P3D running slow

[bofhlusr 466]

38 minutes ago, Rogen said:

Hi @bofhlusr, I would first trial the NVidia CP before Riva Tuner, if you set P3D to 30 FPS max in NCP I would imagine the GSync should vsync at that rate.

Textures are separate to shaders, a texure is a picture and a shader describes how bright etc. the picture should display.

TomatoShade allows control over the shaders to enhance the world look of P3D and lets you set the display characteristics of sky, clouds, water, lighting, shadows, reflections, colour, bloom, etc.

Exactly the explanation of the difference between tomatoshade and textures that I was looking for. Short and sweet. Thank you!

I'm going to read-up on shaders. Which is the best and relatively easiest freeware or payware would you suggest or recommend? 

Nice tip about checking out NVidia CP before using Riva Tuner. I didn't know the 30 FPS max setting in NCP was available. I hope I'm doing it right (see below):


 

[Rogen 1,104]

 

Yep pic looks about right, as noted some experimentation might be in order, all part of the fun of tuning for best performance.

 

6 minutes ago, bofhlusr said:

Which is the best and relatively easiest freeware or payware would you suggest or recommend?

TomatoShade, it's free and in the spolier below is my current configuration, save the spoiler contents to a text .ini file (NotePad++ will help here), import into TomatoShade and apply.

Don't forget to make a backup copy of the ShadersHLSL folder as a first step, having a backup is the simplest way to rollback selected shaders or all shaders.

Also this thread link has the manual shader edits I use and various items recommended for improving overall.

I've named the preset as "TBM v1.2.3 Tomato Shade - Clouds-Lighting-AtmoFog-WaterSatuation-All_Items_Tuning_NoAdvancedRefections.ini".

Cheers

Spoiler

[PTA VERSION]
Preset format=2

[PRESET COMMENTS]
Comment=TBM 18/03/2023 1.2.3~^#================================~^#Enabled water surface for review.~^#Increased Granularity to 6.50 to reduce reflection flicker~^#~^#Water Saturation=0.98~^#~^#Disabled ADVANCED REFLECTIONS / ADJUST TERRAIN RENDERING ~^#where I've been attempting a few fixes for the fEyeDistance invalid ~^#subscript error (to no avail).~^#~^#I think this is about as far as I can take TomatoShade...~^#~^#~^#TBM 07/01/2023 1.2.2~^#================================~^#Disabled Advanced Reflections since testing shows ~^#it's a lot of work to build custom modeling for both ~^#external and internal aircraft models and the results ~^#tend to be not that great with unintended fx like paint ~^#being very dull or being replaced with bare metal types ~^#of shine.~^#~^#Enabled the following:~^#Soften Solid Shadows~^#Adjust Terrain Rendering~^#Aircaft Image Based Lighting~^#    DaylightAmbientIntensity=0.3 (up from 0.2)~^#    DaylightDiffuseIntensity=(0.15 + (1.0 - saturate(colorDiffuseSun.g)) * 1.0) (up from 0.15)~^#~^#~^#TBM 28/12/2022 1.2.1~^#================================~^#Enabled Advanced Reflection options consisting of,~^#Adjust Terrain Rendering and Extended ~^#Reflections, disabling Aircaft Image Based Lighting~^#is required. ~^#~^#TBM 06/01/2022~^#=================================~^#Custom Tomato shade configuration - version 1.2.0~^#Enable alternate lighting on clouds.~^#~^#TBM 21/12/2021~^#=================================~^#Custom Tomato shade configuration - version 1.1.9~^#Set Bump Mapping to zero (P3D default, as the A/Craft looks too craggy).~^#Enable AutoGen Lighting Adjustements (so as not too bright in the distance).~^#Enable Aircraft Image Based Lighting (We'll see what it does)~^#~^#=================================~^#Custom Tomato shade configuration - version 1.1.8~^#[ATMOSPHERE & FOG_RAYLEIGH_SCATTERING]~^#Density=0.0000000298~^#~^#[WATER_WATER_SATURATION] (from 0.65 to 0.45 as it just looks too blue)~^#SaturateRatio=0.45~^#~^#=================================~^#Custom Tomato shade configuration - version 1.1.7~^#~^#[ATMOSPHERE & FOG_SKY_SATURATION]~^#SaturateRatio=(saturate((1 + cb_Altitude/1219 * 0.5) - (cb_fPrecipitationLevel * 0.5)))~^#~^#[ATMOSPHERE & FOG_SKY_FOG_TUNING]~^#FogFactor=(saturate(0.15 - cb_Altitude/1438))~^#~^#[ATMOSPHERE & FOG_RAYLEIGH_SCATTERING]~^#Density=0.0000000198~^#~^#Green=0.050~^#Blue=0.072~^#~^#Colour values were previously reversed making the distance too green.~^#~^#=================================~^#Custom Tomato shade configuration - version 1.1.6~^#[TOMATO-MODE_ALTERNATE TERRAIN LIGHTING]~^#0.4 to 0.3 (defaut is 0.2)~^#~^#[CLOUDS_CLOUD_VOLUME]~^#IsActive=1~^#ScatteringFactor=2.3~^#LightingFactor=0.85~^#NoPattern=1~^#~^#[CLOUDS_CLOUD_BRIGHTNESS_TWILIGHT]~^#IsActive=1~^#~^#[CLOUDS_CLOUDS_LIGHTING_TUNING]~^#IsActive=1~^#CloudLightFactor=0.75~^#CloudSaturateFactor=0.35~^#DiffuseGamma=0.95~^#=================================~^#Tomato-Mode/Bump map strength reduced from 0.8 to 0.3 (P3D default is zero)~^#~^#Does not use advanced reflections due to errors in the shader additions.~^#That said it is very useful for shader configuration otherwise.~^#~^#=================================~^#Items not used in this preset due to errors occuring in P3D v4.5 HF3:~^#    error X3018: invalid subscript 'fEyeDistance' Shader cache failed to compile or create shader. source-file: GPUTerrain.fx~^#~^#    Occurs when ADVANCED REFLECTIONS / ADJUST TERRAIN RENDERING is enabled, which is a requirement for using advanced reflections.~^#    Thusly Advanced Reflections and Adjust Terrain Rendering are disabled in this preset.~^#~^#    Also disabled are all four ADVANCED REFLECTIONS / Fix Projections as they do not apply to P3D v4.5 HF3~^#    e.g. Clouds, General, Particles, Terrain~^#~^#=================================~^#Manual shader corrections:~^#GPUTerrain.fx~^#    warning X3571: pow(f, e) will not work for negative f~^#    Added abs wrapper on line 282.~^#    "return exp(-baseScale * heightScale) * (pow(abs(18.8125 * angle + 1.0), -1.28125) * 32.53323 + 0.29103) / baseScale;"~^#~^#~^#PrecipParticle.fx~^#    // Control how long streaks face and how big they are.~^#    // TBM 03/02/2019 change the calculated value for a smaller looking rain/snow effect.~^#    float height = cb_fQuadSize * cb_fQuadSizeHeightScale / (2.4 - (cb_uPrecipType * 1.65));~^#    float width = cb_fQuadSize * cb_fQuadSizeWidthScale / (1.0 - (cb_uPrecipType * 0.25));~^#~^#    //float height = cb_fQuadSize * cb_fQuadSizeHeightScale;~^#    //float width = cb_fQuadSize * cb_fQuadSizeWidthScale;~^#~^#=================================~^#P3D values: Adjust to suit taste.~^#HDR_BRIGHTNESS=1.250000~^#HDR_BLOOM_MAGNITUDE=0.350000~^#HDR_SATURATION=0.9500000~^#=================================~^#

