This Could Be Very Interesting - AnKor's Shaders

[WesCov]

Using JSGME I applied the AnKor's Shader's mod. It seemed to work in that my P47 is shiner and the tail casts a shadow as I fly. However, there is a several inch band at the horizon that erases my fuselage in both inside and outsize views. When very low the band is a only a few pixels thick, but it grows with altitude. I don't think it is the band described in the documentation regarding the blend of sky and Earth, because it seems to several inches of distant landscape.

Either a cause of this problem, or a side effect of some other, I am not able to save the Dual Pass, High Res Z, and Disable Shadow settings in ConfigOveridesdw.xml (nor turn off the movie). I change the xml file, run config.exe, and recheck that the xml settings are there, but after running cfs3.exe I recheck the xml settings and they have been reset to the default.

I think this might be because when I open cfs3 I get the message that it did not shut down properly. (I don't know why this is the case as I quit using the menu.) I am assuming there is some issue and as a result the config file is reset. By the way, this happened before I applied the mod as well

Another clue may be that even though I (think I) installed DX9c, the dxdiag.txt suggests that I am running DX12,

So, my issue could be config settings, DX issues, or something completely different. How do you make user you are using DX9c? How do you assure a graceful exit? How do you assume the settings are set? Ultimately, how I get rid of that band? Can anyone give me some advice? Thanks!

[MajorMagee]

Make sure you have Dual Pass Render disabled.

[WesCov]

Make sure you have Dual Pass Render disabled.

I think that is a main part of the problem. I turn off Dual Pass Render and turn on High Resolution Z Buffer and Disable Shadows. I run config.exe using Exit to close the window. When I start cfs3 I get a message that it did not shut down properly and it seems that my configs are reset to the default. I can't seem to set any config settings, not even turning off the movie. How do I debug what is causing cfs3 to shut down improperly? I don't get any error messages at all. Alternatively, how can I get my settings to stick?

[FireStorm II]

When using the cfs3config.exe, you must close it using 'file' 'exit' and
not closing it with the right side 'X' or it will not save.
I've never edited the ConfigOveridesdw.xml, I just run the config app
to make all the settings.

[WesCov]

When using the cfs3config.exe, you must close it using 'file' 'exit' and
not closing it with the right side 'X' or it will not save.
I've never edited the ConfigOveridesdw.xml, I just run the config app
to make all the settings.

Oh good grief! I was doing it wrong. I thought that you had to change the xml file then run config.exe to apply the settings... because of your comment I see that you can change all the setting via config.exe. The problem went away. Thank you so much!

[WesCov]

Love all the updated visuals and features. I have a performance issue though -- the screen freezes for a second then jumps ahead always at key moments in a dogfight or a dive bombing. I line up and press guns, the screen freezes and unfreezes after I have passed by. Similarly, during a dive bombing run, at the point of release, the screen freezes, and I end up on the deck. This didn't happen pre-shader install, so are there some settings that I can turn off (or reduce) to improve performance?

[gecko]

Can you post your system specs (and screen resolution)? It will help determine if something is wrong and causing unnecessary performance loss, or if you actually need to turn some settings down.

[WesCov]

Thank you. I have a run-of-the-mill laptop: Dell Inspiron 5579 with a i7-8550U GPU 1.80 GHz 4 core, 8 logical, 16 GB memory, and a Intel UHD Graphics 620 card. Because the display is a 16" widescreen I have been running CFS3 at 1280x600 or 1280x720. Undoubtedly I am due for an upgrade, but since the pre-shader versions was working, it would be great to get the shader version working even with a few less features...

[gecko]

Unfortunately that isn't going to get you very far, and you will need to turn some things down. I ran for years on a laptop that was comparable to yours, but that was before the shaders were released.

You will need to edit D3D8.ini, which contains the settings for the various features of the shaders. Notes in the file do a good job of explaining what does what, and hopefully to can find settings that work for you.

[WesCov]

Understand! I am already familiar with D3D8.ini and will explore it more. Thank you.

[FireStorm II]

One thing about CFS3, it likes Hi-res, so go as high as your screen can handle.

As Gecko said, maybe Scenery and Terrains could be turned down,
but Aircraft settings always on 5, Clouds could be lowest.

[WesCov]

I found that the solution is pretty simple -- turn off the debugging:

; Troubleshooting options
Enabled=0

There a slight stutter with the first firing of guns but it doesn't happen again.

All is not perfect though, the sun is a white square!

[WesCov]

All is not perfect though, the sun is a white square!

