UDK - Anti-Aliasing occuring no matter what settings I apply - G3A3 Rifle Cinematic
Hello everyone,
I'm having some pretty ugly aliasing happening on my textures, I don't believe it's really an issue with my hard edges as it happens to details that are only present in the textures(diff/spec/norm). I have spent the past week searching the forums and google for every possible bit information and trying every possible setting/solution that I have found regarding Anti-Aliasing and so far I have not been able to fix my issue. Alas, I am resorting to this post in the hopes that someone out there will be able to help me solve this! Any help is greatly appreciated!
My goal with this personal project was to create a highly detailed G3A3 Rifle model in 3ds max and create a nice film like cinematic sequence that shows off various lighting and film style post process effects.
First, here is a video that shows exactly what is occurring(switch to 720p so that it's not pixelated as much): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qyGEp_Y0ccs&feature=youtu.be
You can see that there are some pretty bad spots for aliasing on a lot of the rifle, and this happens whether I am in the editor or running the actual game in fullscreen at 1920x1080 resolution. In the 2nd shot the part that really bugs me is the ammo clip and the text above the ammo clip that is on the main body. The text is purely within the texture, so I am guessing there is some issue that I am having regarding anti-aliasing / filtering of textures, I don't really see too much bad aliasing with the geometry or hard edges when viewed from a distance(at least it's not really that jarring to me, it's the texture aliasing that flickers constantly that really bugs me). I am using the reference DOF setting within a post process volume, but the aliasing occurs whether or not the text is in focus. Once you get up close to the text, there's no issues. And I am noticing that the aliasing tends to be more prominent at more extreme viewing angles, and less prominent when viewing the text directly perpendicular to the face it is on.
Here is my shortcut settings that I am using to play and capture the video. I do not need this cinematic to play in real time, I just want to max the quality for it so I can later edit the video together in another program, so frame rate is not an issue for me, quality however is!
C:\UDK\UDK-2013-02\Binaries\Win64\UDK.exe g3_cutscene_working -DX11 -BENCHMARK -MAXQUALITYMODE -NOTEXTURESTREAMING -DUMPMOVIE -FPS=30 -ResX=1920 -ResY=1080
Here are the things that I have tried so far:
-Adjusting all settings regarding Anti-aliasing and texture filtering in the UDKSystemSettings.ini
-Forcing the Anti-Aliasing settings within the Nvidia Control Panel (tried every possible AA setting, even the 16x, 32x and 64x CSAA options)
-Setting up the post process settings to enable FXAA and MLAA (FXAA5 does reduce the antialiasing a little bit, MLAA doesn't really help, which makes sense since I'm on an Nvidia card)
-Placed the rifle within all of the demo maps provided with UDK and still get the same results
-Tried every possible setting within the individual texture options (LOD Group set to UI or Cinematic, Cinematic gets best results so far)
-Originally I was using DX9, but I have now switched to DX11
**So far I can confirm that it is most likely not an issue with UV padding on my textures. I am using 4096x4096 textures, I have tried turning on the Precision UV setting, and I have tried messing with some of the MIP map settings. This still occurs even when I turn MIP maps off. My textures are also setup to properly utilize MIP's, so that when they down res the pixels within the texture padding should represent the proper colors etc. So I highly doubt it is resulting from pixel bleeding.**
However, could this be an issue with my normal map? I am currently importing the normal map directly from the PSD file, however I have tested using TGA 32bit files and the results are the same. I have tested the different compression settings for normal maps, and so far I get the best results with the "TC_NormalmapBC5" setting. I have also gone and removed the blue channel and replaced it manually within the material editor.
Here is the material setup: http://trystan.us/material_setup.jpg
**Note: I am using detail maps and reflection stuff in here, but this issue occurs even when I just use a simple diff/spec/norm setup without the extra nodes that I have in the material**
Here is the texture window settings: http://trystan.us/texture_setup.jpg
**Note: The settings for the diffuse and specular are the same except for the compression settings, which are set to default for the diffuse and specular maps**
I have read that MSAA only functions when set to 4x, however I still get aliasing(and I get some pretty ugly render issues regarding LUT color grading and tonemapper when I am using the 4x setting.)
Here are the settings I have applied within the UDKSystemSettings.ini:
**Note: I have turned off Bloom and I am not using tonemapper, and motion blur is set to be very low as I do not desire much motion blur**
Here is the settings I currently have applied within the Nvidia Control Panel: http://trystan.us/nvidia_control_panel_settings.jpg
I have a strange feeling that my Nvidia Control Panel settings might not be applying them to the game, but I have noticed that some changes within there are noticeable so I believe it is properly forcing the settings on the game but I may be wrong.
So here are a few things that I believe might be contributing to the issue, but I really have a strong feeling that I just missed some random setting or feature that might solve this:
-Any thoughts on adjusting settings within the Nvidia Control Panel to get the best results? Do the higher CSAA settings for antialiasing have any benefits?