[HDR & POST-PROCESSING_HDRADAPTATION]
IsActive=0

[HDR & POST-PROCESSING_HDRTONE]
IsActive=0
Red=1.05
Green=1.00
Blue=1.05

[HDR & POST-PROCESSING_HDRTONEMAP]
IsActive=0
Uncharted2Tonemap=0

[WATER_WATER_SATURATION]
IsActive=1
SaturateRatio=0.98

[ATMOSPHERE & FOG_SKY_SATURATION]
IsActive=1
SaturateRatio=(saturate((1 + cb_Altitude/1219 * 0.5) - (cb_fPrecipitationLevel * 0.5)))

[ATMOSPHERE & FOG_SKY_FOG_TUNING]
IsActive=1
FogFactor=(saturate(0.15 - cb_Altitude/1438))

[HDR & POST-PROCESSING_HDRCONTRAST]
IsActive=0
Coeff=1.5

[WATER_WAVESPEED]
IsActive=0
SpeedRatio=1.0

[WATER_WAVESIZE]
IsActive=0
SizeRatio=1.0
SmoothRatio=2.0

[WATER_WATERSURFACE]
IsActive=1
ReflectionCoeff=0.45
RefractionCoeff=0.30
GranularityCoeff=6.50
SpecularBlend=1.5
FresnelAngle=2.5

[WATER_FSXREFLECTION]
IsActive=0

[ATMOSPHERE & FOG_RAYLEIGH_SCATTERING]
IsActive=1
DensityCorrection=1
ExcludeClouds=0
Power=3.42
Density=0.0000000298
Green=0.050
Blue=0.072
NoDensityAltitude=15000
VolumetricDensityHeight=10000
VolumetricDensityPower=2.0

[ATMOSPHERE & FOG_ATMO_HAZE]
IsActive=1
Power=1.21
Distance=(saturate(0.00000000100 + (cb_Altitude-0)/(11000-0)*(0.00000000100-0.00000000180)))
DensityCorrection=1
Red=1.00
Green=0.95
Blue=0.95
NoDensityAltitude=10000
VolumetricDensityHeight=10000

[ATMOSPHERE & FOG_CLOUDS_FOG_TUNING]
IsActive=1
FogFactor=0.5

[LIGHTING_BOOST_EMISSIVELANDCLASS]
IsActive=0
BoostRatio=1.0
SaturateRatio=2.0

[LIGHTING_TERRAIN_SATURATION]
IsActive=1
SaturateRatio=1.25

[LIGHTING_TERRAIN_LIGHTING]
IsActive=1
SunDiffuseCoeff=2.4
SunAmbientCoeff=1.35
MoonDiffuseCoeff=0.9
MoonAmbientCoeff=0.3
DiffuseGamma=1.05

[LIGHTING_SPECULAR_LIGHTING]
IsActive=1
SpecularRatio=1.4

[LIGHTING_AUTOGEN_LIGHTING]
IsActive=1
SunDiffuseCoeff=2.5
SunAmbientCoeff=1.0
MoonDiffuseCoeff=0.5
MoonAmbientCoeff=0.3
DiffuseGamma=1.0
Saturation=1.0

[CLOUDS_CLOUD_BRIGHTNESS_TWILIGHT]
IsActive=1

[CLOUDS_CIRRUS_BRIGHTNESS_TWILIGHT]
IsActive=1

[CLOUDS_CLOUD_SHADOWS_SIZE]
IsActive=1

[CLOUDS_CLOUD-SHADOW-DEPTH]
IsActive=1
Value=1.10

[CLOUDS_CLOUD_ALTERNATE_LIGHTING]
IsActive=1

[CLOUDS_CLOUD_SIZE]
IsActive=0
CloudSizeHCoeff=0.5
CloudSizeVCoeff=0.5

[CLOUDS_CLOUD_SATURATION]
IsActive=1
ShadeFactor=1.35

[CLOUDS_CLOUDS_LIGHTING_TUNING]
IsActive=1
CloudLightFactor=0.75
CloudSaturateFactor=0.35
DiffuseGamma=0.95

[CLOUDS_CIRRUS_LIGHTING]
IsActive=0
SaturateRatio=1.00
LightingRatio=1.00

[CLOUDS_CLOUD_VOLUME]
IsActive=1
ScatteringFactor=2.3
LightingFactor=0.85
NoPattern=1

[CLOUDS_POPCORN_MODIFICATOR]
IsActive=1
CloudDistanceFactor=0.00000000060
CloudOpacity=(clamp(0.10 + 0.20 * cb_Altitude/2000, 0.1, 0.3))

[LIGHTING_AIRCRAFT_LIGHTING]
IsActive=1
SunDiffuseCoeff=2.55
SunAmbientCoeff=0.89
MoonDiffuseCoeff=1.00
MoonAmbientCoeff=1.00
DiffuseGamma=1.05
SaturateRatio=1.05
VCOnly=0
VCSunDiffuseCoeff=
VCSunAmbientCoeff=
VCMoonDiffuseCoeff=
VCMoonAmbientCoeff=

[LIGHTING_AUTOGEN_EMISSIVE]
IsActive=1
LightsRatio=1.5
AutogenRatio=1.5
SmoothTransition=1

[TOMATO-MODE_OPTIMIZE REDUCE TRANSLUCENT SHADOW DISTANCE]
IsActive=1

[TOMATO-MODE_OPTIMIZE GPU TERRAIN RENDERING]
IsActive=1

[TOMATO-MODE_AUTOGEN DISTANCE SIZE]
IsActive=0
Factor=0.0025
FactorX=1.7777

[TOMATO-MODE_AUTOGEN POWER SMOOTHING]
IsActive=1
BasePowerFactor=0.7
MaxLightDistance=90000
FullPowerDistance=3000
DistanceCurvePower=4.0
Saturation=1.0
PowerLimit=0.0

[TOMATO-MODE_ADAPTIVE BLOOM]
IsActive=0
Power=3.0

[TOMATO-MODE_ALTERNATE TERRAIN LIGHTING]
IsActive=1
LightPower=0.3

[TOMATO-MODE_INCREASE PARTICLE SIZE WITH DIST]
IsActive=0
Factor=1.1

[TOMATO-MODE_DYNAMIC SPOT LIGHTS LIGHTING]
IsActive=1
AnglePower=1.0

[TOMATO-MODE_IMPROVE DYN LIGHT PERFORMANCE]
IsActive=1

[TOMATO-MODE_ADD MULTIPLE TEXTURE LOOKUPS]
IsActive=0

[TOMATO-MODE_SOFTEN SOLID SHADOWS]
IsActive=1

[TOMATO-MODE_ADVANCED ATMOSPHERE SCATTERING]
IsActive=1
PlanetRadius=6371e3
AtmosphereHeight=100000.0
AtmoBaseHeightOutScattering=0.00015
AtmoBaseHeightInScattering=0.00012
AbsorptionFactorRed=0.596e-5
AbsorptionFactorGreen=1.324e-5
AbsorptionFactorBlue=3.310e-5
AbsorptionScaleInRed=1.3
AbsorptionScaleInGreen=1.1
AbsorptionScaleInBlue=1.2
AbsorptionScaleGamma=2.5
InScatteringFactorAmbient=0.2
InScatteringFactorDiffuse=0.7
InScatteringDiffuseGamma=0.2
InScatteringStartFullDist=20000.0
TerrainOutputContrast=1.07875
ShadowsInflunceScattering=1

