Some do not know, that MSFS has a Post Process 'Video Sharpen' feature turned on by default. This will lead to a 'grainy' look to your simulation.  

To turn this default off, do the following:

Open your BASE FOLDER location for MSFS, and at the bottom you will see a file called:

UserCfg.opt

Use Notepad ++ to open file.

Once open, scroll down to

PostProcess

In that range, the fourth heading will be Sharpen 1

Make that 1 to a 0, and then press save in Notepad ++

You are done, and can close Notepad ++

I'm sure that the next run of MSFS for you, will be a much more beautiful screen rendition, of the graphics.

To turn Sharpen back on...merely go back and enter a 1 where you put a 0, of you prefer the look as default. Press Notepad ++ SAVE and you are back to a default view for this Post Process setting.

3 minutes ago, Sesquashtoo said:

Some do not know, that MSFS has a Post Process 'Video Sharpen' feature turned on by default. This will lead to a 'grainy' look to your simulation.  

To turn this default off, do the following:

Open your BASE FOLDER location for MSFS, and at the bottom you will see a file called:

UserCfg.opt

Use Notepad ++ to open file.

Once open, scroll down to

PostProcess

In that range, the fourth heading will be Sharpen 1

Make that 1 to a 0, and then press save in Notepad ++

You are done, and can close Notepad ++

I'm sure that the next run of MSFS for you, will be a much more beautiful screen rendition, of the graphics.

To turn Sharpen back on...merely go back and enter a 1 where you put a 0, of you prefer the look as default. Press Notepad ++ SAVE and you are back to a default view for this Post Process setting.

Any before-after screenshots Mitch ? They are welcome before modifying the file so everyone can judge for themselves.

9 minutes ago, GSalden said:

Any before-after screenshots Mitch ? They are welcome before modifying the file so everyone can judge for themselves.

In this case Gerald, being that you would be looking at a live, (your screen) critique,  a picture with any internet down processing would not be helpful. Trust me, that the one little edit, (which can be returned to default in a minute) is a 100 percent improvement in the world view.  Night and day, over default.  I suggest that for the minute it takes to open the file,  change from 1 to 0, and then go fly...I would gamble that NOBODY (LOL) would continue with Sharpen as 'on/1' ever more.  The change is that good...but...as I said, the judgement for this must come from the user's monitor, and not a compressed picture, Gerald.  

If you decide to check my User Tip out...post back, and let me know what you think,  Sharpen 'on' and Sharpen 'off'.  My dollars, say that you will never again have it as on.  BTW,  after any update, you need to check that again, as most times, it will be turned back to Sharpen 1 after an update.  One minute to access the file...swap out the 1 for a 0, press SAVE, and you are back in the Gorgeous View 'saddle'....

Edited February 26, 20224 yr by Sesquashtoo

Is a restart of MSFS required or can this be done while being inside a scene and continue ?

C:\Users\YOUR NAME\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft Flight Simulator\usercfg.opt

12 minutes ago, GSalden said:

Is a restart of MSFS required

would expect that since it's a config file change and else not be "seen" and applied by MSFS when changed while the game is runnung

13 minutes ago, DAD said:

would expect that since it's a config file change and else not be "seen" and applied by MSFS when changed while the game is runnung

In Dev mode there is a Reload AC feature that can be used when inside the scene. So perhaps a simular feature would exist fir this….

I can confirm the change must be made before starting MSFS, as MSFS reads the config file on start up, and will then apply the setting (not sure about the dev mode reload that Gerard mentioned - not tried that myself).

Also, while Sesquashtoo has has done a good thing in raising this subject, some people may need sharpening ON if they are running at lower resolutions, but certainly at my native 4k, it looks better with it OFF - it reduces shimmering and grain for sure, and just looks more natural.

This can also be overridden in things such as Nvidia control panel, where you can use any sharpening setting between 0 and 100% (setting must be OFF in the user config file or you may have sharpening on top of sharpening! ).

I used sharpening at 35% when running at 2160 on my 4k monitor, and that looked about right and helped things such as the G1000NXi look more readable.

In my view, this is one of the biggest factors in MSFS image quality, because when over-sharpened, it can look terrible, so it is a shame Asobo don't have a slider for this in sim, so people can adjust it on the fly and to their taste.  They have it in their config setting after all.

While you are in the config file, to get better in cockpit shadows, I adjust this setting:-

{Shadows
        MaxSliceCount 4
        Size 4096

It is best not to mess with anything else, but this setting makes the cockpit shadows look much better.  Once again, it is a shame there is not a slider in sim for this, as there are sliders for other shadow settings.

PS.  Be careful - back up your user config first before changes in case you accidentally destroy the text formatting in the file (by accidentally deleting a curly bracket etc.) , and also note there are duplicate settings for VR further down the file. 
Some people adjust the VR settings by mistake, then they do not see the changes in sim.

Edited February 26, 20224 yr by bobcat999

54 minutes ago, GSalden said:

Is a restart of MSFS required or can this be done while being inside a scene and continue ?

You need to restart, as you make the change from the DeskTop.  Actually, you don't make the change with the program running, so, always edit, what you want and then run MSFS.

Edited February 26, 20224 yr by Sesquashtoo

Thanks for the tip. I'm always keen to give these things a try.

Unfortunately on my low to middle end PC with an average monitor I didn't notice any significant difference. Perhaps this is one for the 4K folks with young eyesight.😉

1 minute ago, GaryK said:

Thanks for the tip. I'm always keen to give these things a try.

Unfortunately on my low to middle end PC with an average monitor I didn't notice any significant difference. Perhaps this is one for the 4K folks with young eyesight.😉

I'm running just under 4K...and for myself, the difference is huge! 🙂  Gone is the grain...and just well blended textures, especially at the higher ground texture resolution when running in 'G' mode.... 

9 minutes ago, GaryK said:

Thanks for the tip. I'm always keen to give these things a try.

Unfortunately on my low to middle end PC with an average monitor I didn't notice any significant difference. Perhaps this is one for the 4K folks with young eyesight.😉

Yes Gary, it is true.  As I noted in my post above, it works better for people running between 2160 and 4k on a sharp monitor - it seems sharpening really isn't needed in those cases, and just makes the image quality worse.

I am on SU8 beta and just tried Sharpen=0. Not a huge difference on my system if at all, but

- File UserCfg.opt is in the LocalCache subdirectory of MSFS

- Sharpen is automatically set back to 1 by MSFS. That may be the reason why I don't see a difference.

1 minute ago, qqwertzde said:

I am on SU8 beta and just tried Sharpen=0. Not a huge difference on my system if at all, but

- File UserCfg.opt is in the LocalCache subdirectory of MSFS

- Sharpen is automatically set back to 1 by MSFS. That may be the reason why I don't see a difference.

That has never been the case for me and many others - it always sticks.  As noted in my larger post above, make sure you are looking at the right part of the file.  There are two lines for sharpening - the other one is for VR and people get them confused.

21 minutes ago, qqwertzde said:

I am on SU8 beta and just tried Sharpen=0. Not a huge difference on my system if at all, but

- File UserCfg.opt is in the LocalCache subdirectory of MSFS

- Sharpen is automatically set back to 1 by MSFS. That may be the reason why I don't see a difference.

Mine does not, so it could be you are looking at the setting for VR.   The one I am typing about, is very close to the TOP of the .cfg file.  Slowly move down and you will see the PostProcess grouping. Fourth down in that grouping...is the one and the only one you would switch between the default 1 and to turn it off by placing a 0 and then SAVE in NotePad ++

Edited February 26, 20224 yr by Sesquashtoo