Shadow issues and potential fixes

@Jakal, sorry spend 2 minutes after Marr's post and the problem with the popping shadows was solved (first post from jakal!).

 

Edited because perhaps I took it out of context.

ETA: Shadow popping is not the issue I'm concerned with though.
It is the shadow draw distance, and the apparent redraw happening in front of me (see the oval section of the track in the video, watch that part, specifically. Starts at 1:08, when I got up on the oval. The area between that section and bus stop chicane is the worst and mostly clearly obvious.

 

I think he meant it like he spent two minutes and it solved the problem for him))

 

Language barriers. ...real pain in the ass sometimes.
Thanks.

I think I might be a bit on the defensive this morning.
I probably need to tone it down a notch...lol

 

I tried to replicate your problem by downloading "Daytona" from Steam workshop, but it seems you are using an older version of the same track. IMO this gets nowhere as long as we talk about modded tracks that are several years out of date.

Based on the limited information I have, I would be more inclined to say it's not a hardware bug, but a combination of the track and shadow settings which makes it more pronounced. It could be that your shadows render closer to normal, but it's impossible to say. What I can say is that everyone has some level of shadow drawing on medium detail and that turning shadows to high or max increases the draw distance.

 

Ok i belivbe it suppose to change the drawing distance. But for me it only changes the quality of shadows (sharp or blurred )

 

Are you intentionally ignoring the fact that myself and others are saying this exact same thing is happening on every single track, official content and otherwise?
And no, it's not an older version of Daytona, it's actually an updated version but is for private league use only. Yes, it has some issues, like the shadow popping and some flashing, but I can reproduce the same issue at Sebring (official) with any shadow settings. Shadow settings do not fix the issue, even maxed out. On high, with any combo of blur...doesn't matter. The issue is identically the same. I've went beyond the norm to test that. You know how many restarts of the sim it takes to change settings, go back and delete cbash and shaders (just to be sure nothing inteferes)...close again, relaunch, wait....then repeat 100 times over?
Trust me, if this wasn't an issue that is not easily resolved on my end, I wouldn't even be here wasting my time. 2 years I've spent with it, and more than likely I'll just go back to living with it because the answer is quite apparent at this point, so it seems.

You keep going on about the video being on a mod track, yet while browsing old threads on this issue, you've been right in the mix, sometimes even admitting that shadows are a problem (perhaps only for some) in this sim.
So, I have no idea what all that is about.
If I bothered to post a video using S397 Sebring, and it shows the exact same issue, then what? Then more about shadow settings?
And when I post screens showing those settings, what do we move to next that dances around the issue?

I mean, it's not like I'm the first to post about this....this very forum, and many others, are crawling with this discussion. Though mostly just left to die threads (probably because the poster got sick of trying like the rest....or was tired of being told it was this track or that, when it's ALL tracks, and ALL shadow settings)

You're basically telling me you don't believe this is happening on stuff like official tracks, with specific shadows settings...yet I'm telling you it IS (and so are others)...so, all this dancing around, it's all for nil. I know what I see, I know what is affected, which is ALL TRACKS, shadow settings be damned. For that matter, graphics settings be damned, because I've tried them all. Over...and over again.
I've went far further than that....far further. To no avail.

 

Precicely my thoughts. Tired of trying and at this point i will be almoust satisfied with Studio 397 admitting its fucked up so live with it.

 

Exactly!!!! Just a fair warning from the devs that this is something they have to fix would be enormously helpful. Like you I have invested a ton of time in trying to solve this, every possible combination of AA/AF/postprocessing and what not. Driver updates, clean installs, etc, etc. To no avail. I posted twice about the issue as a bug report with the simple question of giving me the acknowledgement that this is a known problem and that they working on it/or not. That way I could give it a rest... Heard nothing from them unfortunately. Today I was glad to see somebody else having the same problems with different hardware-configuration. Makes it more probable that it is indeed something in the software. Anyway, hope to hear from the devs, hope there is a solution.

 

That 'filtering' of the shadows (I use that word because it's similar in appearance to the anisotropic filtering for textures) I think is just a product of the shadow system. The shadows were overhauled some time back and that staged blurriness came about because of it - but if memory serves me correctly it also led to better performance and less flickering in the distance.

Shadow draw distance is another matter entirely and can be largely controlled with the shadow setting. The CPU core bug that got resolved recently was purely about shadow draw distance, nothing to do with this effect.

 

Did you watch the video in the OP?
Ignore the shadows popping in and out...that's not a concern of mine. Focus on 1:08 of the video, and through the oval. Specifically on the straight heading into bus stop chicane. The shadow draw distance does indeed seem to be the issue there. That is the issue I am talking about...the popping in and out, I understand, and don't care about it at this time.

And draw distance, while it may be claimed it "can be controlled with the shadow settings".....exactly what settings would that be?
Because, I've tried every shadow and blur combination about 200 times over. Besides jagged edges to shadows and such things at lower settings, there is absolutely no effect on this issue I am talking about (the one most apparent in the run up to bus stop chicane)

So you are seeing this blur, like shadows are being rendered out in front of the car in some blurred fashion, like in my video, as well?
We are all seeing this?