[TOMATO-MODE_ADVANCED FOG SCATTERING]
IsActive=1
ScatteringHeightPower=2.5
ScatteringHeightLimit=119716000000.0f
ScatteringDistanceBlue=82000
ScatteringDistanceGreen=145000
ScatteringDistanceRed=301000
ScatteringPowerBlue=0.85
ScatteringPowerGreen=0.65
ScatteringPowerRed=0.6
InScatteringSky=0.05
InScatteringSun=0.05

[TOMATO-MODE_FAST APPROXIMATION IMAGE BASED AIRCRAFT LIGHTING]
IsActive=1
DaylightAmbientIntensity=0.3
DaylightDiffuseIntensity=(0.15 + (1.0 - saturate(colorDiffuseSun.g)) * 1.0)
NightIntensity=0.2

[TOMATO-MODE_OPTIMIZE CLOUD MATRIX CALCULATION]
IsActive=1

[TOMATO_MODE_ALTERNATE SPECULAR LIGHTING]
IsActive=1

[TOMATO_MODE_PRECIPITATION OPACITY]
IsActive=0
OpacityRain=0.7
OpacitySnow=1.0

[TOMATO-MODE_IMPROVE GENERAL SHADOW RECEIVE]
IsActive=1

[TOMATO-MODE_IMPROVE TERRAIN SHADOW RECEIVE]
IsActive=1

[TOMATO_MODE_CHANGE CLOUD SHADOW RECEIVE CALCULATION]
IsActive=1

[TOMATO_MODE_CHANGE CLOUD SHADOW BUILD CALCULATION]
IsActive=1

[TOMATO_MODE_ADD CONDITIONAL DYNAMIC LIGHTING]
IsActive=1

[TOMATO_MODE_PER PIXEL CLOUD FOG]
IsActive=1

[TOMATO_MODE_BUMP MAP STRENGTH]
IsActive=1
IntensityScale=0.0

[TOMATO-MODE_OPTIMIZE PARTICLE DRAW]
IsActive=1

[TOMATO-MODE_OPTIMIZE PRECIPITATION DRAW]
IsActive=1

[TOMATO-REFLECTIONS_ADJUST STARS IN REFLECTION MAP]
IsActive=1
Intensity=0.0

[TOMATO-REFLECTIONS_ADJUST REFLECTION PARTICLE EMISSION]
IsActive=1
Size=64

[TOMATO-REFLECTIONS_ADJUST REFLECTION TERRAIN RENDERING]
IsActive=0
AddDetailTexture=1
MaxTextureLOD=14

[TOMATO-REFLECTIONS_ADJUST REFLECTION GENERAL RENDERING]
IsActive=1

[TOMATO-REFLECTIONS_OPTIMIZE CLOUD REFLECTIONS]
IsActive=1

[TOMATO-REFLECTIONS_TOMATO EXTENDED REFLECTION RENDERING]
IsActive=0

[TOMATO-REFLECTIONS_FIX GENERAL PROJECTION]
IsActive=0

[TOMATO-REFLECTIONS_FIX CLOUD PROJECTION]
IsActive=0

[TOMATO-REFLECTIONS_FIX TERRAIN PROJECTION]
IsActive=0

[TOMATO-REFLECTIONS_FIX PARTICLE PROJECTION]
IsActive=0

[POSTPROCESS_SHADER DPX]
IsActive=0
Index=-10000
Params=4461794E696768745573653D300D0A5265643D382E300D0A477265656E3D382E300D0A426C75653D382E300D0A526564433D302E33360D0A477265656E433D302E33360D0A426C7565433D302E33340D0A44505853617475726174696F6E3D332E300D0A436F6C6F7247616D6D613D322E350D0A426C656E643D302E320D0A

[POSTPROCESS_SHADER Tonemap]
IsActive=0
Index=-10000
Params=4461794E696768745573653D300D0A47616D6D613D312E300D0A4578706F737572653D302E300D0A53617475726174696F6E3D302E300D0A426C656163683D302E300D0A4465666F673D302E300D0A466F67436F6C6F72583D302E300D0A466F67436F6C6F72593D302E300D0A466F67436F6C6F725A3D322E35350D0A

[POSTPROCESS_SHADER LiftGammaGain]
IsActive=0
Index=-10000
Params=4461794E696768745573653D300D0A5247425F4C696674583D312E300D0A5247425F4C696674593D312E300D0A5247425F4C6966745A3D312E300D0A5247425F47616D6D61583D312E300D0A5247425F47616D6D61593D312E300D0A5247425F47616D6D615A3D312E300D0A5247425F4761696E583D312E300D0A5247425F4761696E593D312E300D0A5247425F4761696E5A3D312E300D0A

[POSTPROCESS_SHADER Vibrance]
IsActive=0
Index=-10000
Params=4461794E696768745573653D300D0A56696272616E63653D302E320D0A56696272616E63655F5247425F62616C616E6365583D312E300D0A56696272616E63655F5247425F62616C616E6365593D312E300D0A56696272616E63655F5247425F62616C616E63655A3D312E300D0A

[POSTPROCESS_SHADER Sepia]
IsActive=0
Index=-10000
Params=4461794E696768745573653D300D0A436F6C6F72546F6E65583D312E340D0A436F6C6F72546F6E65593D312E310D0A436F6C6F72546F6E655A3D302E390D0A47726579506F7765723D302E31310D0A5365706961506F7765723D302E35380D0A

[POSTPROCESS_SHADER Technicolor]
IsActive=0
Index=-10000
Params=4461794E696768745573653D300D0A546563686E69416D6F756E743D302E340D0A546563686E69506F7765723D342E300D0A7265644E65676174697665416D6F756E743D302E38380D0A677265656E4E65676174697665416D6F756E743D302E38380D0A626C75654E65676174697665416D6F756E743D302E38380D0A

 

 

[bofhlusr 466]

6 minutes ago, Rogen said:

 

Yep pic looks about right, as noted some experimentation might be in order, all part of the fun of tuning for best performance.

 

 

  Hide contents

 

 

 

Truth be told, lately I've been doing more configuration and experimentation instead of flying in flightsims (and there's lots and lots of it in DCS A-10C too).

I must be going crazy trying to remember the keybindings which are totally different in each of these three flightsims (ie. with MSFS too). But I agree, succeeding and getting it right is fun.

[bofhlusr 466]

24 minutes ago, Rogen said:

 

Yep pic looks about right, as noted some experimentation might be in order, all part of the fun of tuning for best performance.

 

TomatoShade, it's free and in the spolier below is my current configuration, save the spoiler contents to a text .ini file (NotePad++ will help here), import into TomatoShade and apply.

...

