I got a question: would it be possible to use appx the same technique in order to switch levels for the different "fade-settings" in Skyrimprefs as well? Im talking about: LODFadeOutMultObjects, fLODFadeOutMultActors and fLODFadeOutMultItems... These little bastards (especially "Object fade"/LODFadeOutMultObjects) have a massive performance impact (especially in cities). For example: if I use the value of LODFadeOutMultObjects=30 (Ultra) I get severe stuttering on the stairs leading up to Dragonsreach. However, If I lower this value to 15 (High), the image is a lot smoother, and at the value of 5 the stutter is almost completely eliminated resulting in an silky-smooth image...
So therefore I was wondering: perhaps it would be possible to apply a script that uses Ultra-values when the FPS is at targetlevel, but switches to High/Medium/Low-values when framedrops occur? Like this mod does with the DistantTerrainManager-settings?
If you want more information about the performanceimpact of the fadeobject I recommend this thread: https://forum.step-project.com/topic/15019-found-a-couple-of-ini-tweaks-that-dramatically-reduce-the-cpu-bottleneck/
Edit: this seems to work perfect! I'm using the Ultravalues (fLODFadeOutMultObjects:LOD=30; fLODFadeOutMultItems:LOD=10; fLODFadeOutMultActors:LOD=15) when FPs is good (over target) and then I just reduce them for each level = the stutters in Whiterun are almost completely gone!
I have a weird issue where after the levels increase to maintain my target fps (60 fps), it doesn't go back down regardless of where I am. I tried LevelChangeBackUpAngle = 0, LevelChangeBackUpWait/DownWait to 1 etc. Isn't the criteria for a level to go down: "If target fps is being met, and the player has changed their heading angle by an appropriate amount, lower the level?" I was maintaining my target fps for minutes while looking around frequently in a good performance area (cities and shops as well). I even turned off enb so I was definitely not getting any performance strain, but the settings didn't go back down even by 1 level.
I am using the main file (version independent one) along with medium quality ini. I use a G-Sync monitor with Vsync enabled in Nvidia Control Panel. My target fps is set to 60 and my fps limiter is also set to 60. Here is the log:
SSE Fps Stabilizer: 1.1.1 SKSE Version: 17106448 Loaded database for SkyrimSE.exe version 1.5.97.0. Menu manager found. Menu manager sink added. DataLoaded console commands will be executed now. DataLoaded commands finished. Wait down:283 up:283 Setting ini settings to Level 0 values... New setting (fBlockLevel0Distance:TerrainManager): 72000 New setting (fBlockLevel1Distance:TerrainManager): 130000 New setting (fTreeLoadDistance:TerrainManager): 125000 Switching to level 1 - Angle:49.171 - CurrentFPS:55.0459 New setting (fBlockLevel0Distance:TerrainManager): 66000 New setting (fBlockLevel1Distance:TerrainManager): 120000 New setting (fTreeLoadDistance:TerrainManager): 110000 Switching to level 2 - Angle:48.0376 - CurrentFPS:55.5556 New setting (fBlockLevel0Distance:TerrainManager): 58000 New setting (fBlockLevel1Distance:TerrainManager): 105000 New setting (fTreeLoadDistance:TerrainManager): 95000 Switching to level 3 - Angle:46.7504 - CurrentFPS:56.0748 New setting (fBlockLevel0Distance:TerrainManager): 50000 New setting (fBlockLevel1Distance:TerrainManager): 90000 New setting (fTreeLoadDistance:TerrainManager): 80000 Switching to level 4 - Angle:48.2779 - CurrentFPS:56.6038 New setting (fBlockLevel0Distance:TerrainManager): 43000 New setting (fBlockLevel1Distance:TerrainManager): 75000 New setting (fTreeLoadDistance:TerrainManager): 65000 Switching to level 5 - Angle:48.6019 - CurrentFPS:56.6038 New setting (fBlockLevel0Distance:TerrainManager): 35000 New setting (fBlockLevel1Distance:TerrainManager): 60000 New setting (fTreeLoadDistance:TerrainManager): 50000 Switching to level 6 - Angle:49.2263 - CurrentFPS:56.6038 New setting (fBlockLevel0Distance:TerrainManager): 28000 New setting (fBlockLevel1Distance:TerrainManager): 45000 New setting (fTreeLoadDistance:TerrainManager): 35000 Switching to level 7 - Angle:48.5457 - CurrentFPS:56.0748 New setting (fBlockLevel0Distance:TerrainManager): 22000 New setting (fBlockLevel1Distance:TerrainManager): 35000 New setting (fTreeLoadDistance:TerrainManager): 25000 Switching to level 8 - Angle:45.8665 - CurrentFPS:57.1428 New setting (fBlockLevel0Distance:TerrainManager): 15000 New setting (fBlockLevel1Distance:TerrainManager): 30000 New setting (fTreeLoadDistance:TerrainManager): 20000 Switching to level 9 - Angle:47.0258 - CurrentFPS:57.1428
According to the log, going to level 9 didn't help it reach 60, for trying level 8 again, it needs to be at 60. You say you use fps limiter, which may be the one preventing achieving 60. You can try setting your target fps in the ini to 58 or 59.
