Skyrim Special Edition: how to change the resolution. Changing resolution in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition Skyrim special edition how to set resolution

Although The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim remaster brought a lot of graphical innovations to the game, it also led to new problems for the players. For example, many have complained to developers that they cannot choose the appropriate resolution for non-widescreen monitors. Fortunately, ordinary users were able to find a solution to this problem.

How to change resolution in Skyrim Special Edition?

It turned out that changing the resolution in the game is quite simple. To do this, do the following:

1. Open the Skyrim Special Edition folder located in the C:\Users\"username"\Documents\My Games\ directory.
2. Select a file called SkyrimPrefs.ini and open it with a regular notepad or Notepad ++ program (recommended, as it is much more convenient to work with).
3. In the file that opens, find the following lines: "bFull Screen=", "iSize H=" and "iSize W=".
4. Next, you should change the resolution as you need. For example, for 4:3 monitors with a resolution of 1280×1024 pixels, set the following values: bFull Screen=1, iSize H=1024 and iSize W=1280.
5. Save file. If this is not possible, then you should right-click on the file and check if there is a checkmark next to the “Read Only” inscription. If it exists, then remove it.
6. After completing all the steps, you can start the game and enjoy a comfortable resolution. However, in no case do not change the graphic parameters, otherwise all your settings will immediately fly off.

How to set resolution for UltraWide monitors (21:9)?

Users of large 21:9 monitors with a resolution of 3440 by 1440 pixels also experienced problems with Skyrim Special Edition. To set the desired resolution, follow the instructions below:

1. The first step is to open the Skurim Special Edition folder located in the C:\Users\"username"\Documents\My Games\ directory. Then select the Skyrim.ini file and add a few lines to it (if there are none): , SIntroSequence=1
2. Save the file and exit. Next, you need to open the SkyrimPrefs.ini file and edit a few terms:

• bBorderless=0
• bFull Screen=1
• iSize H=1440
• iSize W=3440

The game should now look normal on an UltraWide monitor. True, there is a small risk that the interface will be slightly "cut". Unfortunately, this shortcoming cannot be corrected yet. We need to wait for the transfer of the SkyUI modification to Skyrim Special Edition.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition is the new enhanced version with decent graphic settings. But many players are trying to get wide screen resolution of 2560×1080 on the same. This is not possible without adding mods. Officially the game does not have these resolutions. We also have a guide that can help you to get a stable 60 fps. Click the below link to read that or skip ahead to go with ultra wide resolution settings.

Warnings:

• The settings below require modifying official game files. It is recommended that you copy the original one first and then replace the mods.
• The settings can cause the game slow on launch.

How to get Ultra Wide Screen Resolution at 21:9 aspect ratio:

Method 1:

The process is tricky for this. There is a mod on Nexusmods that tweaks the UI to Ultrawide interface. Most of the 16:9 menus will work well on 21:9 ratio. The output will look great on display with 2560×1080 resolution. It does not support multiple monitor.

1. Download Ultrawide Interface by InAComaDial999 from Nexusmod
2. Extract the content of the file in folder "interface".
3. Copy the folder and paste in C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\skyrim\Data.
4. Now launch the game and test the output.

Method 2:

The below steps are extremely simple but I am not sure whether it will really work or not. Still I am adding the settings you can try.

1. Launch Steam and go to the Game Library.
2. Look for Skyrim Special Edition and right click on it. Click on properties.
3. Under the General Tab look for Set Launch Options.
4. Add the following - -CustomResolution:enabled -r2560x1080x32.
5. Click Ok and then try to launch the game. If it fails remove the above lines and check again.

Method 3:

A number of settings to modify the game settings and resolution can be done through SkyrimPrefs.ini file. We can get around 2560x1080 by modifying simple settings in the file. You can also add higher resolution in the value below.

1. Click on My Documents > My Games > Skyrim and Look for SkyrimPrefs.ini.
2. Right click and choose open with Notepad.
3. Set the following value. iSize H=1080 and iSize W=2560.

Method 4:

1. Another easier way is to use Flawless Widescreen. There are huge numbers of game titles that support this mod. You can download and test out various settings to improve game graphics. If nothing works restore all the original files and modify the graphic settings using Flawless Widescreen.

So these are the simplest methods you can go with to get decent high resolution settings for Skyrim Special Edition. Incase you have anything more to share do add in the game comments section.

