Horrible aliasing and blurries despite best efforts

[FredricG 3]

Hello,

I have been spending quite a while trying to figure this out, but I just cannot seem to figure out why I keep seeing horrible jagged edges and blurries, especially in a normally-zoomed virtual cockpit view on any plane. I have spent hours trying to figure out how to get smooth edges and crisp textures but despite tinkering with shaders, NVIDIA inspector and control panel, and in-game settings, I cannot seem to get it to work. Here are a few screenshots of in-game and my P3D settings and NVIDIA settings. I have many addons as well as tomatoshade and reshade.

Specs: 

CPU: Ryzen 5 3600XT

GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Super 6GB

RAM: 32GB DDR4-3200

Storage: 1 x 256GB M.2 PCIe SSD, 1TB Gen 4 M.2 PCIe SSD for simulator storage

Monitor: Lenovo G25-10, 1920x1080 locked at 60hz

Simulator: Prepar3D V4.5 Hotfix 1

https://postimg.cc/VS9vhHvK

https://postimg.cc/yWx6hNmQ

https://postimg.cc/tYVXfmmF

https://postimg.cc/gallery/k6h11jb

https://postimg.cc/gallery/SR3CNFk

Prepar3D.CFG settings:

[GRAPHICS]
SCREEN_CAPTURE_MAX_JOBS=10
VIDEO_CAPTURE_WIDTH=720
VIDEO_CAPTURE_HEIGHT=480
VIDEO_CAPTURE_FPS=30
VIDEO_CAPTURE_BIT_RATE=3200000
VIDEO_CAPTURE_IS_THREADED=True
VIDEO_CAPTURE_INFO_SEND_RATE=20
VIDEO_CAPTURE_MAX_FRAME_SIZE=500000
VIDEO_CAPTURE_TTL=255
HDR_BRIGHTNESS=1.350000
HDR_BLOOM_THRESHOLD=3.000000
HDR_BLOOM_MAGNITUDE=0.110000
HDR_BLOOM_BLUR_SIGMA=0.800000
TONEMAP_DAY_EXPOSURE_KEY=0.280000
TONEMAP_NIGHT_EXPOSURE_KEY=0.130000
HDR_SATURATION=1.150000
MAX_POINT_LIGHTS=250
MAX_SPOT_LIGHTS=250
RS_MIN_OBJECT_PIXEL_RADIUS=2.000000
MAX_TEXTURE_REQUEST_DISTANCE=1000.000000
ViewGroup_Number=-1
MAP_DRAW_THREADED=1
MIPMAP_VC_PANELS=1
TEXTURE_MAX_LOAD=2048
NUM_LIGHTS=4
COCKPIT_HIGH_LOD=1
AIRCRAFT_REFLECTIONS=1
LANDING_LIGHTS=1
DYNAMIC_LIGHTING=1
DAWN_DUSK_SMOOTHING=1
LENSFLARE=0
HDR=1
DYNAMIC_REFLECTIONS=2
SHADOW_QUALITY=3
SHADOW_DRAW_DISTANCE=2
CONTENT_NO_SHADOW=0
INTERIOR_SHADOWS_CAST=1
EXTERIOR_SHADOWS_CAST=1
SIMOBJECT_SHADOWS_CAST=0
TERRAIN_SHADOWS_CAST=1
VEGETATION_SHADOWS_CAST=0
BUILDING_SHADOWS_CAST=0
CLOUD_SHADOWS_CAST=1
PARTICLES_SHADOWS_CAST=0
INTERIOR_SHADOWS_RECEIVE=1
EXTERIOR_SHADOWS_RECEIVE=1
SIMOBJECT_SHADOWS_RECEIVE=1
TERRAIN_SHADOWS_RECEIVE=1
VEGETATION_SHADOWS_RECEIVE=1
BUILDING_SHADOWS_RECEIVE=1
SHADOW_NUM_CASCADES_LOW=4
SHADOW_NUM_CASCADES_MID=5
SHADOW_NUM_CASCADES_HIGH=7
SHADOW_NUM_CASCADES_ULTRA=12
OPAQUE_SHADOW_TEXTURE_SIZE=2048
TRANSLUCENT_SHADOW_TEXTURE_SIZE=512