I did another testing and it DID go back down to level 8 with target fps of 60, but not any further even in very good performance areas. I did try setting the target fps to 59 just a bit ago, but it made no difference (it only went down to level 8 as well and just stayed there). I seem to have a similar issue with Didelididelidoo who posted a bug report few months ago. But for my tests I did not even go into display settings. When I first load my save on some mountain near Dawnguard, it stays at level 0 with no issues since my fps isn't dropping. However, after travelling for a while and returning back to the exact spot, the level doesn't drop back down from level 9 even with 60fps. I also did try reinstalling the mod but it made no difference.
If it returned to level 8, that means it's capable of going up, meaning it's working. It's probably waiting to try level 7. If you want it to try other levels without much fps change, try changing FPSChangeThreshold setting to 0.1. It's probably waiting for the fps to go higher than that to make a change with the value of 3.
Btw, the mod actually works best if you don't use a fps limiter. You say you have a gsync monitor, that means you don't need vsync, you can just let it be. That would make this mod work better. You can disable vsync and fps limiter, install Havok Fix, and test it. If the game fps increases above target fps, it should take you towards level 0. That way you wouldn't need to change FPSChangeThreshold value.
From further testing, I found that the best configuration is to set TargetFPS at 58, with FPSChangeThreshold at 1. This is a better alternative to setting TargetFPS at 60 with FPSChangeThreshold at 3 (both start to increase the level at ~57fps). Using this, the log showed the level going up from 0 to 6, back down to 1, and then back up to 6. So it works perfectly now. No need to touch the heading angle and other settings.
In regards to not using limiter, I heard that unlocking the fps leads to physics issue. Since I use a lot of physics mods, I'd rather stay at 60 fps. Regardless, thank you for helping me troubleshoot this!
SOLUTION: For anyone who's using fps limiter and experiencing the same issue as I do, where the level struggles to decrease even in good performance areas, set your TargetFPS to be a bit lower than your limiter, and change your FPSChangeThreshold value appropriately.
Works really well! I am using it along side Shadowboost and although they both work together right out of the box, I understand both mods set the distance of actors, objects and items, but their differences are SSE FPS Stabilizer also sets the Terrain distance, while Shadowboost adjusts shadow distance.
I found the best option for maximum smooth fps is:
use SSE FPS stabilizer for everything, in installation use low to high preset, set it up in the ini so that LevelChangeBackUpWait is 60 and BackDownWait is 1 and then use shadow boost only for the shadows (disable LOD on shadowboost in game or json file). This way both mods work in tandem with each other.
The reason why I chose SSE fps stabilizer is that you can set it to wait for a while before trying to bring the distance detail back up, while shadowboost constantly tries to increase/decrease it. Having a 60 second delay before SSE Stabilizer can increase it ensures that you don't get microstutters while riding on a horse across areas. Lastly, the target FPS for both is 60.
It depends on what those low settings are and if they are lower than the worst settings in this mod's ini. The idea is to use good settings when/where you can and worse settings when/where you can't.
This came much much earlier, but yeah kind of. Not all ini settings are supported yet, like shadows. In the VR version, shadows are supported as well. I'm hoping to rewrite this mod from scratch to support all ini settings so that it's more robust. Also bring on the functionality from the VR version like conditionals etc.
Sorry for the machine translation. I heard that it's a good idea to make the ini files in "My Documents/My Games/Skyrim Special Edition" read-only, but is this also true if I'm using MO2? In this case, which folder are the files that may be changed?
I'm not sure, but it should take it into account. The mod calculates current fps from 1/realTimeDelta formula.
I modified the mod to log the current fps and tried in game with Frame Generation installed, and changing its settings changed the logged fps. I don't know if the current fps read is the same as the full one though. Because before installing FG, I got 142 fps and after installing it, I got 68 fps in the log when Frame Generation and varied refresh rate is enabled. That was weird. Disabling them in game changed fps to 200. I haven't used FG before, so I don't know if those values are right.
