Blocky pixelated shadows in Shogun II

[Szlachta]

So ever since Fall released, shadows in all Shogun modes have been blocky and pixelated. I have a Radeon H?D 6950 1gb, with the latest drivers and catalyst 12.6 I believe. Here are some pics. Anybody know whats up with this? Ive tried re downloading the drivers, rolling back, everything. It's even starting to effect other games a bit (older TW games, Skyrim).

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

As you can see, the shadows look like crap, and that is with soft shadows on, with them off they look a bit better but still super pixelated. Before Fall though they never looked like this.



Here is the other thread in the Shogun forum

[irishron]

It looks like no AA (antialiasing).

Post your gfx.log.txt.

[Szlachta]

How do I do that?

[irishron]

Copy/paste works.

You can attatch it using the Go Advanced button and the paperclip on the next page.

[Szlachta]

I mean where do I find that information at? What do I have to run etc. to get that info? Is it in my device manager?

Im definitely more of a hardware person. Building it was easy, but all of this stuff gives me headaches.

[irishron]

Users\username\appdata\roaming\the creative assembly\shogun2\logs.

[Szlachta]

Thanks, will post in sec.

Edit here it is:

Downgrading, Over budget by 149 MB
Downgraded Anti-Aliasing to 0
Disabled Depth of Field
Disabled SSAO
Downgraded Shadows to 3
Downgraded Shadows to 2
Disabled HDR
Downgraded Sky Options to 2
Downgraded Water Details to 2
Downgraded Effects Quality to 2

Seems things were downgraded for some reason. Or did I even post the right thing? I mean, did SII magically up how much resources it needs or something? I dont even know what thats a log of. I mean, I dont see how it downgraded when my settings won't save when I change them (even when I put everything on low). I have to redo my settings every time. I cant even get dx11 to show up now (dont get the prompt and when I change it in the options it never saves.)

Edit: OK I read up on what that is a log of, and I dont understand why I didnt have any of these problems before Fall. My system easily maxed SII without any problems and never had that log. My specs should be more than enough to own SII, like they did all the way up to Falls release.

[Szlachta]

, dbl post.

[The Useless Member]

I don't think you posted the right thing.

[Szlachta]

That was the only thing in there.

[irishron]

he posted the right thing. No problem.

The game downgraded antialiasing to 0 and this would be your blocky shadows, no doubt.

2gb card time if the budget can afford it? I'd play without shadows, personally.

[Szlachta]

But why would Shogun all of a sudden require more than it used to? I never had this problem until Fall. And why is this effecting all of my games? I never even had that log before.

And can I manually override that, since I know my system can handle Shogun maxed, that log is just wrong or something? I dont want it to override sinceI know my system can handle it. I also have some desync multi logs, could that be messing them up?

Could it be old drivers getting in the way of new ones? Because I dont really know how to uninstall drivers (I'm not sure if the uninstall in catalyst works right), so when I update them, I just dl them regularly.

[Szlachta]

here are my pref scripts as well:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

