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#4494227 - 10/23/19 11:01 AM Terrain Density and Scenery Detail  
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DukeIronHand Offline
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Woke up for a nice flight this morning - I literally do Dawn Patrols, well actually pre-dawn - and bagged me an enemy scout. Nice way to start the day but I didn’t have time for a second flight so I went to the WOFF Workshop for some overdue joystick setting changes. While there...

Scenery Density and Terrain Detail settings.
Everyone knows these are a huge factor in FPS and, of course, we have the options of 1 (Low) and 5 (High) for both.
Anyone really ever done a controlled test to see how much more FPS you can get?
Is the visual difference that much between 1 and 5 to even justify the concern?

The obvious answer is “Test it yourself stupid” which would be fine except I have a pretty good system and, in a quick Free Flight, my FPS is sky high always. Testing in/during a campaign will lead to uneven results because of changing weather and enemy activity. Thought I might try a scenario later.

So I’m not losing sleep here but, knowing the community, figured someone must have done some “controlled and scientific” testing for looks and FPS between the settings. I’m going to experiment more later but curious what others found.

#4494250 - 10/23/19 02:20 PM Re: Terrain Density and Scenery Detail [Re: DukeIronHand]  
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Sorry, can't help you Duke. I have it all max'd out in PE and have 50-60 fps so no reason for me to look beyond that.

.

#4494251 - 10/23/19 02:30 PM Re: Terrain Density and Scenery Detail [Re: DukeIronHand]  
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You’re normally an early war guy right?

#4494252 - 10/23/19 02:32 PM Re: Terrain Density and Scenery Detail [Re: DukeIronHand]  
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Early to mid. Flying in October 1916 right now.

.

#4494256 - 10/23/19 03:27 PM Re: Terrain Density and Scenery Detail [Re: DukeIronHand]  
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Had a quick moment before heading out for some work on my property (ugh) to do a quick Free Flight test with everything the same. Didn't bother to check FPS for the reasons noted above.
First pic is with both Terrain Density and Scenery Detail set at "5" (High).
The second is with both set at "1" (Low). Altitude is 1500' so terrain features are in play.

Close to the aircraft if there is a difference I cannot see it. However starting at "medium to long" range there is a definite thinning of trees. Not sure what this would do in real hilly terrain but Flanders (my usual stomping ground) is nice and flat.
Is there a difference? Yes. Big difference? No. Is it enough to suffer with low FPS, stutters (if there is still such a thing), and Air Activity dialed back to nothing? No again.
Guess I would say, if you are having performance issues, don't suffer with p**** envy from everyone else's settings and go ahead and dial it back. This is an air combat game not lawn maintenance and landscaping.
I'm not having issues (yet - been running at 3/3 just in case) in 1918 at Ultra Heavy Activity but I'm still going to give 1/1 a try to see how it feels.

Attached Files 55.jpg11.jpg
#4494279 - 10/23/19 06:57 PM Re: Terrain Density and Scenery Detail [Re: DukeIronHand]  
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Cloud_8 Offline
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Duke,

I've always been interested in getting the most "bang for my buck" out of the visuals in WOFF as well. Having recently purchased WOFF PE, I've been tinkering in the workshop. I agree, the primary focus is on maintaining good frame rates for the actual air combat portions, but it's also nice to have something to look at during those patrols where the enemy don't decide to show up. ;-)

My feedback isn't scientific, more anecdotal, but it might help you or others. I just flew a 70 minute patrol (real-time) with the 95th Aero in May 1918. I had Regional Air Activity set to Medium, with 1440p resolution, 8x AA, and everything maxed out visual wise except Terrain Bump Map to "0" and Aircraft Shadow Detail to 4. I had Vsync off as well. Finally, I was using Panama Red's PE Scenery Improvement Mod (can't recommend that enough based on my use of it so far). I saw roughly 50-58 FPS during most of the drone time, with very occasional spikes down to the low 30s. The lowest sustained I saw was about 45 FPS. I'll have to give this a shot without the mod and see what the effects are. My initial thought is I "may" be able to get a few more FPS at most, but the mod sure makes WOFF PE look amazing. Were you using Panama Red's mod for your testing, or vanilla WOFF PE? For a campaign flight to be "enjoyable" to me I'm looking for at least high 40s in the FPS, preferably closer to 50. I know that varies for everyone, but I always find these discussions interesting. Thanks for your inputs!

For comparison, I have a Ryzen 5 1600 (not overclocked...yet) with a GTX 1080, 16 GB RAM @ 2800Mhz, and WOFF PE on a SSD, and TrackIR 5.

#4494281 - 10/23/19 07:13 PM Re: Terrain Density and Scenery Detail [Re: DukeIronHand]  
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+1000 to Panama Red's PE Scenery Improvement Mod (with it I can effectly not only make the scenery in game look even better than the default "5", BUT also gain fps too!)


Win10/ i5-7600/ 16GB RAM/ GTX1660 Super
#4494283 - 10/23/19 07:24 PM Re: Terrain Density and Scenery Detail [Re: DukeIronHand]  
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DukeIronHand Offline
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Well now that is a bit of a wild card. I was running PR’s mod during the above “tests” and had forgotten he had one for 5/5 settings also. Actually I am not quite sure what his mod is doing but yes, it certainly seems beneficial.

My FPS in 1918 (Ultra Heavy) is anywhere from 120 to (very briefly) 45. Think I’m averaging 55-70? Couldn’t really tell you as, if I am not having problems, I don’t pay too close attention to it.

Guess the point was (besides me being curious what the visual difference was) if your having performance issues don’t be afraid to dial back and play around a bit. No ones going to question your manhood and it’s not like you’re getting a tattoo on your forehead. You can change it up every mission with just a few clicks.

#4494285 - 10/23/19 07:38 PM Re: Terrain Density and Scenery Detail [Re: DukeIronHand]  
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True...for the record I also forgot to mention I was using RivaTuner RTSS to limit at 60 FPS since that’s my monitor refresh anyway. Lots of variables when trying to compare performance!

#4494286 - 10/23/19 07:42 PM Re: Terrain Density and Scenery Detail [Re: DukeIronHand]  
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Very much so!
And what works for you (and 10 other people) may not work for me.
Who knows till you give it a try.

#4494337 - 10/24/19 07:23 AM Re: Terrain Density and Scenery Detail [Re: DukeIronHand]  
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Which my older system I have settings a bit over default and 50-60fr, and I'm sure, I see all features of the firstclass landscape.I have a test-campaign for hard situations (Jasta5 near at the frontline in summer 1918). There I have less fr logically, but it is fly- and fightable.
I'm satisfied, when I see enogh trees in a forest and when I have a crah, if I try to land there. But I don't need one tree next the other to be happy.
Good simulation and fr are the priority for me.

More I can't say at the moment, hope, it was a little bit helpful.

#4494347 - 10/24/19 10:48 AM Re: Terrain Density and Scenery Detail [Re: DukeIronHand]  
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JFM Offline
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I usually can't see the trees because of the flames and blood on the goggles.

#4494349 - 10/24/19 11:35 AM Re: Terrain Density and Scenery Detail [Re: JFM]  
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