You said you take ideas, have you seen SSE FPS Stabilizer? https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/38438
It can handle stuff like this, and adjusts it based on FPS. fBlockLevel0Distance:TerrainManager=80000 fBlockLevel1Distance:TerrainManager=150000 fTreeLoadDistance:TerrainManager=140000 fLODFadeOutMultObjects:LOD=15 fLODFadeOutMultItems:LOD=4.5 fLODFadeOutMultActors:LOD=12
Also, you might consider doing stuff like TAA, AO, SSR, that can be toggled on/off in the console ingame. https://gist.github.com/reg2k/bad5567d30787067dcaa42ba948ce87e (Fallout 4 All Console Commands.txt) ToggleAmbientOcclusion ??AO ToggleScalableAmbientOcclusion SAO ToggleMotionBlur ????MB ToggleScreenSpaceReflections ? SSR ToggleScreenSpaceSubsurfaceScattering TSSS ToggleFXAA ????? FXAA ToggleTAA ????? TAA ToggleBokehDof ???? BOK ToggleLensFlare ???? LF Sunbeams ????? SB
In the next version there will surely be these three parameters: fLODFadeOutMultObjects:LOD, fLODFadeOutMultItems:LOD and fLODFadeOutMultActors:LOD. Instead for the others I have to understand how the engine manages them. For SSR, TAA, AO I should see how I can implement, because disabling them in game definitely helps with fps, but ruins the overall picture.
I agree with luxor. Ultra godrays are the only way to not have them be pixelated, and so having them go down to a lower quality dynamically would be an eyesore. There's a popular mod on here (just console commands really) that makes Ultra godrays more performance friendly, and it works wonderfully. My FPS never drops due to godrays. Any time I experience dips, it's in the city due to shadow distance.
First of all i forgot to mention that if you want to disable an option just write the same values for min and max (for example fMinDistance = 6000.0 and fMaxDistance = 6000.0, yes indeed lowering the God rays creates that annoying pixel effect, I could implement it but keep it disabled. However I was thinking that I could lower the grass distance.
Possibilities: SSR resolution divider. This setting doesn't exist in Fallout 4, but in Skyrim Special Edition, it helps improve framerate of SSR. Not sure if possible.
Shadow Resolution: could be of limited utility.
fMeshLOD settings. These control how far BSMeshLODTriShape segments of meshes are shown for affected meshes. I prefer to actually disable this system to remove pop in, but for people struggling with too many draw calls, reducing this increases performance.
Btw, fTreeLoadDistance:TerrainManager does nothing in Fallout 4. It is a leftover from previous games.
Thanks. I think the console commands could work well, maybe you could weight it so that if 1) shadows distance is not enough, then 2) LOD distance, and if still not at minimum fps then 3) some console commands. I would gladly give up my SSR, nonflickering rays, AO, TAA etc temporary in some few spots for better and consistent fps. Good luck :-) great project you have here
I think an essential thing to do before using this mod is to remove the stuttering that come from disk streaming before. To do that, you have to understand how to create ba2 archive. From here you have to store all files in you textures folders in a ba2 file. Many method, mod by mod, all in one... Like that you can remove 90% of stuttering. For that use the mode Cathedral Assets Optimizer.
More, use the fps limiter from high fps physic fix. Limit fps to 30, to have a solid 30.
If all work well, now you can continue using shadow boost. Before that, it will add more problem than it solve. An example, you encounter a stutter during game because engine need to stream a big loose texture from a windows folder. What shadow boost see? It see you lost fps and immediately drastically reduce the shadow quality and others parameters.
And what you see yourself? A stutter because folder streaming + a carnage in visual quality from shadow boost.
Preparing your game to correctly use shadow boost is essential. That include using load accelerator mod also
Why would you use F12, the default hotkey on steam for screenshots, as the default hotkey to open the menu here? lmao
Also, yet another mod with a thousands settings and not a single guide to what they all do. I set my FPS target to 130, stand in a place, get 80FPS. Change settings in menu around, FPS only gets worse. Set FPS target to max (200) and I finally start seeing shadows being culled back. What is the point of an FPS target if it doesn't target the FPS?
It lowers shadow resolution dinamically if your FPS drops below set threshold. Personally I keep it for god rays only, my threshold for shadow is set to very low fps in case of heavy stuttering only :)
@PK0: I'm interested to know as well if v1.8 of Shadow Boost FO4 works with previous versions of Fallout 4 (or at the very least the one prior to the next-gen update, which was v1.10.163.0 of fallout4.exe). I would assume it is mostly because F4SE hasn't yet been updated for the latest game version, but can't hurt to ask.
I have no idea why, but the UI for this mod refuses to open no matter what I try. I've confirmed the mod is actually working because the shadow distance is much shorter than my game settings, but I'm unable to edit the settings while in game to fine tune them more easily. I've tried with a completely vanilla load order and it still doesn't come up, so I really have no idea what might be causing it.
EDIT: The only thing I can think that may be causing some kind of issue is ReShade, but both that and other mods I have that use imgui all show their ui, so it still doesn't make sense to me.
EDIT: I also just realised the config for the mod isn't working at all either. I tried setting all the settings to "bEnable = 0" and nothing changed in game.
