Vanguard 'vgclient.ini' Tweaking Guide: 3.1

..:: Welcome to teh Vanguard VGclient.ini tweaking forums page 3.1! ::..
3.1 Changes ( 04/07/08 ) : Removed iShaderCacheSize--located under [General]. It has pretty much become a memory hog after doing some tests with long raids and coming out of APW the game is more sluggish. Also after testing the DetectVideoMemory I have found this to be of no use whatsoever. This feature does not provide any benefit. There is no gain in using this feature. Please see the below changes according to the legend below.
VGCLIENT.INI FILE LOCATION:
C:\Program Files\Sony\Vanguard\bin
(use teh appropriate drive letter for your Vanguard installation)

In trying to make it easier for people to tweak their .ini file, I have placed mine below colored coded to make that task easier. Please keep in mind that these settings will in fact give you more performance along with teh game settings I have included in teh following vgclient.ini file.

Please change according to your preferences. Please allow me some time to write out details of teh below changes. I will also provide some tips in teh near future that will help gain more performance out of your computer to help teh game run smoother.

If you wish not to copy and paste my .ini file, please note teh legend below will guide you through making teh changes manually yourself.

Legend:

• Red: Items you NEED to change according to your mod, monitor settings, and system settings
• Orange: Items that will help performance with your game
• Aqua: Items you NEED to add to your vgclient.ini file
• Green: Items that will have notes at teh bottom of teh page
• LightBrown: Please remove these settings from your .ini file (or you may comment them out using ';' )
  
• Pink: Items that have been modified since last tweak guide version

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
[Version]
VanguardINIVersion=14

[FirstRun]
FirstRun=False

[Engine.Player]
ConfiguredInternetSpeed=15000
ConfiguredLanSpeed=20000

[Engine.Engine]
DetectedVideoMemory=512
[General]
AutoTrackQuests=True
AutoTrackAllQuests=False
OnlyAutoTrackCounterQuests=False
AutoTrackFilterAdvQuests=False
AutoTrackFilterCraQuests=False
AutoTrackFilterDipQuests=False
UseSound=True
UseJoystick=False
ScreenshotFormat=JPG
Brightness=1.500000
Contrast=0.500000
Gamma=1.000000
ShowBloom=False
GrassDensity=1.000000
GrassBlending=0
bShowClouds=False
bUseHDR=False
bUseToneMapping=False
bShowNames=True
bShowNameTitles=False
bShowMyName=False
bShowTargetReticles=True
bShowMyReticle=False
bUseEfficientTextures=True
bUseMaterialsTab=False
bUsePackageTab=False
bUseStaticMeshActorTab=False
bUseArchiveOptimizations=True
bUseStaggerLoadCompoundObjects=True
bUseVSync=0True
bUseTripleBuffering=True
FlashTargetsName=True
DetailMode=1
TextureDetailWorld=0
TextureDetailPlayerSkin=0
TextureDetailNPCSkin=0
TextureDetailWeaponSkin=0
TextureDetailTerrain=0
TextureDetailTerrainDetail=0
TextureDetailInterface=0
TextureDetailRenderMap=0
TextureDetailLightmap=0
TextureDetailShadowMap=0
TextureDetailNormalMap=0
TextureDetailBillboard=0
RenderQuality=3
TextureQuality=0
iShaderCacheSizeMB=20Antialiasing=0
AnisotropicFiltering=0
MaxStaticLights=8
LightComplexity=1.000000
GlobalNormalMap=0.100000
GlobalSpecular=0.300000
GlobalExposure=1.000000
GlobalReflectiveDistance=25000.000000
GlobalRefractiveDistance=5000.000000
GlobalSkeletalLOD=0.500000
GlobalShaderLOD=0.250000
GlobalTreeLODs=0.350000
GlobalShadows=1.000000
GlobalAtmosphere=0.000000
GlobalEnvironment=0.120000
GlobalDecorations=0.300000
SpellParticleDensityMe=0.350000
SpellParticleDensityTarget=0.350000
SpellParticleDensityPCs=0.350000
SpellParticleDensityNPCs=0.350000
EnvironmentParticleDensity=0.350000
bUseOcclusionQuery=False
bUsePawnOcclusionQuery=True
FarClippingPlane=100000.000000
GlobalTreeLODBlend=True
GlobalSimpleTerrain=False
UseHardwareSkinning=False
GlobalAnimationLOD=0.350000
ShowReactionFlash=False
ShowDifficulty=True

