SGSSAA not working in Mass Effect 2 (help!)

[ObsidianGhost]

Forgive me for using the english language here (I'm in the USA and am not fluent in Deutsch). This is the *BEST FORUM* in the world for discussing these issues....

I am trying to do Downsampling + SGSSAA in Mass Effect 2, but I am having bad results, and I'm not sure if I understand this all correctly.

First, let me make this clear: I have read all the tutorials and FAQs. I know the basics already (I think).

Here is my problem...
My monitor's native res is 1920x1080.
- Running the game @ 1920x1080, and using these settings
http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m117/blacksun1942/me2-settings-good-1.png
This gives *great* AA; (female) Shepard's hair is 100% smooth; the lines around the central room in the Normandy are 100% straight and smooth. However, this is also a little blurry and not very sharp.
- The problem is that no other SGSSAA make any difference whatsoever.

For example, when I use these settings (with suggested compatibility bits), the AA is worse.
http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m117/blacksun1942/me2-settings-bad.png
Shepard's hair now has jagged edges, the lines in the Normandy main area no longer smooth and straight... The SGSSAA settings seem to be 100% useless. They make no difference whatsoever.

- Another issue which I have questions about is downsampling.
I have set additional resolutions for my monitor as explained in the tutorial.
2880x1620 and 2976x1674. These extra resolutions work 100%, and they look VERY SHARP. Unfortunately, the AA is not as good as 2X2SSAA; in fact, when I try 2x2SSAA in Inspector, it doesn't work at these resolutions anymore (why?). Also, SGSSAA also does not help.

What am I doing wrong?

Here are my specs:
MSI N580GTX Lightning (270.61 WHQL)
Windows 7 SP1

(I don't care about FPS, I just want to use SGSSAA + Downsampling if possible)

[Raff]

Heya,

welcome and congratulations for finding the best forums in the world! ;)

Have you tried 8x SGSSAA (8xQ MSAA + 8x Sparse Grid SSAA) with the standard bits? That should work. But it's not as sharp as it could be.

The reason that 2.880x1.620 (on 1.920x1.080) is inferior to 1.920x1.080 with 2x2 OGSSAA, 4x SGSSAA or whatever is simple: 2.880x1.620 is just 1,5x1,5 OGSSAA. With a very "sharp" downfilter, though.

Downsampling plus SGSSAA and a slightly negative LOD gives the best results: a crisp and smooth picture. =)

MfG,
Raff

[Blaire]

Try the "0x000010C5" "0x000010C1" for SGSSAA :)

[ObsidianGhost]

Have you tried 8x SGSSAA (8xQ MSAA + 8x Sparse Grid SSAA) with the standard bits? That should work. But it's not as sharp as it could be.
Yes, this is the first one that I tried. The AA just isn't as good as 2x2SSAA.... In fact, I'm not even sure that it's doing anything. It looks very very bad; lots of jaggies. :hammer:
2.880x1.620 is just 1,5x1,5 OGSSAA. With a very "sharp" downfilter, though.
But I don't understand... Shouldn't 1.5x1.5 OGSSAA + 8x SGSSAA be *better* than 2x2 OGSSAA + 2x SGSSAA?
Doesn't the extra SGSSAA make the graphics card work harder?


Downsampling plus SGSSAA and a slightly negative LOD gives the best results: a crisp and smooth picture. =)
This is exactly what I want to achieve! :)
My goal is to do downsampling with forced resolution + SGSSAA... However, I'm wondering; is there any difference between raw downsampling via forced resolution vs 2x2 SSAA in Nvidia Inspector?... To my eyes, it looks sharper when I force a higher resolution rather than use SSAA....

The only problem is that SGSSAA appears to be non-functional beyond 2xSGSSAA.... Seriously, I see no difference between 2x and 8x :(
In fact, if I switch from 2xMS+2xSGSSAA to 4xMS+4xSGSSAA, the image definitely looks worse. There are *more* jagged edges with 4xMS+4xSGSSAA.

Try the "0x000010C5" for SGSSAA :)
For the compatibility bits or as a hex entry for the Transparency AA setting?

