Why is shadow draw distance in the same setting as shadow quality?

Greystag

I generally play games on low shadows because they don't bother me, and I prefer the performance increase. I did this with ESO and only found out like a month ago that shadow draw distance shared the same setting as shadow quality. Why is this?

Lightspeedflashb14_ESO

Because that is the way they made the game?

Yakidafi

Hi @Greystag
If you can locate the eso "usersettings.ini" and find "SET SHADOWS" and put it between 0 and 4 this will adjust shadow draw distance I believe. In this file you can also adjust how the shadow quality look. So it is separated, not as the ingame menu where it is combined.

Red_Feather

I know what you mean, Grey.

I like my shadows fuzzy and don't mind low resolution of them, but watching them appear out of thin air as I walk forward is weird.

Greystag

Yakidafi wrote: »

Hi @Greystag
If you can locate the eso "usersettings.ini" and find "SET SHADOWS" and put it between 0 and 4 this will adjust shadow draw distance I believe. In this file you can also adjust how the shadow quality look. So it is separated, not as the ingame menu where it is combined.

Oh that helps, thanks a lot. Is altering .ini files bannable? I know of other games where doing so could get you permanently banned. If it's not clear, I'll just keep using high quality shadows. I don't mind as much since I upgraded my PC.

Red_Feather wrote: »

I know what you mean, Grey.

I like my shadows fuzzy and don't mind low resolution of them, but watching them appear out of thin air as I walk forward is weird.

Yup. I don't care about shadow quality per se, because low quality shadows still look decent, but seeing them appear as I walk is offputting, especially in areas like Elden root, where the inside of the tree is bright because the shadows don't reach the walls.

Sylvermynx

I don't think there's an issue with editing the usersettings file. I can't be positive of course, and it's not likely you'll get an answer from ZOS!

danno8

Greystag wrote: »

Yakidafi wrote: »

Hi @Greystag
If you can locate the eso "usersettings.ini" and find "SET SHADOWS" and put it between 0 and 4 this will adjust shadow draw distance I believe. In this file you can also adjust how the shadow quality look. So it is separated, not as the ingame menu where it is combined.

Oh that helps, thanks a lot. Is altering .ini files bannable? I know of other games where doing so could get you permanently banned. If it's not clear, I'll just keep using high quality shadows. I don't mind as much since I upgraded my PC.

Red_Feather wrote: »

I know what you mean, Grey.

I like my shadows fuzzy and don't mind low resolution of them, but watching them appear out of thin air as I walk forward is weird.

Yup. I don't care about shadow quality per se, because low quality shadows still look decent, but seeing them appear as I walk is offputting, especially in areas like Elden root, where the inside of the tree is bright because the shadows don't reach the walls.

Nah its not bannable at all.

SET HIGH_RESOLUTION_SHADOWS "0" will make your shadows slightly less crisp, which looks more realistic to me, and has the benefit of using up less resources. Although the impact I my system is not noticeable.

I don't think you can increase shadow distance any further though. Wish you could. SET SHADOWS "4" seems to be the highest setting, although you could try higher and see if that makes any difference.

danno8

Sylvermynx wrote: »

I don't think there's an issue with editing the usersettings file. I can't be positive of course, and it's not likely you'll get an answer from ZOS!

There are other threads where we speak openly with developers about the usersettings file and the changes that we make. At no time has there ever been any indication that they would ban you for it.

They probably don't want you messing with them too much, but that is just so you don't cause too many issues by changing things you don't understand.

Sylvermynx

danno8 wrote: »

Sylvermynx wrote: »

I don't think there's an issue with editing the usersettings file. I can't be positive of course, and it's not likely you'll get an answer from ZOS!

There are other threads where we speak openly with developers about the usersettings file and the changes that we make. At no time has there ever been any indication that they would ban you for it.

They probably don't want you messing with them too much, but that is just so you don't cause too many issues by changing things you don't understand.

Well, that's logical. But all you have to do is save a copy of the edited file, then delete the original file so the game makes a new one. Then you can add the edits back as you need them.