[UI]
ShellName=Default
ValidateXML=False
ChatAutojoin=regionsay,auction
LoadGameplayWindowsAtStartup=False
PresentLogin=True
GuildNotifyOnline=False
LootFollowsMouse=True
FilterProfanity=True
ShowChatBubbles=False
UseScrollingCombatText=False
UseMultipleLayers=True
iMaxTextColumns=3
ScrollingCombatTextScale=100.000000
MaximuCombatTextDelay=1.000000
CombatTextAlpha=1.000000
ScrollRateBeforeBranching=1.000000
DrawTargetingBillboards=True

[WinDrv.WindowsClient]
WindowedViewportX=1280
WindowedViewportY=1024
FullscreenViewportX=1680
FullscreenViewportY=1050
StartupFullscreen=True
ScreenFlashes=False
MinDesiredFrameRate=35.000000
MaxDesiredFrameRate=35.000000
Decals=True
Coronas=True
DecoLayers=True
Projectors=True
NoDynamicLights=False
ReportDynamicUploads=False
NoFractalAnim=False

[D3DDrv.D3DRenderDevice]
DetailTextures=True
UsePrecaching=True
UseTrilinear=True
AdapterNumber=-1
ReduceMouseLag=True
UseHardwareTL=True
UseHardwareVS=True
UseCubemaps=TrueDesiredRefreshRate=75
UseCompressedLightmaps=True
UseStencil=True
MaxPixelShaderVersion=255
DetailTexMipBias=0.8
DefaultTexMipBias=-0.5
UseNPatches=False
TesselationFactor=1.0
CheckForOverflow=False
DisableShaderModel3=True
DisableMultiGPUOpt=False
DisableHighDetailShaders=False
Use16BitNormalMaps=false
OverrideDesktopRefreshRate=True

[Engine.NullRenderDevice]
DetailTextures=True
UsePrecaching=True
UseCompressedLightmaps=True
UseStencil=True
NoFractalAnim=False

[ALAudio.ALAudioSubsystem]
UseEAX=False
Use3DSound=False
UseDefaultDriver=True
CompatibilityMode=False
UsePrecache=True
ReverseStereo=false
Channels=16
MusicVolume=1.000000
AmbientVolume=1.000000
SoundVolume=1.000000
DopplerFactor=1.000000
Rolloff=0.500000
TimeBetweenHWUpdates=15.000000
DisablePitch=False
LowQualitySound=True
IsactStreamPacketLength=250
StreamIsactAudio=True
IsactMusicStreamPacketLength=250
StreamIsactMusic=True
OpenALDeviceName=SB X-Fi Audio [B000]
MasterVolume=0.170000
Diplomacy=0.010000
UI=0.090000
Creatures=0.090000
Speech=0.000000
Footsteps=0.070000
Spells=0.030000
Combat=0.100000
Environment=0.070000
CombatMusic=0.000000
AmbientMusic=0.000000
UseSpatializedVoice=False
EnhancedDenoiser=False
UseVAD=False
SpatializedVoiceRadius=0.000000
LocalZOffset=0.000000
MaxEAXVersion=0
UseVoIP=False
VolumeScaleRec=0.000000
VoiceVolume=1.000000

[ExceptionHandling]
SendWatson=True
KeepMiniDump=False
SendEmail=True
emailAddress=vanguardcrash@soe.sony.com
emailName=Crash Support
emailSubject=VG Client Crash
miniDumpFile=vgcrash.mdmp
exceptionInfoFile=vgcrashlog.txt

[WindowPositions]
GameLog=(X=110,Y=145,XL=512,YL=256)
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
MaxPixelShaderVersion=300
DisableShaderModel3=False

teh above should only be set to teh settings I have shown above if your video card supports 3.0 shaders. If your video card does not support 3.0, please change teh lines to teh following:

MaxPixelShaderVersion=255
DisableShaderModel3=True

This page will be edited as time progresses . . .