EDIT: So I uninstalled ReShade and now the shadows are changing dynamically depending on my fps, which apparently it also wasn't doing before, but the config is still not changing anything in game and the UI still isn't coming up with the keybind.
Final Edit: I figured out my problem. So I use MO2, and MO2 has a feature that stores files a mod creates in an overrides folder. Turns out, MO2 doesn't know when you've uninstalled the mod that created that file so, that file remains in the override folder. So I had downloaded this mod ages ago and decided it wasn't worth the visual hit at the time, so MO2 still had that much older config file for this mod in its overrides folder, meaning it would you guessed it override any new ones. So I deleted that file and the menu now opens and everything else is working as intended.
If anyone has an issue with some shadows disappearing and flickering when using FSR3 frame gen, it might be because your FpsTarget is too high in ShadowBoostFO4.ini.
Hey, everytime I attempt to install the mod. I get in the main menu, the F12 keybind doesn't work and after around 10-15 seconds my game just... crashes. Any idea why that could be?
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You said you take ideas, have you seen SSE FPS Stabilizer?
https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/38438
It can handle stuff like this, and adjusts it based on FPS.
fBlockLevel0Distance:TerrainManager=80000
fBlockLevel1Distance:TerrainManager=150000
fTreeLoadDistance:TerrainManager=140000
fLODFadeOutMultObjects:LOD=15
fLODFadeOutMultItems:LOD=4.5
fLODFadeOutMultActors:LOD=12
Also, you might consider doing stuff like TAA, AO, SSR, that can be toggled on/off in the console ingame.
https://gist.github.com/reg2k/bad5567d30787067dcaa42ba948ce87e (Fallout 4 All Console Commands.txt)
ToggleAmbientOcclusion ??AO
ToggleScalableAmbientOcclusion SAO
ToggleMotionBlur ????MB
ToggleScreenSpaceReflections ? SSR
ToggleScreenSpaceSubsurfaceScattering TSSS
ToggleFXAA ????? FXAA
ToggleTAA ????? TAA
ToggleBokehDof ???? BOK
ToggleLensFlare ???? LF
Sunbeams ????? SB
Thanks again for great work !!
For SSR, TAA, AO I should see how I can implement, because disabling them in game definitely helps with fps, but ruins the overall picture.
However I was thinking that I could lower the grass distance.
SSR resolution divider. This setting doesn't exist in Fallout 4, but in Skyrim Special Edition, it helps improve framerate of SSR. Not sure if possible.
Shadow Resolution: could be of limited utility.
fMeshLOD settings. These control how far BSMeshLODTriShape segments of meshes are shown for affected meshes. I prefer to actually disable this system to remove pop in, but for people struggling with too many draw calls, reducing this increases performance.
Btw, fTreeLoadDistance:TerrainManager does nothing in Fallout 4. It is a leftover from previous games.
maybe you could weight it so that if 1) shadows distance is not enough, then 2) LOD distance, and if still not at minimum fps then 3) some console commands.
I would gladly give up my SSR, nonflickering rays, AO, TAA etc temporary in some few spots for better and consistent fps.
Good luck :-) great project you have here
[LOD]
bMeshLODRenderAllLevels=1
More, use the fps limiter from high fps physic fix. Limit fps to 30, to have a solid 30.
If all work well, now you can continue using shadow boost. Before that, it will add more problem than it solve.
An example, you encounter a stutter during game because engine need to stream a big loose texture from a windows folder.
What shadow boost see? It see you lost fps and immediately drastically reduce the shadow quality and others parameters.
And what you see yourself? A stutter because folder streaming + a carnage in visual quality from shadow boost.
Preparing your game to correctly use shadow boost is essential.
That include using load accelerator mod also
Also, yet another mod with a thousands settings and not a single guide to what they all do. I set my FPS target to 130, stand in a place, get 80FPS. Change settings in menu around, FPS only gets worse. Set FPS target to max (200) and I finally start seeing shadows being culled back. What is the point of an FPS target if it doesn't target the FPS?
Always best to use more recent, and up to date mods.
I've tried with a completely vanilla load order and it still doesn't come up, so I really have no idea what might be causing it.
EDIT: The only thing I can think that may be causing some kind of issue is ReShade, but both that and other mods I have that use imgui all show their ui, so it still doesn't make sense to me.
EDIT: I also just realised the config for the mod isn't working at all either. I tried setting all the settings to "bEnable = 0" and nothing changed in game.
EDIT: So I uninstalled ReShade and now the shadows are changing dynamically depending on my fps, which apparently it also wasn't doing before, but the config is still not changing anything in game and the UI still isn't coming up with the keybind.
Final Edit: I figured out my problem. So I use MO2, and MO2 has a feature that stores files a mod creates in an overrides folder. Turns out, MO2 doesn't know when you've uninstalled the mod that created that file so, that file remains in the override folder. So I had downloaded this mod ages ago and decided it wasn't worth the visual hit at the time, so MO2 still had that much older config file for this mod in its overrides folder, meaning it would you guessed it override any new ones. So I deleted that file and the menu now opens and everything else is working as intended.
I wonder if Papyrus Script Runner conflicts with it.
The issue could potentially be resolved by using the following mod: Weapon Debris Crash Fix