It exactly halves the read of your FPS, it's actually higher. Including any FPS overlay monitoring or ENB itself, basically the number is actually double whatever it says. I wish he'd fix that bug.
I'm not 100% sure but from what I've heard many times, if you use framegen always set the target fps to the double of what you truly want, so 120 if you want 60.... :/
I used this for weeks, then I made some little change in load order, boom, crashes when I jump in water or go out of some interior... not sure I understookd if that is why or something more specific to the location but I could replicate always the crash... removing this mod solved, no more crashes... logs was not pointing to this mod... no clues, sad, it was really helping with fps p.s. removing my edits to the ini seems to solve also, even adding only one extra value (the grass density) make the game crash (and grass mod is one of the mods the I change in my LO btw...) iMinGrassSize:Grass=XXX I dont know maybe the previous grass mod was working better with changing iMinGrassSize at runtime...
This mod provides a system for it, but as you said, it's your addition to the config that's causing the issue. It's not a problem of this mod. Grass density is not something that can be changed without a game restart normally. Constantly forcing the game to modify it may cause issues like you experienced.
Great results. I have a mid-level laptop that isn't exactly built to run Skyrim with a big modlist (Nordic Souls) and have been living with a lot of big FPS drops when turning and in bad FPS areas like Falkreath and Whiterun outskirts. Your mod has improved this greatly. Thanks a bunch. Endorsed.
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If you have a question, make sure you read the description page fully first.
I got a question: would it be possible to use appx the same technique in order to switch levels for the different "fade-settings" in Skyrimprefs as well?
Im talking about: LODFadeOutMultObjects, fLODFadeOutMultActors and fLODFadeOutMultItems... These little bastards (especially "Object fade"/LODFadeOutMultObjects) have a massive performance impact (especially in cities). For example: if I use the value of LODFadeOutMultObjects=30 (Ultra) I get severe stuttering on the stairs leading up to Dragonsreach. However, If I lower this value to 15 (High), the image is a lot smoother, and at the value of 5 the stutter is almost completely eliminated resulting in an silky-smooth image...
So therefore I was wondering: perhaps it would be possible to apply a script that uses Ultra-values when the FPS is at targetlevel, but switches to High/Medium/Low-values when framedrops occur? Like this mod does with the DistantTerrainManager-settings?
If you want more information about the performanceimpact of the fadeobject I recommend this thread: https://forum.step-project.com/topic/15019-found-a-couple-of-ini-tweaks-that-dramatically-reduce-the-cpu-bottleneck/
Like this:
[Level0]
...
fLODFadeOutMultObjects:LOD=10
fLODFadeOutMultItems:LOD=10
fLODFadeOutMultActors:LOD=10
Add them to all levels like this and adjust the values the way you want.
Edit: this seems to work perfect! I'm using the Ultravalues (fLODFadeOutMultObjects:LOD=30; fLODFadeOutMultItems:LOD=10; fLODFadeOutMultActors:LOD=15) when FPs is good (over target) and then I just reduce them for each level = the stutters in Whiterun are almost completely gone!
I tried LevelChangeBackUpAngle = 0, LevelChangeBackUpWait/DownWait to 1 etc.
Isn't the criteria for a level to go down: "If target fps is being met, and the player has changed their heading angle by an appropriate amount, lower the level?"
I was maintaining my target fps for minutes while looking around frequently in a good performance area (cities and shops as well). I even turned off enb so I was definitely not getting any performance strain, but the settings didn't go back down even by 1 level.
I am using the main file (version independent one) along with medium quality ini. I use a G-Sync monitor with Vsync enabled in Nvidia Control Panel. My target fps is set to 60 and my fps limiter is also set to 60. Here is the log:
SSE Fps Stabilizer: 1.1.1
SKSE Version: 17106448
Loaded database for SkyrimSE.exe version 1.5.97.0.
Menu manager found.
Menu manager sink added.
DataLoaded console commands will be executed now.
DataLoaded commands finished.
Wait down:283 up:283
Setting ini settings to Level 0 values...
