view distance

[A.Filikov]

Today I tried to change the view distance on some of the PR maps. Just to see how it looks.
Suprisingly I did not notice any decrease on the performance. Even up to 4 km.

With this, I started to wonder why do we stick with 600-1000m view distance.

It seems that some of the PR maps are designed to be playable when there is a view distance like 700 m, but it really feels good not to see that fog when you look at the horizon. It gives you that feeling of freedom. Especially when flying.

I mean think about it; Seeing the docks clealy from the castle, even seeing the US carrier in Muttrah.

Unfortunately, while seeing up to 2 km makes it possible to collect far more information about the enemy just by looking(makes the recon squads more realistic), it makes it possible to make accurate AT shots to the carrier. The battlefield looks smaller in a way that may affect the gameplay negatively.

So what do you guys think about it. Have you ever tried to change the view distance on singleplayer? Did you have any performance issues? And what would it feel like on multiplayer?

[Agemman]

I suspect your performance would drop if people were fighting and that it is somewhat related to gameplay-mechanics.

[Snazz]

Desert Rats (modified Kashan with British, now a new Co-op map) is a good example of increased view-distance, it also has added statics.

IMO the 2-seater Tornado is great on the map and makes me wish we had the F-15E and SU-34 in PR.

[A.Filikov]

I checked out desert rats just now. I have to say that modification to kashan was truly impressive. It has 1,5 km view distance and the game feels somehow more complete. It seems that PR:BF2 has still more room to grow.

[Cossack]

Damn... The view distance 1,5 km = awesome. When somebody firing .50 cal than you can even try to dodge it And the game atmosphere changes a bit...

[AtlantisThief]

I would like to have more view distance. Sometimes it feels just too short. I don't want to see very far, just a little bit so you could for example fly in a Blackhawk and see that there is a lot of hot action going on and not just hear it. It would really enhance the feeling and the atmosphere in the game.


How do you change the view distance anyway? I could report some performance infos aswell on my computer.

[Rezza]

As for as i know changing view distance more than the original %100 was forbidden.

People used to get banned but it might be like that years ago.

[A.Filikov]

As for as i know changing view distance more than the original %100 was forbidden.

People used to get banned but it might be like that years ago.

Of course. Punkbuster will kick anyone who does that as far as i know.

Changing it to see the performance on singleplayer is completely safe though. Just don't forget to back up the files first.

[A.Filikov]

How do you change the view distance anyway? I could report some performance infos aswell on my computer.

You can check out Rhino's answers onthis thread

But don't forget to back up your files before you do anything.
And while you are at it, can you send me the bottom line of the "sky.con" file for Kashan desert. I forgot to back up that one and now i lost the original value.

[Rudd]

You won't get any performance issues in local generally, you're computer isn't constantly scanning with punkbuster, you aren't rendering 63+ other players.

there arent smoke grenades going off everywhere etc etc.

Kashan is probably the only map ingame that couldhave its VD increased without huge problems, however creating inconsistent gameplay isn't really a good idea imo.

On maps like Muttrah, Dragonfly, Iron Ridge etc you'll also be rendering alot of enterables/trees. This will destroy your FPS.

The only map ingame that has an unacceptable VD is Jabal, but its like that because we'd need to move the carrier further out to sea, and we don't have the original lightmap files. Wait on Jabal 4k.

[AtlantisThief]

I tested the view distance change for two maps: Ramiel and Muttrah City.
Computer Spec:
AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+
Ge-Force 9400GT
4GB DDR2
Win 7 64-bit
Ingame Settings:
1280*720@60Hz
Terrain: Low
Effects: High
Geometry: High
Texture: Mid
Lighting: Mid
Dynamic Shadow: Low
Dynamic Lighting: Off
Anti-Aliasing: 2x
Texturefilter Mid
View Distance: 100%

Here is the comparison result:
Ramiel Default:

Settings in Default: View Distance = 500, Fog settings = 400.00/450.00/2.00/0.60
FPS Result = 51 / 22

Ramiel Changed:

Settings in Changed: View Distance = 1000, Fog settings = 800.00/900.00/2.00/0.60
FPS Result = 22 / 13

Muttrah City Default:

Settings in Default: View Distance = 700, Fog settings = 0.00/700.00/0.25/0.50
FPS Result = 34

Muttrah City Changed:

Settings in Changed: View Distance = 1400, Fog settings = 0.00/1400.00/0.25/0.50
FPS Result = 23

Code: Select all

Kashan Desert Default Fog Renderer.fogStartEndAndBase 700.00/980.00/1.00/0.50

[killonsight95]

but still that's only single player? imagine it full of 63 and up players? as well as other moving vehicals and plus some people computers can barely run the game as it is.

[bubbalittle]

This would be amazing

[Rudd]

It isn't gonna happen atlantis, there are already too many reports of performance issues. We dial back the VD as far as required for each map.

and if 128 players or whatever is gonna happen then it'll have to stay the same as now, thats alot of models to show.

And you are getting those performance levels even on medium low settings....

[AtlantisThief]

In my post i just showed how it looks like on my computer with different view distances. I don't really want to play that chopper on ramiel with 13 fps

[A.Filikov]

Thanks for the values.

I haven't tried it with AI before so i have tried muttrah city again with some AI.
Managing with AI kills my fps for some reason. (Used to mess with the original AI file. lol )

With AI i get a 35-20 FPS in default
Set the distance to 2200 and i get an average of 30-17
The difference is not noticable by me but this may turn into a serious issue on a multiplayer server as Rudd said i guess.
Your FPS results seem noticable.

http://screenshot.xfire.com/s/113332098-4.jpg
http://screenshot.xfire.com/s/113332128-4.jpg
http://screenshot.xfire.com/s/113332155-4.jpg
http://screenshot.xfire.com/s/113332187-4.jpg

Computer Spec:
Intel Core2Duo P8600 2.40GHz
GeForce 9600M GT
4GB DDR2
Vista 64-bit
Ingame Settings:
1920*1080@60Hz
Everything on High
Anti-Aliasing: 4x

Edited for huuge pics
- KP

[A.Filikov]

It isn't gonna happen

Yeah, but we can still dream right

[Tim270]

Muttrah for example would suck with a huge VD as you can just tow/see anything coming into docks so easily in the pics you posted. So not only performance, you have a lot of gameplay issues to consider.

Bigger is not always better.

[A.Filikov]

Bigger is not always better.

Definitely. You can shoot the freakin carrier with an AT weapon with those settings. Not to mention the fps loss. Many of the maps are not designed for this.

[motherdear]

remember that although you are rendering the ai there, you still do not have all the networkables and whatnot working at the same time. there are a lot of factors here.