  Reveal hidden contents

[PTA VERSION]
Preset format=2

[PRESET COMMENTS]
Comment=TBM 18/03/2023 1.2.3~^#================================~^#Enabled water surface for review.~^#Increased Granularity to 6.50 to reduce reflection flicker~^#~^#Water Saturation=0.98~^#~^#Disabled ADVANCED REFLECTIONS / ADJUST TERRAIN RENDERING ~^#where I've been attempting a few fixes for the fEyeDistance invalid ~^#subscript error (to no avail).~^#~^#I think this is about as far as I can take TomatoShade...~^#~^#~^#TBM 07/01/2023 1.2.2~^#================================~^#Disabled Advanced Reflections since testing shows ~^#it's a lot of work to build custom modeling for both ~^#external and internal aircraft models and the results ~^#tend to be not that great with unintended fx like paint ~^#being very dull or being replaced with bare metal types ~^#of shine.~^#~^#Enabled the following:~^#Soften Solid Shadows~^#Adjust Terrain Rendering~^#Aircaft Image Based Lighting~^#    DaylightAmbientIntensity=0.3 (up from 0.2)~^#    DaylightDiffuseIntensity=(0.15 + (1.0 - saturate(colorDiffuseSun.g)) * 1.0) (up from 0.15)~^#~^#~^#TBM 28/12/2022 1.2.1~^#================================~^#Enabled Advanced Reflection options consisting of,~^#Adjust Terrain Rendering and Extended ~^#Reflections, disabling Aircaft Image Based Lighting~^#is required. ~^#~^#TBM 06/01/2022~^#=================================~^#Custom Tomato shade configuration - version 1.2.0~^#Enable alternate lighting on clouds.~^#~^#TBM 21/12/2021~^#=================================~^#Custom Tomato shade configuration - version 1.1.9~^#Set Bump Mapping to zero (P3D default, as the A/Craft looks too craggy).~^#Enable AutoGen Lighting Adjustements (so as not too bright in the distance).~^#Enable Aircraft Image Based Lighting (We'll see what it does)~^#~^#=================================~^#Custom Tomato shade configuration - version 1.1.8~^#[ATMOSPHERE & FOG_RAYLEIGH_SCATTERING]~^#Density=0.0000000298~^#~^#[WATER_WATER_SATURATION] (from 0.65 to 0.45 as it just looks too blue)~^#SaturateRatio=0.45~^#~^#=================================~^#Custom Tomato shade configuration - version 1.1.7~^#~^#[ATMOSPHERE & FOG_SKY_SATURATION]~^#SaturateRatio=(saturate((1 + cb_Altitude/1219 * 0.5) - (cb_fPrecipitationLevel * 0.5)))~^#~^#[ATMOSPHERE & FOG_SKY_FOG_TUNING]~^#FogFactor=(saturate(0.15 - cb_Altitude/1438))~^#~^#[ATMOSPHERE & FOG_RAYLEIGH_SCATTERING]~^#Density=0.0000000198~^#~^#Green=0.050~^#Blue=0.072~^#~^#Colour values were previously reversed making the distance too green.~^#~^#=================================~^#Custom Tomato shade configuration - version 1.1.6~^#[TOMATO-MODE_ALTERNATE TERRAIN LIGHTING]~^#0.4 to 0.3 (defaut is 0.2)~^#~^#[CLOUDS_CLOUD_VOLUME]~^#IsActive=1~^#ScatteringFactor=2.3~^#LightingFactor=0.85~^#NoPattern=1~^#~^#[CLOUDS_CLOUD_BRIGHTNESS_TWILIGHT]~^#IsActive=1~^#~^#[CLOUDS_CLOUDS_LIGHTING_TUNING]~^#IsActive=1~^#CloudLightFactor=0.75~^#CloudSaturateFactor=0.35~^#DiffuseGamma=0.95~^#=================================~^#Tomato-Mode/Bump map strength reduced from 0.8 to 0.3 (P3D default is zero)~^#~^#Does not use advanced reflections due to errors in the shader additions.~^#That said it is very useful for shader configuration otherwise.~^#~^#=================================~^#Items not used in this preset due to errors occuring in P3D v4.5 HF3:~^#    error X3018: invalid subscript 'fEyeDistance' Shader cache failed to compile or create shader. source-file: GPUTerrain.fx~^#~^#    Occurs when ADVANCED REFLECTIONS / ADJUST TERRAIN RENDERING is enabled, which is a requirement for using advanced reflections.~^#    Thusly Advanced Reflections and Adjust Terrain Rendering are disabled in this preset.~^#~^#    Also disabled are all four ADVANCED REFLECTIONS / Fix Projections as they do not apply to P3D v4.5 HF3~^#    e.g. Clouds, General, Particles, Terrain~^#~^#=================================~^#Manual shader corrections:~^#GPUTerrain.fx~^#    warning X3571: pow(f, e) will not work for negative f~^#    Added abs wrapper on line 282.~^#    "return exp(-baseScale * heightScale) * (pow(abs(18.8125 * angle + 1.0), -1.28125) * 32.53323 + 0.29103) / baseScale;"~^#~^#~^#PrecipParticle.fx~^#    // Control how long streaks face and how big they are.~^#    // TBM 03/02/2019 change the calculated value for a smaller looking rain/snow effect.~^#    float height = cb_fQuadSize * cb_fQuadSizeHeightScale / (2.4 - (cb_uPrecipType * 1.65));~^#    float width = cb_fQuadSize * cb_fQuadSizeWidthScale / (1.0 - (cb_uPrecipType * 0.25));~^#~^#    //float height = cb_fQuadSize * cb_fQuadSizeHeightScale;~^#    //float width = cb_fQuadSize * cb_fQuadSizeWidthScale;~^#~^#=================================~^#P3D values: Adjust to suit taste.~^#HDR_BRIGHTNESS=1.250000~^#HDR_BLOOM_MAGNITUDE=0.350000~^#HDR_SATURATION=0.9500000~^#=================================~^#

[HDR & POST-PROCESSING_HDRADAPTATION]
IsActive=0

[HDR & POST-PROCESSING_HDRTONE]
IsActive=0
Red=1.05
Green=1.00
Blue=1.05

[HDR & POST-PROCESSING_HDRTONEMAP]
IsActive=0
Uncharted2Tonemap=0

[WATER_WATER_SATURATION]
IsActive=1
SaturateRatio=0.98

[ATMOSPHERE & FOG_SKY_SATURATION]
IsActive=1
SaturateRatio=(saturate((1 + cb_Altitude/1219 * 0.5) - (cb_fPrecipitationLevel * 0.5)))

[ATMOSPHERE & FOG_SKY_FOG_TUNING]
IsActive=1
FogFactor=(saturate(0.15 - cb_Altitude/1438))

[HDR & POST-PROCESSING_HDRCONTRAST]
IsActive=0
Coeff=1.5

[WATER_WAVESPEED]
IsActive=0
SpeedRatio=1.0

[WATER_WAVESIZE]
IsActive=0
SizeRatio=1.0
SmoothRatio=2.0

[WATER_WATERSURFACE]
IsActive=1
ReflectionCoeff=0.45
RefractionCoeff=0.30
GranularityCoeff=6.50
SpecularBlend=1.5
FresnelAngle=2.5

