Tweaking DSFix for Optimum High-End PC Experience

[Bob!]

Hi all, I've experimented with tweaking the DSFix.ini to switch on everything for maximum graphics. (I have a high-end PC so hopefully performance won't be an issue).

However as I don't know too much about it (despite some Googling, a lot of info seems to be out of date now), would someone cast their eyes over it and ensure I haven't set anything really stupid please? Again this is to optimise it to have it looking as lovely as possible on high-end machines, turning off/down options only where absolutely critical.

Here's my specs:

OS Version: Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate x64
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-3960X Hex-Core CPU, 4.2GHz
Graphics Card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 590, 3GB
System RAM: 16GB
Hard Drive: Samsung F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200RPM
Display Resolution: 1920x1080
Installed Dark Souls Mods: DSFix[blog.metaclassofnil.com], DSMFix[sdrv.ms]

Also with DSFix on. Do I still need any additional HD texture packs etc? (If so, which?) As I see there's an option in the .ini for such. I Have DSFix and DSMFix, is there anything else absolutely recommended for the best PC Experience?


My DSFix.ini is in the following post:


UPDATE: I've implemented the suggested changes to my DSFix.ini below. Also it seems the suggested texture packs are:

http://www.nexusmods.com/darksouls/mods/446/
http://www.nexusmods.com/darksouls/mods/132/
http://www.nexusmods.com/darksouls/mods/289/

[Bob!]

Here's my DSFix.ini, does this look alright? I've left the Depth of Field stuff as default though, should that be changed? Also I'm presuming "D3D adapter override" should be set to -1 still? My graphics card is two chips on the one card, so it essentialls runs SLI.

UPDATED with suggested changes:

# You can configure DSfix by editing this file
# Lines starting with "#" are ignored by the program and contain descriptions of the options

###############################################################################
# Graphics Options
###############################################################################

# internal rendering resolution of the game
# higher values will decrease performance
renderWidth 1920
renderHeight 1080

# The display width/height
# 0 means use the same resolution as renderWidth/Height
# (use for downscaling - if in doubt, leave at 0)
presentWidth 0
presentHeight 0

############# Anti Aliasing

# AA toggle and quality setting
# 0 = off (best performance, worst IQ)
# 1 = low 
# 2 = medium
# 3 = high
# 4 = ultra (worst performance, best IQ)
aaQuality 4

# AA type
# either "SMAA" or "FXAA"
aaType FXAA

############# Ambient Occlusion

# Enable and set the strength of the SSAO effect (all 3 settings have the same performance impact!)
# 0 = off
# 1 = low
# 2 = medium
# 3 = high
ssaoStrength 3

# Set SSAO scale
# 1 = high quality (default)
# 2 = lower quality, lower impact on performance
# 3 = lowest quality, lowest impact on performance
ssaoScale 1

# Determine the type of AO used
# "VSSAO" = Volumetric SSAO (default, only option pre-1.9)
# "HBAO" = Horizon-Based Ambient Occlusion
# "SCAO" = VSSAO + HBAO
# "VSSAO2" = Volumetric SSAO with more samples (tweaked by Asmodean)
# VSSAO and  HBAO types have a slightly different effect. and similar performance
# SCAO combines both, with a higher performance impact
# VSSAO2 is generally more accurate, but also requires more performance
ssaoType VSSAO2

############# Depth of field

# Depth of Field resolution override, possible values:
# 0 = no change from default (DoF pyramid starts at 512x360)
# 540 = DoF pyramid starts at 960x540
# 810 = DoF pyramid starts at 1440x810
# 1080 = DoF pyramid starts at 1920x1080
# 2160 = DoF pyramid starts at 3840x2160
# higher values will decrease performance
# do NOT set this to the same value as your vertical rendering resolution!
dofOverrideResolution 540

# Depth of Field scaling override (NOT RECOMMENDED)
# 0 = DoF scaling enabled (default, recommended)
# 1 = DoF scaling disabled (sharper, worse performance, not as originally intended)
disableDofScaling 0

# Depth of field additional blur
# allows you to use high DoF resolutions and still get the originally intended effect
# suggested values:
# o (off) at default DoF resolution
# 0 or 1 at 540 DoF resolution
# 1 or 2 above that
# 3 or 4 at 2160 DoF resolution (if you're running a 680+)
dofBlurAmount 1

############# Framerate

# Enable variable framerate (up to 60)
# NOTE:
# - this requires in-memory modification of game code, and may get you banned from GFWL
# - there may be unintended side-effects in terms of gameplay
# - you need a very powerful system (especially CPU) in order to maintain 60 FPS
# - in some  instances, collision detection may fail. Avoid sliding down ladders
# Use this at your own risk!
# 0 = no changes to game code
# 1 = unlock the frame rate
unlockFPS 1

# FPS limit, only used with unlocked framerate
# do not set this much higher than 60, this will lead to various issues with the engine
FPSlimit 60

# FPS threshold
# DSfix will dynamically disable AA if your framerate drops below this value 
#  and re-enable it once it has normalized (with a bit of hysteresis thresholding)
FPSthreshold 15

############# Filtering

# texture filtering override
# 0 = no change 
# 1 = enable some bilinear filtering (use only if you need it!)
# 2 = full AF override (may degrade performance)
# if in doubt, leave this at 0
filteringOverride 2