Dual Core Tweak to help make both cores utilize each other so one doesn't take on most of the tasking:
(this should also work for Quad Cores as well)
Personally I'm not very sure about the below being a good option. While it does help with the Duel and Quard core CPUs, I have found trying to run multiple applications the others in the background suffer slightly. Use the below if you use only one application below. If not, I do not recommend this tweak.
First download ATI Tray Tools to change the Flip Queue Size to 3 or 4 (which ever works best for you):

Flip Queue Size to 4 (using ATI Tray Tools)
Download Tool here: Download
(NVIDIA users, you should have this features in your application already, I am not aware of a tool for these cards, if someone has information, please provide)

Next, update your registry (windows XP users) with the following:

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\PriorityControl]

Win32PriorityControl=38

Create DWORD named Win32PriorityControl and then adding the value in DECIMAL 38

Each core will still bounce back and forth here and there, but this helps push each core to level out more and work together tasking. Not a 100% fix, but one that does help.

---------------- reserved -------------------

Personally I think you'll find less hostility if you remove the paragraph in red that essentially says "everyone's going to argue this". If you want to avoid a negative tone to your thread you must first do so by example and not start it off negative. That aside I am curious as to the "math" behind the minimum framerate setting as well as cachesizemegs. My only disagreement though otherwise would be recommending vsync. At the very least offer a disclaimer that it may or may not be acceptable to each individual, I base this disagreement on the fact that vsync causes a visual stuttering that some people may find distracting or annoying (while others may not even see it) when the actual number of rendered frames drops below the minimum required to sync a different frame for each cycle.

Paen@Thunderaxe wrote:

Here's a possible source for Staulinmas's suggestion.

Hmm...I've been wondering how that worked exactly. I never really played the UT series so after the first Unreal I tended to shy away from the Unreal engine. In a way I regret that but tastes change (I blame EverQuest heh). Pretty slick though, I'll have to play with this setting a bit more as I never noticed anything significant from earlier experiments.

The only tweak having a noticable impact on FPS is the audio setting. Now where have I seen that before?

AldonKashmar wrote:

Yes, you have a post on this -- which has been around for about 10 years (the tweak that is) -- all of us from the Unreal 1 days did this in the game to improve its performance. It was one of the first settings the tweakers made, and one that still shows a boost in performance -- a sure setting to change.

The minframerate setting probably just applies very minor lod tweaks resulting in marginal performance and quality difference. The same kind of thing they do in omega drivers and similar, though in this case it's very limited.

Malosar@Woefeather wrote:

Very similar indeed. I love those Omega drivers myself. I remember a couple of years ago he (guy behind the Omega website) had announce that he wouldn't be doing those drivers anymore and his inbox got flooded along with donations to keep releasing his tweaked drivers. Very good site for tweaked drivers.

I didnt notice any difference really in performance, fps might have gone up a little though, but fps goes up and down a lot depending on area so a little hard to tell. Nice post though

updated, read OP

another bump for changes, please review OP

I'm running v 1.2 now of the tweak I'll give some feedback if I notice any differences, good or bad. Was no changes in my fps though.

Ashlad wrote:

Thanks Ashlad for the feedback, good stuff to know and others can also see each others feedback

Also keep in mind that these changes above are not necessarily for upping FPS but improving the games overall performance and lowering hitching to make for a better game play. In some cases you will get an increase to FPS, but not always.

Yeah I know is not just for FPS I have been playing now for a good couple of hours and it did seem to improve the performance in crowded areas a lot more. Prolly because of the NPCSkin I think i read somewhere that next patch is gonna have some optimized art for NPCs so might be even better then.

The setting TextureDetailNPCSkin is actually set like this: 0 = highest quality and 7 = lowest and values in between are valid. The same goes for the other settings that start with TextureDetail. Now there is some question as to which setting will actively compress the image (will conserve memory but will cause the CPU to work more so it's an unfortunate trade off as it can cause more hitching). I've found that 4 or 5 is indeed a good point in the past however it does eat up about twice as much memory as a setting of 7. I would recommend against going above 4 though for those seeking more performance unless you have a video card with more than 128 mb of RAM.

By "above 4" do you mean toward 0 (quality above 4) or toward 7 (number above 4)?

Above meaning towards 0 (higher quality images) as the texture will take up more memory and GPU time.

If my assumptions are correct, I wouldn't recommend using the shader cache tweak. Firstly, most likely it is on as default, since the game caches shaders already. Secondly, the shaders are very small in data size, setting it above 16Mb would be next to useless afaik and just overuse resources. I tried it last night anyway and I crashed within 5 mins or so of playing whenever it was on with errors in the log files stating issues with render resources (can't remember the exact error). Set it back to 16Mb and it was fine. If others set it higher without problems and it helps them, then maybe it's specific to the GPU and memory config for the video card?