[WATER_FSXREFLECTION]
IsActive=0

[ATMOSPHERE & FOG_RAYLEIGH_SCATTERING]
IsActive=1
DensityCorrection=1
ExcludeClouds=0
Power=3.42
Density=0.0000000298
Green=0.050
Blue=0.072
NoDensityAltitude=15000
VolumetricDensityHeight=10000
VolumetricDensityPower=2.0

[ATMOSPHERE & FOG_ATMO_HAZE]
IsActive=1
Power=1.21
Distance=(saturate(0.00000000100 + (cb_Altitude-0)/(11000-0)*(0.00000000100-0.00000000180)))
DensityCorrection=1
Red=1.00
Green=0.95
Blue=0.95
NoDensityAltitude=10000
VolumetricDensityHeight=10000

[ATMOSPHERE & FOG_CLOUDS_FOG_TUNING]
IsActive=1
FogFactor=0.5

[LIGHTING_BOOST_EMISSIVELANDCLASS]
IsActive=0
BoostRatio=1.0
SaturateRatio=2.0

[LIGHTING_TERRAIN_SATURATION]
IsActive=1
SaturateRatio=1.25

[LIGHTING_TERRAIN_LIGHTING]
IsActive=1
SunDiffuseCoeff=2.4
SunAmbientCoeff=1.35
MoonDiffuseCoeff=0.9
MoonAmbientCoeff=0.3
DiffuseGamma=1.05

[LIGHTING_SPECULAR_LIGHTING]
IsActive=1
SpecularRatio=1.4

[LIGHTING_AUTOGEN_LIGHTING]
IsActive=1
SunDiffuseCoeff=2.5
SunAmbientCoeff=1.0
MoonDiffuseCoeff=0.5
MoonAmbientCoeff=0.3
DiffuseGamma=1.0
Saturation=1.0

[CLOUDS_CLOUD_BRIGHTNESS_TWILIGHT]
IsActive=1

[CLOUDS_CIRRUS_BRIGHTNESS_TWILIGHT]
IsActive=1

[CLOUDS_CLOUD_SHADOWS_SIZE]
IsActive=1

[CLOUDS_CLOUD-SHADOW-DEPTH]
IsActive=1
Value=1.10

[CLOUDS_CLOUD_ALTERNATE_LIGHTING]
IsActive=1

[CLOUDS_CLOUD_SIZE]
IsActive=0
CloudSizeHCoeff=0.5
CloudSizeVCoeff=0.5

[CLOUDS_CLOUD_SATURATION]
IsActive=1
ShadeFactor=1.35

[CLOUDS_CLOUDS_LIGHTING_TUNING]
IsActive=1
CloudLightFactor=0.75
CloudSaturateFactor=0.35
DiffuseGamma=0.95

[CLOUDS_CIRRUS_LIGHTING]
IsActive=0
SaturateRatio=1.00
LightingRatio=1.00

[CLOUDS_CLOUD_VOLUME]
IsActive=1
ScatteringFactor=2.3
LightingFactor=0.85
NoPattern=1

[CLOUDS_POPCORN_MODIFICATOR]
IsActive=1
CloudDistanceFactor=0.00000000060
CloudOpacity=(clamp(0.10 + 0.20 * cb_Altitude/2000, 0.1, 0.3))

[LIGHTING_AIRCRAFT_LIGHTING]
IsActive=1
SunDiffuseCoeff=2.55
SunAmbientCoeff=0.89
MoonDiffuseCoeff=1.00
MoonAmbientCoeff=1.00
DiffuseGamma=1.05
SaturateRatio=1.05
VCOnly=0
VCSunDiffuseCoeff=
VCSunAmbientCoeff=
VCMoonDiffuseCoeff=
VCMoonAmbientCoeff=

[LIGHTING_AUTOGEN_EMISSIVE]
IsActive=1
LightsRatio=1.5
AutogenRatio=1.5
SmoothTransition=1

[TOMATO-MODE_OPTIMIZE REDUCE TRANSLUCENT SHADOW DISTANCE]
IsActive=1

[TOMATO-MODE_OPTIMIZE GPU TERRAIN RENDERING]
IsActive=1

[TOMATO-MODE_AUTOGEN DISTANCE SIZE]
IsActive=0
Factor=0.0025
FactorX=1.7777

[TOMATO-MODE_AUTOGEN POWER SMOOTHING]
IsActive=1
BasePowerFactor=0.7
MaxLightDistance=90000
FullPowerDistance=3000
DistanceCurvePower=4.0
Saturation=1.0
PowerLimit=0.0

[TOMATO-MODE_ADAPTIVE BLOOM]
IsActive=0
Power=3.0

[TOMATO-MODE_ALTERNATE TERRAIN LIGHTING]
IsActive=1
LightPower=0.3

[TOMATO-MODE_INCREASE PARTICLE SIZE WITH DIST]
IsActive=0
Factor=1.1

[TOMATO-MODE_DYNAMIC SPOT LIGHTS LIGHTING]
IsActive=1
AnglePower=1.0

[TOMATO-MODE_IMPROVE DYN LIGHT PERFORMANCE]
IsActive=1

[TOMATO-MODE_ADD MULTIPLE TEXTURE LOOKUPS]
IsActive=0

[TOMATO-MODE_SOFTEN SOLID SHADOWS]
IsActive=1

[TOMATO-MODE_ADVANCED ATMOSPHERE SCATTERING]
IsActive=1
PlanetRadius=6371e3
AtmosphereHeight=100000.0
AtmoBaseHeightOutScattering=0.00015
AtmoBaseHeightInScattering=0.00012
AbsorptionFactorRed=0.596e-5
AbsorptionFactorGreen=1.324e-5
AbsorptionFactorBlue=3.310e-5
AbsorptionScaleInRed=1.3
AbsorptionScaleInGreen=1.1
AbsorptionScaleInBlue=1.2
AbsorptionScaleGamma=2.5
InScatteringFactorAmbient=0.2
InScatteringFactorDiffuse=0.7
InScatteringDiffuseGamma=0.2
InScatteringStartFullDist=20000.0
TerrainOutputContrast=1.07875
ShadowsInflunceScattering=1

[TOMATO-MODE_ADVANCED FOG SCATTERING]
IsActive=1
ScatteringHeightPower=2.5
ScatteringHeightLimit=119716000000.0f
ScatteringDistanceBlue=82000
ScatteringDistanceGreen=145000
ScatteringDistanceRed=301000
ScatteringPowerBlue=0.85
ScatteringPowerGreen=0.65
ScatteringPowerRed=0.6
InScatteringSky=0.05
InScatteringSun=0.05

[TOMATO-MODE_FAST APPROXIMATION IMAGE BASED AIRCRAFT LIGHTING]
IsActive=1
DaylightAmbientIntensity=0.3
DaylightDiffuseIntensity=(0.15 + (1.0 - saturate(colorDiffuseSun.g)) * 1.0)
NightIntensity=0.2