-Is it possible that it might be an issue with my normal map? I have read that UDK now supports meshes that utilize a single Smoothing Group with the high poly normal maps baked using XNorm, which apparently gets better results. I have never had issues with normal maps in any of the games I have worked on in the past, I used the standard method for baking from max with smoothing groups applied to any faces that have extreme angles to avoid lighting issues.
-Have I missed any settings or options that might be required to enable AA properly? I believe I can tell there is some form of Anti-Aliasing working, and the Post Process Anti-Aliasing is definitely functioning (though it is a subtle improvement).
I really appreciate the time/effort anyone can put in to help me solve this issue! I will continue to research further, but right now my mind is completely stumped... Thanks everyone!
System Specs:
Intel Core i7 CPU 920 @2.67ghx 2.66ghz
EVGA x58 SLI motherboard with 16.0GB ram
2x EVGA Geforce 560 ti - SLI
Windows 7 Home Premium
I'm having some pretty ugly aliasing happening on my textures, I don't believe it's really an issue with my hard edges as it happens to details that are only present in the textures(diff/spec/norm). I have spent the past week searching the forums and google for every possible bit information and trying every possible setting/solution that I have found regarding Anti-Aliasing and so far I have not been able to fix my issue. Alas, I am resorting to this post in the hopes that someone out there will be able to help me solve this! Any help is greatly appreciated!
My goal with this personal project was to create a highly detailed G3A3 Rifle model in 3ds max and create a nice film like cinematic sequence that shows off various lighting and film style post process effects.
First, here is a video that shows exactly what is occurring(switch to 720p so that it's not pixelated as much): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qyGEp_Y0ccs&feature=youtu.be
You can see that there are some pretty bad spots for aliasing on a lot of the rifle, and this happens whether I am in the editor or running the actual game in fullscreen at 1920x1080 resolution. In the 2nd shot the part that really bugs me is the ammo clip and the text above the ammo clip that is on the main body. The text is purely within the texture, so I am guessing there is some issue that I am having regarding anti-aliasing / filtering of textures, I don't really see too much bad aliasing with the geometry or hard edges when viewed from a distance(at least it's not really that jarring to me, it's the texture aliasing that flickers constantly that really bugs me). I am using the reference DOF setting within a post process volume, but the aliasing occurs whether or not the text is in focus. Once you get up close to the text, there's no issues. And I am noticing that the aliasing tends to be more prominent at more extreme viewing angles, and less prominent when viewing the text directly perpendicular to the face it is on.
Here is my shortcut settings that I am using to play and capture the video. I do not need this cinematic to play in real time, I just want to max the quality for it so I can later edit the video together in another program, so frame rate is not an issue for me, quality however is!
C:\UDK\UDK-2013-02\Binaries\Win64\UDK.exe g3_cutscene_working -DX11 -BENCHMARK -MAXQUALITYMODE -NOTEXTURESTREAMING -DUMPMOVIE -FPS=30 -ResX=1920 -ResY=1080
Here are the things that I have tried so far:
-Adjusting all settings regarding Anti-aliasing and texture filtering in the UDKSystemSettings.ini
-Forcing the Anti-Aliasing settings within the Nvidia Control Panel (tried every possible AA setting, even the 16x, 32x and 64x CSAA options)
-Setting up the post process settings to enable FXAA and MLAA (FXAA5 does reduce the antialiasing a little bit, MLAA doesn't really help, which makes sense since I'm on an Nvidia card)
-Placed the rifle within all of the demo maps provided with UDK and still get the same results
-Tried every possible setting within the individual texture options (LOD Group set to UI or Cinematic, Cinematic gets best results so far)
-Originally I was using DX9, but I have now switched to DX11
**So far I can confirm that it is most likely not an issue with UV padding on my textures. I am using 4096x4096 textures, I have tried turning on the Precision UV setting, and I have tried messing with some of the MIP map settings. This still occurs even when I turn MIP maps off. My textures are also setup to properly utilize MIP's, so that when they down res the pixels within the texture padding should represent the proper colors etc. So I highly doubt it is resulting from pixel bleeding.**
However, could this be an issue with my normal map? I am currently importing the normal map directly from the PSD file, however I have tested using TGA 32bit files and the results are the same. I have tested the different compression settings for normal maps, and so far I get the best results with the "TC_NormalmapBC5" setting. I have also gone and removed the blue channel and replaced it manually within the material editor.
Here is the material setup: http://trystan.us/material_setup.jpg
**Note: I am using detail maps and reflection stuff in here, but this issue occurs even when I just use a simple diff/spec/norm setup without the extra nodes that I have in the material**
Here is the texture window settings: http://trystan.us/texture_setup.jpg
**Note: The settings for the diffuse and specular are the same except for the compression settings, which are set to default for the diffuse and specular maps**
I have read that MSAA only functions when set to 4x, however I still get aliasing(and I get some pretty ugly render issues regarding LUT color grading and tonemapper when I am using the 4x setting.)