write_preferences_at_exit true; # write_preferences_at_exit <bool>, Write preferences at exit #
app_multirun false; # app_multirun <bool>, Allow multiple instances of the application #
x_res 1920; # x_res <int32>, Fixed window width #
y_res 1080; # y_res <int32>, Fixed window height #
x_pos 0; # x_pos <int32>, Window position #
y_pos 0; # y_pos <int32>, Window position #
vfs_log_level 0; # vfs_log_level <int32>, 0 - off, 1 - mod-user, 2 - dev #
unit_test false; # unit_test <bool>, unit test (for daily build) #
campaign_unit_multiplier 0.5; # campaign_unit_multiplier <float>, Set default unit multiplier for campaign #
naval_fleet_multiplier 0.5; # naval_fleet_multiplier <float>, Set default fleet size for battles #
gfx_first_run false; # gfx_first_run <bool>, First time application run #
gfx_dx11_checked true; # gfx_dx11_checked <bool>, Have we checked that user wants dx11? #
gfx_video_memory 0; # gfx_video_memory <int>, Override available video memory (bytes) #
gfx_fullscreen true; # gfx_fullscreen <bool>, Run the application in fullscreen or not #
gfx_vsync false; # gfx_vsync <bool>, vertical synchronization #
gfx_hdr false; # gfx_hdr <bool>, Use high dynamic range rendering pipeline #
gfx_shadermodel 1; # gfx_shadermodel <int>, Set shader model, 0-SM3LQ, 1-SM3, 2-SM4, 3=SM4.1, 4=SM5 #
gfx_aa 1; # gfx_aa <int>, Set antialiasing, 0-no, 1 = MLAA, 2 = MSAA_2X, 3 = MSAA_4X, 4 = MSAA_8X #
gfx_texture_filtering 1; # gfx_texture_filtering <int>, Set texture filtering, 0-trilinear, 4- anisotropic 16x #
gfx_texture_quality 3; # gfx_texture_quality <int>, Set the quality of textures. 0 - lowest, 3 - ultra #
gfx_ssao false; # gfx_ssao <bool>, Enable Screen Space Ambient Occlusion buffer #
gfx_enable_directx11 false; # gfx_enable_directx11 <bool>, Enable DirectX 11 rendering #
gfx_distortion true; # gfx_distortion <bool>, Enable Distortion Effect buffer #
gfx_depth_of_field 1; # gfx_depth_of_field <int>, Set depth of field quality 0 - off, 2 - high #
gfx_hardware_shadows true; # gfx_hardware_shadows <bool>, Enable hardware shadows #
gfx_tesselation false; # gfx_tesselation <bool>, Enable tesselation #
gfx_sky_quality 3; # gfx_sky_quality <int>, Set the quality of sky. 0 - lowest, 3 - ultra #
gfx_unit_quality 3; # gfx_unit_quality <int>, Set the quality of units. 0 - lowest, 3 - ultra #
gfx_ship_quality 3; # gfx_ship_quality <int>, Set the quality of ships. 0 - lowest, 3 - ultra #
gfx_building_quality 3; # gfx_building_quality <int>, Set the quality of buildings. 0 - lowest, 3 - ultra #
gfx_water_quality 3; # gfx_water_quality <int>, Set the quality of water. 0 - lowest, 3 - ultra #
gfx_unit_scale 2; # gfx_unit_scale <int>, Set unit scale. 0 - lowest, 3 - ultra #
gfx_shadow_quality 4; # gfx_shadow_quality <int>, Set unit scale. 0 - off, 4 - ultra #
gfx_tree_quality 3; # gfx_tree_quality <int>, Set unit scale. 0 - off, 4 - ultra #
gfx_grass_quality 4; # gfx_grass_quality <int>, Set unit scale. 0 - off, 4 - ultra #
gfx_terrain_quality 1; # gfx_terrain_quality <int>, Set unit scale. 0 - low, 1 - high #
gfx_gamma_setting 2; # gfx_gamma_setting <float>, Set gamma correction #
gfx_brightness_setting 1.2; # gfx_brightness_setting <float>, Set brightness #
gfx_screenshot_folder ./screenshots; # gfx_screenshot_folder <folder>, Folder to where save screenshots relative to Empire directory #
gfx_gpu "AMD Radeon HD 6900 Series"; # gfx_gpu <path>, The GPU description #
gfx_effects_quality 3; # gfx_effects_quality <int>, Set effects quality. 0 - lowest, 3 - ultra #
gfx_vignette true; # gfx_vignette <true|false>, Enable vignette #
gfx_picture_in_picture false; # gfx_picture_in_picture <true|false>, Enable picture_in_picture #
gfx_blood_effects true; # gfx_blood_effects <bool>, Enable Blood effects #
camera_move_speed 100; # camera_move_speed <float>, Set camera movement speed #
camera_turn_speed 5; # camera_turn_speed <float>, Set camera turn speed #
default_camera_type 2; # default_battle_camera <card32>, default battle camera: 0-totalwar 1-rts 2-debug #
enable_sound true; # enable_sound <bool>, enables all audio content (default = true). If disabled none of the database or sound pack files are loaded. #
fix_res true; # fix_res <bool>, Forbid window resizing #
fix_window_pos true; # fix_window_pos <bool>, Forbid window repositioning #
mouse_wheel_sensitivity 50; # mouse_wheel_sensitivity <card32>, mouse wheel sensitivity: <0-100> default value = 50 #
invert_cam_x_axis false; # invert_camera_x_axis <bool>, invert camera tilting up/down #
invert_cam_y_axis false; # invert_camera_y_axis <bool>, invert camera panning left/right #
minimised_ui false; # minimised_ui <true|false>, show minimised ui #
ui_order_button_mode 0; # ui_order_button_mode <0|1|2>, Only applicable with minimised ui. 0 = always, 1 = slide on, 2 = never #
show_selection_markers true; # show_selection_markers <true|false>, Show the selection markers under the units #
show_path_markers true; # show_path_markers <true|false>, Show paths in naval battles #
show_target_zones true; # show_target_zones <true|false>, Show firing arcs etc #
ui_order_button_mode 0; # ui_order_button_mode <0|1|2>, Only applicable with minimised ui. 0 = always, 1 = slide on, 2 = never #
