27 replies to this topic

[thewool]

Hello all,

this is an off-shoot of JimmyFinger's AA discussion topic where I mentioned about the visual benefits of enabling FXAA with the latest Nvidia drivers. The only issue was enabling FXAA and using Hyperpin (HP) seemed to cover the whole table in a horrible haze, which only cleared when the ball passed over a particular area almost clearing a visually sharp path. FXAA worked 100% fine when launching from stand alone VP but the HP issue was a deal breaker when using this front end.

I've titled this post a workaround as opposed to a fix, to be honest I still haven't got to the bottom of the source of the haze. Only that it's something to do with how the table is rendered when using HP and also how the table is initialised... Good news is that I can now launch 99.5% of tables from Hyperpin with FXAA enabled with zero haze, artifacts, black lines, missing objects, crashes, etc. On the odd occasion a table will launch with the haze (although it hasn't happened for weeks) but I simply exit the table and restart (BTTF B2S was one of these tables).

Important : Remember to back up any files before making any changes - I can't guarantee these settings will work on other setups but they might at least get people on their way.

At the moment Windows 7 does not seem to support FXAA, I'm running XP SP3 32-Bit

My specs:

- 2 screen cabinet setup (1 gfx card for the PF and BG)
- PinDMD board using a plasma DMD
- Nvidia GeForce 306.02 Driver BETA (should also work with 306.23 WHQL release)
- OS is XP SP3 32 bit
- FP Lauch 1.295 WIP 8 (might work with WIP 9 but I've never upgraded)
- FXAA enabled 'on' in global profile, no program profiles used (AF set to 16, other settings used as detailed in other thread)
- Max texture dimension set to unlimited in VP's registry setting (not sure if this is relevant)

Settings:

1. In the HP settings .ini file set 'useloadscreen' to 'true' (this means you see the Loading 1..2..3... screen after launching a table)
2. Set hyperscale to 0.25 (affects the size of the loading image), I'm not sure if this value is significant

Note: not critical but I created a blank loading.png file as I didn't want to see the 1.2.3.... image

These two steps meant a large chunk of tables now launched without haze, espcially EM games. However for some DMD games the haze was still present, also for some pinmame emulation froze after you plunged the ball (sounds weird I know). To cure this:

3. In the affected VP table script changed showdmdonly to 0
4. In the affected VP table script changed hidden to 1 (or add .hidden = 1 to the VP table init)

Important note: The 3 and 4 steps may only be required for me as I'm using a PinDMD board, this might have caused the pinmame crashing. Perhaps someone using a 3rd monitor can comment on if some tables crash and if these steps are required.

That's it I'm using Hyperpin with FXAA enabled all the time and everything loads, looks and plays sweet in VP.

Other things to consider:

if you enable an image while playing VP from HP, such as looking at a flyer or instruction card, the haze will return. Also if you nudge the table with 'startshake' in the script the blur will come back. To get around this I don't view images during game and insert StopShake 'StarShake in the affected table's script.

Other AA thread for background reading: http://www.vpforums....opic=20801&st=0

Cheers!

Edited by thewool, 03 October 2012 - 08:52 AM.

[kruge99]

Thanks! I've noticed that some tables do start off fuzzy, but once the game starts, it seemed to vanish over the whole playfield. I can't seem to recall seeing any trails of clear through the haze left behind by the ball.


Best Regards,
Todd.

[thewool]

Hello Todd,

for me if the table uses a full screen, or large area which 'refreshes' such as a GI effect (Haunted House, new Black Rose) it vanishes. Other than that it remains, and will never disappear if it's in a area such as over the slingshot plastics where the ball will never travel.

edit: the way the haze manifests itself might be different for different setups, so you may well be right

Edited by thewool, 02 October 2012 - 02:05 PM.

[jimmyfingers]

Hey thewool, you probably should mention that FXAA doesn't appear to be working in Windows 7 as that's been reasonably confirmed by myself and a couple other users in the other thread. More people trying / verifying that would be great and help solidify things but I really think some mention is important so that people don't spend tons of time trying to get your results only to realize that it's been futile because their rig is Windows 7 based.

Thanks for the post and I really wish that the FXAA / Windows 7 / Nvidia drivers combination will work in newer drivers when released.

[settingsons]

Many thanks thewool for providing such detailed instructions. I will give those steps ago the weekend and will also experiment a bit more based on your findings.

