how can I make this game look super good.

[flom]

using mods obviously, also without need to downgrade my game version

[Patriot03]

Recently all my files up and disappeared from my PC so I can't give you an exact list, but on version 1.22 I found that I had as good a looking KSP as any I've seen.

I did it with a combination of several mods, some that would conflict without tweaks IIRC.

I used parts but not all the features of Scatter, a Terrain texture, and a different texture pack specifically for clouds since none of the other cloud solutions looked right imo.

However I'll tell you right off the bat that most of those mods won't be updated for the latest version yet. Usually you need to be on a chosen version that you've found to be compatible with all the mods you want otherwise you'll constantly have to wait a long time after each game update that comes out.


Choose a specific version (perhaps 1.10, but you'll have to wait for mods to update) and I found for the best results you have to splice mods together).

[flom]

Originally posted by Patriot03:

Recently all my files up and disappeared from my PC so I can't give you an exact list, but on version 1.22 I found that I had as good a looking KSP as any I've seen.

I did it with a combination of several mods, some that would conflict without tweaks IIRC.

I used parts but not all the features of Scatter, a Terrain texture, and a different texture pack specifically for clouds since none of the other cloud solutions looked right imo.

However I'll tell you right off the bat that most of those mods won't be updated for the latest version yet. Usually you need to be on a chosen version that you've found to be compatible with all the mods you want otherwise you'll constantly have to wait a long time after each game update that comes out.


Choose a specific version (perhaps 1.10, but you'll have to wait for mods to update) and I found for the best results you have to splice mods together).

could you please share what mods did you use?

[SkiRich]

If you are looking for good looks and play 1.9.1 or 1.8 then use the following for amazing stock solar system effects...

Scatterer
EVE - Environmental Visual Effects, no config
SVE - Stock Visual Effects (The config for EVE is included)
SVE - Medium or higher textures.

My Kerbin looks like it was filmed from the Space Shuttle during orbit. Stunning.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2170910125

[Patriot03]

I recently just downloaded some mods as follow.

EVE for the clouds + stock config (I deleted the city lights folder and that removed em, I didn't like how they looked)

Scatter for the Atmosphere

and Planet Shine is a nice one on top. EDIT: Planet shine works but seems glitched since it adds a pink square to craft, so skip that one for now.

Seems to work on the latest version too.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2177254762

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2177255248


PS: I really wish I had my old files though, I remember not using scatterer but my game sill looked great because there was a mod I can't find now that simply added some sort of blue texture around the planet that from a distance looked identical to scatterer but without any of the performance drawbacks and in flight it still looked good with the clouds mod.

If I find that I'll let you know what it's called.

[Manwith Noname]

Originally posted by Patriot03:

PS: I really wish I had my old files though, I remember not using scatterer but my game sill looked great because there was a mod I can't find now that simply added some sort of blue texture around the planet that from a distance looked identical to scatterer but without any of the performance drawbacks and in flight it still looked good with the clouds mod.

If I find that I'll let you know what it's called.

So, this was a common trick used before scatterer came around. KSPRC was something I used in the past which had this implementation but you can't simply throw it in to the game today. Reasonably sure Astronomers pack used this method too.

Today, I think Spectra will do this if it doesn't detect scatterer.

[Patriot03]

^ Thank you for the tip, I just uninstalled scatterer and reserved myself to stock graphics because the performance impact kinda ruined my flight experience even on an i7 4790k and 2080 ti.

The aforementioned trick was a nice touch back in the day and it wen't well with eve's clouds and everything ran rather well.

[SkiRich]

Originally posted by Patriot03:

^ Thank you for the tip, I just uninstalled scatterer and reserved myself to stock graphics because the performance impact kinda ruined my flight experience even on an i7 4790k and 2080 ti.

The aforementioned trick was a nice touch back in the day and it wen't well with eve's clouds and everything ran rather well.

you have a 2080 ti and scatterer caused performance lag? Your settings are wrong.

[Patriot03]

Originally posted by SkiRich:

you have a 2080 ti and scatterer caused performance lag? Your settings are wrong.

I didn't adjust them at all, just the default set. It runs, but I have a high refreshrate monitor and when you get to sub 60 FPS with a moderate aircraft + scatterer I get less interested, especially when I can find the aforementioned alternative which gives me what I want (Kerbin with an atmosphere and clouds) without the demanding full on atmospheric simulation.


I'll grant you that scatterer looks the best, but I just want the planet to look blue from the outside and have clouds. That'll do it for me at over 100 FPS.

All of this at 2560x1440 8x MSAA mind you.

PS Some screenshots of Spectra after installing, thank you so much @Manwith Noname!!! I looked everywhere to find this, you saved me a ton of time!

