Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion -- AA and HDR Issue

Post by **Apoptosis** » Thu Apr 06, 2006 1:45 pm

I just got in an e-mail from some friends at ATI letting us know they are later today releasing a software patch for the just released game Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. It seems that the the game supports AA and HDR, but not both at the same time. Later today a patch will come out that supports HDR AND AA…

Last week I got an email from a 3d Developer of ours (by the name of Chuck) saying if I was interested in checking out a proof of concept driver he whipped up that enables HDR plus AA at the same time. Well ya!!!

So fast forward to now, thanks to Chuck Ati users can enjoy this game at a brand new level of Image Quality. It will knock your socks off.

Plus the Chuck Patch also supports AFR Crossfire mode giving gains up to 80%. I urge you to benchmark this yourself but here is what Chuck measured.

16x12 HDR save 13 save 4 save 7 save 19 save 24
FX57 6xaa no AA no AA no AA no AA
single VPU 25 34.5 32 33.5 34.5
AFR 40.5 65.5 52 60 61
gain 62.00% 89.86% 62.50% 79.10% 76.81%

If one of our readers wants to benchmark this I would love to see what happens. I am in the airport on wireless, but once I get the patch link I will post it all for you to download. Kudos to ATI on this one.

kenc51 · Post by **kenc51** » Thu Apr 06, 2006 3:00 pm

Sweet.....I'm hoping to get this game this weekend....(mayby then I can start to use this beast of a card!!)

I can post some "benchmarks" on Saturday or Sunday.......

Post by **Apoptosis** » Thu Apr 06, 2006 7:36 pm

The location of this beta driver is here

http://support.ati.com/ics/support/defa ... onID=21960

It’s called the “Chuck patch” in honor of our guy that found a way of enabling this functionality. Of course the reason why this is so important is Oblivion is one of the best looking games available in the market. Enabling High Dynamic Range and Anti Aliasing effects make this game look even better. Needless to say only ATI can support that configuration. So the Catalyst team is giving a special present to owners of ATI cards, an image quality experience unrivaled by any other.

This proof of concept driver has something for image quality freaks and performance junkies (and even for both at the same time)

This patch provides

1) HDR effects plus AA at the same time. The visual results are stunning. (To enable, ignore the AA settings in the game and enable it via Catalyst Control Center)

2) Crossfire support for the game via AFR mode. Good performance gains for all crossfire owners.

Enjoy

kenc51 · Post by **kenc51** » Sat Apr 08, 2006 6:44 pm

VERY basic HDR/AA benchmark........

See Sig. for setup.

1600x1200 with HDR no AA
FPS:
Min: 31 Max: 1000 Avg: 72.851

1600X1200 with HDR and 2xAA
Min: 26 Max: 870 Avg: 54.4

1600x1200 with HDR and 4xAA
Min: 26 Max: 831 Avg: 51

1600x1200 with HDR and 6xAA
Min: 21 Max: 52 Avg: 33

I loaded the first level after the sewers which is outdoors, there's lot's of vegetation, tress etc. and is much harder on the card than the indoor levels. I used Fraps to record a 2min run.....I tried to follw the exact same path for each run.

gvblake22 · Post by **gvblake22** » Sat Apr 08, 2006 8:21 pm

Looks good ken!
Can you confirm that AA did not work with HDR before the patch?

kenc51 · Post by **kenc51** » Mon Apr 10, 2006 10:46 am

gvblake22 wrote:Looks good ken!
Can you confirm that AA did not work with HDR before the patch?

No......I had the patch installed before I got the game.......

and what a game! ;)

Post by **FZ1** » Mon Apr 10, 2006 12:41 pm

It would not let you enable them simultaneously prior to the patch. Anyone know how to enable the FPS display in the game?

Post by **FZ1** » Mon Apr 10, 2006 12:50 pm

Here is a good tweak guide...
http://www.tweakguides.com/Oblivion_1.html

kenc51 · Post by **kenc51** » Mon Apr 10, 2006 2:31 pm

FZ1 wrote:It would not let you enable them simultaneously prior to the patch. Anyone know how to enable the FPS display in the game?

I just used Fraps...

:edit:

Tweakguides.com wrote:Displaying Framerate: To display your Frames Per Second (FPS) at any time, use the TDT command. This command will put a FPS counter in the top right corner of the screen. Note that you can then go through a range of highly informative information pages, such as your current memory usage, which sounds and textures are currently loaded, etc. by repeatedly pressing the SCROLL LOCK key on your keyboard while using TDT.

EvilCloudStrife · Post by **EvilCloudStrife** » Tue Apr 11, 2006 12:06 am

so this wont work for my 7800gt then? that sucks.

kenc51 · Post by **kenc51** » Tue Apr 11, 2006 7:14 am

That was my "benchmark"

Here's proper benchies done with HDR and AA
http://www.elitebastards.com/cms/index. ... view&id=40

Pity they only benched on an X1800 XT 512MB

@ wickedld9 / Apop. --> I think this game should be part of the standard benchamrks done for future reviews!!

werty316 · Post by **werty316** » Tue Apr 11, 2006 6:02 pm

This game is pretty detail I knowticed and AA isn't a big deal for nVidia users like myself.

Nobahar · Post by **Nobahar** » Thu Apr 20, 2006 12:20 am

lol I want that game, but my specs are a couple decades behind that power.