Shadows

[iceing Braveheart]

Any chance at fixing shadows? shadows can make the scene look nicer but in second life shadows feel broken in the engine

with ultra preset under 10 fps turn shadows off over 40 fps

computer

https://valid.x86.fr/9v0vjw

[Chic Aeon]

If you are using a non-EEP viewer (like the current Firestorm) the shadows haven't change and work well as they always have.  Shadows have ALWAYS been intensive and your computer needs to be hefty enough to use them. Turning down some settings could certainly help (I use high-ultra as my default).

Your frames per second will not ONLY be dependent on your computer, it will also be dependent on the settings you choose (lots under Phototools in Firestorm that can really make things slower depending on what you have set).  It will CERTAINLY depend on the region you are in and the models that are there along with the textures used. The less "game asset" models you have --- the more lag you will experience.

 

So the bottom line is that YOU need to make some changes. Granted EEP is apparently a nightmare and so if you are using the EEP viewer, all my comments may be moot.  Try a different non-EEP viewer in that case. 

Just a screenshot I took the other day to show the scale of the interiors on the new Linden Home trailers, but shadow are definitely there with no FPS issues. My machine is three years old now so not state of the art by any means. 

 

 

 

[Fritigern Gothly]

Would you mind sharing your custom shadow settings? Because those shadows are definitely not using the default settings.

[Nalates Urriah]

There are loads of ideas about shadow settings. Which is best for you depends on what you want and what your machine is capable of handling.

This video shows what some people are doing to get gorgeous images. 

 

 

Shadows and performance is a bit more rare. Some of the best tutorials were just taken down, I have no idea why. What is left is in the search.

I suggest you press Ctrl-Shift-1 to open viewer stats and then start changing your graphics settings to see which setting have the most effect on your computer. It is highly dependent on you machine and its graphics card.

NVIDIA recommends these settings for SL: NVIDIA Settings 2016 | Nalates' Things & StuffNalates’ Things & Stuff

To know what all the settings do see: Graphics Tweaking for Second Life

You may very well find that it is the combination of settings that cause Shadows to make such a big dent in your FPS. My i5-6600 and GTX 1060 runs at High-Ultra with a bunch of tweaks I made. Shadows with Sun-Moon-Projectors always on I get from 10 to 150 FPS with my average in places like Blurberry's store 20 to 50 FPS.

Each computer is unique. You'll have to experiment to find your best settings.

[Chic Aeon]

18 hours ago, Fritigern Gothly said:

Would you mind sharing your custom shadow settings? Because those shadows are definitely not using the default settings.

They come and they go so I don't have that particular setting any longer.

All the settings called "Places" in the 3rd party viewers are mine from long ago -- mostly named after places that sadly are no more. I have a couple of "custom" ones that I added to my Windlight page I think (see link below).  

Yep, links to the files at the bottom of the Windlight page.  And, no I don't really share my personal favorites. Partly because it took me many years to actually GET Windlight and partly because I want folks to learn how to make their own :D.  Once you understand what the sliders do, you can take one of the default settings and tweak it to get what you want. Videos are old but still have some useful info in there. I am smarter now but no longer making videos.

 

This is all assuming that you are using Firestorm (or maybe Black Dragon which I think has even more options). Photographers on the whole stay VERY FAR AWAY from the Linden viewer (I am sure there must be an exception or two though).  

 

Also, alway good to tag someone or reply to their post if you want a reply. I just saw this by accident. I rarely "follow" threads :D.

Have fun. Learn lots. 

Here is the page.

https://chicatphilsplace.blogspot.com/2009/09/windlight-settings.html

[NiranV Dean]

I'm getting 30-80 FPS with shadows on with 8 year old hardware (AMD FX 6200) and a GTX 1060 (i got a 670 before my 670 died but the framerate was the same, GPU upgrades have basically zero impact on your average framerate unless you use GPU heavy features)

https://gfycat.com/kindbaggyblackfly

I usually never drop below 30 FPS unless the place i go to is an absolute dumpster fire... or i un-jellydoll everyone and have my CPU commit senpuku.

 

But as others said, it highly depends on the place you visit, many objects in SL are simply not optimized (at all), even ripped game assets would be more optimized from the get go.

Your settings are usually only a small light unless you touch the three major killers -> Draw Distance / Visible Avatars & Jellydolls / Shadow Resolution

Edited June 24, 2019 by NiranV Dean

[Coffee Pancake]

Yeah .. your old hardware is ticking along at just shy of 4Ghz ... 

[NiranV Dean]

3 minutes ago, CoffeeDujour said:

Yeah .. your old hardware is ticking along at just shy of 4Ghz ... 

Which in intel terms is more like 2Ghz since as we all know Intel has 40% more IPC alone not to mention even the worst dual core Intels seemingly get double my framerates...

Let's not forget everyone keeps bashing my FX because "FX's are trash". Point is the FX while having almost 4Ghz is still just as fast as the previous Phenom II X4 i had with 3.4Ghz and still can't even see land against any Intel... not to mention Hyperthreading...

Edited June 24, 2019 by NiranV Dean