Although The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim remaster brought a lot of graphical innovations to the game, it also led to new problems for the players. For example, many have complained to developers that they cannot choose the appropriate resolution for non-widescreen monitors. Fortunately, ordinary users were able to find a solution to this problem.

How to change resolution in Skyrim Special Edition?

It turned out that changing the resolution in the game is quite simple. To do this, do the following:

1. Open the Skyrim Special Edition folder located in the C:Users"username"DocumentsMy Games directory.
2. Select a file called SkyrimPrefs.ini and open it with a regular notepad or Notepad ++ program (recommended, as it is much more convenient to work with).
3. In the file that opens, find the following lines: "bFull Screen=", "iSize H=" and "iSize W=".
4. Next, you should change the resolution as you need. For example, for 4:3 monitors with a resolution of 1280×1024 pixels, set the following values: bFull Screen=1, iSize H=1024 and iSize W=1280.
5. Save file. If this is not possible, then you should right-click on the file and check if there is a checkmark next to the “Read Only” inscription. If it exists, then remove it.
6. After completing all the steps, you can start the game and enjoy a comfortable resolution. However, in no case do not change the graphic parameters, otherwise all your settings will immediately fly off.

How to set resolution for UltraWide monitors (21:9)?

Users of large 21:9 monitors with a resolution of 3440 by 1440 pixels also experienced problems with Skyrim Special Edition. To set the desired resolution, follow the instructions below:

1. The first step is to open the Skurim Special Edition folder located in the C:Users"username"DocumentsMy Games directory. Then select the Skyrim.ini file and add a few lines to it (if there are none): , SIntroSequence=1
2. Save the file and exit. Next, you need to open the SkyrimPrefs.ini file and edit a few terms:

• bBorderless=0
• bFull Screen=1
• iSize H=1440
• iSize W=3440

The game should now look normal on an UltraWide monitor. True, there is a small risk that the interface will be slightly "cut". Unfortunately, this shortcoming cannot be corrected yet. We need to wait for the transfer of the SkyUI modification to Skyrim Special Edition.

Screen resolution

Doesn't the supported screen resolution of the monitor give the correct proportions?
I have a full hd monitor - 1920x1080, if you run the game on it at a resolution of 1024x768 (for some reason), then the monitor will agree to show it, but the picture will be stretched in width, because with the "Proportional stretching of sides" function it is strained there - or not or off by default (didn't search as unnecessary).
on 1920x1200 monitors, where full hd movies for the correct proportions have to be watched with black bars at the top / bottom, the 1024x768 picture will be stretched to a smaller width, but it will also be.

FedyukinThere are permissions convenient for viewing site pages
yes, and this is the native resolution of the monitor (=recommended by Windows, when the map pixel=matrix pixel). if the site is so crooked that it looks bad with a full-width browser, we launch the browser not at full width.,
and changing the resolution of the video card from the physical resolution of the monitor to some other, for example, setting it smaller to please some crooked site - in the case of an LCD monitor, it is simply forced blurring.

1920x1200 ratio 16:10=1.6, 1024x768 ratio 4:3=1.3
you enter three rows of four circles with a diameter of 256 into a 1024x768 image, and whatever one may say, without reducing the actual width of the part of the screen used, they will not be round on a monitor with a 1920x1200 matrix.

The Skyrim engine does not care about the aspect ratio of the monitor - it draws a picture equally well and without distortion (more precisely, different pictures) on 16:9 monitors and on 4:3 monitors - if the mode of the video card matches the aspect ratio of the monitor.

forums.playground.ru

[Tutorial] How to take a screenshot in any resolution in Skyrim

#1 Laxire

1. First of all, we need this program: http://www.nexusmods. rim/mods/7347/?
From the screenshots for it, it is quite clear why it was created: the screen will be normal, even if it is distorted and greatly stretched on the screen during the game / shooting, but this is extremely inconvenient. The program is universal and can be used in other games like The Witcher or DAI, but in the case of Skyrim, it will be more convenient and easiest to use it as an SKSE plugin (accordingly, it requires SKSE). It starts with the game itself and does not require any extra actions.

2. The second necessary (so that there are no technical restrictions for a flight of fancy) element is enb. However, I think if a person does not use enb, then games with a tambourine with permissions are also useless to him. In enb we need a section and lines
ForceBorderless=
ForceBorderlessFullscreen=
in file enblockal.ini.
By default, in many enb there is affixed false.

