Anti-Aliasing is no Longer Being Applied by NVidia Inspector

[RasmusP]

Also with 8x Sparse Grid Supersampling applied the only working option for AA setting is 8xQ [8x Multisampling]. Choosing any other option (e. g. 32xS [Combined: 2x2 SS + 8x MS]) leads to AA not working at all. Not sure though whether this might have been the case before already.

This is normal.
The issue here is that you would need a Flipchart with if/then etc for the anti aliasing options but inspector squeezes it all into a few dropdown menus.
It would be easier of everything unavailable after selecting one thing would gray out the non-compatible settings but then you'd have to set everything in a specific order...

If you want to use sgssaa, then you need to use msaa as a base.
You can use higher msaa values than sgssaa values but not the other way around.

The combined: 2x2 etc settings are complete and independent mixes of anti aliasing and the transparency settings should be set to off with them.

And then there's the issue that there are settings that can't be used with every gpu generation!
If you select csaa with anything newer than the 5xx generation, you might even get a bsod!

My order for testing to force anti aliasing:
1. 8x Msaa + 8x sgssaa
2. 8x Msaa + 8x normal supersampling
3. 8x msaa + transparent msaa enabled

I always use 8x to know if it applied (fps going down massively and/or gpu load increasing a lot).

If these won't work, I test the combined stuff.

Gothic 1+2 look superb with one of the combined settings (on the phone right now so I can't look up which exactly).



And yes, after any update, you need to re-apply the settings.
If you change a profile in the normal nvidia control panel, you need to apply inspector again too.

It's quite a mess in general, but it does work wonders, so I'll take it and you apparently will do the same

 

[cnuk]

It seems you know a lot about this RasmusP, so I'll go ahead and ask.
Can you let us know what your NVidia Inspector settings are?
And do you use them in combination with NVidia Control Panel?
Thanks!

 

[RasmusP]

It seems you know a lot about this RasmusP, so I'll go ahead and ask.
Can you let us know what your NVidia Inspector settings are?
And do you use them in combination with NVidia Control Panel?
Thanks!

I sadly can't provide any settings for simracing titles as I don't use anything special for them and don't have gtr2.
I used 4x sgsaa for Assetto Corsa until csp added stunningly perfect TAA.
I get the possible modes and the compatibility bits from all the links and posts in here:

NVIDIA compatibility bits master thread and IQ guide

[IMG] The full NVIDIA master list I have been considering the idea of a combined thread for all your driver profile customization and game tweaking...

forums.guru3d.com

Sadly GTR isn't in any of these lists

My other settings are quite easy.
Los bias = clamp
Is broken and doesn't do anything since iirc the gtx 7xx series.

Almost every game has anisotropic filtering, so no need to set it in the driver either.

Power management caused massive stuttering with my 970 and 1070 until a year ago or so, so I always used "prefer maximum performance".
Not needed anymore either. I'm using "normal" or "optimal", what it was called until a few months ago.

DLDSR with my 3080 made most forced anti aliasing obsolete too.
The dlss algorithm combined with DSR works very well!

So for games that can't run at high resolutions, I just test the different anti aliasing (and ambient occlusion) settings.
I first check the threads/lists from the link above.
If I can't find anything, I just test the different anti aliasing settings one after another.
My favorites are sgssaa and then these combined ones:

32xS [Combined: 2x2 SS + 8x MS]

And this:
Which looks absolutely superb in Gothic 1+2 in 4x4.
2x2 [2x2 Supersampling (D3D only)]
(if enough headroom just straight to 4x4! 2x2 looks really good already)

Both often won't work and you need a lot of GPU headroom for them..

Here's a comparison though:

It's always difficult via screenshots but the left side is 100% smooth and without any jaggies during movement, while the right side will have every edge shimmering with massive pixel crawling.


Other important settings are the following:

For my 60 Hz TV, I always use the standard vsync and limit the fps to 59.97 fps via RTSS (riva tuner).
When using vsync, setting "pre-rendered frames" = 1 reduces input lag a lot. It's called "lag reduction" = on now.
Never use ultra with vsync! It limits the fps at 3 fps below your Hz and causes massive stuttering...


For my monitor:
It's 100 Hz gsync so anti aliasing all identical but the fps limit is done a bit differently.
I first run the game unlimited but start the Msi afterburner inbuilt benchmark.
I run around a bit (or do a quick race session) and then stop the benchmark and check the 1% low value.
I then set the rtss limiter a few fps higher than that or at 90 fps as maximum.
This gives a very smooth experience without changes in the fluidity.
If a game can only run at 50 fps (and I don't want to lower settings), I limit it at 50 fps and the eyes and brain will get used to.
If the fps would fluctuate between 50-80, I would notice the drops into the 50's every single time...
So better to keep things consistent!

About the 90 fps max:
All limiters fluctuate a little bit and I don't want to reach the Hz limit.
I keep standard vsync on from nvidia control panel (recommend when using gsync).

