BethINI (by DoubleYou)

[JimmyBoi]

Hey DoubleYou. I love what you have done for the Bethesda community. I swear to BethINI with Skyrim because it has made performance tweaking a whole lot easier (it even allows customisation of things I didn't even know could be changed). That being said, I have a problem (and I am not talking about my Skyrim addiction xD).

 

I have recently bought Fallout 4 and I have not even gotten around to starting the game yet because I end up getting like 20fps during the intro scene using the Graphics Presets available ingame. I decided to try out BethINI on FO4 but the changes seem to make the game crash when I get to the intro scene.

 

I have checked my FO4 installation and validated the files but it all comes back to "When I optimise the INI files with BethINI, the game crashes at the intro scene". I kept denying the facts before me for about 3 hours because BethINI has saved my ass so many times with Skyrim that I couldn't believe it was the source of the issue...

 

I am using the latest BethINI version (incase you need to know that).

[DoubleYou]

Restoring the ini files fixes the issue? What are your system specs and please post your ini files either in spoiler tags or on Pastebin.

[GhostGSJ]

Hello.

 

Hopefully I've come to the right place to report problems and questions about BethINI! Firstly, thank you - it's a great tool. Now on to the problems...

 

1. When FPS (the physics tweak) is set to something other than 60 and the changes are saved, the next time you load BethINI it miscalculates the FPS value.

 

2. The Disable Tutorials tweak doesn't work (I'm playing on a controller, in case that matters).

 

3. The Intro Music tweak resets itself every time BethINI is loaded, regardless of what it was previously set to.

 

4. Is there some reason why BethINI doesn't tweak uLargeRefLODGridSize? AFAIK this is a safe tweak.

 

5. It would be nice to have the option to set iVSyncPresentInterval=2. I can do it myself, of course, but BethINI would feel a little more complete if that were included. On a 60Hz screen you can get a perfect 30fps lock with

 

iVSyncPresentInterval=2

bFull Screen=1 (the above tweak doesn't always play nicely with WDDM)

bLockFrameRate=0 (setting this to 1 can cause problems when running at 30fps, it's really only for people targeting 60)

iFPSClamp=30 (PC needs to be capable of maintaining a locked 30fps, obviously)

 

[DoubleYou]

Hello.

 

Hopefully I've come to the right place to report problems and questions about BethINI! Firstly, thank you - it's a great tool. Now on to the problems...

 

1. When FPS (the physics tweak) is set to something other than 60 and the changes are saved, the next time you load BethINI it miscalculates the FPS value.

 

2. The Disable Tutorials tweak doesn't work (I'm playing on a controller, in case that matters).

 

3. The Intro Music tweak resets itself every time BethINI is loaded, regardless of what it was previously set to.

 

4. Is there some reason why BethINI doesn't tweak uLargeRefLODGridSize? AFAIK this is a safe tweak.

 

5. It would be nice to have the option to set iVSyncPresentInterval=2. I can do it myself, of course, but BethINI would feel a little more complete if that were included. On a 60Hz screen you can get a perfect 30fps lock with

 

iVSyncPresentInterval=2

bFull Screen=1 (the above tweak doesn't always play nicely with WDDM)

bLockFrameRate=0 (setting this to 1 can cause problems when running at 30fps, it's really only for people targeting 60)

iFPSClamp=30 (PC needs to be capable of maintaining a locked 30fps, obviously)

1. I noticed this bug the other day and will try to fix it.

2. I will have to investigate this one.

3. This one I will have to look at too.

4. Never got a round tuit.

5. In my testing, this didn't work like that. I suppose it must affect different systems differently. Therefore, I don't think that I will support it. I will test your settings, however.

[GhostGSJ]

OK cool.

 

Also, I found a nice new tweak - well new to me anyway and it's not in BethINI so I mention it in case you want to add it:

 

SkyrimPrefs.ini

[Display]

iReflectionResolutionDivider=1 (default is 2)

 

Greatly improves quality of screen space reflections by rendering them at full resolution instead of half res. Difference isn't very noticeable in vanilla game but night and day with a water overhaul installed. HTH.

