116 replies to this topic

[kiwi]

It also works for ATI graphics cards?
With FXAA enabled, I see the table blurred.

Another thing I noticed in the latest revisions, when I return in the editor, after playing, the table options appear when I click on the table.

 

Thanks

 

Max

[The Loafer]

Before we go into comments/tests, lets discuss my pc specs which are: i7 running at 2.85ghz, 8 gigs of ram, win 7-64bit and a nvidia 570. So a pretty good rig but because of the Low ghz, there are a select VERY few tables that have a bit of stutter, but we are talking about 2-3 % of all tables so no big deal. I will be purchasing a dedicated cab pc in about 1 month, so any deficiencies will be rectified.

My initial comments:

- works pretty good, the biggest "nice" moments are the flippers, they just look so much better
- the rest of the tables are certainly a nice upgrade too
- some tables on my rig play perfect or near perfect, no impact
- some tables have some stutter
- some tables have teleportation as a new feature!

Specific tests:
- Centigrade 37: runs well with a slight bit of slow down, but very little
- Close encounters: same as above, near perfect, the bits of noticeable slow down may not even be due to this new FXAA setting
- scared stiff full GI version: too much ball stutter
- TSPP: older day version works great, very playable with just a little bit of slow down
- TSPP: more recent night version, lots of stutter
- Ali: ball movement is perfectly smooth but huge amounts of stutter though.

- note on all above older SS tables, they are all UVP enabled.

- Bug found. If I play a table, exit the game, go to the settings and turn on/off the FXAA option, when I exit that menu, I cannot select the play button as well as others. However, if I select the options button, the play button is selectable again.

So overall, very happy, the performance hit is there but should be a non-issue with my new pc and still very impressive. I sure would love for nvidia to fix their win7 issues though, but now with win8 out, I wonder.

Thanks for this. Last comment: this should have its own thread, lots of members won't be aware of this

[toxie]

It also works for ATI graphics cards?
With FXAA enabled, I see the table blurred.

Another thing I noticed in the latest revisions, when I return in the editor, after playing, the table options appear when I click on the table.

 

Thanks

 

Max

 

It works for all Systems, just a SSE2 capable CPU is necessary (=anything released in the last ~10 years)..

 

As for the options popping up: I cannot reproduce this here, does this happen with the 'default'/'new' table, too? Or a specific table only?

 

 

- Bug found. If I play a table, exit the game, go to the settings and turn on/off the FXAA option, when I exit that menu, I cannot select the play button as well as others. However, if I select the options button, the play button is selectable again.

So overall, very happy, the performance hit is there but should be a non-issue with my new pc and still very impressive. I sure would love for nvidia to fix their win7 issues though, but now with win8 out, I wonder.

Thanks for this. Last comment: this should have its own thread, lots of members won't be aware of this

 

 

 

Hmmm.. Sounds like this is related to the other options bug??

I'll investigate more..

 

 

EDIT: weird, i cannot repro both issues, even when i use koadics exe..

so if you could both add some more details (specific table? specific video settings? etc) on the bug, this would help to get rid of it..

 

ah, okay, one more theory: you could maybe also need the new/updated freeimage.dll, i attached it here within the zip.. please could you both retest using this?

Attached Files

•  FreeImage.zip   709.33KB   11 downloads

Edited by toxie, 29 December 2012 - 06:26 PM.

[kiwi]

After playing the left box is not accessible with the mouse (as if no table was open), and the right box is gone(options objects).
When I click on the table everything is back to normal.
This happens from revision 410 on any table.
The new freeimage.dll does not solve the problem.

 

 

Thanks

 

Max

Edited by kiwi, 29 December 2012 - 08:13 PM.

[toxie]

hmmm.. so this happened somewhere in [402..410]..

(where quite a lot of code has changed )

[The Loafer]

At least here is a workaround, not all is bad

[bent98]

hmmm.. so this happened somewhere in [402..410]..
(where quite a lot of code has changed )

He can always test compiles of each version from 402-410 and check when bug cropped up.