###############################################################################
# HUD options
###############################################################################

# Enable HUD modifications
# 0 = off (default) - none of the options below will do anything!
# 1 = on
enableHudMod 0

# Remove the weapon icons from the HUD 
# (you can see which weapons you have equipped from your character model)
enableMinimalHud 1

# Scale down HuD, examples:
# 1.0 = original scale
# 0.75 = 75% of the original size
hudScaleFactor 0.75

# Set opacity for different elements of the HUD
# 1.0 = fully opaque
# 0.0 = fully transparent
# Top left: health bars, stamina bar, humanity counter, status indicators
hudTopLeftOpacity 0.8f
# Bottom left: item indicators & counts
hudBottomLeftOpacity 0.75f
# Bottom right: soul count 
hudBottomRightOpacity 0.5f

###############################################################################
# Window & Mouse Cursor Options
###############################################################################

# borderless fullscreen mode 
# make sure to select windowed mode in the game settings for this to work!
# 0 = disable
# 1 = enable
borderlessFullscreen 0

# disable cursor at startup
# 0 = no change
# 1 = off at start
disableCursor 1

# capture cursor (do not allow it to leave the window)
# 0 = don't capture
# 1 = capture
# (this also works if the cursor is not visible)
captureCursor 1

###############################################################################
# Save Game Backup Options
###############################################################################

# enables save game backups
# 0 = no backups
# 1 = backups enabled
# backups are stored in the save folder, as "[timestamp]_[original name].bak"
enableBackups 1

# backup interval in seconds (1500 = 25 minutes)
# (minimum setting 600)
backupInterval 1500

# maximum amount of backups, older ones will be deleted
maxBackups 5

###############################################################################
# Texture Override Options
###############################################################################

# enables texture dumping
# you *only* need this if you want to create your own override textures
# textures will be dumped to "dsfix\tex_override\[hash].tga"
enableTextureDumping 0

# enables texture override
# textures in "dsfix\tex_override\[hash].png" will replace the corresponding originals
# will cause a small slowdown during texture loading!
enableTextureOverride 1

###############################################################################
# Other Options
###############################################################################

# skip the intro logos
# this should now be slightly more stable, but should still be
# the first thing to disable in case you experience any problems
skipIntro 1

# change the screenshot directory
# default: . (current directory)
# example: C:\Users\Peter\Pictures
# directory must exist!
screenshotDir .

# override the in-game language
# none = no override
# en-GB = English, fr = French, it = Italian, de = German, es = Spanish
# ko = Korean, zh-tw = Chinese, pl = Polish, ru = Russian
# this does not work in Windows XP!
overrideLanguage none

# Dinput dll chaining
# if you want to use another dinput8.dll wrapper together
# with DSfix, rename it (e.g. "dinputwrapper.dll") and put the new name here
dinput8dllWrapper dsmfix.dll

# D3D adapter override
# -1 = no override
# N = use adapter N
# this setting is for multiple (non-SLI/crossfire) GPUs
# everyone else should leave it at -1
d3dAdapterOverride -1

# Log level - 0 to 11, higher numbers mean more logging
# only enable for debugging
logLevel 0

###############################################################################
# The settings below are not yet ready to use!!               
###############################################################################

# You can only set either forceFullscreen or forceWindowed (or neither)
# 0 = off, 1 = on
forceWindowed 0
forceFullscreen 0

# turn on/off Vsync
enableVsync 0
# adjust display refresh rate in fullscreen mode - this is NOT linked to FPS!
fullscreenHz 60

[zero]

http://www.nexusmods.com/darksouls/mods/446/?
http://www.nexusmods.com/darksouls/mods/132/?
http://www.nexusmods.com/darksouls/mods/289/?
those are the 3 high rated ones i see, take a look at each.
disableCursor 0
enableTextureOverride 0
skipIntro 0
set all those to 1 is my suggestion, the first one hides the mouse on screen when playing
the second one allows the Hd texture packs
the 3rd one removed all the logos upon startup, saves time.

[Griever]

Those look good, plus what zero put. Keep in mind, that first texture pack will cause some stuttering unless you're running from a ssd; even though your other specs are really good.

[Bob!]

Thankyou!

Can I install all 3 of those texture packs at the same time?

[zero]

i dont see why not, unless 2 of them clash trying to overwrite the same files but i thought i avoided that

[Griever]

I use all three together and it works. Again, I get a little stuttering due to not having a solid state.

[Bob!]

Aye I'm hoping to upgrade to a SSD once they become big enough. Running 2x 1TB drives at the moment.

Thanks for the help guys. Just wanted to make sure I'd not turned anything on that was an absolute no-no on any setup.

Presuming VSSAO2 is the best one there? Seems to say it's the most reliable in the description. And shall I leave the DoF stuff as default or does that need tweaking too

[zero]

that should be fine, you aren't downscaling afterall, so just ignore it.

[Griever]

I use the regular VSSAO because I have an older cpu. VSSAO2 and (I think) SCAO are supposed to be better. Maybe you can try out which ever one you prefer.

[Bob!]

Cheers, I'll get those texture packs installed then, and job done.

Thanks for the help. It will be useful to others too. :)