[TOMATO-MODE_OPTIMIZE CLOUD MATRIX CALCULATION]
IsActive=1

[TOMATO_MODE_ALTERNATE SPECULAR LIGHTING]
IsActive=1

[TOMATO_MODE_PRECIPITATION OPACITY]
IsActive=0
OpacityRain=0.7
OpacitySnow=1.0

[TOMATO-MODE_IMPROVE GENERAL SHADOW RECEIVE]
IsActive=1

[TOMATO-MODE_IMPROVE TERRAIN SHADOW RECEIVE]
IsActive=1

[TOMATO_MODE_CHANGE CLOUD SHADOW RECEIVE CALCULATION]
IsActive=1

[TOMATO_MODE_CHANGE CLOUD SHADOW BUILD CALCULATION]
IsActive=1

[TOMATO_MODE_ADD CONDITIONAL DYNAMIC LIGHTING]
IsActive=1

[TOMATO_MODE_PER PIXEL CLOUD FOG]
IsActive=1

[TOMATO_MODE_BUMP MAP STRENGTH]
IsActive=1
IntensityScale=0.0

[TOMATO-MODE_OPTIMIZE PARTICLE DRAW]
IsActive=1

[TOMATO-MODE_OPTIMIZE PRECIPITATION DRAW]
IsActive=1

[TOMATO-REFLECTIONS_ADJUST STARS IN REFLECTION MAP]
IsActive=1
Intensity=0.0

[TOMATO-REFLECTIONS_ADJUST REFLECTION PARTICLE EMISSION]
IsActive=1
Size=64

[TOMATO-REFLECTIONS_ADJUST REFLECTION TERRAIN RENDERING]
IsActive=0
AddDetailTexture=1
MaxTextureLOD=14

[TOMATO-REFLECTIONS_ADJUST REFLECTION GENERAL RENDERING]
IsActive=1

[TOMATO-REFLECTIONS_OPTIMIZE CLOUD REFLECTIONS]
IsActive=1

[TOMATO-REFLECTIONS_TOMATO EXTENDED REFLECTION RENDERING]
IsActive=0

[TOMATO-REFLECTIONS_FIX GENERAL PROJECTION]
IsActive=0

[TOMATO-REFLECTIONS_FIX CLOUD PROJECTION]
IsActive=0

[TOMATO-REFLECTIONS_FIX TERRAIN PROJECTION]
IsActive=0

[TOMATO-REFLECTIONS_FIX PARTICLE PROJECTION]
IsActive=0

[POSTPROCESS_SHADER DPX]
IsActive=0
Index=-10000
Params=4461794E696768745573653D300D0A5265643D382E300D0A477265656E3D382E300D0A426C75653D382E300D0A526564433D302E33360D0A477265656E433D302E33360D0A426C7565433D302E33340D0A44505853617475726174696F6E3D332E300D0A436F6C6F7247616D6D613D322E350D0A426C656E643D302E320D0A

[POSTPROCESS_SHADER Tonemap]
IsActive=0
Index=-10000
Params=4461794E696768745573653D300D0A47616D6D613D312E300D0A4578706F737572653D302E300D0A53617475726174696F6E3D302E300D0A426C656163683D302E300D0A4465666F673D302E300D0A466F67436F6C6F72583D302E300D0A466F67436F6C6F72593D302E300D0A466F67436F6C6F725A3D322E35350D0A

[POSTPROCESS_SHADER LiftGammaGain]
IsActive=0
Index=-10000
Params=4461794E696768745573653D300D0A5247425F4C696674583D312E300D0A5247425F4C696674593D312E300D0A5247425F4C6966745A3D312E300D0A5247425F47616D6D61583D312E300D0A5247425F47616D6D61593D312E300D0A5247425F47616D6D615A3D312E300D0A5247425F4761696E583D312E300D0A5247425F4761696E593D312E300D0A5247425F4761696E5A3D312E300D0A

[POSTPROCESS_SHADER Vibrance]
IsActive=0
Index=-10000
Params=4461794E696768745573653D300D0A56696272616E63653D302E320D0A56696272616E63655F5247425F62616C616E6365583D312E300D0A56696272616E63655F5247425F62616C616E6365593D312E300D0A56696272616E63655F5247425F62616C616E63655A3D312E300D0A

[POSTPROCESS_SHADER Sepia]
IsActive=0
Index=-10000
Params=4461794E696768745573653D300D0A436F6C6F72546F6E65583D312E340D0A436F6C6F72546F6E65593D312E310D0A436F6C6F72546F6E655A3D302E390D0A47726579506F7765723D302E31310D0A5365706961506F7765723D302E35380D0A

[POSTPROCESS_SHADER Technicolor]
IsActive=0
Index=-10000
Params=4461794E696768745573653D300D0A546563686E69416D6F756E743D302E340D0A546563686E69506F7765723D342E300D0A7265644E65676174697665416D6F756E743D302E38380D0A677265656E4E65676174697665416D6F756E743D302E38380D0A626C75654E65676174697665416D6F756E743D302E38380D0A

 

 

I copied the configuration file in Notepad+++ and named it "TBM v1.2.3 Tomato Shade - Clouds-Lighting-AtmoFog-WaterSatuation-All_Items_Tuning_NoAdvancedRefections.ini" also.

Two questions:
1. The title of the .ini file is {PTA VERSION]. Does this mean that I need PTA?  If yes, I don't mind buying it, but I'm concerned about compatibility issues (if any).
2. Are there supposed to be line breaks in the [PRESET COMMENTS] section. If there are, I'd like to insert them but where?

[bofhlusr 466]

I did more checking and I think I "answered" my own questions.

So it looks like I could really use Tomatoshade because I don't have a GPU with PBR and I'm still at P3Dv4.5.

I don't use airliners and almost all of the links in the net use TomatoShade with airliners. But in checking out the videos in YouTube I can also see that GA planes are used too with TomatoShade.

I downloaded tomatoshade and unzipped the program into C:\TomatoShade. I also Made a zip back up file of the folder "C:\P3D\ShadersHLSL", and moved the preset file below into the new C:\TomatoShade folder that I created:
--"TBM v1.2.3 Tomato Shade - Clouds-Lighting-AtmoFog-WaterSatuation-All_Items_Tuning_NoAdvancedRefections.ini"

What next? Where do I get presets for the Flysimware's Learjet 35 for P3Dv4.5?

 

[Christopher Low 5,425]

What do you mean by "don't have a GPU with PBR"? Your GTX 1070Ti should be perfectly capable of rendering PBR textures in P3Dv4.5.

Edited April 7, 2023 by Christopher Low

[Rogen 1,104]

7 hours ago, bofhlusr said:

I did more checking and I think I "answered" my own questions.

Ok, the two questions first.

1), Don't worry about PTA, it's a completely different application that was abandoned by its developer who has since passed the mortal coil. PTA is absolutly not required.

2), Don't worry about line breaks, the spoiler contents just need to be in a text ini file as they are.

And the rest.

TomatoShade has two different functions.

1), Is as a general shader tweaker. This is the function the ini contents are created for.

2), Is what is known as "Reflection Maker", this is where TomatoShade replaces the P3D render pipeline with its own shaders for outputing PBR based highly reflective surfaces and is why it was used by a lot of tubeliner guys, i.e. so they could have nice shiny reflective PBR based exteriors and cockpits.

However the author of TomatoShade didn't update it for P3D 4.5HF3 (HF2 is the last supported version) which tends to break the reflection marker part.

Additonally Reflection maker requires editing of the target aircraft models to add PBR textures, you'll find quite a few aircraft profiles other people have made, but otherwise you'd have to do them yourself.

I used to use TomatoShade with the Reflection Maker part prior to 4.5.14 (which is hotfix 3) but it generated too many shader errors in 4.5.14 to be of much use and the results were more trouble than they were worth.

