PC Finally Figured Out How To Use Engine.ini To Get Rid Of Tree & Foliage Shadow Pop In

Turns out that those pesky shadows that won't go away no matter what you do to the foliage LOD or shadow Distance aren't shadows at all, but ambient occlusion. So the magic words were:

Code:

r.DistanceFieldAO=1
r.AOMaxViewDistance=20000

I also threw in this to improve the distant shadows, but it's hard to tell if it did anything:

Code:

r.DistanceFieldShadowing=1

For engine.ini noobies, you can find the file at

Code:

My Documents\My Games\TrainSimWorld6\Saved\Config\WindowsNoEditor\Engine.ini

Create a new section titled

Code:

[SystemSettings]

and add the config lines you want one at a time

Peace at last, tree shadows going all the way around the curve:


Here's my full system settings, for anyone who wants to copy. My system is a 4080 super, 64 gb RAM, i7-14700k:

Code:

[SystemSettings]
r.Streaming.FramesForFullUpdate=2
r.Streaming.PoolSize=32000
r.Streaming.MaxTempMemoryAllowed=16000
r.Streaming.Boost=2
r.GTSyncType=1
r.OneFrameThreadLag=1
r.Shadow.WholeSceneShadowCacheMb=4000
gc.TimeBetweenPurgingPendingKillObjects=900
gc.NumRetriesBeforeForcingGC=5
gc.MinDesiredObjectsPerSubTask=20
s.ForceGCAfterLevelStreamedOut=0
s.ContinuouslyIncrementalGCWhileLevelsPendingPurge=0
r.ShaderPipelineCache.BatchTime=2
r.ShaderPipelineCache.BackgroundBatchTime=0
r.ShaderPipelineCache.PrecompileBatchTime=0
s.AsyncLoadingTimeLimit=2
s.PriorityAsyncLoadingExtraTime=1
s.UnregisterComponentsTimeLimit=2
s.LevelStreamingActorsUpdateTimeLimit=2
s.PriorityLevelStreamingActorsUpdateExtraTime=1
r.ViewDistanceScale=2
r.DFDistanceScale=5
foliage.LODDistanceScale=5
foliage.DitheredLOD=5
r.StaticMeshLODDistanceScale=0.001
r.Shadow.DistanceScale=5
r.Shadow.TransitionScale=5
r.Shadow.CSM.TransitionScale=5
# r.Shadow.RadiusThreshold=0
r.LightMaxDrawDistanceScale=5
r.PostProcessAAQuality=3
r.TemporalAASamples=16
r.DistanceFieldAO=1
r.DistanceFieldShadowing=1
r.AOMaxViewDistance=20000

 

Many thanks going to give it a go

 

Have you tried this?
https://forums.dovetailgames.com/threads/tsw-5-enhancement-lighting-graphic-ep-v2-3-0.84738/

 

TBH I prefer to just tweak the ini a bit rather than mess about putting God mode and the environmental files in. Also, most of the tweaked only works if you’re running DX12 and not DX11 which I’m stuck with on the potato.

 

What video card do you use?

 

HUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGE yhanks dude.

this was the last part that was annoying me.

 

GTX 1650.

 

Here is my ini file data.

