wrong, clearly you see stuttering when panning using my suggestion with your Tobii.
But if you're happy without my suggestion, then i'll say no more.

But if you want more... Try this:
uset r_mode_refresh "60" <- the game will force your monitor to 60hz instead of 120hz? My monitors are 60hz. Also BenganJ's is to.
uset r_vsync "1" <-- for 60 fps or 2 for 30.

Set NPI power mode to high performance, if not already, otherwise your gfx card will keep ramping up and down its clock speed as you move around.

[theclumsygeek]

Thanks Bengan. Agree. I think we will need to explore more NPI SSAO possibilities, as NPI AA + in-game SSAO doesn't seem to mix well.

I did some more tests. Hopefully it helps:

AA: none, SSAO: in-game High

This is the ideal SSAO look, in my opinion, but not worth losing our NPI AA.


AA: NPI, SSAO: in-game High

Strangely enough, mixture of NPI AA + in-game SSAO produces the worst look (most washed out, least shadows).


AA: NPI, SSAO: NPI 0x00000032 (FIFA 14)

Here we get some nice shadows, but not as good as in-game SSAO (first image above).


AA: NPI, SSAO: none

Here's another strange thing. If I disabled SSAO in NPI (and it's also disabled in-game), I get the exact picture as with SSAO enabled in NPI (previous picture).
Does that mean SSAO in NPI is not working (or maybe cannot be disabled fully)?


AA: NPI, SSAO: NPI 0x000E0000 (Crysis3_SFRTest, Crysis 3)

Here we get some different shadows than FIFA / SSAO off, and I think less natural.

[BenganJ]

Actually I would like a three image comparison.
1. NPI with ONLY AO Disabled and in-game SSAO Disabled. That is NO AO.
2. NPI with ONLY AO Disabled and in-game SSAO at High. SCS's best AO with NPI active.
3. NPI fully activated, including enabled AO and in-game SSAO Disabled, the best AO for now that NPI can give us.

One challenge with accomplishing this is, that weather will change between the different changes of settings and
the shadows are totally dependent on it. Good Luck!

EDIT: I see you almost did what I suggested. BUT, how do you DISABLE AO in NPI? You don't say that! I also think
that it is mandatory to restart the game if changing NPI settings. I think the game gets its graphics settings when
starting up!

[theclumsygeek]

Yes, I restart the game with each change in settings.

To disable AO in NPI, I restore to default settings the 3 AO-relevant fields (AO compatibility bits, and the 2 on the lower part you mentioned before). Not sure if there are more fields I need to change.

[Sansemiano]

@Sansemiano - Ok but you and your 1070 shouldn't need to use 30 fps but it should still be smooth, i do because my old 760 at 3840x1024 requires it for smooth stable motion, in all directions.
Panning the camera view with trackir or my "analogue autocenter solution" which uses the same game input as trackir and your tobii but controls the same view with a gamepad thumbstick, also never stutters, for me.

I'm just trying to workout why you have this issue, not saying you're wrong, clearly you see stuttering when panning using my suggestion with your Tobii.
But if you're happy without my suggestion, then i'll say no more.

But if you want more... Try this:
uset r_mode_refresh "60" <- the game will force your monitor to 60hz instead of 120hz? My monitors are 60hz. Also BenganJ's is to.
uset r_vsync "1" <-- for 60 fps or 2 for 30.

Set NPI power mode to high performance, if not already, otherwise your gfx card will keep ramping up and down its clock speed as you move around.

HoiHoi, never reluctant to learn. So I tried this.

Power Management Mode is on Prefer Maximum Performance in NPI (was all the time)
Switched off Framerate Limiter en set Vsync to Follow 3D application setting
Then your suggestions above: r_mode_refresh "60" and r_vsync "1" and later "2"

No difference: at r_vsync "1" the framrate drops to 58 fps and the panning is reasonable, but worse then with the monitor running on 120 Hz and full freesync. At r_vsync "2" the framerate drops to 30 fps and the panning is horrible.

The drop in framerate however gives a huge room for higher GFX-settings. The load on the 1070 drops from 99% to about 54%, when using r_refresh_mode "60" and r_vsync "1".

[BenganJ]

@theclumsygeek

No, the only setting you should have to change is Ambient Occlusion usage from Enabled to Disabled and reverse!
And of course hit Apply changes button afterwards!

[Sansemiano]

@theclumsygeek

No, the only setting you should have to change is Ambient Occlusion usage from Enabled to Disabled and reverse!
And of course hit Apply changes button afterwards!

I did a haul with that. Switching NPI AO off in this way and switching it on in the game on High. Maybe Clumsy is right with his opinion the in-game AO is a little better than the NPI AO.