OPAQUE_SHADOW_DRAW_DISTANCE=2000
TRANSLUCENT_SHADOW_DRAW_DISTANCE=2000
SHADOW_LOG_PARTITION_LOW=0.850000
SHADOW_LOG_PARTITION_MID=0.850000
SHADOW_LOG_PARTITION_HIGH=0.850000
SHADOW_LOG_PARTITION_ULTRA=0.850000
EFFECTS_QUALITY=1
EFFECTS_DISTANCE=1
TEXTURE_QUALITY=3
IMAGE_QUALITY=0
MOON_PHASE_LIGHTING=True
See_Self=1
Text_Scroll=1
DYNAMIC_INTERIOR_CAPTURE=False
HIGHMEMFIX=1
TESSELLATION=1
[WEATHER]
CLOUD_FACING_MODE=0
MinGustTime=10
MaxGustTime=500
MinGustRampSpeed=1
MaxGustRampSpeed=200
MinVarTime=5
MaxVarTime=50
MinVarRampSpeed=10
MaxVarRampSpeed=75
TurbulenceScale=1.000000
WeatherGraphDataInDialog=0
AdjustForMagVarInDialog=1
DynamicWeather=0
DownloadWindsAloft=0
DisableTurbulence=0
CLOUD_DRAW_DISTANCE=3
DETAILED_CLOUDS=1
OPTIMIZE_DENSE_CLOUDS=0
CLOUD_COVERAGE_DENSITY=8
THERMAL_VISUALS=0
VolumetricFog=1
DetailedPrecipitation=1
WindshieldPrecipitationEffects=1
[DISPLAY]
ChangeTime=4.000000
TransitionTime=4.000000
TEXTURE_FILTERING=16
MSAA=4
SSAA=0
VSYNC=1
FXAA=1
TRIPLE_BUFFER=1
SKINNED_ANIMATIONS=1
TEXTURE_BANDWIDTH_MULT=160
UPPER_FRAMERATE_LIMIT=40
WideViewAspect=False
FullScreenBackground=False
FullScreenAutoFill=True
ActiveWindowTitleTextColor=255,255,255
ActiveWindowTitleBackGroundColor=0,28,140,64
NonActiveWindowTitleTextColor=255,255,255
NonActiveWindowTitleBackGroundColor=24,33,87,64
InfoUpperLeftTextColorUser=255,0,0
InfoUpperLeftTextColorNonUser=255,127,0
InfoUpperLeftBackGroundColor=0,0,0,0
InfoUpperRightTextColor=255,0,0
InfoUpperRightBackGroundColor=0,0,0,0
InfoLowerLeftTextColor=255,255,255
InfoLowerLeftBackGroundColor=255,0,0,128
InfoLowerRightTextColor=255,255,255
InfoLowerRightBackGroundColor=255,0,0,128
InfoBrakesEnable=True
InfoParkingBrakesEnable=True
InfoPauseEnable=True
InfoSlewEnable=True
InfoStallEnable=True
InfoOverspeedEnable=True
InfoWeaponSystemEnable=True
InfoCountermeasureEnable=True
InfoUpperRightTextEnable=True
Fullscreen=False
[SCENERY]
AUTOGEN_DRAW_DISTANCE=12000.000000
AUTOGEN_TREE_DRAW_DISTANCE_PERCENT=0.900000
AUTOGEN_TREE_MIN_DISTANCE_TO_LOD=2500.000000
SCENERY_DRAW_DISTANCE=32000.000000
MaxRegionsPurgePerFrame=1
POP_FREE_AUTOGEN=1
AUTOGEN_BATCH_LOD=2
AUTOGEN_VEGETATION_TYPE=0
IMAGE_COMPLEXITY=4
SmallPartRejectRadius=1
[MAIN]
FIBER_FRAME_TIME_FRACTION=0.10
User Objects=Airplane, Helicopter, Submersible, ExternalSim, Avatar
LabelsSupported=Airplane, Helicopter
ShowInfoText=1
HideMenuNormal=0
HideMenuFullscreen=1
Location=440,129,1480,908,\\.\DISPLAY6
Maximized=2
[PANELS]
IMAGE_QUALITY=1
SAVE_AND_LOAD_PANEL_STATE=0
MAX_VC_TEXTURE_RESOLUTION=4096
PANEL_OPACITY=100