ui_card_mode 0; # ui_card_mode <0|1|2>, Only applicable with minimised ui. 0 = always, 1 = slide on, 2 = never #
ui_radar_mode 0; # ui_radar_mode <0|1|2>, Only applicable with minimised ui. 0 = always, 1 = slide on, 2 = never #
ui_land_unit_ids 0; # ui_land_unit_ids <0|1|2>, 0 = always, 1 = on mouse over, 2 = never #
ui_naval_unit_ids 0; # ui_naval_unit_ids <0|1|2>, 0 = always, 1 = on mouse over, 2 = never #
ui_mouse_scroll true; # ui_mouse_scroll <true|false>, Allow/disallow scrolling of the map by putting the cursor at the edge of the screen #
battle_time_limit 60; # battle_time_limit <int>, Sets the time (in minutes) for each battle. -1 for unlimited #
battle_difficulty 0; # battle_difficulty <int>, Sets the handicap for battles. Positive gives advantage. -2 is vhard, -1 is hard, 0 normal, 1 easy #
autoresolve_difficulty 0; # autoresolve_difficulty <int>, Sets the handicap for battles that are autoresolved. Positive gives advantage. -2 is vhard, -1 is hard, 0 normal, 1 easy #
campaign_difficulty 0; # campaign_difficulty <int>, Sets the handicap for campaigns. Positive gives advantage. -2 is vhard, -1 is hard, 0 normal, 1 easy #
battle_advice_level 2; # battle_advice_level <int>, Sets advice level in the battle game #
campaign_advice_level 2; # campaign_advice_level <int>, Sets advice level in the campaign game #
info_panel_mode 1; # info_panel_mode <int>, Sets info panel options. 0 - only in campaign, 1 - campaign and battle cards, 2 - campaign and battle cards and battle units #
advisor_mode 2; # advisor_mode <int>, Sets Advisor options. 0 - text only, 1 - audio only, 2 - text and audio both #
campaign_time_limit -1; # campaign_time_limit <int>, Sets the time (in minutes) for each round of the campaign. -1 for unlimited #
show_cpu_moves true; # show_cpu_moves <true|false>, Show/hide the movement of the ai pieces on the campaign map #
automanage_regions false; # automanage_regions <true|false>, Let the AI manage taxes etc in players regions #
limitless_ammo true; # show_cpu_moves <true|false>, Enable/disable Infinite ammo on battlefields #
occupiable_building_markers true; # show_occupiable_building_markers <true|false>, Enable/disable occupiable building markers on battlefields #
allow_drop_in_battles true; # allow_drop_in_battles <bool>, Allow invititations to other peoples campaign battles when playing a single player campaign #
friend_only_drop_in_battles true; # friend_only_drop_in_battles <bool>, invite only friends to your campaign drop in battles when playing a single player campaign #
multithreaded_model_enabled true; # multithreaded_model_enabled <true|false>, Run the battle model on a separate thread #
battle_camera_shake_enabled true; # battle_camera_shake_enabled <true|false>, Enable battle camera shake effects #
subtitles true; # subtitles <true|false>, Display subtitles during movies #
sound_master_volume 100; # sound_master_volume <int>, master sound volume 0-100 #
sound_music_volume 75; # sound_music_volume <int>, music sound volume 0-100 #
sound_speech_volume 100; # sound_speech_volume <int>, speech sound volume 0-100 #
sound_sfx_volume 100; # sound_sfx_volume <int>, sfx sound volume 0-100 #
sound_previous_master_volume 100; # sound_master_previous_volume <int>, Last modified sound value #
sound_previous_music_volume 100; # sound_music_previous_volume <int>, Last modified sound value #
sound_previous_speech_volume 100; # sound_speech_previous_volume <int>, Last modified sound value #
sound_previous_sfx_volume 100; # sound_master_previous_volume <int>, Last modified sound value #
sound_master_enabled true; # sound_master_enabled <true|false>, master sound enabled #
sound_music_enabled true; # sound_music_enabled <true|false>, music sound enabled #
sound_speech_enabled true; # sound_speech_enabled <true|false>, speech sound enabled #
sound_sfx_enabled true; # sound_sfx_enabled <true|false>, sfx sound volume enabled #
sound_provider 0; # sound_provider <int>, sound provider index (0-?) #
sound_channels 256; # sound_channels <int>, Number of sound channels. Fewer channels means fewer sounds but faster performance. #
voice_chat_enable true; # voice_chat_enable <bool>, Enables VOIP functionality in Steam. (default = true) #
voice_chat_microphone_gain 100; # voice_chat_microphone_gain <int>, voice_chat_microphone_gain (0-100). #
voice_chat_microphone_gain_boost true; # voice_chat_microphone_gain_boost <bool>, Boost microphone gain. #
voice_chat_volume 100; # voice_chat_volume <int>, Voice chat volume (0-100). #
voice_chat_transmit_only_when_key_pressed true; # voice_chat_transmit_only_when_key_pressed <bool>, voice_chat_transmit_only_when_key_pressed (otherwise always trasnmitting). #
bink_use_thread true; # bink_use_thread <bool>, tells bink to use asynchronous update, increased performance on some systems, decreased on others. (default = true) #
number_of_threads 0; # number_of_threads <int>, Set the number of threads <= 0 - automatic, >0 = explicit number #
campaign_camera_edge_scroll_delay 0.2; # campaign_camera_edge_scroll_delay <float>, Set the number of seconds of delay between the mouse cursor entering the edge-scroll zone on the campaign map the camera starting movement. #