[maceman]

Newest FXAA features with Koadic's latest build works pretty good and looks good on my specs. Since the driver i am using does not use FXAA in the NVCP, i was good to go out of the box......

 

A good test table we can all use is Flipper Football, which seems to have some good stutter. If we can get this ironed out, may be a good

test to apply for other tables.

Cheers,

Maceman

[Slydog43]

I changed my cab from running Win7x54 to WinXPx32 so I can use the NVidia FXAA option since it make the flippers look so much better.  I'm curious to know what performance hit it takes and this vs the new option which Toxie added.  Which one would be faster or with less performace hit.  

[toxie]

@slydog: this is easy to answer: the NVIDIA hardware FXAA will always be faster (unless you have a really really crappy gfx board and a ultrahighend CPU at the same time) and as a bonus will also look a bit better (i had to use the most basic FXAA scheme and cut some corners even on that (less precision), whereas the driver uses a better quality version with quality filtering, etc).. this is simply something that the gfx hardware was basically designed for (or the other way round ), whereas the CPU lacks all the hardware units to help for such tasks..

EDIT: plus: if you wanna use 3D stereo and FXAA at the same time, then this is not possible with the software version..

A good test table we can all use is Flipper Football, which seems to have some good stutter. If we can get this ironed out, may be a good

test to apply for other tables.

 

Unfortunately there is not really much i can optimze anymore for the software FXAA.. Saving some opcodes here and there, but i don't expect it to get much faster, maybe max. 10% or so..

[toxie]

 

hmmm.. so this happened somewhere in [402..410]..
(where quite a lot of code has changed )

He can always test compiles of each version from 402-410 and check when bug cropped up.

 

 

found it.. while cleaning up, i didn't notice one thing in the UI logic that lead to this issue.. fixed now..

[The Loafer]

Excellent to hear Toxie.

[koadic]

428 is now available in my sig with that bug fixed.

[vile83r]

I concur with no help in Win 7. FXAA is a bust. I even downloaded Nvidia Inspector and started tweaking more stuff to no avail. Future Pinball looks absolutely gorgeous now though. However, I like rom support and want the very best out of VP.

 

VP needs it in the code and is going to have to update to a newer DirectX somewhere down the line if it is going to have a future. Is there an area with status reports on builds or updates as to what is being worked on as it pertains to VP?

[maceman]

@Toxie,

 

I am trying to understand why the software FXAA tweak in VP seems to work, yet noone can get their hardware to do this job. If it is obviously better for the card to handle this, and the new drivers have the FXAA option, why is it that it doesn't work with VP?

 

Cheers,

Maceman

[vile83r]

maceman,

 

It has to be related to VP using Directx 7. 

[Aurich]

Hardware FXAA works great in my cab, not sure where this "no one" is coming from.

[vile83r]

I have had a breakthrough using Nvidia Inspector. It is definitely an improvement. The only table I tested was Medieval Madness and even though I got jaggies to smooth out it did have the side effect of the castle tower being transparent behind the ramp. But. once a ball rolls through the castle looks fine. I think further trial and error could produce even better results so, if anyone wishes to give it a go please do. My eyeballs are starting to burn. My nvidia settings via the console are set to default. The only changes I have made are through the Inspector. I have linked images. ATI users, I have no idea what to tell ya. If you have something similar to this start fiddling around. 

 

EDIT: Added close-ups of the flippers as a good example. 

 

 

 

Edited by vile83r, 31 December 2012 - 05:24 AM.

[ArcadiusMaximus]

Coolness. Can't wait to give this a try !

[vestax]

Nvidiainspector is not necessary to force AA. If you choose (AA-override any application setting + AA- 8x) in drivers options, get the same result..

The problem with this method is that some tables present the famous black lines. Try with IJ, Tom, Simpsons PP...  

I don't use Windows 7, but I think the problem is the same. (If not, please let me know)