And yes, the CPU bug was the reason for my assumptions on that..but I'm not on a 6 core. I'm on Intel G4600...hyper threaded dual core.
I assumed maybe the hyper threading was the issue..but I assumed wrong as disabling that done nothing. Aggressive threading in the launcher, with hyper threading enabled or disabled...does nothing either. So, I've moved away from that assumption as it was only that, an assumption, and I was apparently wrong on that one.

ETA: "That 'filtering' of the shadows (I use that word because it's similar in appearance to the anisotropic filtering for textures)"

Yes, thank you. I've described this issue as that in the past. And initially, I thought it was something AF related and I tried a million settings regarding AF and fixing it..but nothing works.
A very good description.

 

@Jakal Did you read my post?

Hell man, I'm agreeing with you here.


Just in case this is being confused - that 'drawing in' of shadows, that seems to usually be on fences, I think is a very blurred shadow that then either gets drawn better as you get close or disappears as you get close. It's that staging of shadows that's the issue; the game is trying to draw some sort of shadow at that distance already, but it gets refined as you get closer.

*Last edit: bottom line, I think this is inherent with the shadow system, there's no user fix.

 

Then post a video of Sebring like you said you would yesterday, and I can compare it within an hour to see if it's a hardware bug or as intended. Would have saved both of us time. I can't test on private league tracks that I don't have access to obviously.

 

I was only asking, just to be sure we were on the same page with the issue.
I understand you were in agreement.

"bottom line, I think this is inherent with the shadow system, there's no user fix"


Would be nice to hear that from the devs. I'd be ok with waiting out a fix, if there was one even being worked on.
Would have been nice to see one statement about that many months ago, from there....so I didn't waste all this time thinking it could possibly be on my end.

Really hope it's something they intend to address...and was hoping some of the PBR stuff might change things..but not sure. Guess we'll see.

It's not "game breaking" most times, but can be annoying and distracting as all hell. Tell the eyes not to focus on it, then what do they do? Off into a wall I go staring at weird blurry shadows running down the wall and all over the track. ha.

 

Why do I need to bother? I'm not the only one with the issue, and you seem to be the only one saying there is no issue or that it's on my end.
I'm not wasting time posting all these videos, when you can clearly see the issue in the one I did post.
If you don't believe me that it happens on all tracks, just the same as the instance I point out here, then there's no point anyways.
I'll post the vid and you'll move to hours of my shadow settings and how that is the issue, then when I "prove" I have tried them all, following the SOP rF2 graphics settings guidelines (like deleting the things we delete each time) you'll claim I did that wrong, or have things wrong again.

A huge waste of time. I'll pass.

Lazza's basically answered my question, so I'm pretty much done here anyways.

 

@Jakal
Can you please record it on phone with max graphics settings ect and upload it on gdrive or whatever. Itll be quiker for you. I am away from my pc cant do(

 

Phone? No can do, bud. I don't even own one

I'd upload it if I had any reason to think it would solve anything.
I intended to stream to twitch, and record at the same time, forego the youtube wait...but apparently I did that incorrectly yesterday and was not linked to my twitch stream. Maybe I'll try again...issue with that is after 14 days that vid is gone, and I'll be back to recording it and doing the youtube thing anyways. Got to be a quicker way! This "issue" IS user end, because my knowledge of uploading such things basically extends to streaming to twitch, and that's about that. Video from yesterday is the first I've ever uploaded at youtube, or anywhere besides twitch, for that matter.

.....grrr....yeah, I'll do it.

 

I'm not forcing you into anything, just trying to help identifying whether it's a combination of hardware which makes the thing worse, which is what you yourself first suspected. Actually not even a video is needed here, any screenshot from any official track with graphic settings attached will do.

 

I moved to Sebring, and I have to recant what I said about the issue being reproduced all places.
I cannot reproduce it at Sebring because there are no objects close enough to the track to render shadows out on the track. The most I see is some crawling effect on barriers, but it's not so apparent.

Ok then...Indy RC..how about that?
Surely you've read and know about the issues there with the catch fence on the start/finish straight?
It's the same look as is seen in the Daytona video I posted...looks identical. High shadows...high reflections, both road and environment...blur settings make no difference...high detail on everything, full on textures.
I've went further, and tested maxed out everything...no change.

I can post Indy RC shots regarding what I am saying, but the Daytona video shows the exact same problem....catch fence and this blurred shadow stuff out in front of the car.

I've conceded it's a issue with the game itself...not on my end.
After posting this elsewhere, that's pretty much confirmed. ....point being, I'm not really interested, at this point, in wasting too much more time with an issue I know isn't going to be resolved right now.

Have a race in less than 2 hours, so all this is just burning P time anyways.

 

@Jakal Did you tryed to disable 2 of the cores?