Tip: Distant Fields Shadows Visual Improvements

For those of you that have quite a beefy computer/decent specs, I recommend you add the following command to your engine.ini file - r.DFDistanceScale=10

By default, it is set to 1, which gives off ridiculously short shadow rendering distances.

This won’t fix *all* shadow issues within TSW, however it can make a significant difference to some areas, as seen below.

The most noticeable improvements is very little shadow pop up on trees, as well as shadows on buildings from a far distance.

The picture below shows a comparison between the default value (1) to the amended value (10). Note: 10 is the max it goes up to, any higher will not result in any visual improvements.

 

The difference between the two screenshots is huge. It's amazing how much the distant shadows help with depth perception. That station looks like it's closer in the first shot.

 

Interesting find, I'll need to experiment.
Hate the standard tree shadow pop in.

 

From my short experiments it feels like vegetation and things considered scenery will have their shadows improved by this, however the short distance of dynamic terrain shadows is still an issue for me, here I'm also "chasing" down shadows cast by the terrain to the right of me

Anyone know any ini setting or command to help with this? Thanks.

 

did you try with r.Shadow.DistanceScale ?

still DTG said there were implementing deferred shadows dunno if they did o still in the pipeline, they said it would help with shadows in the distant vegetation ( trees and stuff ) and with static objects

 

Unfortunately the actual commands for distant shadows do little to no effect, as for some reason DTG has blocked/disabled these commands from working within TSW.

 

incredible thx 4 this one

 

Do I add this to the GameUserSettings section?

 

Engine.ini

 

No. engine.ini file.

 

By Engine.ini, do you mean this? I apologise for my lack of technical knowledge lol

 

Yes

 

I can't find an entry in my Engine.ini file with "r.DFDistanceScale". Do I simply append:

Code:

[Video]
r.DFDistanceScale=10

to the end?

 

You need to add it manually.

If it isn't already there, in a blank space underneath everything, type:
[SystemSettings]
r.DFDistanceScale=10

 

Every time I come across a thread like this, I get a bit more happy with this product every time. Modding it to be more visually pleasing is great, and I hope they won't disable those commands, and instead give us options to do this in the game itself.

With the help of various commands across the board, some of which I got from here, I turned the game into this.

It's impressive what can be done.

 

I think I'll try this with a low value (2 to 4) on my creaky old PC and see if it makes a difference without killing performance

 

Aha, this is the missing piece - thanks!

 

If anyone wants to use or know a full list of my engine.ini commands, it's as below:

[SystemSettings]
r.DFDistanceScale=10
r.ToneMapper.Quality=0
r.ToneMapperFilm=0
r.GTSyncType=1
r.OneFrameThreadLag=1
r.AmbientOcclusion.Method=1
r.GTAO.FalloffEnd=200
r.GTAO.SpatialFilter=0
r.GTAO.NumAngles=2
r.GTAO.UseNormals=1
r.GTAO.ThicknessBlend=0
r.ViewDistanceScale=4.0
foliage.LODDistanceScale=4
r.BloomQuality=5
r.TonemapperGamma=2
r.SkylightIntensityMultiplier=0.3
r.ToneMapper.Sharpen=0
r.EyeAdaptationQuality=2
r.Streaming.FullyLoadUsedTextures=1
r.Streaming.HLODStrategy=2
r.DefaultFeature.AutoExposure=1
r.DefaultFeature.AutoExposure.Method=1
r.DefaultFeature.AutoExposure.ExtendDefaultLuminanceRange=0
r.TextureStreaming=0
r.LightMaxDrawDistanceScale=50.0
r.MotionBlur.Scale=2.0
r.MinScreenRadiusForLights=0.00
ts2.CameraMotionSway.EnableUprightCompensation=0
ts2.CameraMotionSway.KSitting.Y=200.0
ts2.CameraMotionSway.KSitting.Z=200.0
ts2.CameraMotionSway.LSitting.Y=40
ts2.CameraMotionSway.LSitting.Z=5.0
ts2.CameraMotionSway.SittingPivotOffset=-200
ts2.CameraMotionSway.LSitting.X=50
ts2.save.CheckpointsEnabled=0
r.Shadow.RadiusThreshold=0
r.SkeletalMeshLODBias=0

 

Well it made a difference, even if it's just a small one, thank you!

 

I'm craving for shadow ini tuning and applied the settings yesterday. On MSB I noticed a slight flicker of the distant shadow but its not hurting. Will try more routes during the course of the weekend.

Thanks for sharing your findings!

 

This really helps for me. Thanks!
I also have view distance scale, foliage distance scale, and foliage LOD distance scale significantly increased as well as r.MaterialQualityLevel=0. Yet, I still get grass pop in relatively close on Sherman Hill. Any ideas?

 

Excellent I’ll try this. Also noticed that you dont have FoliageDensityScale. I think this command also makes quite a difference.

 

I didn’t realise such command existed. I’ll have a play around with it when I can.

 

I’m not too sure about the grass pop-up. Is it a route specific issue do you know?

 

https://docs.unrealengine.com/4.27/...ndProfiling/Scalability/ScalabilityReference/

 

just a shame there isn't a command of r.Stuttering=0 or r.stuttering=false or r.stuttering=do_one, or r.stuttering=sling_your_hook

 

I want to give this a try but can't seem to get it to work.

I'm editing the Engine.ini that resides in Documents>My Games>TrainSimWorld2EGS>Saved>Config>WindowsNoEditor

I'm adding it to the end comme ca :



Is this the right place in the right file?

I notice there is another Engine.ini in Documents>My Games>TrainSimWorld2EGS>Saved>Config>Windows

I tried adding it to that Engine.ini with the same result.

DW

 

Yes it should be that one, WindowsNoEditor weird how that doesn't work.

 

Okay, I give up and am always willing to admit my ignorance. Please provide the entire path that leads to the engine.ini file.

 

YourName\Documents\my games\TS2Prototype\Saved\Config\WindowsNoEditor

Here is a great introduction by pschlik
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1378928501

 

JustWentSouth have to be careful. In my computer the file reside on my One Drive. So the path is C: user\your name\OneDrive\Documents\mygame\TrainSimWorld2\Saved\Config\WindowsNoEditor\Engine.ini

 

Just as an FYI - this trashes fps on Sherman hill, other routes with a shorter draw distance there's not too much impact and it does look a lot nicer.

 

Trying it again I think I got it working but the difference I am seeing seems pretty small. It pushed the shadows out a couple dozen meters, doesn't seem as dramatic as the screenshot in the first post though.

DW

 

I think a lot will hinge on time of day, cloud cover, direction of travel etc and side by side shots to see difference.

 

And maybe his personal settings in the game.

 

I run with the Ultra graphics preset with everything maxed at Ultra or High in advanced settings.

Yeah I had to do some more of this, I was using Boston Sprinter as a test. I'm sure now I got it working.

Was there a specific area on Sherman Hill where you found this tweak was causing FPS issues? I'd to test it on my rig.

DW

 

I just seemed to find it's worse in the yards. Not sure if this is down to other consists moving through as I didn't really take train too far up the line. I assumed the increase in draw distance was what was causing it because of the grass issue we had on release

 

I had begun to hear sound glitching after installing this mod. At first thought it was the usual fps studders with sound issues, but no, when I looked at my fps display the frame rate was rock steady. It has happened on Harlem and HSC. Once I uninstalled the mod, no further sound problems noted.

 

i hope the one message that have the bilevel coach’s is for the Boston sprinter route.

 

which mod u mean ? because this is only a parameter in the engine.ini file

 

Running this for a week or so now with no issues and it does appear more noticeable in some places. I like