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2177554723

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2177554538

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2177554089

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2177553896

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2177553528


^ No Scatterer, but I get basically the same FPS as stock! Spectra Ladies and Gents.

[SkiRich]

Sunset at the KSC. Cylone for a water tower.
Scatterer
SVE
EVE
120 FPS
No lag, MSI Laptop with Nvidia 1070 and tweaked custom parameters via Nvidia Profiler.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2178015306

[Patriot03]

^ What resolution, are you using 8x MSAA, and what do you mean by "custom parameters via Nvidia Profiler"?

Do you mean something in the Nvidia Control panel or do you use some sort of driver edit in Nvidia Profile inspector like you have to do to get SSAA to work in minecraft? In any event that wouldn't cause a drastic(positive) change in performance.

I suspect that you're simply not using 8x MSAA at 2560x1440p.

Rest assured my PC works fine, my settings are just more demanding. MSAA isn't a joke, the scene is also heavily dependent on where you pan the camera, I take all FPS counts at less than ideal angles because that's what you're going to experience often enough flying an aircraft in the atmosphere.

My rocket flights are generally less intensive since I just stare at the nav ball with the Camera just blanking off to the north.

PS: Your screenshot doesn't have a framerate counter, also due to the nature of Scatterer the time of day likely makes a significant difference to how demanding the scene is. Enable an FPS counter, get in a small aircraft, and fly toward the west during mid day. I assume you're at 1080p which is not insignificantly easier to run but I would still doubt 120 FPS if you meet those conditions especially with 8x MSAA on a 1070.

PPS: Pretty sure physics for vessels are disabled as long as you're still in launch clamps too, in general your FPS will be lower in flight for a couple of reasons not least of which 20-30% of your screen space won't be literally taken up but just the simple launch pad mesh and then whatever percentage is the inactive vessel in launch clamps or close terrain taking up as much as 50% or more.

[SkiRich]

Originally posted by Patriot03:

^ What resolution, are you using 8x MSAA, and what do you mean by "custom parameters via Nvidia Profiler"?

Do you mean something in the Nvidia Control panel or do you use some sort of driver edit in Nvidia Profile inspector like you have to do to get SSAA to work in minecraft? In any event that wouldn't cause a drastic(positive) change in performance.

I suspect that you're simply not using 8x MSAA at 2560x1440p.

Rest assured my PC works fine, my settings are just more demanding. MSAA isn't a joke, the scene is also heavily dependent on where you pan the camera, I take all FPS counts at less than ideal angles because that's what you're going to experience often enough flying an aircraft in the atmosphere.

My rocket flights are generally less intensive since I just stare at the nav ball with the Camera just blanking off to the north.

PS: Your screenshot doesn't have a framerate counter, also due to the nature of Scatterer the time of day likely makes a significant difference to how demanding the scene is. Enable an FPS counter, get in a small aircraft, and fly toward the west during mid day. I assume you're at 1080p which is not insignificantly easier to run but I would still doubt 120 FPS if you meet those conditions especially with 8x MSAA on a 1070.

PPS: Pretty sure physics for vessels are disabled as long as you're still in launch clamps too, in general your FPS will be lower in flight for a couple of reasons not least of which 20-30% of your screen space won't be literally taken up but just the simple launch pad mesh and then whatever percentage is the inactive vessel in launch clamps or close terrain taking up as much as 50% or more.

NVidia Profile Inspector is here ...
https://www.nvidiainspector.com/nvidia-profile-inspector-download/#:~:text=Nvidia%20profile%20inspector%20is%20the%20best%20tool%20for,GPU%20by%20boosting%20FPS%2C%20both%20tools%20are%20required.

I spent a few hours tweaking the settings to get them just right for KSP for my card.
The Profiler exposes all the hidden settings you normally cant touch with plain jane Nvidia control panel.

If you are interesting in my profile file let me know I'll upload somewhere for you to peak at.

My Maxwell Interleaf is indeed 8x Super Sample but I also turned on 8x CSAA for anit aliasing.
Which works with textures and colors. Again a hidden feature. All in I tweaked about a dozen things in the profiler for KSP.

My resolution is 1920x1080. Its a 19 Inch laptop from MSI that can do 300 FPS if I let it.
You being at 2560x1440p should make no difference since you have the 2080 which is significantly more powerful than what I have.

Granted it is a stable ground scene, so not much other than the flag and clouds are moving.
My screen shot at the top of the thread for Space Station Alpha is a 500 part space station with a rotating ring and two docked ships to it.
18 Kerbals inside and some functions going on from MKS.
I have 160 mods running.
Scatterer, EVE and SVE are in full motion as well.
The test I use is .. can I EVA on that space station and not get lag. No problems.
I am using the medium textures for SVE though, so 2K not 4k textures. No need to get that high on a 19 inch screen.