Thanks again for the tool :)

Edited October 19, 2017 by GhostGSJ

[TechAngel85]

@DoubleYou,

If you are still working on BethINI some you might want to take note of this: https://forum.step-project.com/topic/12648-what-should-my-v-sync-settings-be/

[hejohoo]

I have some questions:

 

1 - Is there a reason that BethIni recommends to play in windows borderless instad of regular fullscreen? Is one superior to the other? Or does it not really matter and I could play in regular fullscreen if I wanted? 

 

2 - Do I need to rerun Bethini every time i install a new mod in case it needs to tweak something? Does it detect what mods I have installed? And do I just need to start it and it will do the tweaks or do I need to press something?

 

3 - Why is Weapon Debris and Rain Occlusion not included in the options in the Bethini? If I run the BethIni these are turned off in my settings

 

4 - Can I make manual changes to the ini while using BethIni (or in the games general settings) or will these changes be reset every time I use Bethini?

Edited October 27, 2017 by hejohoo

[hejohoo]

For example one edit I seem to need for my game to not have very strange frame jumps sometimes is to put iFPSClamp=60 in the general tab in the ini. However if I run the Bethini this seems to be removed as I save the ini.

[hejohoo]

Hm after more tweaking I just don't get this, is this mod outdated? For example if I choose Ultra settings in Fallout 4 launcher the Grass Fade is set to max, but if I try to restore Ultra vanilla preset in Bethini it only puts the Grass Fade at around 50%?

[DoubleYou]

@GhostGSJ
Fixed the bugs you mentioned in the dev build for the next release. Verified that iVSyncPresentInterval actually works properly in Skyrim Special edition. 1 is for your refresh rate vsync, 2 is for half that, 3 is for a third, and so on. On my 75HZ display, 1 sets it to 75fps, 2 sets it to 37fps, and 3 sets it to 25fps. Not sure how I'll incorporate that. The feature doesn't work properly for the older games, at least for me (Fallout 4 and earlier).

 

@Tech

I have this tweak already incorporated into BethINI, but only for Skyrim Special Edition for testing purposes. It is buggy in the current build, as mentioned by GhostGSJ

 

@hejohoo

1. This is merely a default value in case somebody sets the incorrect screen resolution it won't bug out your display. There is a setting in BethINI to fix that ;)

2. Generally speaking, no. However, some mods require specific INI tweaks. BethINI has a list of mods that it recognizes that will automatically detect that need and apply the necessary tweak. However, most mods don't require that. It certainly wouldn't hurt to simply open BethINI and hit Save and Exit just in case.

3. Weapon debris I haven't gotten around to adding, and rain occlusion is impossible to turn off because Bethesda borked that setting, despite the game launcher trying to tell you otherwise.

4. You can make your own changes. BethINI may modify your changes in some cases to improve them (e.g. optimize fade distances for grass and lighting), or remove any that it knows are harmful, or incompatible.

 

As to iFPSClamp, I have a bug in the current build that could be changing that. Also, iFPSClamp is on the list of controversial tweaks, so make sure you don't tell BethINI to set it to default once you save at the pop-up.

 

BethINI uses advanced methods for grass, lighting, and other fade distances that cause it to look like that to the game launcher and settings, but that is merely because BethINI is optimizing the distances to show the same amount of grass distance in a way that it will not cause pop-in and decreased performance. No, it is not outdated. It merely is smarter than Bethesda.

[hejohoo]

@GhostGSJ

Fixed the bugs you mentioned in the dev build for the next release. Verified that iVSyncPresentInterval actually works properly in Skyrim Special edition. 1 is for your refresh rate vsync, 2 is for half that, 3 is for a third, and so on. On my 75HZ display, 1 sets it to 75fps, 2 sets it to 37fps, and 3 sets it to 25fps. Not sure how I'll incorporate that. The feature doesn't work properly for the older games, at least for me (Fallout 4 and earlier).