QUICKTIPS=1
PANEL_MASKING=1
PANEL_STRETCHING=1
UNITS_OF_MEASURE=0
PANELS_ALWAYS_ON_TOP=1
[CONTROLS]
Controls_Default=Standard
Controls_Current=Standard
KBDAIL=64
KBDELEV=64
KBDRUD=64
[TextInfo.1]
Latitude=1,1
Longitude=1,2
Altitude=1,3
Heading=1,4
AirSpeed=1,5
WindDirectionAndSpeed=1,6
[TextInfo.2]
FrameRate=1,1
LockedFrameRate=1,2
GForce=1,3
FuelPercentage=1,4
HealthPoints=1,5
[TextInfo.3]
Latitude=1,1
Longitude=1,2
Altitude=1,3
Heading=1,4
AirSpeed=1,5
WindDirectionAndSpeed=1,6
FrameRate=2,1
LockedFrameRate=2,2
GForce=2,3
FuelPercentage=2,4
HealthPoints=2,5
[SlewTextInfo.1]
Latitude=1,1
Longitude=1,2
Altitude=1,3
Heading=1,4
AirSpeed=1,5
[SlewTextInfo.2]
FrameRate=1,1
LockedFrameRate=1,2
HealthPoints=1,3
[SlewTextInfo.3]
Latitude=1,1
Longitude=1,2
Altitude=1,3
Heading=1,4
AirSpeed=1,5
FrameRate=2,1
LockedFrameRate=2,2
HealthPoints=2,3
[Avatar]
DefaultAvatar=Army Infantry
[DynamicHeadMovement]
LonAccelOnHeadLon=-0.020000
LonAccelOnHeadPitch=-0.010000
RollAccelOnHeadLat=0.010000
YawAccelOnHeadLat=-0.100000
RollAccelOnHeadRoll=0.100000
MaxHeadAngle=5.000000
MaxHeadOffset=0.300000
HeadMoveTimeConstant=1.000000
[VirtualCopilot]
VirtualCopilotActive=0
[USERINTERFACE]
SHOW_SCENARIO_WINDOW=1
BroadcastGPSData=0
MUTE_ON_LOST_FOCUS=1
PAUSE_ON_LOST_FOCUS=0
PROMPT_ON_EXIT=1
RestoreTimeOnMove=1
ScreenshotImageFormat=2
ShowMessageText=True
UIHardwareAcceleration=False
SHOW_MISSION_CAPTIONS=1
Map_Orientation=2
[DISPLAY.Device.NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER.0.0]
Mode=1920x1080x32
[SOUND]
SOUND_FADER1=0.500000
SOUND_FADER2=0.740000
SOUND_FADER3=0.730000
SOUND_FADER4=-0.500000
SOUND=1
SOUND_QUALITY=2
SOUND_LOD=0
PrimaryPlaybackDevice={AB14B2D1-ADD9-4C4B-8B82-657FC446DC77}
VoicePlaybackDevice={AB14B2D1-ADD9-4C4B-8B82-657FC446DC77}
VoiceCaptureDevice={52D91434-C34E-442D-9D2E-81E5BB228BF0}
[TrafficManager]
AirlineDensity=0
GADensity=0
FreewayDensity=0
ShipsAndFerriesDensity=0
LeisureBoatsDensity=0
IFROnly=0
AIRPORT_SCENERY_DENSITY=0
[AContain]
ShowLabels=0
ShowUserLabel=0
ShowLabelManufacturer=1
ShowLabelModel=1
ShowLabelTailNumber=0
ShowLabelDistance=1
ShowLabelAltitude=1
ShowLabelAirline=0
ShowLabelAirlineAndFlightNumber=0
ShowLabelFlightPlan=0
ShowLabelContainerId=0
ShowLabelAirspeed=0
ShowLabelHeading=0
LabelDelay=1000
LabelColor=FFFF0000
EnableRibbonVisuals=0
ShowRibbonUserObject=0
ShowRibbonUserAvatar=0
ShowRibbonAircraft=0
ShowRibbonGroundVehicles=0
ShowRibbonBoats=0
ShowRibbonAvatars=0
ShowRibbonWeapons=0
ShowRibbonCountermeasures=0
UserObjectRibbonColor=0,FFFF0000
