Discovered fix for dx10 + sfx SMAA disable problem

[adi518 73]

Hey guys,

 

Not long ago, I posted here about this issue and recommended not to use sfx w/dx10. For those who might not remember, I said that when using dx10 mode + sfx, there's a problem where SMAA must be turned On or it darkens the whole scene, making your sim unusable. The major annoyance was that you either had to turn off sweetfx completely or stick to SMAA, which although allowing properly lit scene, overrides the perfect dx10 aa settings (causing jaggies) & increasing the load on the gpu.

 

GOOD NEWS! I found the fix!

 

At first, I was pretty sure this is a bug within sfx, and sfx's author CJ looked at me weird when I complained about it. So, here's the fix: upon installing sfx and it's cfg app. Turn OFF all features and leave ON only 'LIFT GAMMA GAIN'.

 

Throw in the following values:

 

1.1 / 1.1 / 1.1

1.5 / 1.5 / 1.5

1.5 / 1.5 / 1.5

 

Once you put these in, the scene will become properly lit again, and hurray! you have perfect AA and perfectly fine working sfx, without performance loss! Play around with the values until satisfied. Each row must have the same R/G/B values or a certain color might oversaturate the scene.

 

Suggested sfx features to play with:

 

1. LUMA SHARPEN

2. TECHNICOLOR
 

Also remember that you can create different presets.
 

That's all you need really... I suggest following the term 'KISS' - Keep It Simple, Stupid.

[Paul J 349]

Well done, Ari! That's a real positive piece of good news!

 

Thank You!

 

All the Best,

 

pj

[WILDHEART3003 8]

I must say these suggestion is good flying at night and not during the day, it will be too bright.

[adi518 73]

Adjust the settings. These are arbitrary values to get you started. I'll post a more refined set of values later.

[Paul J 349]

I must say these suggestion is good flying at night and not during the day, it will be too bright.

 

The point Anthony - is that Adi has made it possible for everyone to start this version of SweetFX for the first time, without it immediately plunging the FSX into darkness.

 

This has been the most disconcerting problem for someone who has never played with SweetFX before, and most often results in them not bothering with it, or rolling back to the earlier releases - which is what I did. It's a great find, and is the result of some dedicated research.

 

Regards,

 

pj

[adi518 73]

Ok, here's a realistic set of values:

 

1.0 / 2.25 / 1.15

 

Input each, three times per row, from top to bottom.

 

I used 12:00 daylight as reference and toggled sfx on/off to compare with stock fsx.

 

[adi518 73]

New for REX4:

1.0 / 2.25 / 1.08

I also discovered this fix is needed on p3d2 as well:

1.0 / 2.25 / 1.15

More testing to be done, 1.15 might get lower to 1.08, not confirmed yet.

 

And an important note regarding usage of SFX:

 

I see many people claiming rex textures don't display in-game like they would in preview shots. Here's why: when you're changing the scene colors via sfx, say by using contrast modifications, you're creating a major difference to the textures! every small change in the values counts! using the values above, you should get near no modification to the original texture colors. I'm also working on fine tuning the values further. Stay tuned & enjoy!

[VIRGINA340 5]

Great find Adi. Thanks a million. Love the addition of SweetFX..

 

Regards

Pete

[adi518 73]

Indeed, the sharpening alone, is worth it!

[VIRGINA340 5]

Adi, can I just confirm you're using SFX version 1.5.1. I've just installed it and used the following settings (1.0 / 2.25 / 1.15) but get a green screen?

 

I only have LIFTGAMMAGAIN set in the config settings?

 

Any ideas.

 

Pete

[adi518 73]

Yes, I'm using 1.5.1.

 

You probably input the values incorrectly. It should be like this:

 

1.0 / 1.0 / 1.0
2.25 / 2.25 / 2.25
1.08 / 1.08 / 1.08

[VIRGINA340 5]

Ah Ha...That's what the problem was. I just copied the lines like this 1.0 /2.25/1/08 and did that three times...Wow, what a difference.

Thanks Again Adi.

[adi518 73]

Sure thing!

 

@All: try to reduce 1.08 down to 1.0, see if you like it better that way. The midtones value is basically the one putting it all together.

 

For those seeking hassle-free tweaking: http://www.mediafire.com/download/s26fa2an2zi6bvi/SweetFX_settings_adi518_22-12-13.rar

 

Just copy-paste (with overwrite) to your fsx root.

[Pe11e 812]

@adi518

 

Well mate, bravo, well done! Really really good discovery. At least the text on cockpit displays is now readable without SMAA, nice.

 

Cheers!

[adi518 73]

Exactly! This fix is crucial to get rid of the useless SMAA. The SMAA doesn't make it near as clear as SGSS x4 or higher. It's an 'edges' only algorithm AA. Useless for FSX. The problem wasn't as obvious in dx9, but it was there as well.