[Manwith Noname]

Something to consider is framerate issues are not 100% down to the GPU. I've not tested it for a while but some years ago I spent a fair amount of time analysing Scatterer and E.V.E. I found either mod on it's own to not really cause much of an issue but together all hell broke loose. Alright, that's a bit of an exaggeration but when both were installed CPU usage became highly erratic due to interactions between the two mods which introduced stutters. This was with default configs and textures.

[Patriot03]

Originally posted by SkiRich:

My resolution is 1920x1080. Its a 19 Inch laptop from MSI that can do 300 FPS if I let it.

Cool story, but I want to see that 120 FPS in flight over Kerbin, not in space or just sitting on the ground.

Also enabling certain tweaks in Nvidia profile inspector which may or may not actually take affect (Nvidia has loads of settings that simply don't function) certainly hasn't granted you a performance benefit. At best you have better AA, but that's also one of those things that are extremely temperamental on Nvidia and often doesn't actually enable.

Not really relevant though, the fact of the matter is that scatterer tends to be a tank, it was on Vega and it is on the 2080 ti. You saying you get 120 is one thing but showing it in flight is another, with certain workloads resolution makes a significant difference to performance but that still doesn't account for the difference we see. Or the difference for what's been claimed anyway.

[SkiRich]

Originally posted by Patriot03:

Originally posted by SkiRich:

My resolution is 1920x1080. Its a 19 Inch laptop from MSI that can do 300 FPS if I let it.

Cool story, but I want to see that 120 FPS in flight over Kerbin, not in space or just sitting on the ground.

Also enabling certain tweaks in Nvidia profile inspector which may or may not actually take affect (Nvidia has loads of settings that simply don't function) certainly hasn't granted you a performance benefit. At best you have better AA, but that's also one of those things that are extremely temperamental on Nvidia and often doesn't actually enable.

Not really relevant though, the fact of the matter is that scatterer tends to be a tank, it was on Vega and it is on the 2080 ti. You saying you get 120 is one thing but showing it in flight is another, with certain workloads resolution makes a significant difference to performance but that still doesn't account for the difference we see. Or the difference for what's been claimed anyway.

So your saying you dont know how to optimize your gaming rig? Theres lots of tutorials out there, including one for KSP with an Nvidia card right in the guides section here. I suggest you find that and give it a try. It really isnt rocket science.
Take my advice or dont, it doesnt matter to me. My suggestions were for the OP anyway. YMMV.

[Patriot03]

Originally posted by SkiRich:

So your saying you dont know how to optimize your gaming rig? Theres lots of tutorials out there, including one for KSP with an Nvidia card right in the guides section here. I suggest you find that and give it a try. It really isnt rocket science.
Take my advice or dont, it doesnt matter to me. My suggestions were for the OP anyway. YMMV.

You greatly exaggerated the performance you get in KSP, you lied, and tweaking settings in the Nvidia profile Inspector is clearly giving you a placebo effect since you didn't make anything run faster besides you fooling yourself into thinking that 8x CSAA was the same as 8xMSAA when it isn't. It's equal to you running at 4x MSAA with very very little improvement over regular 4x MSAA and not comparable to 8x MSAA quality.


"So your saying you dont know how to optimize your gaming rig? " - This is meme worthy. If you're going to pretend like you know tech then can you at least spell properly when you try it? Also WTF is an "interleaf" and why is it a maxwell interleaf as opposed to a pascal interleaf? lol, you're making things up.


You said you're running 8x SSAA + 8xCSAA....

8xCSAA = 4xMSAA on Nvidia which means your visuals are inferior but obviously runs better since it takes a lot less work to compute. Except for the SSAA bit, I just assume you're not actually using any SSAA at all and don't really know what you're talking about there.

More MSAA samples (up to a point of diminishing returns obviously) equals better visuals but the extra coverage samples that Nvidia sells as full on samples don't, often these extra coverage samples contribute virtually nothing to the scene and so it's unfair to count them equally with full on MSAA samples but that doesn't stop Nvidia...

TL;DR: The tweaks you did made almost no difference and your FPS would be the same if you used 4x MSAA no tweaks rather than the "tweaks" you did to enable some extra coverage samples which aren't full MSAA samples.

I feel like you enabled 8xCSAA without realizing that Nvidia's naming scheme is dishonest so you compared your game's performance running at stock 8xMSAA vs the new 8xCSAA you tried and found that 8xCSAA was this amazing performance savings that you found because you're a special computer genius.

Meanwhile it runs "better" because you're just rendering 4x MSAA samples again, not 8, with additional coverage samples that contribute very little to the scene at a marginal performance impact in their own right.

So your amazing performance "optimizing your gaming rig" was you simply setting your game to render half the amount of MSAA samples.... No wonder it runs better...