UserAvatarRibbonColor=0,FFFF8000
AircraftRibbonColor=0,FF0000FF
GroundVehicleRibbonColor=0,FF00FF00
BoatRibbonColor=0,FF00FFFF
AvatarRibbonColor=0,FFFFFF00
WeaponRibbonColor=0,FF800000
CountermeasureRibbonColor=0,FF640080
RibbonThicknessSettingIndex=0
RibbonThicknessSmall=1.000000
RibbonThicknessMedium=5.000000
RibbonThicknessLarge=10.000000
RibbonFidelity=5.000000
RibbonMaxDistance=3218.689941
RibbonFadeTime=-1.000000
RibbonDoNotExceedTime=-1.000000
[TERRAIN]
TEXTURE_SIZE_EXP=9
LOD_RADIUS=5.500000
TESSELLATION_FACTOR=85
MESH_RESOLUTION=24
TEXTURE_RESOLUTION=28
AUTOGEN_VEGETATION_DENSITY=4
AUTOGEN_BUILDING_DENSITY=3
DETAIL_TEXTURE=1
HIGH_RESOLUTION_TERRAIN_TEXTURES=1
WATER_REFLECT_CLOUDS=0
WATER_REFLECT_USERAIRCRAFT=1
WATER_REFLECT_SIMOBJECTS=0
WATER_REFLECT_TERRAIN=0
WATER_REFLECT_AUTOGEN_VEGETATION=0
WATER_REFLECT_AUTOGEN_BUILDINGS=0
WATER_REFRACT_CLOUDS=0
WATER_REFRACT_USERAIRCRAFT=0
WATER_REFRACT_SIMOBJECTS=0
WATER_REFRACT_TERRAIN=0
WATER_REFRACT_AUTOGEN_VEGETATION=0
WATER_REFRACT_AUTOGEN_BUILDINGS=0
ENABLE_BATHYMETRY=0
WATER_CLARITY=30
WATER_DETAIL=2
UseGlobalTerrainView=True
TERRAIN_MAX_AUTOGEN_TREES_PER_CELL=4500
TERRAIN_MAX_AUTOGEN_BUILDINGS_PER_CELL=3000
[ATC]
AutoOpenAirTrafficWindow=0
UsePilotVoice=0
ShowATCText=0
PilotVoice=0
COMM_MSG_AI_ATC_COLOR=0XFF8C00
COMM_MSG_ATC_AI_COLOR=0X00008B
COMM_MSG_ATC_USER_COLOR=0X006400
COMM_MSG_USER_ATC_COLOR=0XA52A2A
COMM_MSG_ATIS_COLOR=00000000
[INTERNATIONAL]
ASLAT=2
ASLON=1
MEASURE=0
[REALISM]
PFactor=1.000000
Torque=1.000000
GyroEffect=1.000000
CrashTolerance=1.000000
General=1.000000
UnlimitedFuel=False
AllowEngineDamage=True
TrueAirspeed=False
AutoCoord=False
RealMixture=True
StressDamage=True
GEffect=True
ManualLights=True
GyroDrift=False
CrashWithDyn=True
CrashDetection=False
AvatarNoCollision=False
OnCrashAction=0
MomentumEffect=True
[ATTACHMENTS]
WeaponHighlight=False
HighlightDuration=1.000000
AutoWeaponSwitching=False
UnlimitedWeapons=False
UnlimitedCountermeasures=False
IgnoreAttachmentWeight=True
IgnoreAttachmentForces=True
[RECORDER]
RecordAITraffic=True
RecordAirportVehicles=True
RecordLeisureBoats=True
[SIM]
SYSCLOCK=0
OPTIMIZE_PARTS=1
[STARTUP]
DEMO=0
STARTUP_DEMO=
LOAD_SCENARIO_TOOLS=1
LoadCorePlugins=1
LoadVirtualReality=1
EnableViveProEyeTracking=0
EnableVirtualRealityOnStartup=0
EnableVoiceControl=0
EnableVoiceControlDebug=0
LoadWindow=1
[PointOfInterestSystem]
CycleSetting=0
[FACILITIES]
COUNTRY=
STATE=
CITY=
GTL_BUTTON=4096
[MISC]
Com_Rate=7
[JOBSCHEDULER]
AffinityMask=63
[MULTIPLAYER]
VoiceVolume=-1.000000
FrameSyncRate=0

