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Tribes.ini : EXPLAINED IN DEPTH ***UPDATED AGAIN***
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c0mad0r Joined: Thu Nov 03, 2011 12:54 pm Posts: 604 Location: San Diego, CA. USA	Tribes.ini : EXPLAINED IN DEPTH *UPDATED AGAIN* .............................................*UPDATED FOR TRIBES:ASCEND 0.1.XXX.XX * Google Docs: HERE I have seen a slurry of C:\Users\<USER>\Documents\My Games\Tribes Ascend\TribesGame\Config\tribes.ini files posted up on the forums or on pastebin since Closed BETA. While some of them are good, there are far more out there that are uninformed guesses to get at some goal setting. I am by no means an expert at the UE3 SDK, but I have worked with it to make maps, terrains and modules for the Unreal Series games since 2003 and know enough to "get it" on how a lot of these ini's work. So, to help people out in finding the settings that best for them, I've created AND REGULARLY UPDATE the following Spreadsheet explaining just what each AND EVERY item in the tribes.ini does. In addition to detailing it, I have changed the values to include both MINIMUM and MAXIMUM values. NOTE: These are NOT necessarily the values you should use for performance or visual appeal, but rather what each is possible of being set without crashing the game. TL;DL If you take away anything from the following, remember this: DO NOT DISABLE OR CHANGE the following: DirectionalLightmaps MaxMultisamples DynamicLights SHSecondaryLighting Reasons not to range from distortion problems, stability and/or lack of performance gains by doing such. Since every Video Card & Computer is different (nVidia Vs ATI or Intel Vs AMD), settings should comply with your setup, not someone else's. In any case, I hope you enjoy this and let me know if you have anything to add, have any questions or wish to cite discrepancies to my definitions. UPDATED Google Spreadsheet Download: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc ... TZndkJOZVE EXAMPLE INI's: ABSOLUTE HIGHEST levels of eye candy Tribes.ini for Reference: http://pastebin.com/bd0yyyu7 NOTE: Not recommended for anyone with less than 2GB Video RAM or a $500 video card. This is the highest level of detail and settings I could configure along with Tarqon. Thanks again Tarqon! My Personal Moderate Tribes.ini for Reference: http://pastebin.com/bdM499Da NOTE: The above is a blend between performance and my own desired mechanics. Minimal Tribes.ini for Reference: http://pastebin.com/w5pUvc3D NOTE: This is a minimalist ini for slower systems/cards that does NOT turn everything off as others have done. Laptop Minimal Tribes.ini for Reference: http://pastebin.com/uhfy61eu NOTE: This is the lowest minimalist ini I could make for really slow systems that avoids looking like crud. References: http://udn.epicgames.com/Three/WebHome.html http://udn.epicgames.com/Three/SystemSettings.html http://udn.epicgames.com/Three/TextureProperties.html http://udn.epicgames.com/Three/LightEnvironments.html http://udn.epicgames.com/Three/ContentBlogArchive.html#Light%20Shafts http://udn.epicgames.com/Three/MotionBlurSkinning.html http://udn.epicgames.com/Three/ShadowingReference.html http://wiki.beyondunreal.com/UE3:ParticleModuleRequired_%28UDK%29 http://www.tweakguides.com/UT3_1.html _________________ Try My T:A TS3 Skin: Download Try My T:A Mumble Skin: Download (Mumble Note: Click "Download original" from top right or "File, Download Original") Last edited by c0mad0r on Wed Jul 11, 2012 3:31 pm, edited 19 times in total.
Mon Feb 13, 2012 1:10 am

Tanathryn Joined: Sun Feb 07, 2010 4:01 pm Posts: 1617 Location: ABQ, NM	Re: Tribes.ini : EXPLAINED IN DEPTH Outstanding bit of work there! I'm going to be pouring over this stuff to see if there's anyway I can eek out more visual quality.
Mon Feb 13, 2012 1:32 am

