Some clarification of what these codes do; (Source; I'm a game-developer with background as a light-smith for films. I've tested each of these codes individually since this game came out - in order to really know what each code actually does.)
[Display]
iShadowMapResolution=4096 (Size of ENTIRE memory-pool used for shadow-texture distribution on surfaces)
iShadowMapResolutionSecondary=2048 (Size of memory-pool used for secondary shadow LOD-textures on surfaces PAST the "iBlurDeferredShadowMask" range)
iShadowMapResolutionPrimary=2048 (Size of memory-pool used for primary shadow LOD-textures on surfaces BEFORE the "iBlurDeferredShadowMask" range)
fShadowBiasScale=0.6000 (The ANGLE the Shadowmaps are aligned to surfaces. Anything from 0.3 - 0.6 is recommended since0.6 seems to remove ALL shadow-striping from the exterior world.)
iShadowMaskQuarter=3 (How many Quarters of an object are being visually aligned to the players viewpoint. 3 = 75% standard, 4 is FULL. No need for more because 4 = 100% coverage)
iBlurDeferredShadowMask=10 (The amount of blurring added to shadow-edges. 0=Sharpest with ZERO blurring, making shadows very choppy. 5 is standard. I recommend a value of 10 so that shadows seen up-close are still 'soft' around the edges.)
fShadowDistance=3500.0000 (Distance of shadow-maps displayed to the player, highly recommended values are; 2000=Low, 3000=Medium, 4000=MAX, but no higher since you lose quality the further away shadows are drawn, and most of the landscape of Skyrim was designed with hills and other surfaces to 'mask' these shadow-transitions.)
fInteriorShadowDistance=8000.0000 (This value determines the distance to player that lights are displayed to DRAW shadows, if this value is below 8000, then players will see lights flashing on & off in dungeons and other interiors. Changing this value to smaller numbers does NOT improve shadow-quality, this is strictly a light-casting draw-distance factor.)
iShadowFilter=3 (Recommended value of 3, since 4 causes 'Crash To Desktop' on some machines)
fShadowLODStartFade=200.0000 (This is the number that changes the quality of a shadows appearance up-close, the smaller the number, the better the resolution. Tested extensively to be best at 200, since 100 is too short a range and doesn't start drawing for the players point-of-view until 200.)
iShadowMode=3 (Recommended value of 3, since 4 is buggy in some areas, particularly around waterfalls which will be either too-bright or too dark)
bShadowMaskZPrepass=1 (This prepass ensures the active blending of shadows onto textured surfaces and is used to record the value of 'iShadowMaskQuarter'' to the game-engine. It is not required, but DOES add realism if you have the machine to handle it.)
I hope this helps. For more SHADOW info, check out nexus-user Defosh's channel on this site.
Thank you so much for an explanation along with those settings. There are too many "These numbers are the best because it's what I use" settings out there.
I know, this thread is like half a year old... but wanted to say "thank you", Valorien! This is the best explanation I've read about shadowsettings so far!
I doubt anyone is still looking at these comments, but just wanted to say that not only did this not help my exterior shadow striping problem, it didn't seem to effect the way shadows look in any way. I've tried so many "fixes" and was hoping this was the one. Glad it's working for some people.
If you're talking about the striping that can sometimes be seen on rocks or walls up close, increasing fShadowBiasScale is all you need.Something like 1.0 or 1.5 is good enough.
To fix shadows "shuddering" when you're moving around, you're looking to set iShadowFilter and iShadowMode to 3 or 4 (ultra quality).
To prevent the shadows from flickering when they move, fSunShadowUpdateTime must be set to 0 in skyrim.ini (not skyrimprefs).
Thank you! This problem's been bugging me for over an hour! You receive 20 awesome points! lol My problem was fixed by adding your suggested fix in my Skyrimprefs.ini, "fShadowBiasScale =1.5".
This tweak made my game shadows looks so much better! They were all blotchy before and prone to striping all over the place. Yes, when I used an ENB preset there was no issue, but most enb's cost me about 20 fps, so I'm using enboost /no graphics and SweetFX now...cruising along at 40+ fps in game with some pretty good visuals.
Some clarification of what these codes do; (Source; I'm a game-developer with background as a light-smith for films. I've tested each of these codes individually since this game came out - in order to really know what each code actually does.)
SKYRIMPREFS.INI:
[Display]
iShadowMapResolution=8192 (Size of ENTIRE memory-pool used for shadow-texture distribution on surfaces)
iShadowMapResolutionSecondary=4096 (Size of memory-pool used for secondary shadow LOD-textures on surfaces PAST the "iBlurDeferredShadowMask" range)
iShadowMapResolutionPrimary=8192 (Size of memory-pool used for primary shadow LOD-textures on surfaces BEFORE the "iBlurDeferredShadowMask" range)
fShadowBiasScale=0.6000 (The ANGLE the Shadowmaps are aligned to surfaces. 0.6 is recommended because going up to 1.0 makes the shadows detach from the feet of game characters.)
iShadowMaskQuarter=4 (How many Quarters of an object are being visually aligned to the players viewpoint. (1=25%, 2=50%, 3=75%, and 4=100%.)
iBlurDeferredShadowMask=2 (The amount of blurring added to shadow-edges. 0=Sharpest with ZERO blurring, making shadows very choppy. 5 is standard but causes whitish HALO'S surrounding everything silhouetted against a darker background. I recommend a value of 2 so that shadows seen up-close are still slightly 'soft' around the edges.)