3. The last one is our idea, fantasy. You need to understand that increasing the resolution will entail an increase in the load on the hardware. A higher resolution requires free video memory, otherwise, apart from the loss of FPS, the game will still periodically “die” and freeze in an evil way. My job is to warn 😀 Most likely, the game will be uncomfortable and you will have to refuse enb in the process. And turn it on only after you choose a place, a pose, an angle, and so on. You need to decide what kind of screen it will be: portrait, panoramic, or within your usual resolution, but enlarged / reduced.

Let's consider all three cases.

Case #1a: portrait shot, let's take a resolution of 1820x2100. Accordingly, we will have 1820 pixels horizontally, and 2100 vertically. I have a monitor with a resolution of 2560x1440, that is, the resolution decreases horizontally, but more than the allowable vertically. In order for the image not to stretch and look adequate, we use a program. To "fit" into the screen - enb.

Step one:
First of all, we need to set the correct settings in the file SkyrimPrefs.ini:

IMPORTANT: bFull Screen=0(.) - this line is responsible for the fact that the game will run in windowed mode. If you put one instead of zero, the game simply will not start, giving an error.

Step two:
Next we go to edit the file enblockal.ini. In the first line we write true to fit 2100 pixels into 1440. Leave the other one on false so that the game does not stretch to full screen.
The note: i always use the same file enblockal.ini, in which the first line is ALWAYS true, second - false. You can do the same and forget about this file.
I also advise you to put the driver settings in order (if someone has not done this) and also poke here:

So that the video card is responsible for scaling, not the monitor.

Step three:
The last step is to go to skyrim/data/skse/plugins and look for " SkyrimUWFM.ini».
We are interested in the ones highlighted by me on the screen:

lines. In principle, it is already clearly written in English, but if someone does not understand, once again:
oaAutoSizeMode= allows you to automatically add, mm, either black bars, or "crop" the picture to the one we need, and 0 after it - we can adjust this cropping manually. Leave this line at 0 and move down to the lines
oaWidth=
oaHeight=
Here, perhaps, the most difficult will begin for some, so I will try to explain in as much detail as possible. In these lines we need to enter the same resolution that we registered earlier in the ini of the game, but so that it fits into our screen. Height- these are our 2100, i.e. - enter your FULL maximum possible vertical resolution. For me it is 1440 (for me it does not mean that for you too, it can be any value, for example, 1080 or 1024). Attention: we prescribe the full resolution because in this case 2100 is what we fit into the monitor FULLY (if made from a 16x9 square, then the empty space will be above and below, if it is portrait from a rectangle - left and right, in short, when choosing that side , which needs to be calculated, you need to think about where this empty space will be). Next we dance with Width. Perhaps the easiest way to explain this is with the equations:
2100=1440*x
1820=Width *x
Width=1440/2100*1820
Or proportion: 2100/1820=1440/width
Everyone went through mathematics at school, so there are problems with finding Width should not be 😀 By simple calculations, we get that Width we have 1248.

So our settings SkyrimUWFM.ini will look like this:
oaWidth=1248
oaHeight=1440
I hope this part is clear... For it is the final one and then we go to launch the game and see what we have done.

If everything is done correctly, but the game should start in the middle of the screen, while you will see a part of the desktop on both sides of the game window. On the screen, you will see only the window of the game itself:

We look at the resolution ... excellent - 2100x1820
Examples of screenshots in 1820x2100 can be seen from Gionight and some other flickr users (if anyone is sitting). Here are a couple of examples from me:

Case #1b… Differs from " a"by the fact that we will immediately take a resolution that does not crawl out of our screen. In this case, we do everything the same as in the previous one, except for the last point. Since I'm too lazy, I have problems with fantasy, we will prescribe the same resolution that we took for SkyrimUWFM.ini, only in SkyrimPrefs.ini. Don't forget about the windowed mode - this is a REQUIRED part for ANY case I've considered. About the second step, in principle, you can also forget. And leave in both lines " false". Given that we did not make any changes to the file SkyrimUWFM.ini(in other words - oaAutoSizeMode=1), the game will "occupy" the full screen and the view will be the same as on the screenshots of the author of the program, i.e. - with black stripes that will not be visible on the screenshots.