Aldaron07 Joined: Sun Oct 24, 2010 12:38 am Posts: 944	Re: Tribes.ini : EXPLAINED IN DEPTH This thread should be stickied or placed in a location for everyone (new and old players alike) to easily see and quickly reference.
Mon Feb 13, 2012 1:36 am

c0mad0r Joined: Thu Nov 03, 2011 12:54 pm Posts: 604 Location: San Diego, CA. USA	Re: Tribes.ini : EXPLAINED IN DEPTH Here's the Excel Spreadsheet if anyone wants to have a copy of it. If you have a Google account, you can convert it from the following URL to PDF: GOOGLE SHEET https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AoLRo1M6-ypfdEJ6OW5ZZ3E3cXFSeUxYNDMwek1qdmc Enjoy! _________________ Try My T:A TS3 Skin: Download Try My T:A Mumble Skin: Download (Mumble Note: Click "Download original" from top right or "File, Download Original") Last edited by c0mad0r on Mon Feb 13, 2012 3:52 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Mon Feb 13, 2012 1:45 am

CTCParadox Joined: Fri Nov 11, 2011 3:16 am Posts: 441	Re: Tribes.ini : EXPLAINED IN DEPTH Excellent info c0mad0r. As someone who is currently playing on a not so top-of-the-line laptop squeezing out extra performance is a must. It's nice to finally know what some of those ini values mean and whether or not I should be mucking with them. _________________ Tribes Ascend Main Classes: Juggernaut, Scraider, Doombringer, Infiltrator. 100% Inheritance. The way nature intended.
Mon Feb 13, 2012 2:02 am

faramir Joined: Sat Oct 29, 2011 2:25 pm Posts: 533 Location: Marseille, France	Re: Tribes.ini : EXPLAINED IN DEPTH First of all thanks for bringing this to the front page of basic TA beta testers. I've bookmarked UE ini description a long ago. I don't agree with some descriptions. For example, I have a good 24" monitor from 2006 (6ms grey to grey). Which means that disabling VSync gives a nice vomit inducing wobbling effect... If you find a "performance boost" out of disabling VSync, it means that you need a new video card (if not new computer). On most monitors the refresh rate is at 60Hz. With VSync on the frame rate is a integer sub multiple of the refresh rate 60/30/15/7... This "old" GeForce 285GTX gives me 60fps @1920x1200 most of the time. I dip to the lower rates when things fall from the orbiting stations. _________________ Fabrice Roux a Tribes 1/2 veteran from southern France Faramir[TOP] turret farmer in T1 Renegades/Shifter/Base - T2 Base/Classic Maker of the Faramir Tribes 2 script pack (50 of the best Tribes 2 scripts) I gave up on Tribes Ascend on 2012/09/04.
Mon Feb 13, 2012 2:20 am

CozyKirby Joined: Wed Feb 02, 2011 10:13 pm Posts: 74 Steam Gamer Name: comfy blanket	Re: Tribes.ini : EXPLAINED IN DEPTH Fantastic work. Finally have shadows properly working. Thanks!
Mon Feb 13, 2012 2:38 am

MachDelta Joined: Tue Nov 22, 2011 11:21 pm Posts: 112	Re: Tribes.ini : EXPLAINED IN DEPTH Quote: PlayerShadowFadeResolution=1 Uh... isn't that going to basically make player shadows never appear?
Mon Feb 13, 2012 2:42 am