[Blaire]

Antialiasing Compatibility
Try "0x000010C1" for a Sharper Image, this working.
http://www.abload.de/img/me218vt.jpg

8xMSAA ( Treiber Default AA Bits)
http://www.abload.de/thumb/masseffect2msaa28uv.png (http://www.abload.de/image.php?img=masseffect2msaa28uv.png)
8xSGSSAA ("0x000010C1")
http://www.abload.de/thumb/masseffect2ckne.png (http://www.abload.de/image.php?img=masseffect2ckne.png)

[ObsidianGhost]

EDIT:
Blaire, that worked!!! :D

[ObsidianGhost]

Antialiasing Compatibility
Try "0x000010C1" for a Sharper Image, this working.
YES!!! ;D;D;D;D
This works PERFECTLY!! Thank you! THIS IS 100% PERFECT. (y)(y)(y):ubeer::love:

BTW: I took some screenshot comparisons in case others will find this useful.
http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m117/blacksun1942/me2-ssaa-defaultbits.png
http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m117/blacksun1942/me2-sgssaa-0x000010C1bits.png

It is even *BETTER* than 2x2 SSAA...Excellent!

BTW:
For 4xMS + 4x SGSSAA, do you use -1.000 LOD with 0x000010C1?

[Blaire]

Blaire, sadly that did not help. :(
I just tried those exact settings, and the jaggies on Shepard's hair are still very very bad.

I don't understand why [2x2 SSAA + 2x MSAA + 2x SGSSAA] gives me 100% smooth hair and very high FPS, but all the higher SGSSAA settings give me much lower FPS with worse/more jagged hair?


Do you have a Savegame from this Point? Then I can verify that. :smile:

It is even *BETTER* than 2x2 SSAA...Excellent! [

Have Fun. :)

[ObsidianGhost]

Do you have a Savegame from this Point? Then I can verify that. :smile:



Have Fun. :)
Sorry, that was old post; 0x000010C1 works 100% :biggrin:
To be clear though, all the other compatibility bits give more jaggies and worse FPS. Do you still want a savegame?
The hair I have in the pic as well as the computer equipment in the first menu screen show it off best I think...

[Blaire]

Sorry, that was old post; 0x000010C1 works 100% :biggrin:
To be clear though, all the other compatibility bits give more jaggies and worse FPS. Do you still want a savegame?
The hair I have in the pic as well as the computer equipment in the first menu screen show it off best I think...

No it is not necessary, then I must install the Fullversion not again. :wink:

[ObsidianGhost]

BTW:
Any need to enable "Gamma correction" with these settings?

[Blaire]

No is not necessary.

[Zephyroth]

SGSSAA is by now the best algorithm for powerful anti aliasing. Some time ago, I posted a comparison between the different AA modes based on Mass Effect 2 screenshots.

No AA (60fps):
http://www.abload.de/img/no_aa57ok.png

8xMSAA (60fps), only the polygon edges are processed:
http://www.abload.de/img/8xmsaac78o.png

2x2 SSAA (48fps), everything is smoothed:
http://www.abload.de/img/2xogssaam7il.png

8xSGSSAA (36fps), also here everyting is smoothed, but much better:
http://www.abload.de/img/8xsgssaas7e8.png

The native resolution was 2048x1152, but I didn't want to post too big screens, therefore I cut it down.

Later on I reduced the SGSSAA down to 4xSGSSAA, because the framedrops later on were too annoying to play. Anyway it doesn't look much worse, there is hardly a difference. With these settings (2048x1152, 4xSGSSAA, 16xAF on my GTX570) I get around 40-50fps, which is nice to play.

Grüße,
Zeph

[ObsidianGhost]

Zephyroth, Blaire's recommended compatibility bits (0x000010C1) does look better than 8xSQ (2x2 SSAA + 2xMS). However, the default compatibility bits and the one mentioned in the Sammelthread (0x08009CC5) are definitely not as good even though the FPS is lower.

The best way to see the clearest difference:
- The first menu screen
- Shepard's hair in the character menu (this is really bad)
- The map room of the Normandy

I will post some screenshots to show the difference later today. The only bit that matches 8xSQ (2x2 SSAA + 2xMS) so far is 0x000010C1...

[Maorga]

Hello ObsidianGhost,

I prefer most time 4MSAA+12CSAA + 4SGSSAA with LOD -0.875. In my opinion 4SGSSAA has the best sampleposition. Through CoveragesampleAA you got very cheap AA. Okay may be my grapcicard isn't as strong (only a 560Ti).

Bye

Maorga