 

@Tech

I have this tweak already incorporated into BethINI, but only for Skyrim Special Edition for testing purposes. It is buggy in the current build, as mentioned by GhostGSJ

 

@hejohoo

1. This is merely a default value in case somebody sets the incorrect screen resolution it won't bug out your display. There is a setting in BethINI to fix that ;)

2. Generally speaking, no. However, some mods require specific INI tweaks. BethINI has a list of mods that it recognizes that will automatically detect that need and apply the necessary tweak. However, most mods don't require that. It certainly wouldn't hurt to simply open BethINI and hit Save and Exit just in case.

3. Weapon debris I haven't gotten around to adding, and rain occlusion is impossible to turn off because Bethesda borked that setting, despite the game launcher trying to tell you otherwise.

4. You can make your own changes. BethINI may modify your changes in some cases to improve them (e.g. optimize fade distances for grass and lighting), or remove any that it knows are harmful, or incompatible.

 

As to iFPSClamp, I have a bug in the current build that could be changing that. Also, iFPSClamp is on the list of controversial tweaks, so make sure you don't tell BethINI to set it to default once you save at the pop-up.

 

BethINI uses advanced methods for grass, lighting, and other fade distances that cause it to look like that to the game launcher and settings, but that is merely because BethINI is optimizing the distances to show the same amount of grass distance in a way that it will not cause pop-in and decreased performance. No, it is not outdated. It merely is smarter than Bethesda.

 

Thank you for the answers!

 

I am still wondering about what I wrote in the follow up though: "For example if I choose Ultra settings in Fallout 4 launcher the Grass Fade is set to max, but if I try to restore Ultra vanilla preset in Bethini it only puts the Grass Fade at around 50%?" Why is it not restoring vanilla ultra settings when I press vanilla and restore default? (I checked by going into the launcher after I saved and it had grass at around 50% when vanilla ultra is really 100%.

 

Also I would be hesitant to use if there are some settings like Weapon Debri that has not been added yet. Are there other effects that are not added in the Bethini? And if I want to use the Bethini now, can I still turn on Weapon Debri somehow?

 

Just a side question also, the Bethini will never change the ini at any later point unless I run the program and save?

[DoubleYou]

I consider the fade settings to be bug fixes since they virtually eliminate a certain kind of pop-in, so it retains the vanilla fade distance, while altering the settings to eliminate the pop-in. 

 

You can change Weapon Debris settings in Fallout4Prefs.ini in the [NVFlex] section.

 

BethINI will only change the INI file when you run it.

[hejohoo]

Thank you!

 

I have another question. I have got really really long loading times in Fallout 4 for some reason (I have ssd) and I have heard some people say that adding iNumHWThreads=X (where X is the number of cores you have) could fix things or even improve performance (heard someone who got a lot better perfomance in Skyrim with this). 

 

Do you know anything about this ini tweak and if it is safe?

[DoubleYou]

Testing hasn't really been performed that can reliably tell if iNumHWThreads has a significant effect on the performance/stability of the game. The reason why this is difficult is because the default value is 4. This value is used even for users with dual-core (two hardware-threaded) processors without any reported problems. However, if you decrease it to 2, it can freeze the game! Most people don't have more than 4-threaded processors, and since you would have to set it higher than the default of four to reliably test it as a possible performance increaser, no such tests have been done. Therefore, while I do expect it to increase performance if you have the right processor and increase it, it is a controversial setting at best, and could possibly incur unknown bugs. So is it safe? We don't know.

[El_Rizzo]

@hejohoo

 

If you have long load times, try the mod Load Accelerator, it uncaps the framerate during loading screens and it improved my loading times tremendously and my Fallout 4 + Mods were already stored on an SSD. Apparently Bethesda coupled load times with the framerate for some inexplicable reason. Storing your mods, especially large texture mods, in BA2 files instead of loose files also will improve your loading times as well as your texture streaming speed since BA2 files are optimized for it.

 

iNumHWThreads=X simply tells Fallout 4 how many threads/cores of your CPU it is allowed to use, normaly the game will make use of all your cores (up to 8 at least, don't know about even more) even without explicitly specifying it with that entry. If you happen to have a CPU with more than 8 cores or threads, it might be worth trying out.

Edited October 29, 2017 by El_Rizzo