As far as I know it defines the quality of skidmarks on- and off-track. It was also also used for smoke- and spark-effect quality. Not sure what else. And not sure if it even is like that in rf2 anymore, because sparks are not activated within rf2 at the moment and smoke has its "own" setting now with soft particles... But it would be great to get a quick confirmation from S397 about what this setting really does.
Many people would like all the graphical parameters (or performance parameters) to be explained, true. And especially that the impact on GPU + CPU performance is estimated (GPU & CPU). This "small" job could so much improve the performance/quality ratio = lower user dissatisfaction for users who do not have a computer > 1600 € .............................. @Marcel Offermans
yes lighting fx, most obvious change for me is objects have more bloom around them and they look brighter while in low/ off setting you get graphics more like dx9 with only brightness u get coming from textures so in high setting it looks more photo-realistic plus dynamic to day time change a good example is adelaide clipsal 500 with a lot of black sponsor boards, in low setting track looks rather black and white / a bit dark overall, and it looks great with high setting in special fx 3.1.6 Special Effects Set the amount of post processing of the image, usually glare effects.
My computer was about €550 and runs rf2 very well with lots of AI and high graphics settings. FPS will drop to about 45 at the start but will stay at a capped 60 all the other times. AMD FX6300, 1050ti, 8gb RAM So that's proof enough that you can run it well on a computer that isn't expensive. Would like the skid marks to last longer instead of wearing away after a lap or so. Wrecks the immersion and I like to use it as a way of knowing the guy ahead has ballsed up.
You are talking about post FX. Special FX in rF2 do nothing as far as my experiments have shown. It's probably a leftover setting from rF1 where it had an impact on whether tire smoke etc. is shown. In rF2 tire smoke and rain spray cannot be disabled anymore, probably as it was giving a competitive advantage in rain.
I see it without special effects and without Pfx. My advice : Delete player.json, game will create another clean when you will launch the game : but 20 minutes to configure again RF2.
Post FX are the heavy weight graphics and have way more impact on appearance and fps, special fx are much more subtle but it can make a difference , thats why i mention the adelaide example because in the average track i think the biggest difference i noticed is the barriers look a bit brighter , barely noticable and with low post FX at the same time (which i run atm).
Where you guys get this information from? I would really like a response or document from the developers.
I d like one too, oh well Btw for anyone interested, closest thing to a manual i ve found is this: http://www.racedepartment.com/threads/rfactor-2-game-guide-and-f-a-q.119019/ That's where "Set the amount of post processing of the image, usually glare effects" (post above, and i forgot to mention it) is coming from, i cant possibly know how accurate it is but from what i detect with in-built sensing devices it seems to be true.
Special FX in games typically refer to things like smoke and particles. Glare is post FX, they are not the same thing at all. Special FX toggle in rF2 is some leftover from rF1, where it was used to disable tire smoke etc. This setting is not available in rF2. When you compare any pair of screenshots with special FX off and full you'll see that they are identical.
Seems that no one is 100% certain I think rfactor2 has some things disabled , lighting seems less dynamic than it use to be Also I remember in sunny condition coming out of the tunnel in Monaco 66 & there use to be a momentary light glare I would have thought special effects would have been for stuff like this but now it seems non existent regardless of settings
Bumping this, because it would really be helpful. I would say anything that puts more detail/info onto the screen eats cpu as well.
I got that information from a very early rf2 settings document. Still interested to know what it does now with dx11 where I have lower framerates compared to the dx9 era even when not running any post fx.
I think it is rather normal for DX11 to run slower than DX9 due to the added depth of visuals. However, afterS397 spent a summer of trying to improve DX11 performance, there should be only minimal difference between the two. I have heard other games have seen improved performance when switching to DX11, so I understand why some users are confused by the results in rF2. Users here have seen that older motherboards that have older video bus connections are prone to the most dramatic slowdowns. Finally my only tip would be to try setting PP to 1 level above off. Some users have reported using the lowest setting works better than NONE. No sparks in rF2. You'll have to go back to rF1 or GTR2 if you want sparks.(although some cars in GTR2 had sparks originating a foot or two in front of the nose.... funny/odd looking.) Tire smoke should be there, I wonder if that is different in VR vs us flat-earth....errr..flat screeners.
Speaking of Sparks, both ACC and iRacing do some decent spark effects but, IRacing 's may be a bit more realistic.