 

Any help would be appreciated. Thank you.

Edited December 11, 2020 by FredricG
added .cfg settings

[G-RFRY 1,720]

4xMSAA will not stop this at 1080P. 

[FredricG 3]

3 minutes ago, G-RFRY said:

4xMSAA will not stop this at 1080P. 

8xMSAA hardly does anything either, and neither does 2x or 4xSSAA. And of course I don't like using SSAA because it brings my video card to its knees.

[G-RFRY 1,720]

12 minutes ago, FredricG said:

8xMSAA hardly does anything either, and neither does 2x or 4xSSAA. And of course I don't like using SSAA because it brings my video card to its knees.

You just answered your own question at 1080P SSAA is the answer but comes at performance impact, which means lowering your settings.

[Twenty6 694]

4 hours ago, FredricG said:

HIGHMEMFIX=1

Saw this and stopped looking.

I have a feeling you haven't met a "tweak" you wouldn't try whether it applied to your version of the simulator or not. Clearing out the word not allowed and starting with a clean, default copy/copies of P3D config files might be your easiest path to nirvana,

[SteveW 1,792]

Another oddity in the cfg:

[JOBSCHEDULER]
AffinityMask=63

Although nothing to do with AA, this might affect valuable performance since with 6 cores/12 threads (Ryzen 5 3600XT) it puts the entire sim on three cores (HT+On AM63=00,00,00,11,11,11). With HT disabled then it's not so bad (111111) since it puts the sim on all six cores - but in that case it is better to remove the AffinityMask altogether. An AM that would make sense for HT enabled 6 cores/12 threads would be 1365 = 01,01,01,01,01,01.

 

On the issue of AA problems, this type of problem can be due to the type of aircraft model which might be more suited to DX9 than DX10/11. Similar problems with AA are observed in FSX DX10 preview whereby the problem goes away with DX10 preview disabled in FSX so as to use DX9.

 

 

 

 

[FredricG 3]

1 hour ago, Twenty6 said:

Saw this and stopped looking.

I have a feeling you haven't met a "tweak" you wouldn't try whether it applied to your version of the simulator or not. Clearing out the word not allowed and starting with a clean, default copy/copies of P3D config files might be your easiest path to nirvana,

To be quite honest you're right, I've gotten desperate to the point of trying any suggestion, to no avail. I have tried letting the .cfg file rebuild in the past but it did not help much iirc. But I will try it again and report back, who knows.

[Vlooi 68]

Hi Fredric. Always go back to everything default in such a situation as you are in now. Default config (delete the old, let p3d create new), and default nvidia control panel settings.

What I do is simple, and get beautiful image: I switch off all anti aliasing in p3d, and switch on FXAA ONLY in nvidia control panel for that application. Then set image sharpening to 40, max 50. Thats it. 

Try it, it should work for you?

Regards

[FredricG 3]

10 minutes ago, Vlooi said:

Hi Fredric. Always go back to everything default in such a situation as you are in now. Default config (delete the old, let p3d create new), and default nvidia control panel settings.

What I do is simple, and get beautiful image: I switch off all anti aliasing in p3d, and switch on FXAA ONLY in nvidia control panel for that application. Then set image sharpening to 40, max 50. Thats it. 