fShadowDistance=3000 (Distance of shadow-maps displayed to the player, highly recommended value is; 3000, but no higher since you lose quality the further away shadows are drawn, and most of the landscape of Skyrim was designed with hills and other surfaces to 'mask' these shadow-transitions.)
fInteriorShadowDistance=8000.0000 (This value determines the distance to player that LIGHTS are displayed to DRAW shadows, if this value is below 8000, then players will see lights flashing on & off in dungeons and other interiors. Changing this value to smaller numbers does NOT improve shadow-resolution quality, this is strictly a light-casting draw-distance factor.)
iShadowFilter=3 (Recommended value of 3, since 4 causes 'Crash To Desktop')
fShadowLODStartFade=200.0000 (This is the number that changes the quality of a shadows appearance up-close, the smaller the number, the sharper the resolution. Tested extensively to be best at 200, since 100 is too short a range and doesn't start drawing for the players point-of-view until 200.)
iShadowMode=3 (Recommended value of 3, since 4 is buggy in some areas, particularly around waterfalls which will be either too-bright or too dark)
Even though this is a very old mod i just wanted to inform some of you that it worked for me and i am super duper grateful for that!
I had this: http://cloud-2.steampowered.com/ugc/595884953691501432/A26BA958E7A0C08AF4D5D265F48A5C6DB22DA2C9/
And right now it is COMPLETLE GONE! I have a vanilla Skyrim Game (basically delted all my old saves, mods and Skyrim itself, fresh DL and put mods back in etc. with enb mods (enb project) + like 80 mods. And it worked. Really, really glad you still provide this page.
Sorry for the bump but maybe others are looking for help as well
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Thank you so much for an explanation along with those settings. There are too many "These numbers are the best because it's what I use" settings out there.
Cheers!
Thank you! This problem's been bugging me for over an hour! You receive 20 awesome points! lol
My problem was fixed by adding your suggested fix in my Skyrimprefs.ini, "fShadowBiasScale =1.5".
SKYRIMPREFS.INI:
[Display]
iShadowMapResolution=8192 (Size of ENTIRE memory-pool used for shadow-texture distribution on surfaces)
iShadowMapResolutionSecondary=4096 (Size of memory-pool used for secondary shadow LOD-textures on surfaces PAST the "iBlurDeferredShadowMask" range)
iShadowMapResolutionPrimary=8192 (Size of memory-pool used for primary shadow LOD-textures on surfaces BEFORE the "iBlurDeferredShadowMask" range)
fShadowBiasScale=0.6000 (The ANGLE the Shadowmaps are aligned to surfaces. 0.6 is recommended because going up to 1.0 makes the shadows detach from the feet of game characters.)
iShadowMaskQuarter=4 (How many Quarters of an object are being visually aligned to the players viewpoint. (1=25%, 2=50%, 3=75%, and 4=100%.)
iBlurDeferredShadowMask=2 (The amount of blurring added to shadow-edges. 0=Sharpest with ZERO blurring, making shadows very choppy. 5 is standard but causes whitish HALO'S surrounding everything silhouetted against a darker background. I recommend a value of 2 so that shadows seen up-close are still slightly 'soft' around the edges.)
fShadowDistance=3000 (Distance of shadow-maps displayed to the player, highly recommended value is; 3000, but no higher since you lose quality the further away shadows are drawn, and most of the landscape of Skyrim was designed with hills and other surfaces to 'mask' these shadow-transitions.)
fInteriorShadowDistance=8000.0000 (This value determines the distance to player that LIGHTS are displayed to DRAW shadows, if this value is below 8000, then players will see lights flashing on & off in dungeons and other interiors. Changing this value to smaller numbers does NOT improve shadow-resolution quality, this is strictly a light-casting draw-distance factor.)
iShadowFilter=3 (Recommended value of 3, since 4 causes 'Crash To Desktop')
fShadowLODStartFade=200.0000 (This is the number that changes the quality of a shadows appearance up-close, the smaller the number, the sharper the resolution. Tested extensively to be best at 200, since 100 is too short a range and doesn't start drawing for the players point-of-view until 200.)
iShadowMode=3 (Recommended value of 3, since 4 is buggy in some areas, particularly around waterfalls which will be either too-bright or too dark)
bTreesReceiveShadows=0 (Self-Explanatory)
bDrawLandShadows=0 (OFF = CAUSES STRIPING!)
bDrawShadows=1 (Self-Explanatory)
bShadowMaskZPrepass=0 (leave at 0)
VIDEO-PROOF: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIcHz9TSrTY
iShadowMapResolution=1024
iShadowMapResolutionSecondary=512
iShadowMapResolutionPrimary=512
shadows are extra-bearable! Wish I had seen something like this post a year or two ago but eh :>
I had this: http://cloud-2.steampowered.com/ugc/595884953691501432/A26BA958E7A0C08AF4D5D265F48A5C6DB22DA2C9/
And right now it is COMPLETLE GONE! I have a vanilla Skyrim Game (basically delted all my old saves, mods and Skyrim itself, fresh DL and put mods back in etc. with enb mods (enb project) + like 80 mods. And it worked. Really, really glad you still provide this page.
Sorry for the bump but maybe others are looking for help as well
so thanks tom2681