 

[dwightyone]

For GTR2, honestly guys (IMO), if you use Crew Chief's DXVK (Vulkan) then the days of using Nvidia Inspector are gone. The image is clearer, it has up to 16X MSAA, and has SSGGAA built in and it works great - plug it in and forget about it if you like. No more reapplying nvidia inspector when you update your graphics driver - also get a boost in performance as well...

 

[cnuk]

Thanks RasmusP for the detailed information ... I can see that you put a lot effort into your response!
After more experimenting, I think a lot of my issues is due to differences in the (mod) tracks and how they were made. On one track the stripes look fine, on others not so much. Same with trees, fences, and power lines. I probably need to just concentrate on the tracks that came with the game and be done with it!

I am definitely interested in what the Crew Chief app brings to GTR2.
Is the DXVK part of the paid version (which I have)?

If I purchase GTR2 through Steam, are there any special installation instructions, or do I just let it install to the path of my choice?
Note that I have numerous installations now, and I don't want to see those corrupted.

 

[Weber44]

I'm close to giving up on this...
For the last 2-3 weeks I played around with different older driver versions + Nvidia Insp. settings but wasn't able to achieve a significant change for the better. I can confirm that N.Insp. definitely DOES work (but imo. only AA setting and transparency SS have a noticable effect) as it changes graphics from 'serious eye cancer' to 'acceptable'.
Still the lines are a little jagged and I see flickering (especially track surroundings + car lights) as well as somewhat 'grainy' textures. This is really frustrating since I'm absolutely convinced that graphics were better in the past and changed for the worse at some point for whatever reason...
CNUK, may I ask to share your current settings as it looks like we have quite similar hardware? You can see mine in the attachment.

 

[cnuk]

I've attached screenshots of my 'current' settings. 'Current' because I've accepted that my eyes can't distinguish between many of the changes that I've made. I also haven't invested the time or energy in trying some of the recommendations put forth in this thread (DXVK, DLDSR, etc). I'm not even sure if my GPU supports them!

 

[dwightyone]

I've attached screenshots of my 'current' settings. 'Current' because I've accepted that my eyes can't distinguish between many of the changes that I've made. I also haven't invested the time or energy in trying some of the recommendations put forth in this thread (DXVK, DLDSR, etc). I'm not even sure if my GPU supports them!

How come you profile names says GTR2/GTL - and post before you says rfactor profile? Why not use the one in the drop down list - does your's know where to look to apply your settings? Sure mine says just "GTR2 game" or something like that...

Anyway, that's pretty high settings, however, to get proper sharp images (imo) for VR inparticular (but also screens) you'd need reshade CAS as well and for VR to increase steamvr's built in SS as well. I used to do all this faffing about before but I would use GTR2's built in AA at level 3 and used nvidia inspector settings to supplement it i.e. not use the override AA setting. My nvidia inspector settings were lower than yours - but the use of reshade CAS was also key.

Or.....

....the other option is to match the right graphics driver to the right version of cc dxvk and the days of faffing about with nvidia inspector and reshade are long gone. It's just plug and play once up and running but requires "putting in" but once done more clarity and more fps for both VR and screens.

I can post my dxvk config file settings to get started. Google crew chief's dxvk - it may come with his spotter program but I don't use it so I use the ones from his "cc gtr2 enhancement" discord channel instead.

I7 6700k/RTX 2070 Super

 

[cnuk]

"How come your profile name says GTR2/GTL - and the post before you says rfactor profile?"
Answer: I created a custom profile that I use for both games. I'm guessing Weber44 accidentally uploaded the wrong profile (?)

"Why not use the one in the drop down list?"
Answer: I didn't know nVidia Inspector even had a pre-made profile until you just mentioned it! I'm guessing it was part of an update. I'll be sure to give it a try. Thanks!

"- does yours know where to look to apply your settings?"
Answer: Part of the process in creating a custom profile is navigating to the game's *.exe file.

"-used nvidia inspector settings to supplement it i.e. not use the override AA setting."
Comment: I've tried both, no difference that I can tell. I do recall that at one time, the nVI setting only applied if you "enhanced the application settings".

I'm not using VR, though I understand that some setting may be applicable. I also do not have the Steam version, so I don't believe Crew Chief can be applied.
As soon as you start talking about Reshade, CAS, DXVK etc. I'm lost (sadly). I haven't had the time to find out how to apply them, but will investigate the Crew Chief avenue (I do have the paid version). I'm not on Discord, so I apparently miss out on a lot of the latest news.

Thanks for your reply and the information that you've provided.

 

[dwightyone]

"How come your profile name says GTR2/GTL - and the post before you says rfactor profile?"
Answer: I created a custom profile that I use for both games. I'm guessing Weber44 accidentally uploaded the wrong profile (?)

"Why not use the one in the drop down list?"
Answer: I didn't know nVidia Inspector even had a pre-made profile until you just mentioned it! I'm guessing it was part of an update. I'll be sure to give it a try. Thanks!

"- does yours know where to look to apply your settings?"
Answer: Part of the process in creating a custom profile is navigating to the game's *.exe file.

"-used nvidia inspector settings to supplement it i.e. not use the override AA setting."
Comment: I've tried both, no difference that I can tell. I do recall that at one time, the nVI setting only applied if you "enhanced the application settings".