c0mad0r Joined: Thu Nov 03, 2011 12:54 pm Posts: 604 Location: San Diego, CA. USA	Re: Tribes.ini : EXPLAINED IN DEPTH faramir wrote: First of all thanks for bringing this to the front page of basic TA beta testers. I've bookmarked UE ini description a long ago. I don't agree with some descriptions. For example, I have a good 24" monitor from 2006 (6ms grey to grey). Which means that disabling VSync gives a nice vomit inducing wobbling effect... If you find a "performance boost" out of disabling VSync, it means that you need a new video card (if not new computer). On most monitors the refresh rate is at 60Hz. With VSync on the frame rate is a integer sub multiple of the refresh rate 60/30/15/7... This "old" GeForce 285GTX gives me 60fps @1920x1200 most of the time. I dip to the lower rates when things fall from the orbiting stations. Vertical Synchronization or "VSync" for short is simply a rule that says the "back-end video buffer" can't copy to the frame buffer until right after the monitor refreshes. While this prevents screen tearing, it in turn "caps" your frames per second (FPS) to your monitor refresh rate in Hz (60fps @ resolutionX @ 60Hz in your case). For people who have Medium to High End Video cards capable of 100+ FPS at their desired resolution, they do not care about VSync and want the absolute MAX number of FPS, so VSync=off is a must. Specifically in your case, running @ 1920 + high settings will cause studdering / draw issues with Orbitals... Your card simply needs more GDDR5 to cache everything at that resolution and I'd be willing to bet you wouldn't see that issue at 1680x1040 or 1440x900 if you have a 1GB card. As with most of the settings, the trade off is simple: Quality Vs. Quantity. Side note, VSync=on for slower/older cards is probably a good idea in many scenarios, but it all depends on the other settings (Resolution, Color Depth, RAM, Video RAM, in-game detail settings and ini settings). _________________ Try My T:A TS3 Skin: Download Try My T:A Mumble Skin: Download (Mumble Note: Click "Download original" from top right or "File, Download Original")
Mon Feb 13, 2012 2:42 am

sfxer Joined: Thu Dec 01, 2011 7:38 pm Posts: 1328	Re: Tribes.ini : EXPLAINED IN DEPTH MachDelta wrote: Quote: PlayerShadowFadeResolution=1 Uh... isn't that going to basically make player shadows never appear? No. they have since changed this command in the most recent patch to behave differently. _________________ -- LgN\|sfxer - Team Legion - #Legion on irc.tribalwar.com - http://www.the-legion.net --
Mon Feb 13, 2012 2:46 am

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Tribes.ini : EXPLAINED IN DEPTH ***UPDATED AGAIN***

Author

Message

c0mad0r

Joined: Thu Nov 03, 2011 12:54 pm
Posts: 604
Location: San Diego, CA. USA

Tribes.ini : EXPLAINED IN DEPTH ***UPDATED AGAIN***

.............................................***UPDATED FOR TRIBES:ASCEND 0.1.XXX.XX ***
Google Docs: HERE

I have seen a slurry of C:\Users\<USER>\Documents\My Games\Tribes Ascend\TribesGame\Config\tribes.ini files posted up on the forums or on pastebin since Closed BETA. While some of them are good, there are far more out there that are uninformed guesses to get at some goal setting. I am by no means an expert at the UE3 SDK, but I have worked with it to make maps, terrains and modules for the Unreal Series games since 2003 and know enough to "get it" on how a lot of these ini's work.

So, to help people out in finding the settings that best for them, I've created AND REGULARLY UPDATE the following Spreadsheet explaining just what each AND EVERY item in the tribes.ini does. In addition to detailing it, I have changed the values to include both MINIMUM and MAXIMUM values. NOTE: These are NOT necessarily the values you should use for performance or visual appeal, but rather what each is possible of being set without crashing the game.

TL;DL

If you take away anything from the following, remember this:

DO NOT DISABLE OR CHANGE the following:
DirectionalLightmaps
MaxMultisamples
DynamicLights
SHSecondaryLighting

Reasons not to range from distortion problems, stability and/or lack of performance gains by doing such.

Since every Video Card & Computer is different (nVidia Vs ATI or Intel Vs AMD), settings should comply with your setup, not someone else's.

In any case, I hope you enjoy this and let me know if you have anything to add, have any questions or wish to cite discrepancies to my definitions.