Version 31:
* P3D 4.5 Hotfix 2 Compatibility

Hence I use it as a general shader tweaker where excels perfectly.

 

TomatoShade has some limited documentation in it's install folder, best to take a look at it.

Otherwise you'll run TomatoShade, choose the menu item of File -> Open and import the configuration ini, then from the Action Menu item choose Apply.

TomatoShade will apply the config ini, modify the P3D shaders accordingly and clear the shader cache.

Then you make the manual changes to to 2 x shader files using notePad++ according to the post below.

https://www.avsim.com/forums/topic/598863-how-to-make-p3d-v45-look-better/?do=findComment&comment=4516811

 

At that point you should be good to start P3D, where P3D will display a black screen for a short time while it rebuilds the shader cache.

And that's it - Tomatoshade with custom ini is installed...

 

I then lay Reshade over the top so I can tweak while P3D is running, but that is a job for a different day.

 

And additonally I tune the P3D settings based on CPU/GPU use monitoring (mainly GPU), and create several sets of preconfigs to choose from the settings dropdown for different flight requirements.

There are some simple Prepar3D.cfg options that have a fairly large effect overall.

[GRAPHICS]

// Ensure dynamic lighting is displayed without turning on and off when changing views. Default values are 250.
// The 500 values are recommended in FlightBeam's NZAA documentation. When using IniBuilds dynamic lighting profiles the value is 1000.
MAX_POINT_LIGHTS=5000
MAX_SPOT_LIGHTS=5000

// MAX_TEXTURE_REQUEST_DISTANCE There's no cap on this value itself because it's intended as a limit.
// If you want textures requesting aggressively, you can set it something very high like 1000000.
// Units are memory allocation units (not distance). TBM 23/08/2021 may as yet be distance as the Learning Centre doesn't actually say what it is.
// There are two other checks that must pass before textures are requested:
// 1) Object is within the far clip distance. This varies by altitude.
// 2) Object pixel size at a given distance passes min radius check. This we made configurable in 4.3 using RS_MIN_OBJECT_PIXEL_RADIUS. (default is 2.0px)

MAX_TEXTURE_REQUEST_DISTANCE=320000.000000

 

[SCENERY]

//AUTOGEN_BATCH_LOD=2 //Default is 2, setting to 1 will greatly increase the amount of autogen buildings, almost double in some instances and tends to result in too many buildings cramped together but does really fill out the world, valid values are 1 to 9 with 1 the highest.
AUTOGEN_BATCH_LOD=1

[USERINTERFACE]

// Set UIHardwareAcceleration from True (the default) to False to enable reshade use.
UIHardwareAcceleration=False

[TERRAIN]

// P3D maintains a global terrain view for efficiency - if blurries start developing after a period of time or autogen stops loading trial setting to False.

UseGlobalTerrainView=False

// Relates to vegetation and how it is placed along side rivers and roads. The default and minimum is 16 and can be set up to 2048 in double values i.e. 16, 32, 64, 128, 256, 512, 1024, 2048.
// The higher the number the more accurately a curved polygon will be rasterised. 16 equals placement accuracy of ~80 metres, 2048 equals placement accuracy of approx 0.5 metres. Higher values come with more performance costs.
// Result will be treelines that accurately follow the curves in roads and bends in rivers as opposed to the old straight lines and angles of before.
// Surprisingly setting the value to 2048 appeared to have little performance impact, although there were some occasional bandwidth type vsync dropouts and in flight pauses.
// Will trial 512 as a value and use incrementing values to determine what is best for myself.
IMAGE_PIXELS_FOR_AUTOGEN_POLYGONS=2048

[JOBSCHEDULER]

// https://www.gfsg.co.uk/affinitymask.aspx?SubMenuItem=utilties

AffinityMask=[your value here]
 

Anyway... The result should be a quite nice looking P3D where a @ 30Hz vsync will be really smooth and capable for most flying areas.

I'm actually looking forward to my next computer build so I can ramp up the settings even further.

Cheers

Edited April 7, 2023 by Rogen

[bofhlusr 466]

6 hours ago, Christopher Low said:

What do you mean by "don't have a GPU with PBR"? Your GTX 1070Ti should be perfectly capable of rendering PBR textures in P3Dv4.5.

That would be great if you are right. I was basing my statement on articles such as these which make no mention of PBR.
Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 Ti 8GB Review - Tom's Hardware | Tom's Hardware (tomshardware.com)

But maybe I'm missing something?

[bofhlusr 466]

3 hours ago, Rogen said:

Ok, the two questions first.

1), Don't worry about PTA, it's a completely different application that was abandoned by its developer who has since passed the mortal coil. PTA is absolutly not required.

2), Don't worry about line breaks, the spoiler contents just need to be in a text ini file as they are.

And the rest.

TomatoShade has two different functions.

1), Is as a general shader tweaker. This is the function the ini contents are created for.

2), Is what is known as "Reflection Maker", this is where TomatoShade replaces the P3D render pipeline with its own shaders for outputing PBR based highly reflective surfaces and is why it was used by a lot of tubeliner guys, i.e. so they could have nice shiny reflective PBR based exteriors and cockpits.

However the author of TomatoShade didn't update it for P3D 4.5HF3 (HF2 is the last supported version) which tends to break the reflection marker part.

Additonally Reflection maker requires editing of the target aircraft models to add PBR textures, you'll find quite a few aircraft profiles other people have made, but otherwise you'd have to do them yourself.

I used to use TomatoShade with the Reflection Maker part prior to 4.5.14 (which is hotfix 3) but it generated too many shader errors in 4.5.14 to be of much use and the results were more trouble than they were worth.

Version 31:
* P3D 4.5 Hotfix 2 Compatibility

Hence I use it as a general shader tweaker where excels perfectly.

 

TomatoShade has some limited documentation in it's install folder, best to take a look at it.

Otherwise you'll run TomatoShade, choose the menu item of File -> Open and import the configuration ini, then from the Action Menu item choose Apply.

TomatoShade will apply the config ini, modify the P3D shaders accordingly and clear the shader cache.

Then you make the manual changes to to 2 x shader files using notePad++ according to the post below.

https://www.avsim.com/forums/topic/598863-how-to-make-p3d-v45-look-better/?do=findComment&comment=4516811

 

At that point you should be good to start P3D, where P3D will display a black screen for a short time while it rebuilds the shader cache.

And that's it - Tomatoshade with custom ini is installed...

 

I then lay Reshade over the top so I can tweak while P3D is running, but that is a job for a different day.

 

And additonally I tune the P3D settings based on CPU/GPU use monitoring (mainly GPU), and create several sets of preconfigs to choose from the settings dropdown for different flight requirements.

There are some simple Prepar3D.cfg options that have a fairly large effect overall.

