Hidus

I wanted to take a look at some of the video settings to get a better understanding of how they impact gameplay. Some of the settings I couldn't see a difference. I'd like to nail down some of the other settings too so feel free to add on to this.

Decorations [ON]



Decorations [OFF]



Notice the shrubs are gone as well as many of the posters on the walls. A lot of the misc trash lying around is gone too. It feels a lot less cluttered with Decorations off. The random flying pieces of trash are still there.

I was expecting the Foliage setting to effect the shrubs but interestingly I couldn't see any difference between any of the Foliage settings.



Shadows [HIGH]



Notice the dynamic shadows cast from the trees and playground equipment



See how dark it is inside the container?

Shadows [LOW]



Shadows are still partially there but a lot less well defined.

Shadows [OFF]





Why hello there!

Tybalt

Wow, nice finds. Looks like 'shadows = on' and 'decorations = on' penalize the player, which is always a bit sad to see.

Were you able to notice any differences in performance?

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Hidus

Shadows on high and decorations on were a bit of a performance hit but nothing huge. If you were going for optimal performance while still leaving shadows on in some way I would just set them to low.

The main thing to remember is when you are hiding in that dark corner waiting for someone to walk by you might be completely exposed depending on other peoples video settings.

I asked about some of the other settings on the official forums and got a few more pieces to the puzzle. I'm going to try to get some more screenshots later.

Zoopy

You can also force AA and AF on which makes things a bit clearer. Linkage. Especially looking at your first two pictures... very ugly.

Tybalt

That AA setting really made the game look better.

And I hate to say it, but shadows = off made a HUGE difference. I am no longer getting pwnd every time I peek into the sewers.

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WhiskeySix

It seems that a lot of settings are hardwired... Tried testing a bunch of the advanced things and see no difference...

Relmar

I really hate the fact that reducing your video settings gives you a noticeable edge over your opponents. I spent a lot of money on my system so I can play games in all their glory, but then I feel like I have to do it sometimes because what I think is cover or camouflage may not actually be what someone else running lower settings sees. It felt shitty doing it in Battlefield and it's gonna feel shitty doing it again, but I guess I'll get over it. At least I don't have this problem in TF2.

Zoopy

Yup, I reduced my settings for 2142 comp play to look like ass. When I reinstalled my game like a month ago I realized "wow, this game actually looks good". Then I turned my settings back to my competition settings and I realized , "wow, this looks like vomit".

NorCalRoach

I'm looking forward to this game, but didn't get a chance to get a beta key. What is the recommended video card for this game? Is it going to be another cyrsis in terms of performance issues with all the settings on even with an 8800gtx?

Tybalt

You can get a beta key from fileplanet - they are not restricted at all. Download the file and request a key from their site. You'll get it instantly.

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