UPDATED Google Spreadsheet Download:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc ... TZndkJOZVE

EXAMPLE INI's:

ABSOLUTE HIGHEST levels of eye candy Tribes.ini for Reference:
http://pastebin.com/bd0yyyu7
NOTE: Not recommended for anyone with less than 2GB Video RAM or a $500 video card. This is the highest level of detail and settings I could configure along with Tarqon. Thanks again Tarqon!

My Personal Moderate Tribes.ini for Reference:
http://pastebin.com/bdM499Da
NOTE: The above is a blend between performance and my own desired mechanics.

Minimal Tribes.ini for Reference:
http://pastebin.com/w5pUvc3D
NOTE: This is a minimalist ini for slower systems/cards that does NOT turn everything off as others have done.

Laptop Minimal Tribes.ini for Reference:
http://pastebin.com/uhfy61eu
NOTE: This is the lowest minimalist ini I could make for really slow systems that avoids looking like crud.

References:

http://udn.epicgames.com/Three/WebHome.html
http://udn.epicgames.com/Three/SystemSettings.html
http://udn.epicgames.com/Three/TextureProperties.html
http://udn.epicgames.com/Three/LightEnvironments.html
http://udn.epicgames.com/Three/ContentBlogArchive.html#Light%20Shafts
http://udn.epicgames.com/Three/MotionBlurSkinning.html
http://udn.epicgames.com/Three/ShadowingReference.html
http://wiki.beyondunreal.com/UE3:ParticleModuleRequired_%28UDK%29
http://www.tweakguides.com/UT3_1.html

_________________
Try My T:A TS3 Skin: Download
Try My T:A Mumble Skin: Download
(Mumble Note: Click "Download original" from top right or "File, Download Original")

Last edited by c0mad0r on Wed Jul 11, 2012 3:31 pm, edited 19 times in total.

Mon Feb 13, 2012 1:10 am

Tanathryn

Joined: Sun Feb 07, 2010 4:01 pm
Posts: 1617
Location: ABQ, NM

Re: Tribes.ini : EXPLAINED IN DEPTH

Outstanding bit of work there! I'm going to be pouring over this stuff to see if there's anyway I can eek out more visual quality.

Mon Feb 13, 2012 1:32 am

Aldaron07

Joined: Sun Oct 24, 2010 12:38 am
Posts: 944

Re: Tribes.ini : EXPLAINED IN DEPTH

This thread should be stickied or placed in a location for everyone (new and old players alike) to easily see and quickly reference.

Mon Feb 13, 2012 1:36 am

c0mad0r

Joined: Thu Nov 03, 2011 12:54 pm
Posts: 604
Location: San Diego, CA. USA

Re: Tribes.ini : EXPLAINED IN DEPTH

Here's the Excel Spreadsheet if anyone wants to have a copy of it. If you have a Google account, you can convert it from the following URL to PDF:

GOOGLE SHEET
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AoLRo1M6-ypfdEJ6OW5ZZ3E3cXFSeUxYNDMwek1qdmc

Enjoy!

_________________
Try My T:A TS3 Skin: Download
Try My T:A Mumble Skin: Download
(Mumble Note: Click "Download original" from top right or "File, Download Original")

Last edited by c0mad0r on Mon Feb 13, 2012 3:52 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Mon Feb 13, 2012 1:45 am

CTCParadox

Joined: Fri Nov 11, 2011 3:16 am
Posts: 441

Re: Tribes.ini : EXPLAINED IN DEPTH

Excellent info c0mad0r.

As someone who is currently playing on a not so top-of-the-line laptop squeezing out extra performance is a must. It's nice to finally know what some of those ini values mean and whether or not I should be mucking with them.

_________________
Tribes Ascend Main Classes: Juggernaut, Scraider, Doombringer, Infiltrator.
100% Inheritance. The way nature intended.