[GRAPHICS]

// Ensure dynamic lighting is displayed without turning on and off when changing views. Default values are 250.
// The 500 values are recommended in FlightBeam's NZAA documentation. When using IniBuilds dynamic lighting profiles the value is 1000.
MAX_POINT_LIGHTS=5000
MAX_SPOT_LIGHTS=5000

// MAX_TEXTURE_REQUEST_DISTANCE There's no cap on this value itself because it's intended as a limit.
// If you want textures requesting aggressively, you can set it something very high like 1000000.
// Units are memory allocation units (not distance). TBM 23/08/2021 may as yet be distance as the Learning Centre doesn't actually say what it is.
// There are two other checks that must pass before textures are requested:
// 1) Object is within the far clip distance. This varies by altitude.
// 2) Object pixel size at a given distance passes min radius check. This we made configurable in 4.3 using RS_MIN_OBJECT_PIXEL_RADIUS. (default is 2.0px)

MAX_TEXTURE_REQUEST_DISTANCE=320000.000000

 

[SCENERY]

//AUTOGEN_BATCH_LOD=2 //Default is 2, setting to 1 will greatly increase the amount of autogen buildings, almost double in some instances and tends to result in too many buildings cramped together but does really fill out the world, valid values are 1 to 9 with 1 the highest.
AUTOGEN_BATCH_LOD=1

[USERINTERFACE]

// Set UIHardwareAcceleration from True (the default) to False to enable reshade use.
UIHardwareAcceleration=False

[TERRAIN]

// P3D maintains a global terrain view for efficiency - if blurries start developing after a period of time or autogen stops loading trial setting to False.

UseGlobalTerrainView=False

// Relates to vegetation and how it is placed along side rivers and roads. The default and minimum is 16 and can be set up to 2048 in double values i.e. 16, 32, 64, 128, 256, 512, 1024, 2048.
// The higher the number the more accurately a curved polygon will be rasterised. 16 equals placement accuracy of ~80 metres, 2048 equals placement accuracy of approx 0.5 metres. Higher values come with more performance costs.
// Result will be treelines that accurately follow the curves in roads and bends in rivers as opposed to the old straight lines and angles of before.
// Surprisingly setting the value to 2048 appeared to have little performance impact, although there were some occasional bandwidth type vsync dropouts and in flight pauses.
// Will trial 512 as a value and use incrementing values to determine what is best for myself.
IMAGE_PIXELS_FOR_AUTOGEN_POLYGONS=2048

[JOBSCHEDULER]

// https://www.gfsg.co.uk/affinitymask.aspx?SubMenuItem=utilties

AffinityMask=[your value here]
 

Anyway... The result should be a quite nice looking P3D where a @ 30Hz vsync will be really smooth and capable for most flying areas.

I'm actually looking forward to my next computer build so I can ramp up the settings even further.

Cheers

The 2nd and 3rd picture above is what makes me want to improve P3D. Very motivational. 

I checked the install TomatoShade folder and as noted by others as well there are no instructions for how to install the program. I briefly read the FAQ but it isn't much help to new users. I'm appreciative of your help and I'll try out your procedure for installing and hopefully using TomatoShade.

Incidentally, Envshade is one of the shaders you mentioned in a post as being easier to use. But it is payware. However, it is not that expensive and is now even on sale for less than U$6.00 at SimMarket. How does it compare with TomatoShade if all I want to do is simply make P3D look like your videos or pictures? Is it worth trying out?  Can it produce similar results as TomatoShade?

Thank you.

P.S. Btw, separately, one of your YouTube videos show waves in an ORBX PNW scenery. I tried looking for the app that makes those waves but could not find it in Orbx. I also tried to install Banking Camera but gave up after struggling with the hard coded location for the default folder installation. I might re-visit these two apps again.

 

 

Edited April 8, 2023 by bofhlusr
Edit: removed paragraphs referring to *.fx files

[Christopher Low 5,425]

5 hours ago, bofhlusr said:

That would be great if you are right. I was basing my statement on articles such as these which make no mention of PBR.
Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 Ti 8GB Review - Tom's Hardware | Tom's Hardware (tomshardware.com)

But maybe I'm missing something?

Can you point me to where it mentions PBR textures in that review? As far as I am aware, any graphics card that has DirectX 11 support can render PBR textures. My own GTX 980Ti seems to be able to do it.

Edited April 8, 2023 by Christopher Low

[bofhlusr 466]

39 minutes ago, Christopher Low said:

Can you point me to where it mentions PBR textures in that review? As far as I am aware, any graphics card that has DirectX 11 support can render PBR textures. My own GTX 980Ti seems to be able to do it.

I can't. I just don't know if this GPU has PBR or if it is capable of rendering it.

[bofhlusr 466]

@Rogen 

Got it! My happy face --> 🙂

Thank you.

I was able to do everything according to your procedure including the manual edits on the two *.fx files and making changes to the prepar3d.cfg file. I couldn't locate two lines in the prepar3d.cfg file so I just added them in: 

IMAGE_PIXELS_FOR_AUTOGEN_POLYGONS=2048
AffinityMask=8192 (for 6 cores running 12 logical processors)

Having TomatoShade is like having a new flightsim. Not news I suppose. The colors are vibrant and I was pleasantly surprised that it didn't affect the FPS much. I'm currently running TomatoShade with REX Texture Direct with Soft Clouds Enhanced Edition, ORBX's KHAF Half Moon Bay Scenery, Flightbeam's KSFO (San Francisco), OpusFSI (weather engine and vibrations), and Flysimwares Learjet 35A with GTN and REX Weather Advantage. I have Active Sky with Cloud Art and GSX so I'll disable the weather engine in OpusFSI eventually and use Active Sky instead. I have True Earth too but I don't know if it will improve P3D after TomatoShade. Will it?

The next step is to document what I've done in case I have to re-install and then do a disk backup. If I get ambitious, I'll do some reading on whether Tomatoshade will work on FSX Steam which runs on my old-ish laptop.

I suppose the next step is Reshade but I don't know what that will do to improve P3D. I ran DynamicReflectionMaker.exe and noted that all my planes are apparently in its database but again I don't know if it will improve payware GA planes.

[Rogen 1,104]

Hey @bofhlusr, happy to hear you've gotten up and running 🙂

Yes some of those P3D config settings won't exist unless you create them under the section title.

Orbx's True Earth scenery series are essentially satellite Terrain with autogen and 3D object overlay, it is pretty demanding of the hardware though.

I do have Orbx's Florida TE scenery and it's Ok although Orbx's landclass types do have higher resolution textures.

Orbx has an Easter sale going atm, and I might jump in a grab a few items whilst they are on special.

Yes documenting is a nessecary but painfully boring part of building a complex install, I keep a spreadsjheet of items I install with notes regarding the ins and outs.

TomatoShade is only for P3D, given it is shader based and shaders change with each P3D release, it has to be updated to suit the particular P3D release, and P3D v4.5.13 (HF2) was as far as the program was supported to.

DynamicReflectionMaker.exe will read the aircraft you've got installed, at that point you'd need to import and enable profiles for the exterior and interior of a chosen aircraft.

But it's a moot point as in my TS ini I haven't enabled the extended reflections due to the bugs it has.

I did trial and found more issues than what it was worth, but of course you could enable and trial yourself

Cheers

Here's a couple of pics showing landclass and True Earth scenery types from the Forida area.

[bofhlusr 466]

Your pictures are Incredible. I wouldn't be surprised if you did not upgrade P3D or own other flightsims. 

With regard to PBR. Does TomatoShade do anything with PBR? A post here is making me think that it enables PBR in older GPUs, but I'm not sure if I have that right.

Thank you again for showing me TomatoShade. It's now one of my must-have addons for P3D.

[Juliett Alfa Romeo 567]

Yeah. Graphicaly speaking, v5 is broken: antialiasing, truesky... even "legacy mode" sky [facepalm].