Optimizing Graphics in Formula Truck

Guide on how to setup AA and to optimize your graphics in general in Formula Truck. Originally based on text written by Spinelli at RD.

Nvidia Setup

First with Nvidia you need to create a game specific profile for Formula Truck in the Nvidia Control Panel. Go to Manage 3D Settings, and then Program Settings. Click Add and find Formula Truck. If it doesn't appear in the list then browse to it manually. It will be in \SteamApps\common\Formula Truck 2013\

If you are running a laptop you want to force it to use your High Performance NVIDIA processor. So set it up to do that by selecting from the drop down. Press Apply and close the Nvidia Control Panel for now. We are going to setup the AA using Nvidia Inspector as explained below.



Set the in-game Anti Aliasing to none from GSC Config. If you are running graphics switching on your laptop and it shows Intel HD Graphics, then don't worry. We have over-ruled this in the control panel above. The video drop down will just chose which display it runs on if you have more than one available.

It is recommended you avoid running V-Sync unless you can keep over 60fps 100% of the time you race!



We want to have full control over the AA settings and to do this we use a third party app called Nvidia Inspector. Download that here[www.guru3d.com]

From the drop down arrow next to the house icon, select the Formula Truck profile which should be present. This section lists all the profiles you presently have setup in Nvidia Control Panel.

In NVidia Inspector use AA 4xS, 8xS, 12xS, 16xS, or 32xS. (32xS is probably too much, especially on triple screens, probably same with 16xS, but it doesn't hurt to try) The LOD bias clamp thing hasent worked for a couple years now as Nvidia has disabled it (unless, I think, you have a real old card like a GTX 280 and/or real old drivers) that's where these "xS" settings come into play as they have their own different LOD bias than other AA settings.You will get tons of jaggies and shimmering no matter what settings you use in rFactor 1 based sims (and pre-rF1, eg. GT Legends) unless you use the "xS" AA settings in Nvidia Inspector, or possibly the method below.

The combination of Multisampling AA + Sparse Grid Supersampling (make sure they are both set to identical amounts, eg. 2x MS + 2x SGSS, or 4x MS + 4x SGSS, or it won't work properly, they need to be the same amounts) is another option but it doesn't have the different LOD bias that the "xS" settings have, but you may still get good results, especially with 4x MS + 4X SGSS.

We recommend that you start with low settings with your AA setup and increase them as performance allows.



P.S. Make sure you have the AA in Nvidia Inspector set to Override application settings or none of these settings will be actually used and you'll be left with no AA (since the GSC config.exe should be set to no AA), and that you press APPLY before leaving Nvidia Inspector.

AMD Setup

Set the in-game AA, from GSC Config to off, you want to set it from your graphics card control panel.

It is recommended you avoid running V-Sync unless you can keep over 60fps 100% of the time you race!




For AMD you just use the standard "Supersampling" option in CCC (Catalyst Control Centre, your AMD graphics card control panel) and then go with either 2x or 4x. 2x will still have some jaggies but overall very good because AMDs supersampling will apply to the entire image, no "ifs", "ands", or "buts". 4x will look beautiful, you won't need anymore than 4x SS. 8X will look just a teeny, tiny bit better than 4x but it is much more demanding than 4x and not worth it; 4x is very close to the IQ of 8x. Just use standard 2x, 4x, or 8x, don't bother with the "EQ" settings (eg. 2xEQ) and don't bother with edge-detect for the "Filter" option.



P.S. Make sure you have the AA in AMD CCC set to Override application settings or none of these settings will be actually used and you'll be left with no AA (since the GSC config.exe should be set to no AA).

In-Game Display Settings

This section covers the in game settings and how they effect the game. Find the display settings by simply clicking on settings from the main menu and then display. Please note you can not change most of these settings when you are in the actual game driving.



Circuit Detail

This setting changes how many objects are visible on the circuit. Reducing this will take away some details to the lowest setting where the bare necessary objects are visible.

Player Detail

This controls the amount of detail on the player's car. It is recommended to have this setting higher or the same as your opponent detail.

Opponent Detail

This controls the detail of all of the opponent cars. If you are having FPS problems or your graphics card is running out of memory, try setting this a level lower than Player Detail.

Texture Detail

This controls the size of textures used on the track. If you find things look a little low resolution, try increasing this. Or if your graphics card does not have much memory you may have to reduce this.

Texture Filter

This controls the amount of Anisotropic filtering you use. X4 or X8 should produce nice results.

Special Effects

This effects how many dust effects etc there are, so if you find the dust kicked up by cars causing performance problems, tweak this setting.

Shadows

This setting changes how many shadows are cast. Too many shadows cast can cause fps problems, especially at dawn or dusk. The Max setting casts shadows onto cars where as High does not. So try reducing this if you are getting stuttering.

Shadow Blur

This blurs the edges of the shadows, but can also cause stuttering, so this is something else to be aware of.

Visible Vehicles

Whilst we can have races with many cars, they can also cause a very high stress on performance. If running at the back of a grid causes too steep a slow down, play with this setting.


These are the main settings to play with, the settings on the right hand column are more for your personal preference. If there is anything you would like clarifying though please leave a comment and I will update the guide.