Mon Feb 13, 2012 2:02 am

faramir

Joined: Sat Oct 29, 2011 2:25 pm
Posts: 533
Location: Marseille, France

Re: Tribes.ini : EXPLAINED IN DEPTH

First of all thanks for bringing this to the front page of basic TA beta testers. I've bookmarked UE ini description a long ago.

I don't agree with some descriptions. For example, I have a good 24" monitor from 2006 (6ms grey to grey). Which means that disabling VSync gives a nice vomit inducing wobbling effect... If you find a "performance boost" out of disabling VSync, it means that you need a new video card (if not new computer).

On most monitors the refresh rate is at 60Hz. With VSync on the frame rate is a integer sub multiple of the refresh rate 60/30/15/7... This "old" GeForce 285GTX gives me 60fps @1920x1200 most of the time. I dip to the lower rates when things fall from the orbiting stations.

_________________
Fabrice Roux a Tribes 1/2 veteran from southern France
Faramir[TOP] turret farmer in T1 Renegades/Shifter/Base - T2 Base/Classic
Maker of the Faramir Tribes 2 script pack (50 of the best Tribes 2 scripts)
I gave up on Tribes Ascend on 2012/09/04.

Mon Feb 13, 2012 2:20 am

CozyKirby

Joined: Wed Feb 02, 2011 10:13 pm
Posts: 74
Steam Gamer Name: comfy blanket

Re: Tribes.ini : EXPLAINED IN DEPTH

Fantastic work. Finally have shadows properly working. Thanks!

Mon Feb 13, 2012 2:38 am

MachDelta

Joined: Tue Nov 22, 2011 11:21 pm
Posts: 112

Re: Tribes.ini : EXPLAINED IN DEPTH

Quote:

PlayerShadowFadeResolution=1

Uh... isn't that going to basically make player shadows never appear?

Mon Feb 13, 2012 2:42 am

c0mad0r

Joined: Thu Nov 03, 2011 12:54 pm
Posts: 604
Location: San Diego, CA. USA

Re: Tribes.ini : EXPLAINED IN DEPTH

faramir wrote:

Vertical Synchronization or "VSync" for short is simply a rule that says the "back-end video buffer" can't copy to the frame buffer until right after the monitor refreshes. While this prevents screen tearing, it in turn "caps" your frames per second (FPS) to your monitor refresh rate in Hz (60fps @ resolutionX @ 60Hz in your case).

For people who have Medium to High End Video cards capable of 100+ FPS at their desired resolution, they do not care about VSync and want the absolute MAX number of FPS, so VSync=off is a must. Specifically in your case, running @ 1920 + high settings will cause studdering / draw issues with Orbitals... Your card simply needs more GDDR5 to cache everything at that resolution and I'd be willing to bet you wouldn't see that issue at 1680x1040 or 1440x900 if you have a 1GB card.

As with most of the settings, the trade off is simple: Quality Vs. Quantity.

Side note, VSync=on for slower/older cards is probably a good idea in many scenarios, but it all depends on the other settings (Resolution, Color Depth, RAM, Video RAM, in-game detail settings and ini settings).

_________________
Try My T:A TS3 Skin: Download
Try My T:A Mumble Skin: Download
(Mumble Note: Click "Download original" from top right or "File, Download Original")

Mon Feb 13, 2012 2:42 am

sfxer

Joined: Thu Dec 01, 2011 7:38 pm
Posts: 1328

Re: Tribes.ini : EXPLAINED IN DEPTH

MachDelta wrote:

Quote:

PlayerShadowFadeResolution=1

Uh... isn't that going to basically make player shadows never appear?

No. they have since changed this command in the most recent patch to behave differently.

_________________
-- LgN|sfxer - Team Legion - #Legion on irc.tribalwar.com - http://www.the-legion.net --

Mon Feb 13, 2012 2:46 am

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Tribes.ini : EXPLAINED IN DEPTH UPDATED AGAIN