Here are the settings I have applied within the UDKSystemSettings.ini:
[SystemSettings] StaticDecals=True DynamicDecals=True UnbatchedDecals=True DecalCullDistanceScale=1.0 DynamicLights=True DynamicShadows=True LightEnvironmentShadows=True CompositeDynamicLights=True SHSecondaryLighting=True DirectionalLightmaps=True MotionBlur=True MotionBlurPause=True MotionBlurSkinning=1 DepthOfField=True AmbientOcclusion=True Bloom=False bAllowLightShafts=True Distortion=True FilteredDistortion=True DropParticleDistortion=False bAllowDownsampledTranslucency=False SpeedTreeLeaves=True SpeedTreeFronds=True OnlyStreamInTextures=False LensFlares=True FogVolumes=True FloatingPointRenderTargets=True OneFrameThreadLag=True UseVsync=True UpscaleScreenPercentage=True Fullscreen=True AllowOpenGL=False AllowRadialBlur=True AllowSubsurfaceScattering=True AllowImageReflections=True AllowImageReflectionShadowing=True bAllowSeparateTranslucency=True bAllowPostprocessMLAA=True bAllowHighQualityMaterials=True MaxFilterBlurSampleCount=16 SkeletalMeshLODBias=0 ParticleLODBias=0 DetailMode=3 MaxDrawDistanceScale=1 ShadowFilterQualityBias=0 MaxAnisotropy=16 MaxMultiSamples=8 bAllowD3D9MSAA=False bAllowTemporalAA=True TemporalAA_MinDepth=500 TemporalAA_StartDepthVelocityScale=100 MinShadowResolution=64 MinPreShadowResolution=8 MaxShadowResolution=1024 MobileShadowTextureResolution=1120 MaxWholeSceneDominantShadowResolution=1280 ShadowFadeResolution=128 PreShadowFadeResolution=16 ShadowFadeExponent=.25 ResX=1920 ResY=1080 ScreenPercentage=100.000000 SceneCaptureStreamingMultiplier=1.000000 ShadowTexelsPerPixel=1.3 PreShadowResolutionFactor=.5 bEnableBranchingPCFShadows=False bAllowHardwareShadowFiltering=False TessellationAdaptivePixelsPerTriangle=48.0 bEnableForegroundShadowsOnWorld=False bEnableForegroundSelfShadowing=False bAllowWholeSceneDominantShadows=False bUseConservativeShadowBounds=False ShadowFilterRadius=2 ShadowDepthBias=.012 PerObjectShadowTransition=60 PerSceneShadowTransition=600 CSMSplitPenumbraScale=.5 CSMSplitSoftTransitionDistanceScale=4 CSMSplitDepthBiasScale=.5 CSMMinimumFOV=40 CSMFOVRoundFactor=4 UnbuiltWholeSceneDynamicShadowRadius=20000 UnbuiltNumWholeSceneDynamicShadowCascades=3 WholeSceneShadowUnbuiltInteractionThreshold=50 bAllowFracturedDamage=True NumFracturedPartsScale=1.0 FractureDirectSpawnChanceScale=1.0 FractureRadialSpawnChanceScale=1.0 FractureCullDistanceScale=1.0 bForceCPUAccessToGPUSkinVerts=false bDisableSkeletalInstanceWeights=false HighPrecisionGBuffers=False AllowSecondaryDisplays=False SecondaryDisplayMaximumWidth=1280.0 SecondaryDisplayMaximumHeight=720.0 AllowPerFrameSleep=True AllowPerFrameYield=TrueHere are the settings I am using in the post process chain: http://trystan.us/post_process_settings.jpg
**Note: I have turned off Bloom and I am not using tonemapper, and motion blur is set to be very low as I do not desire much motion blur**
Here is the settings I currently have applied within the Nvidia Control Panel: http://trystan.us/nvidia_control_panel_settings.jpg
I have a strange feeling that my Nvidia Control Panel settings might not be applying them to the game, but I have noticed that some changes within there are noticeable so I believe it is properly forcing the settings on the game but I may be wrong.
So here are a few things that I believe might be contributing to the issue, but I really have a strong feeling that I just missed some random setting or feature that might solve this:
-Any thoughts on adjusting settings within the Nvidia Control Panel to get the best results? Do the higher CSAA settings for antialiasing have any benefits?
-Is it possible that it might be an issue with my normal map? I have read that UDK now supports meshes that utilize a single Smoothing Group with the high poly normal maps baked using XNorm, which apparently gets better results. I have never had issues with normal maps in any of the games I have worked on in the past, I used the standard method for baking from max with smoothing groups applied to any faces that have extreme angles to avoid lighting issues.
-Have I missed any settings or options that might be required to enable AA properly? I believe I can tell there is some form of Anti-Aliasing working, and the Post Process Anti-Aliasing is definitely functioning (though it is a subtle improvement).
I really appreciate the time/effort anyone can put in to help me solve this issue! I will continue to research further, but right now my mind is completely stumped... Thanks everyone!
System Specs:
Intel Core i7 CPU 920 @2.67ghx 2.66ghz
EVGA x58 SLI motherboard with 16.0GB ram
2x EVGA Geforce 560 ti - SLI
Windows 7 Home Premium
Replies
I'll continue to try and tweak things but if anyone else has any suggestions or ideas please let me know! Thanks