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#3490375 - 01/09/12 03:00 AM Performance and quality comparisons of various AA (in-game and injected) modes  
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Xander Fulton Offline
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Put together a rather lengthy post over on the eVGA forums detailing some of the discoveries around AA quality using the various AA injectors and in-game AA for 'Cliffs of Dover'.

Doesn't look like there is a good way to copy and paste it over here and keep the formatting - but should be pretty easy to read on that link, and any discussion or questions could happen here.

Key take-away is:
- Don't mix SMAA with the in-game AA
- I don't really know why you'd use the in-game AA at all, given the excellent AA injectors out there
- New injectors coming out this year could be pretty cool!

Inline advert (2nd and 3rd post)

#3490406 - 01/09/12 04:45 AM Re: Performance and quality comparisons of various AA (in-game and injected) modes [Re: Xander Fulton]  
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jimbop Offline
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Thanks. What do the injection methods do to the cockpit text?


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#3490411 - 01/09/12 05:00 AM Re: Performance and quality comparisons of various AA (in-game and injected) modes [Re: Xander Fulton]  
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Xander Fulton Offline
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Good question!

Here are the comparisons...


No AA:


In-game 2xAA:


FXAA:


SMAA:


By and large, no amount of in-game AA has any impact on text quality at all. They appear to be per-pixel identical.

FXAA and SMAA definitely 'blur' the text some, but not in a makes-it-harder-to-read way. Actually, the effect is very much like the OS's "font smoothing", and really improves readability of the text.

#3490413 - 01/09/12 05:02 AM Re: Performance and quality comparisons of various AA (in-game and injected) modes [Re: Xander Fulton]  
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jimbop Offline
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Great, I'll have a go. smile


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#3490495 - 01/09/12 11:13 AM Re: Performance and quality comparisons of various AA (in-game and injected) modes [Re: Xander Fulton]  
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Ajay Offline
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Nice , i'm using the fxaa tweak but have not played with it via the ini file at all, much more acceptable than what is not provided in game, hoping Timothy's 4.0 version can step it up a bit within CloD.


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#3490636 - 01/09/12 03:41 PM Re: Performance and quality comparisons of various AA (in-game and injected) modes [Re: Xander Fulton]  
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cheesehawk Offline
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I don't know about it not degrading the text quality in game, when I was using the FXAA (latest ones, with the shader settings) it degraded the text to the point I couldn't stand it. Little white dots appeared randomly on the server messages, and the lines had become too thin. It was a pain to read.

Not knowing how to adjust the colors properly also made it un-useable for me. While I like the idea of being able to tweak the color palette, I simply do not understand what I'm doing enough to improve it graphics. I was hurting it (purple skies, black trees, orange tint to everything).

Also, I may have had both in-game AA and FXAA running, which caused Launcher.exe crashes very quickly (i7 920 @ 4.1Ghz, 12GB DDR3 RAM @1480ghz, GTX 560Ti+2GB running 1680x1050). I have since removed all injected FXAA, and haven't had a crash since.

I loved it when I was first using it, but later versions got overly complex, and without a better understanding of what it's doing, it was wrecking the game for me. Not saying its the cause of my problems, but it's removal has helped my system.

#3490682 - 01/09/12 04:45 PM Re: Performance and quality comparisons of various AA (in-game and injected) modes [Re: Xander Fulton]  
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Xander Fulton Offline
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It might be the over-sharpening that was enabled by default causing your issue.

The default filters applied (in the injFX_Settings.h file) looked something like this:

// Comment to deactivate an effect.
// Example: To disable the tonemap effect, use // in front of #define USE_TONEMAP

#define USE_ANTI_ALIASING
#define USE_PRE_SHARPEN
//#define USE_BLOOM *NOT WORKING
#define USE_TECHNICOLOR
#define USE_TONEMAP
#define USE_SEPIA

//#define USE_VIGNETTE
#define USE_POST_SHARPEN
//#define USE_FINAL_LIMITER

I really didn't find most of those effects interesting or useful at all, so just flat-out disabled everything that wasn't AA:
// Comment to deactivate an effect.
// Example: To disable the tonemap effect, use // in front of #define USE_TONEMAP

#define USE_ANTI_ALIASING
//#define USE_PRE_SHARPEN
//#define USE_BLOOM *NOT WORKING
//#define USE_TECHNICOLOR
//#define USE_TONEMAP
//#define USE_SEPIA
//#define USE_VIGNETTE
//#define USE_POST_SHARPEN
//#define USE_FINAL_LIMITER

#3490751 - 01/09/12 05:55 PM Re: Performance and quality comparisons of various AA (in-game and injected) modes [Re: Xander Fulton]  
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Bandy Offline
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Thanks for post Xander,

You mention both FXAA and SMAA, do they accomplish the same thing/what are the differences? Is one better for one sim, and the other better for others?

Cheesehawk makes a point, that some people may be intimidated to install it given his experience (call it misguided tweaking?). It is VERY easy to use JSGME and these post-FX AA mods. If you don't like it, deactivate the mod via JSGME and remove it from the Mods folder.

These apps are worth trying, they really make a difference if you have a low to mid range system.


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#3490781 - 01/09/12 06:26 PM Re: Performance and quality comparisons of various AA (in-game and injected) modes [Re: Xander Fulton]  
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Xander Fulton Offline
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FXAA and SMAA do the same thing, yes.

Ostensibly, FXAA is based on one of the nVidia developer's hobby work...but it's vendor-agnostic (works on ATI and nVidia cards). SMAA is ATI's "post-anti-aliasing world" take on the same basic idea (shader-based AA), and an external developer used some of the concepts of FXAA injection to implement the SMAA logic. Again, it works on vendors from either manufacturer.

