Quake 2 -- Using R1GL -- Best Settings for Image Quality (not for most FPS)

[caesar]

So after about 10 years out of the Q2 game, I recently installed Q2 again.   I stumbled onto this site, found the Q2 starter package, and now I am running R1GL when playing Q2.  (Thank you, this cleaned up mouse acceleration issues, and allows me to use my native monitor resolution of 1920 x 1080).

So running a modern system -- Windows 7, with an EVGA (Nvidia) GTX 560 graphics card --  obviously Q2 runs like butter.   I ran a timedemo (demo1.dm2) before implementing anti-aliasing and it showed something like 2300 FPS.  I since implemented anti-aliasing and demo1.dm2 runs at 511 FPS (still way more than enough).   I remember the days in 1999 where I struggled to get 25 FPS when running demo1.dm2.

So in looking at all the settings in the modern nvidia control panel:  http://www.tweakguides.com/NVFORCE_6.html
what are the recommended settings for BEST image quality?  I'm not concerned with FPS, since there is no issue anymore.  I just want to make sure I have all the right settings for the very best image quality.

I'm also not sure if the default config.cfg that came with Q2 Starter (R1GL, etc.) overrides anything in the nvidia controls and if I should edit something and/or put it in my autoexec.cfg to correct that? 

Additionally, from the R1GL config generator:  http://r-1.ch/q2config.php?type=r1gl

I put these settings in my autoexec.cfg:

set gl_ext_texture_filter_anisotropic "1"
set gl_ext_max_anisotropy "16"
set gl_ext_multisample "1"
set gl_ext_samples "16"

Are those settings even needed with the Nvidia control panel settings (pointing to r1q2.exe)?   Do these specific R1GL settings work together with Nvidia's settings or do they override them?

Can anyone provide help on the Nvidia Control Panel settings and the use of R1GL specific settings -- what should be used and what should not be for the best image quality period (don't worry about affecting fps)?

Thanks.

[Jay Dolan]

You can certainly override anisotropy and multisample (FSAA) through the NV control panel, in which case the cvars in R1Q2 will have no effect.

But that's about as far as you can go with R1GL, too. It's not an "eye candy" renderer. If you want something prettier, you'll have to look at other engines:

• AprQ2 - Decent blend of eye candy, functionality and performance. Not quite as stable as R1Q2, but stable enough for multiplayer use.
• Berserk@Q2 - Excellent visuals, truly amazing looking. Performance might not be acceptable for multiplayer, and I'd be shocked if it's very stable.

[caesar]

You can certainly override anisotropy and multisample (FSAA) through the NV control panel, in which case the cvars in R1Q2 will have no effect.

How do you override anisotropic settings?  My Nvidia Control panel (and I have the latest drivers) for "anisotropic filtering" says "application controlled"; or "off" or a number from 2 to 16x.    I chose 16 x  (does that automatically override r1gl settings, simply by choosing a number?

Also, there is no FSAA setting per se in the Nvidia panel.  There is an "antialiasing mode" setting.  That can be set to "off";  "application controlled" ; "enhance the application setting" or "override".  Should I set that to "override".  Currently I have it set to "enhance the application setting"?

I also have set the "antialiasing setting" option to "32x CSAA" in Nvidia. 

There is also an FXAA setting -- I have that set to "on".

[The Happy Friar]

Yeah, setting something in the control panel overrides the game.  I normally leave things as "application controlled" unless it's so old it doesn't have the options for it (ie Quake 1).

I'll backup what Jay said about Berserker.  SP it's always worked great for me, in MP it would always crash (on a LAN or internet) after a minute or so.

[Jay Dolan]

How do you override anisotropic settings?  My Nvidia Control panel (and I have the latest drivers) for "anisotropic filtering" says "application controlled"; or "off" or a number from 2 to 16x.    I chose 16 x  (does that automatically override r1gl settings, simply by choosing a number?

Also, there is no FSAA setting per se in the Nvidia panel.  There is an "antialiasing mode" setting.  That can be set to "off";  "application controlled" ; "enhance the application setting" or "override".  Should I set that to "override".  Currently I have it set to "enhance the application setting"?

I also have set the "antialiasing setting" option to "32x CSAA" in Nvidia. 

There is also an FXAA setting -- I have that set to "on".

Overriding anisotropy is fine, altho you don't need to. You can set x16 in R1GL directly.

All of those modes available for antialiasing / multisampling *are* FSAA. They are just the newer variations on the blurring algorithm. All FSAA does is render more data for the scene than can fit in your viewport, and then selectively blur it. The basic algorithms (x2 x4 x8, ..) just render to a texture x2, x4, or x8 times the size of your viewport before scaling it back down. It has the effect of softening the edges. Newer algorithms try to take into account alpha test and other things using the depth buffer. R1GL only supports the basic algorithms, so if you want adaptive or selective super-sampling, use your NV control panel and either enhance or override the application setting.

[caesar]

so if you want adaptive or selective super-sampling, use your NV control panel and either enhance or override the application setting.

I did some testing over the weekend.  Using the anti-aliasing setting via a config generated via R1GL config generator resulted in my FPS going from 2300 FPS to 213 FPS (running demo1.dm2).  However, using Nvida Control panel for anti-aliasing (all settings set to maximum quality image), I get 511 FPS.

So clearly using Nvidia controls is less impactful when running quake 2.  I've decided to set anisotropic via the R1GL config generator (which appears to have little to no impact at all on FPS no matter what); and use Nvidia Control Panel to set all anti-aliasing settings (mode set to "override").   

Frankly I'm not sure I see any effect from anisotropic settings (whether via R1GL or Nvidia).  I definitely see the jaggies gone using anti-aliasing though.

[Jay Dolan]

I can show you exactly what difference anisotropic filtering makes. Here is a [old] screenshot from my engine. The left half of the screen uses trilinear filtering, the right is using trilinear + anisotropic x16. Look at the floor.

[r1]

Quake II with R1Q2 + High Res 32bit textures v2 (104MB)
http://venon.one.pl/q2/full/r1q2_multi_2.exe