I'm not using VR, though I understand that some setting may be applicable. I also do not have the Steam version, so I don't believe Crew Chief can be applied.
As soon as you start talking about Reshade, CAS, DXVK etc. I'm lost (sadly). I haven't had the time to find out how to apply them, but will investigate the Crew Chief avenue (I do have the paid version). I'm not on Discord, so I apparently miss out on a lot of the latest news.

Thanks for your reply and the information that you've provided.

No probs and I get it.

Using nvidia inspector and reshade whilst trying to find the right combo' can be tedious and tiresome with its many multiple settings for both - it's the reason why I don't use either of them - they both drove me barmy as I was never satisfied with any setting combos of either working together.

I mentioned DXVK as it does what nvidia inspector and reshade does in one. DXVK is just wayyyyy simpler to use overall and looks visually better. But yea, trying to get sims from yesteryear to look fresh and modernish takes a bit of leg work but a lot less of it with DXVK, but I'm not sure about the non steam version though (yet).

 

[cnuk]

User Error on my part.
I did not know that there was already a default GTR 2 profile in NVidia Inspector.
Therefore, I created another GTR2/GTL profile.
What I didn't realize was that I DID NOT "Add application to current profile".
This can be seen in the screenshots that I attached in my previous post (the applications should show in the green bar).
Thanks to "dwightyone", I got to thinking about which of the two profiles was being applied.
As it turns out, NVidia Inspector will present the following error message if you attempt to duplicate profiles:

Error adding Application
This application executable is already assigned to the following profiles: GTR 2

Seeing this, I deleted my (bogus) custom profile and applied the following to the default
GTR 2 profile:

a. Antialiasing compatibility: 0x004412C1 (Diablo III)
b. Antialiasing - Mode: Override any application setting
c. Antialiasing - Setting: 8xQ [8x Multisampling]
d. Antialiasing - Transparency Supersampling: 8x Sparse Grid Supersampling

That solved it for me!

Now you can see why I'm hesitant to take on Reshade, CAS, DXVK etc. HaHa!

 

[RasmusP]

User Error on my part.
I did not know that there was already a default GTR 2 profile in NVidia Inspector.
Therefore, I created another GTR2/GTL profile.
What I didn't realize was that I DID NOT "Add application to current profile".
This can be seen in the screenshots that I attached in my previous post (the applications should show in the green bar).
Thanks to "dwightyone", I got to thinking about which of the two profiles was being applied.
As it turns out, NVidia Inspector will present the following error message if you attempt to duplicate profiles:

Error adding Application
This application executable is already assigned to the following profiles: GTR 2

Seeing this, I deleted my (bogus) custom profile and applied the following to the default
GTR 2 profile:

a. Antialiasing compatibility: 0x004412C1 (Diablo III)
b. Antialiasing - Mode: Override any application setting
c. Antialiasing - Setting: 8xQ [8x Multisampling]
d. Antialiasing - Transparency Supersampling: 8x Sparse Grid Supersampling

That solved it for me!

Now you can see why I'm hesitant to take on Reshade, CAS, DXVK etc. HaHa!

Happens to the best!
I did something similar because I typed in a game incorrectly and thought there wouldn't be a profile. When trying to add the exe to my new profile, it gave me the error...

What I've found out due to this:
If you want to use the same profile for more than one exe, you can delete the existing profiles and add all the exe files to the same profile.

That way you only have to configure one profile when changing something.

Not that useful, but sometimes there isn't a profile.
For example gsync triggers to all applications that use hardware acceleration. Meaning office, Spotify, AC content manager etc. all activate gsync.
But in a bad way!
More like reducing my Hz to single digits due to the apps saving resources and only running at 5 fps, making my whole PC super laggy..

So I have a "No gsync" profile, where I'm addind every new and problematic program, set to "fixed refresh rate" instead of gsync

 

[Weber44]

Me again..., I did not post the wrong profile. As stated earlier I use rFactor, but since it's based on the same engine as GTR2 our problems/solutions should be valid for both games.
Thanks Cnuk for the info on your profile, not much different from mine, though.
I think re AA I've done what's possible with NInsp. settings, now on to some clipplanes adjustments to reduce the flickering...

 

[The Iron Wolf]

No probs and I get it.

Using nvidia inspector and reshade whilst trying to find the right combo' can be tedious and tiresome with its many multiple settings for both - it's the reason why I don't use either of them - they both drove me barmy as I was never satisfied with any setting combos of either working together.

I mentioned DXVK as it does what nvidia inspector and reshade does in one. DXVK is just wayyyyy simpler to use overall and looks visually better. But yea, trying to get sims from yesteryear to look fresh and modernish takes a bit of leg work but a lot less of it with DXVK, but I'm not sure about the non steam version though (yet).

I am glad you find DXVK usage less fiddly. Indeed, with DXVK and command line switches for resolution setting you can forget about re-applying changes after every driver update.

DXVK with non-Steam version will work to some extent, however by default it has hangs which my plugin fixes, and Plugin is Steam only. Also, plugin fixes the famous Z-Fighting flicker - it's a game changer for GTR2.