The square sun issue was discussed in this post: https://www.sim-outhouse.com/sohforu...in-the-BoB-mod

The solution is to copy the .dds sun files into the weather directory (sun_main, sun_corona_d, sun_glare_a, sun_glare_b, sun_glare_c, sun_glare_d). I found them in the 2018 update of AnKor's shaders: https://www.sim-outhouse.com/sohforu...1&linkid=23304 although they apparently are also in the ETO and PTO mods.

[AnKor]

WesCov, having Enabled=0 in d3d8.ini disables all new effects entirely, it is basically the same as running without the d3d8.dll.

I believe ShadowQuality has the largest performance impact of all d3d8.ini settings. Try changing it from 5 to 3.
Lowering TerrainShadows from 3 to 2 may also help.
Another option worth trying is SceneryDynamicLighting=0 as it is quite complex feature, but rarely visible.

BTW, it is a bit odd that you had to disable Dual Pass Render manually, I belive I've fixed it long ago and shaders should take care of this and other required options. Maybe you aren't using the latest version? Though I don't really remember which is the latest

[WesCov]

LOL. And I thought I was being clever. I will try the reducing ShadowQuaity, TerrainShadows, and other options... Thank you.

[FOO FIGHTER]

Should there be a setting change in the M3D to get the +r.dds to display properly?

[sixstrings5859]

FooFighter , Ask Andy,(MajorMagee). He knows what to do. Helped me several times with that problem. It has to do with Ankor's shaders , and i believe Win 10. Aircraft shows up black ? Regards, Scott

[FOO FIGHTER]

Been trying to get the +sr.dds and +nm.dds to work on the Korean Skies F-86 canopy texture (which does not have a specular/reflective texture) without success. I'm sure I'm grossly misunderstanding exactly how these are supposed to work. Can you set me straight Major? What am I missing?

[gecko]

Can you post a screenshot of your texture file names?

[MajorMagee]

I make the canopy plexiglass reflective by hex editing the m3d file.

For example for Squanee I change the values starting at AB0
from 00 00 00 00 90 E1 96 3F 00 00 00 FF 00 00 00 FF 00 00 00 40
to 00 00 FF 00 99 99 99 12 00 00 00 FF 00 00 00 FF 00 00 7E 43

and starting at AD4
from 00 00 00 00 29 33 0E 3F 00 00 00 FF 00 00 00 FF 00 00 93 40
to 00 00 FF 00 99 99 99 12 00 00 00 FF 00 00 00 FF 00 00 7E 43

Adding the first FF enables the reflectivity, then 99 99 99 controls the color, and 12 sets the transparency.
The final 7E 43 provides the maximum intensity for the specular reflection.

For the canopy framing you also need to activate the reflectivity before the _p.+sr file will work.

Change the values starting at A44
from 00 00 00 00 FF FF FF FF 00 00 00 FF 00 00 00 FF 00 00 00 40 03
to 00 00 FF 00 FF FF FF FF 00 00 00 FF 00 00 00 FF 00 00 80 42 03

where the final 03 references the _p.dds file

[FOO FIGHTER]

Thank you both for responding. I had already added the "FF" to the third pair of numbers in section 2 of the string but just added the "80 42" to section 6. The only change was that the canopy frame shadow was more defined. I should have explained at first that I was looking to get the frame to have a reflective texture to match the main aircraft texture. After many previous attempts I proceeded under the assumption that Ankor's shader mod was hard coded to the "_t.dds" tag and therefore ignored the "_p.dds" tag which is why I changed the canopy texture to a "_t.dds.

@MajorMagee - There was no A44 header but I assumed you meant A40 as the string numbers matched.

As things are now:

[MajorMagee]

If you look at the bottom left of your screenshot you can see that you're actually at A44.

I set my hex editor to display 36 columns wide to make the repeating bit patterns in each row line up vertically. This make it easy to find the section of the m3d file that needs to be edited because it's right above the texture name list.

[FOO FIGHTER]

Copy that Major. Still no dice on the canopy frame +sr.dds.

[MajorMagee]

Odd that it works for me. As a matter of fact, your question caused me to go back and fix all of mine. Since all of the metal finish F-86 share the same f-86_p.dds filename I only needed to create one f-86_p.+sr.dds file. Then each stand alone just needed the FF added at A46 to activate the reflectivity.

[FOO FIGHTER]

I found the problem. The canopy +sr.dds texture had the same shading/reflective opacity as the main r.dds texture. It was too dark and I had to lighten it to a near bright white with the desired results. Thank you so much for your help Andy!