I also use WinXP 32-bit with the wip8 FPLaunch and I have the loading 123 disabled as well. Last week I experimented a bit with the way FPLaunch loaded the table but didn't have any luck, but based on what you said about how the 'Loading 123' has helped, it maybe that the script needs to force a BringToFront (or similar) on the VP-Player window to remove the haze. I haven't got access to the FPLaunch script at the moment, but maybe by switching on the useLoadScreen you are running a bit of code that normally wouldn't run (but needs to run to remove the haze).

For the XP users this FXAA is a great find so thanks again for that, and for finding a solution to the haze.

Hi jimmy - For the W7 users, I need to remind myself of what you said in the other thread (its nearly 1am here so won't do it now:)), but in the meantime did you try setting the usual compatibility options, and disabling the aero themes, etc.? Sorry if you already covered that.

[jimmyfingers]

Hi jimmy - For the W7 users, I need to remind myself of what you said in the other thread (its nearly 1am here so won't do it now:)), but in the meantime did you try setting the usual compatibility options, and disabling the aero themes, etc.? Sorry if you already covered that.

Yah, I tried a whole bunch of things and desktop composition was a big one as that's part of what makes the difference from XP to Windows 7 (and for the flipper tearing fix to be active). I might double check a few elements again but around the time of the first FXAA posts I spent a couple days on testing and tried many things and believe, even though I can't remember each of the specific tests, that most certainly these couple key items were part of them. Plus, there was lot's of discussion available when searching about FXAA not working with a lot of other games in Windows 7 which seemed to confirm the inabilities / problems at least for now with these drivers.

Edited by jimmyfingers, 02 October 2012 - 10:48 PM.

[chriz]

VP with AA - OMG!

[thewool]

Cheers Jimmy, I've added a note about W7 to the intial post to remind people. Hopefully it will be compatible one day.

Sounds like more testing is needed with the action FPLaunch takes, this is the key. In the mean time I hope this short term fix will help you get some lovely clear visuals.... It's allowed me to enable FXAA all the time now.

When I run VP without FXAA enabled it really is jarring, amazing how you get used to such a subtle improvement. The dithering of the old transparent ramps is also a bonus

[Aurich]

Thanks for this, definitely going to give your settings a whirl.

I do wonder though if there isn't a Hyperpin-side fix for this that wouldn't be difficult to do, if it's really a matter of some kind of window priority or the like.

[The Loafer]

This is the first time I regret going with win 7... Maybe win 8 will fix this eh eh

[Aurich]

So I finally had a chance to try these settings, and sadly they do nothing for me (XPSP3, same driver version). Same old haze. So not a universal solution, but thanks for trying.

[settingsons]

I am not sure which FPLaunch you are using but it maybe that it handles the loading bar differently. thewool and myself use wip8 so that may be the key. I don't know the details but I think blur was tinkering with the way the load screens work and how VP gets focus in the later builds (I think he was doing a print screen at some point).

If you can try wip8 it might be worth a try.

[toxie]

just in case: new nv drivers released again: 306.81 for xp, 306.97 for win7..

[Aurich]

I am not sure which FPLaunch you are using but it maybe that it handles the loading bar differently. thewool and myself use wip8 so that may be the key. I don't know the details but I think blur was tinkering with the way the load screens work and how VP gets focus in the later builds (I think he was doing a print screen at some point).

If you can try wip8 it might be worth a try.

Ah, that's entirely possible, pretty sure I have the latest version. Has anyone pinged blur about this?

[bent98]

http://vpinball.svn....on&revision=361

Looks like this is fixed.

[toxie]

At least for me.. Testers are welcome to verify..

[bent98]

Your on a roll toxie. What else r u going to fix?

Edited by bent98, 19 November 2012 - 12:54 AM.

[koadic]

Available for testing from my sig...

[Aurich]

Thanks for the build koadic. I still see the haze in build 362 though. Honestly I'm not sure I'd run FSAA even if the haze was fixed, it's a subtle upgrade, but really cuts into performance in a noticeable way.

[thewool]

Thanks for the build koadic. I still see the haze in build 362 though. Honestly I'm not sure I'd run FSAA even if the haze was fixed, it's a subtle upgrade, but really cuts into performance in a noticeable way.

Really Aurich??? I see next to no impact.