Try it, it should work for you?

Regards

Hi Vlooi,

Thank you for the suggestion but unfortunately that made things worse. It killed my framerate and made things shimmer and flicker more, and there are still very noticeable jagged edges. Tested at T2G KSEA.

[Vlooi 68]

Fredric,

If you are running reshade, did you try with SMAA activate in your reshade profile? Its a similiar technique as FXAA as it is also a shader based anti aliasing.

Another thing which a lot of users of Ryzen platforms never do: Did you download and install the latest AMD chipset drivers? Without these drivers installed, some things can go south even on the graphics side.

[Vlooi 68]

Remember to deactivate all other anti aliasing when trying SMAA.

[dave2013 1,145]

Try turning off FXAA and use 8X MSAA, which should help.

FXAA doesn't use a lot of GPU resources, but I find it unsightly due to the blur it induces in the image.

I use 4X SSAA which works fine for me, but I have a 2070 Super video card which can handle the super sampling.

Also, delete your cfg file and let P3D build a new one.

Dave

[Bob Scott 7,743]

I suspect that you may have some kind of mismatch between graphics settings made with NVI or NV CP and the in-sim settings, which can make AA stop working altogether. 

You mentioned that you were messing with nVidia Inspector--not sure if you're aware, but NVI makes persistent changes to GPU settings in the Windows registry, so just because it's not running does not mean that any changes you made previously are not still present.  To go back to default, you have to explicitly make that happen in NVI. 

There are other "what the hecks" in your settings, given your system specs.  The AffinityMask setting Steve mentioned is a disaster unless you're running with SMT disabled.  Having High Resolution Terrain Textures/TEXTURE_SIZE_EXP=9 is pretty aggressive for a 1660.

Some substantial improvements were made in P3Dv4 beyond the very old version you're running (4.1).  I'd strongly suggest upgrading to the latest (P3Dv4.5 HF3).

Were it me, I'd start by resetting the GPU settings in NVI to default, upgrade P3D to v4.5HF3, let the sim build a new Prepar3D.cfg file and start from there with sliders no higher than mid-range to start.  If the jaggies are still present, then I'd uninstall the driver, run DDU to clean out any remnants of the old driver, and reinstall the current drivers.

 

[FredricG 3]

11 minutes ago, Vlooi said:

Remember to deactivate all other anti aliasing when trying SMAA.

Just tried adding the SMAA in my reshade profile, and disabled all AA and enabled FXAA. Again, there is noticeable shimmering in the distance and you can see jagged lines. Here, have a look: 

https://postimg.cc/dD96HgWx

[FredricG 3]

7 minutes ago, w6kd said:

I suspect that you may have some kind of mismatch between graphics settings made with NVI and the in-sim settings, which can make AA stop working altogether. 

You mentioned that you were messing with nVidia Inspector--not sure if you're aware, but NVI makes persistent changes to GPU settings in the Windows registry, so just because it's not running does not mean that any changes you made previously are not still present.  To go back to default, you have to explicitly make that happen in NVI. 

There are other "what the hecks" in your settings, given your system specs.  The AffinityMask setting Steve mentioned is a disaster unless you're running with SMT disabled.  Having High Resolution Terrain Textures/TEXTURE_SIZE_EXP=9 is pretty aggressive for a 1660.

Some substantial improvements were made in P3Dv4 beyond the very old version you're running (4.1).  I'd strongly suggest upgrading to the latest (P3Dv4.5 HF3).

Were it me, I'd start by resetting the GPU settings in NVI to default, upgrade P3D to v4.5HF3, let the sim build a new Prepar3D.cfg file and start from there with sliders no higher than mid-range to start.  If the jaggies are still present, then I'd uninstall the driver, run DDU to clean out any remnants of the old driver, and reinstall the current drivers.

 

You may have misinterpreted the hotfix I was running - I'm running 4.5 HF1 but I can still follow the recommendation to go to HF3 for v4.5. I'm not sure exactly what my in-game settings should be as my rig is most definitely in the solid mid-range.

Edited December 11, 2020 by FredricG