Aja on 8/2/2009 at 12:27
oh, I am using it.
but only because when it's off, the textures not only look blurry, but really pixelated. Like original Doom. Can't have that.
Also, my fraps testing shows the filtering method doesn't make a dramatic difference.
i'm gonna go play banjo kazooie. it runs pretty well without much fiddling.
I'll try again with all my pirated software tomorrow.
Ostriig on 8/2/2009 at 15:02
Quote Posted by Aja
oh, I am using it.
but only because when it's off, the textures not only look blurry, but really pixelated. Like original Doom. Can't have that.
If the options are set up in that way, replace Anisotropic with Triple Filtering. Or, if they're separate, turn Anisotropic off and make sure the general Texture Filtering is set on Triple*. At least that's what I'm getting from your comments that it looks like Doom with Off - that suggests that you're not using any regular texture filtering. Anisotropic is something on top of that, if you will, that corrects the display of textures along distant surfaces, but it does not impact on the regular display of textures as far as I know.
Also, I mean no offense with this, but this is not so much an issue with PC gaming on the whole, you should take into account that you're asking a fair bit of a 256MB video card.
* - You can also fix this outside the game if you're on an nVidia graphics card (for Ati, Catalyst has failed my expectations, but the unofficial Tray Tools might be good for it). In the nVidia Control Panel, turn the Anisotropic filter to Off, and the Texture Filtering to High Quality. This should override any game settings, and the best part is that you can manage each 3D application individually if you so choose.
Inline Image:
http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb67/Ostriig/aja.jpgEvaUnit02 on 8/2/2009 at 17:30
Ostriig, Mass Effect probably has in-game options for AF, which are likely to be far better optimised than forcing it via the driver control panel.
Ostriig on 8/2/2009 at 18:49
You're probably right, I only posted that nVidia panel guide in case it doesn't allow detailed graphics scaling. I haven't gotten around to Mass Effect yet, and I remember being rather disappointed by the lack of specific options in UT3, so I thought it best to cover all bases.
Aja on 8/2/2009 at 19:53
Quote Posted by Ostriig
Also, I mean no offense with this, but this is not so much an issue with PC gaming on the whole, you should take into account that you're asking a fair bit of a 256MB video card.
Maybe, it's just that other UE3 games run almost flawlessly. The Mass Effect menu has 3 options for texture filtering: point, linear, and anisotropic, though when I tried changing them I'm not certain they were actually changing. It might require a restart, though it doesn't actually say so in the menu. FRAPS showed little (if any) performance difference. But I'll try your suggestion and report back.
Rogue Keeper on 9/2/2009 at 14:12
Then the built-in AF is probably low (2-6x?) and only textures closer to you are filtered. Such low AF has barely noticeable impact on framerate with current cards. Mass Effect withouf AF is still prettier than Fallout 3, in which textures with no AF turned on look like total crap. I mean it's hard to believe it's even just trilinear, which should be basic standard today.