feel free to copy/steal anything from here



[SystemSettings]
r.Streaming.PoolSize=8000
r.Streaming.MaxTempMemoryAllowed=4000
r.UseAsyncShaderPrecompilation=1
r.UseShaderPredraw=1
r.UseShaderCaching=1
r.Streaming.FullyLoadUsedTextures=1
r.RenderTargetPoolMin=1400
r.Streaming.LimitPoolSizeToVRAM=0
r.Streaming.FramesForFullUpdate=2
r.Streaming.Boost=2
r.Streaming.HLODStrategy=2
r.GTSyncType=1
r.OneFrameThreadLag=1
s.ForceGCAfterLevelStreamedOut=0
s.ContinuouslyIncrementalGCWhileLevelsPendingPurge=0
s.LevelStreamingComponentsUnregistrationGranularity=10
s.LevelStreamingComponentsRegistrationGranularity=30
r.Streaming.NumStaticComponentsProcessedPerFrame=200
gc.TimeBetweenPurgingPendingKillObjects=200
ts2.dbg.JourneyChapterLockOverride=1
ts2.save.CheckpointsEnabled=0
ts2.RewardMonitor.ShowLowImpactNotificationsAsFull=0
r.D3D.ForceDXC=1
r.Shaders.FastMath=0
r.StaticMeshLODDistanceScale=0.001
r.SkeletalMeshLODBias=-1
r.Streaming.MipBias=-1
r.LightMaxDrawDistanceScale=5
r.LightMaxDrawDistanceScale=50.0
r.MinScreenRadiusForLights=0.02
r.AllowLandscapeShadows=1
r.DistanceFieldShadowing=2
r.DFDistanceScale=10
r.DistanceFieldAO=1
r.AOMaxViewDistance=20000
r.BlurGBuffer=-1
r.DepthOfFieldQuality=6
r.SceneColorFringeQuality=1
r.BloomQuality=5
r.FastBlurThreshold=0
r.Tonemapper.GrainQuantization=1
r.AmbientOcclusionLevels=3
r.AmbientOcclusionRadiusScale=1.0
r.Upscale.Quality=5
r.TemporalAA.Upsampling=1
r.TemporalAASamples=4
r.TemporalAACurrentFrameWeight=0.1
r.PostprocessAAQuality=6
r.LandscapeLOD0DistributionScale=3
r.LumenScene.FarField=1
r.LumenScene.FarField.FarFieldDitherScale=100000
r.Lumen.ScreenProbeGather.Temporal=1
ts2.dbg.SteamParticleSpawnMultiplier=2.0
ts2.dbg.SteamParticleSize=0.7
TimeOfDaySystem.VolumetricCloud.GroundContribution=1
TimeOfDaySystem.VolumetricCloudScale.BaseNoise=0.9
xxxTimeOfDaySystem.SunIntensity=10000
r.MotionBlurQuality=4
r.Tonemapper.Quality=5
r.ToneMapper.Sharpen=0.3
r.ParticleLightQuality=2
r.LightFunctionQuality=3
r.HighQualityLightMaps=1
ts2.passenger.ObjectPoolSize=200
ts2.passenger.ObjectPoolUseCount=5
r.DefaultFeature.LensFlare=1
r.LensFlareQuality=3
r.ViewDistanceScale=50
r.TonemapperGamma=2.4
r.Color.Max=1.4
r.Color.Mid=0.6
r.Color.Min=-0.0001
MasterSoundVolume=3.500000
MusicSoundVolume=1.500000
SFXSoundVolume=3.500000
AmbienceSoundVolume=2.500000
DialogueSoundVolume=1.500000
ExternalAlertVolume=1.500000
MenuSFXVolume=1.000000
r.Shadow.DistanceScale=2
foliage.LODDistanceScale=50
grass.densityScale=4
r.SkylightIntensityMultiplier=0.85
r.Shadow.MaxCSMResolution=5120

 

Word to the wise: start small and increase gradually, step by step (lots of restarting involved here). INI edits for PC are great, but be sure not to overexert your hardware. Play around and find settings that suit you.