New setting (fBlockLevel0Distance:TerrainManager): 72000
New setting (fBlockLevel1Distance:TerrainManager): 130000
New setting (fTreeLoadDistance:TerrainManager): 125000
Switching to level 1 - Angle:49.171 - CurrentFPS:55.0459
New setting (fBlockLevel0Distance:TerrainManager): 66000
New setting (fBlockLevel1Distance:TerrainManager): 120000
New setting (fTreeLoadDistance:TerrainManager): 110000
Switching to level 2 - Angle:48.0376 - CurrentFPS:55.5556
New setting (fBlockLevel0Distance:TerrainManager): 58000
New setting (fBlockLevel1Distance:TerrainManager): 105000
New setting (fTreeLoadDistance:TerrainManager): 95000
Switching to level 3 - Angle:46.7504 - CurrentFPS:56.0748
New setting (fBlockLevel0Distance:TerrainManager): 50000
New setting (fBlockLevel1Distance:TerrainManager): 90000
New setting (fTreeLoadDistance:TerrainManager): 80000
Switching to level 4 - Angle:48.2779 - CurrentFPS:56.6038
New setting (fBlockLevel0Distance:TerrainManager): 43000
New setting (fBlockLevel1Distance:TerrainManager): 75000
New setting (fTreeLoadDistance:TerrainManager): 65000
Switching to level 5 - Angle:48.6019 - CurrentFPS:56.6038
New setting (fBlockLevel0Distance:TerrainManager): 35000
New setting (fBlockLevel1Distance:TerrainManager): 60000
New setting (fTreeLoadDistance:TerrainManager): 50000
Switching to level 6 - Angle:49.2263 - CurrentFPS:56.6038
New setting (fBlockLevel0Distance:TerrainManager): 28000
New setting (fBlockLevel1Distance:TerrainManager): 45000
New setting (fTreeLoadDistance:TerrainManager): 35000
Switching to level 7 - Angle:48.5457 - CurrentFPS:56.0748
New setting (fBlockLevel0Distance:TerrainManager): 22000
New setting (fBlockLevel1Distance:TerrainManager): 35000
New setting (fTreeLoadDistance:TerrainManager): 25000
Switching to level 8 - Angle:45.8665 - CurrentFPS:57.1428
New setting (fBlockLevel0Distance:TerrainManager): 15000
New setting (fBlockLevel1Distance:TerrainManager): 30000
New setting (fTreeLoadDistance:TerrainManager): 20000
Switching to level 9 - Angle:47.0258 - CurrentFPS:57.1428
Cheers
I seem to have a similar issue with Didelididelidoo who posted a bug report few months ago. But for my tests I did not even go into display settings.
When I first load my save on some mountain near Dawnguard, it stays at level 0 with no issues since my fps isn't dropping. However, after travelling for a while and returning back to the exact spot, the level doesn't drop back down from level 9 even with 60fps.
I also did try reinstalling the mod but it made no difference.
Btw, the mod actually works best if you don't use a fps limiter. You say you have a gsync monitor, that means you don't need vsync, you can just let it be. That would make this mod work better. You can disable vsync and fps limiter, install Havok Fix, and test it. If the game fps increases above target fps, it should take you towards level 0. That way you wouldn't need to change FPSChangeThreshold value.
Using this, the log showed the level going up from 0 to 6, back down to 1, and then back up to 6. So it works perfectly now. No need to touch the heading angle and other settings.
In regards to not using limiter, I heard that unlocking the fps leads to physics issue. Since I use a lot of physics mods, I'd rather stay at 60 fps.
Regardless, thank you for helping me troubleshoot this!
SOLUTION: For anyone who's using fps limiter and experiencing the same issue as I do, where the level struggles to decrease even in good performance areas, set your TargetFPS to be a bit lower than your limiter, and change your FPSChangeThreshold value appropriately.
I found the best option for maximum smooth fps is:
use SSE FPS stabilizer for everything, in installation use low to high preset, set it up in the ini so that LevelChangeBackUpWait is 60 and BackDownWait is 1 and then use shadow boost only for the shadows (disable LOD on shadowboost in game or json file). This way both mods work in tandem with each other.
The reason why I chose SSE fps stabilizer is that you can set it to wait for a while before trying to bring the distance detail back up, while shadowboost constantly tries to increase/decrease it. Having a 60 second delay before SSE Stabilizer can increase it ensures that you don't get microstutters while riding on a horse across areas. Lastly, the target FPS for both is 60.
and should we expect noticeable visual changes?
I modified the mod to log the current fps and tried in game with Frame Generation installed, and changing its settings changed the logged fps. I don't know if the current fps read is the same as the full one though. Because before installing FG, I got 142 fps and after installing it, I got 68 fps in the log when Frame Generation and varied refresh rate is enabled. That was weird. Disabling them in game changed fps to 200. I haven't used FG before, so I don't know if those values are right.
p.s.
removing my edits to the ini seems to solve also, even adding only one extra value (the grass density) make the game crash (and grass mod is one of the mods the I change in my LO btw...)
iMinGrassSize:Grass=XXX
I dont know maybe the previous grass mod was working better with changing iMinGrassSize at runtime...