[irishron]

http://forums.totalwar.com The top third of the site is Shogun2.

The way I've seen others complain after each DLC release and game graphics upgrade, I'm not surprised to be honest. I don't even want to read my gfx.log.txt.

This upgrading has been going on since December before RotS was released.

Edit:

gfx_video_memory 0; # gfx_video_memory <int>, Override available video memory (bytes) #

Eneter 2gb in bytes. 1024 x 1024 x 1024 x 2.

gfx_aa 1; # gfx_aa <int>, Set antialiasing, 0-no, 1 = MLAA, 2 = MSAA_2X, 3 = MSAA_4X, 4 = MSAA_8X #

Ste it to 1.

Set the file to read-only. After starting the game, again, check the log to see if the game downgraded them anyway.

[Szlachta]

So the games specs are in fact increasing? WTF? (how is CA going to talk about min specs being locked from now on, when their current specs are increasing within the life of the current game?) And how do I override this junk? I heard there's a way, but cant find the link anymore.

[Szlachta]

OK, I found this post, but Im not sure what it is telling me to do (what I have to add)?

Hi everyone,

The game has certain graphical memory requirements, if those are not met by your system the game may lower the settings, to ensure better performance. So even if you specify Ultra, yet your system cannot handle it, settings such as texture quality may be lowered.

We are working on clearer more transparent information of when and why the downgrading occurs for the future.

For now, you can check if your settings are being downgraded by looking in the gfx.log.txt file located here:

C:\Users\*Username*\AppData\Roaming\The Creative Assembly\Shogun2\logs\gfx.log.txt

If you cannot find this file, chances are your settings are not being downgraded.

This file is generated every time you run a battle. Here is an example of the file, ran with 256mb graphics memory on ultra settings:

Downgrading, Over budget by 132 MB
Downgraded Shadows to 1
Downgraded Texture Quality to 0
Downgrading, Over budget by 71 MB
Downgraded Sky Options to 0
Downgraded Shadows to 0
Downgraded Water Details to 0
Disabled Distortion


If you see your settings are being downgraded, you can force a memory override, and prevent the settings from being downgraded by editing the “gfx_video_memory” line to your preferences.script.txt

So in the above example the log states that the settings are 132MB over budget so setting the “gfx_video_memory 388000000;” (256mb + 132mb) should stop the downgrading from occurring.


This could cause instability, and could lead to other issues so is not recommended!

[irishron]

Read my last post. We aren't responsible for any instability this may and can cause.

[Szlachta]

If it screws something up, cant I just change it back?


So I put AA where 0-no, I change that to just 1? And where do I put the 2 in? and do I put 2gb, or 2?

And what about that text I posted is that another way to override it or something? Actually, I have no idea how to do what you say (where to put the text). Sorry but Im a file manipulating newb. And would rather get it right, than screw something up even worse. And doesnt it say my AA is already set to 1, or am I reading it wrong, or is it just getting overridden because I need to put the memory line in? Im confused.

[irishron]

For AA, replace the 0 with a 1.

For the override, check the first line I posed and what to change the 0 to.

[Szlachta]

So it should look like this?



gfx_video_memory 1024 x 1024 x 1024 x 2; # gfx_video_memory <int>, Override available video memory (bytes) #


gfx_aa 1; # gfx_aa <int>, Set antialiasing, 0-no, 1 = MLAA, 2 = MSAA_2X, 3 = MSAA_4X, 4 = MSAA_8X #


Im sorry that you must suffer my ignorance.