Mine, for example, are:
ts2.save.CheckpointsEnabled=0
r.ViewDistanceScale=3
r.StaticMeshLODDistanceScale=0.66
foliage.LODDistanceScale=4
r.SkeletalMeshLODBias=-2
r.MaterialQualityLevel=0
r.Color.Max=1.4
r.Color.Mid=0.35
r.Color.Min=-0.0001
r.CompileShadersForDevelopment=0
r.InitialShaderLoadTime=5000
r.CreateShadersOnLoad=1
niagara.CreateShadersOnLoad=0
r.ShaderPipelines=1
r.ShaderPipelineCache.PreOptimizeEnabled=1
r.AsyncPipelineCompile=0
fx.Niagara.SystemSimulation.BatchGPUTickSubmit=0
fx.Niagara.SystemSimulation.ConcurrentGPUTickInit=1
Engine.DoAsyncLoadingWhileWaitingForVSync=1
net.ProcessQueuedBunchesMillisecondLimit=5
r.RenderThread.IsParallel=1
r.MeshDrawCommands.ParallelPassSetup=1
r.BloomQuality=4
gm.AutumnTreeMuliplier=0.7
r.SkylightIntensityMultiplier=1.2
r.SkyLight.RealTimeReflectionCapture.DepthBuffer=1
TimeOfDaySystem.SkyLightPollutionLuminance=0.7
TimeOfDaySystem.BloomIntensity=0.1
TimeOfDaySystem.GlobalEmissiveStrength=2.2
TimeOfDaySystem.SunIntensity=50000
TimeOfDaySystem.StarIntensity=70
TimeOfDaySystem.MoonIntensity=8
TimeOfDaySystem.AutoExposure.ExposureBias=-0.6
TimeOfDaySystem.AutoExposure.MinBrightness=3.6
TimeOfDaySystem.AutoExposure.SpeedUp=10
TimeOfDaySystem.AutoExposure.SpeedDown=5
TimeofDaySystem.LegacyEmissiveAdjustments.EmissiveMultNonLamp=1700


For completeness' sake, PC Specs:
AMD Ryzen 9 5900X 12-Core Processor (3.70 GHz)
64GB DDDR4 ram @ 3600
4070 Ti (12GB Vram)

I run at 1080p at 125% screen percentage for the sake of my sanity and stream quality.

(Edited for updated settings)

 

Sorry, maybe stupid question, but are those .ini changes for a specific TSW version, or may they be used for 5 as well as 6? As we are currently in a change of the version

 

Im still on tsw5 and they are working well so far

 

still get the pop ins after doing this change. never had any problems with tsw2

 

As I am looking at these system additions to the eng.ini file, wonder if they include JetWash's additions for use with GodMode? I have these in my ini file, though I cannot get GodMode to work even though I have copied the pak file over to TSW6.

 

GodMode works fine, but only on existing routes (until it’s updated).

My mod already activates Distance Field AO so it’s likely this won’t do anything beyond what is already there. The draw distance of this stuff is hard coded into DTGs TOD system so Kat’s Better shadows mod is the only reliable way to have shadows render properly to the horizon. The downside of that mod is well documented so it’s a personal choice.

Edited to add, I can confirm that I’m not seeing any difference to my mod with the extra line added relating to distance

 

I’m not sure you fully understand the mod if you view GodMode as ‘messing around’. The mod requires you to drag and drop 2 single files and copy/paste a single block of text to the main ini file, that’s it. It takes less than 30 seconds so hardly a chore! FWIW it works with DX11 as I’ve mentioned previously and the low preset (which again, contains the lighting changes only) is performance neutral and specifically designed for just that purpose.

 

Hi JetWash, will TSW6 also benefit your mod [Lighting & Visual Quality Enhancement as well as foobian's godmod as well as Train Lighting & LOD Fixes and others...] as you did for the previous versions or do you think that for now it's better to wait for its official release on 09/30/2025. Thank you for all the work you do for TSC and TSW and see you soon in your future projects!!!
Kind regards, tof

 

Hey there. I answered the same question on the dedicated thread so hope you don’t mind me linking to that;

https://forums.dovetailgames.com/th...-graphic-ep-v2-3-0.84738/page-19#post-1043851

 

The one thing I cant seem to get rid of is the shimmering, drives me nuts, tried every ini mod and option going and even at 2k its awful.
Any ideas how to improve it?

 

Because the game still doesn’t use DLSS/DLAA the only AA solution we’re left with is TAA or FXAA, both of which suffer from shimmering. I get it still at 150% percentage at 4K base resolution although it is vastly reduced.

My lighting / graphics mod helps as far as is possible, but 1440p isn’t that high a resolution really, so if you have the headroom on your GPU I’d suggest increasing your screen percentage as it will help

 

Yeah ive tried at 135 and it is better but obviously drops the fps a bit so il have a play around, see whats best for my system.