There is an offside chance that one of the methods works better for the vendor it is most closely tied with? I have no idea, though - my testing showed no difference in performance between them (and such a very slight hit from 'no AA at all').

As to JSGME - yup, that's what I used to enable/disable them. I suppose if mod complexity is a concern, the SMAA implementation has the smallest number of files - just 4, and the .ini file has all of, like, 2 lines to customize in it. Do note, per screenshot examples, that if you wanted to enable SMAA you *really need to disable the in-game AA*. The two just look...weird together.

#3493246 - 01/12/12 03:52 PM Re: Performance and quality comparisons of various AA (in-game and injected) modes [Re: Xander Fulton]  
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ZG26_Emil Offline
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Can we use this when we fly online or would we get banned by steam?


Formerly JG5_Emil
#3493461 - 01/12/12 08:42 PM Re: Performance and quality comparisons of various AA (in-game and injected) modes [Re: ZG26_Emil]  
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cheesehawk Offline
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I used them for at least 4 months, and my VAC standing is still unblemished smile

It's not restricted by Steam, and shouldn't have any problems, but I can't say for sure if VAC is working or no. No one's been able to definitively say it is working or has been banned by it in CoD, or that they've cheated and got away with it!

#3493699 - 01/13/12 02:36 AM Re: Performance and quality comparisons of various AA (in-game and injected) modes [Re: ZG26_Emil]  
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Xander Fulton Offline
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Originally Posted By: JG5_Emil
Can we use this when we fly online or would we get banned by steam?


The semi-official word is that it's "use at your own risk", but Steam supposedly doesn't worry much about Direct3d plugins, as many, many things do that...Xfire overlays, FRAPS, etc.

So there has been no official complaint about it, nobody reporting being banned by it, and theoretically - the way it works - shouldn't be a problem, anyway.

So the stars appear to be aligned for this being a good workaround to the lack of working AA in game.

#3493830 - 01/13/12 07:08 AM Re: Performance and quality comparisons of various AA (in-game and injected) modes [Re: Xander Fulton]  
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ZG26_Emil Offline
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Thanks guys smile


Formerly JG5_Emil
#3494501 - 01/14/12 02:05 AM Re: Performance and quality comparisons of various AA (in-game and injected) modes [Re: Xander Fulton]  
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ChwyNiblet Offline
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I'm having a hard time getting this to work. I put all the files in my main CloD folder, but I still can't get it to work.

Edit: Nevermind, had the game running in DX11. -_-

Last edited by ChwyNiblet; 01/14/12 02:15 AM.
#3494760 - 01/14/12 04:37 PM Re: Performance and quality comparisons of various AA (in-game and injected) modes [Re: ChwyNiblet]  
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Originally Posted By: ChwyNiblet
Edit: Nevermind, had the game running in DX11. -_-


Eh? Does it only work in DX9 or 10.

#3494802 - 01/14/12 06:14 PM Re: Performance and quality comparisons of various AA (in-game and injected) modes [Re: Xander Fulton]  
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He didnt. just like somepeople think they have FSAA working more than x2, they dont.

#3494833 - 01/14/12 06:59 PM Re: Performance and quality comparisons of various AA (in-game and injected) modes [Re: BKHZ_Furbs]  
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ChwyNiblet Offline
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Originally Posted By: BKHZ_Furbs
He didnt. just like somepeople think they have FSAA working more than x2, they dont.


Actually you can enable DX11 in the config. It enables some DX11 features but its really buggy and butchers performance.

#3495144 - 01/15/12 05:05 AM Re: Performance and quality comparisons of various AA (in-game and injected) modes [Re: Xander Fulton]  
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Pooch Offline
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FSAA! Wow, it's practically fixed this sim for me. I tried FXAA and didn't think it was doing all that much. Big color change when I hit the pause button, but mainly that's all I saw. At first I thought it was doing something, but the more I turned it on and off, the more I realized it wasn't.
So I put FSAA in today. Have an ATI card and I read it's more geared to them, the way FXAA was really intended for NVidea cards.
My horizons are no longe jagged and shimmering. France, way across the Channel, is no longer a jaggeded line, but a very discernable stretch of land. The terrain looks terrific.
I post I read said that you get good results with FSAA and ingame AA on 2X, and that does seem to work.
Very impressed.


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#3495150 - 01/15/12 05:27 AM Re: Performance and quality comparisons of various AA (in-game and injected) modes [Re: Xander Fulton]  
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The definition in the terrain is very noticeable to me. I hadn't been seeing it that nicely. Clear and crisp and the horizons arent jagged , shmmering messes. And look at France, way out there. It had been jaggede line, for me. Very nice!


"From our orbital vantage point, we observe an earth without borders, full of peace, beauty and magnificence, and we pray that humanity as a whole can imagine a borderless world as we see it, and strive to live as one in peace."
Astronaut William C. McCool RIP, January 29, 2003 - Space Shuttle Columbia

#3495248 - 01/15/12 12:06 PM Re: Performance and quality comparisons of various AA (in-game and injected) modes [Re: Pooch]  
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Bandy Offline
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Originally Posted By: Pooch
FSAA! Wow, it's practically fixed this sim for me. I tried FXAA and didn't think it was doing all that much. ...

Pooch, you mean SMAA, as the OP discusses. Just in case anyone gets confused by all the letters.

FXAA does a nice job on jaggies close up around the cockpit, and has lots of other post-effects to tweak in the config.ini file, colour hue being a very nice feature to correct the overly blue tint in CloD.

Will certainly give SMAA a try now that you say it reaches further out...


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