Case #2: "panoramic" shot at 3840x1620 resolution. In this case, both sides are larger than the monitor allows. The first step is no different from that described in No. 1a, as well as the second. In the third step, we need to enter the larger side, i.e. - 3840. To do this, according to the formula, we consider Width and Height. Here's what happens:
oaWidth=2560(the maximum possible horizontal resolution of the monitor on my monitor)
oaHeight=1080- the value obtained by calculations. If both sides fit into native resolution - by analogy with #1b. I think it is quite clear and does not require any more detailed explanations.

An example of screenshots in this resolution (I personally don’t really like this resolution when it comes to characters 😀 Therefore, I have such a picture - I can count it on the fingers of one hand):

Case #3: Higher resolution screen, but with the same aspect ratio as the monitor's default. Those. - where the sides increase proportionally, 1280x1024 => 2560=2048, 1920x1080 => 2560x1440 => 3840x2160 => 5120x2880 => 7680x4320, etc.
In this case, you do not need a program. It is enough to prescribe the resolution you need in the game settings, as well as in the section v enblockal.ini in both lines
ForceBorderless=
ForceBorderlessFullscreen=
expose true. (the second one is optional, you can also false leave)
For the sake of tradition - a couple of screenshots from me in 4K

Additions:
1. I use the program msi afterburner and highly recommend it to everyone. As you know, in windowed mode you will not see the changes created by the in-game brightness slider. But on the screen you will have them. If you want to get exactly the same picture in terms of colors as it was in the game (because fraps will also capture brightness) - msi afterburner only. And yes, Fraps, when taking pictures, say, in 4K, will capture only the size of your monitor (let's say you have 1080p, the fourth part of 4K), get a “crop” of the picture.

2. The interface will be adequately displayed only when the aspect ratio in which you start the game matches the aspect ratio of your monitor, in all other cases it will be a little inconvenient. If the pictures are very elongated vertically, then the ability to scroll through the poses will be lost, because. the “back” button will not be visible (those who use poses will understand). I can advise SkyUI, but I'm not sure that a feature is available in the regular version that allows you to scroll through any interface from the keyboard. It will be relevant - I’ll just upload an archive somewhere that allows me to do this. If need be.

3. During the creation of vertical shots, the taskbar may interfere. In this case, you can either place it on the side (google), or in the settings SkyrimUWFM.ini set not the maximum possible resolution (I set 1440, you can set, say, 1350, you just need to understand how it works, and then calculate the value Width respectively 1350 or whatever you take there.)

Actually, that's all. I hope everything is quite usable and understandable (I will be glad to see that it was useful / helped someone).

The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim Special Edition won't launch, freezes, low fps, error appears

The Elder Scrolls series is known and always expected by many players around the world, like other games from Bethesda. The latest game of this line at the moment - Skyrim, has become another great adventure for millions of players around the planet.

Moreover, Bethesda decided to release a reissue of the wonderful Skyrim, which everyone can already purchase or download.

As a result, as is already customary in PC gaming, players are faced with The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim Special Edition not starting, freezing, slowing down or giving an error, as well as various other problems that we will consider in this article. . All sorts of tips collected here will help players get more pleasant emotions from the game.

So, what to do if The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim Special Edition does not want to turn on, twitches, slows down, crashes with errors

• Doesn't start- many people are helped by updating the "firewood" on the graphics card, installing Visial C ++ 2015 (moreover, both 86 and 64 bit versions together, this is important), if Visial C ++ 2015 was already installed in the OS, then it must be removed and installed, the one what came with the game;
• Doesn't turn on- we try to open on behalf of the administrator and / or run compatibility with different versions of Windows;
• How to change the resolution without manually entering the game- this is done in this way: The Elder Scrolls V - Skyrim Special Edition\Skyrim\SkyrimPrefs.ini here we find the values ​​\u200b\u200bof iSize H=1080 and iSize W=1920 (H - in width, W - in height) and set your resolution, plus it is also necessary to select the "Properties" of this file and put the bird in "Read-only" otherwise it will go astray;

• Freeze or slow down- it is important to remember that the Special Edition has become much more demanding (even at times compared to the original, although why would it be, but oh well), especially for laptops, so start by resetting some settings, especially anti-aliasing and shadows, range drawing objects, if it does not help, then read on;
• Freeze, performance issues- especially on laptops, please note that the game can be launched on the built-in video card (and you need a more powerful external one, although not all laptops have it), plus, if you have GeForce Experience installed, then the wrong settings may have been automatically set in it, in including ultra resolution could be set by mistake;
• How to remove the 60 fps limit (i.e. vertical sync)- To do this, you need to perform the following sequence of actions:

With the help of all these tips and tricks, it will be possible to significantly improve the re-release of Skyrim and, perhaps, solve most of the issues from which The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim Special Edition cannot start, freezes, slows down or crashes with an error.

skyrim change resolution

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition, a remastered version of the original game, is finally available on Xbox One, PC and PlayStation 4. This special edition of the game offers all three DLCs and a full console graphical update, as well as mod support. But, the launch on PC didn't go as smoothly as we would like, because the game suffers from many issues such as crashes during launch, low FPS, black screen and others.

Game won't start
To resolve this issue, follow the instructions below. In the game folder you will find two executable files: "skyrimSE.exe and skyrimSELauncher.exe".

- Right click
- Go to Properties
- Click on the Compatibility tab
- Select Windows 7 compatibility mode
- Below select Run as administrator

Black screen on startup

To resolve this issue (for Nvidia users), simply go to Control Panel and switch/change the graphics card the game is using.

Skip the Bethesda intro

Step 1
Open Notepad (or any other text editor). Save an empty text file called BGS_Logo.bik

Step 2
Now open the Skyrim SE Data folder and then Video. The default path should be something like this: C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Skyrim Special Edition\Data\Video

Step 3
Rename the existing BSG_Logo file and save as a backup. Move the text file you saved earlier to this folder.

How to transfer your old saves

Step 1
Find the folder with your original saves. They can be here C:\Users\[Username]\Documents\My Games\skyrim\saves

Step 2
Find (or create if it doesn't exist) the saves folder for your saves
Special Edition at: C:\Users\[Username]\Documents\My Games\Skyrim Special Edition\

Step 3
Now just drag and drop your old saves into the Skyrim Special Edition saves folder

- Right click on desktop
- Select NVIDIA Control Panel
- Select "Manage 3D Settings" under 3D Settings
- On the main part of the window, go to the Program Settings tab
- Look at the list, and if there is no Skyrim Special Edition, add it. You can do this by clicking Add and find the game in the menu that appears.
- Now select Skyrim SE. Options will appear. Select Use global settings for high performance Nvidia processors
- Click Apply

Game won't start after installing mods

- Go to your game folder. The address might be C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Skyrim Special Edition
- Find the contents of the mods folder
- Go to the Data folder and delete everything except for the things listed below:

Video folder
Dawnguard.esm
Dragonborn.esm
Hearthfire.esm
Files starting with Skyrim
Update.esm

- Now all your mods have been removed. You have to install them again, but there is one caveat: install no more than five mods at a time. If you want to install more, install the first five, then exit to the main menu of the game, and then install five more. Repeat this process until all the mods you need are installed.

The game often crashes/crashes
To fix this, disable the "touch keyboard" of the Windows service (press Windows key + R and run services.msc).

Change permission to your

- Navigate to C:\Users\Username\Documents\My Games\Skyrim Special Edition
- Select the file "SkyrimPrefs.ini" and open it with notepad
- Find the following lines

bFull Screen=1
iSize H=1024
iSize W=1280

- Now change the aspect ratio to your own and save the result. For instance:

bFullScreen = 1
ISize H = 1024
ISizeW=1280

- After completing all the above steps, do not change the graphics settings in the game menu, otherwise you will have to edit the file again.

Well, today we will try to figure out how to make Skyrim full screen. This is a fairly easy task that can be done in several ways. None of them will go unnoticed. So let's get started quickly.

Hotkeys

So, the first option that we will consider today is the so-called hotkey combinations. With their help, you can easily answer the question on "Skyrim: "How to make a full screen for the game?" Let's quickly get acquainted with the combination we need.

So, if for the first time you asked yourself a question, then you hardly know at all which keyboard buttons you need to press. But avid gamers can easily answer the question. In order to understand how to make Skyrim full screen, just press Alt and Enter at the same time. This combination will help you deploy absolutely any toy. So, all that remains is to launch the desired program or application, wait until it loads (so that the computer does not "slow down") and press Alt + Enter. This is how Skyrim will unfold on But there are other options. What exactly? Now we will get to know them. After all, you can’t limit yourself to one keyboard!

Settings

Well, are you still wondering how to make Skyrim full screen? Probably, you have just started your acquaintance with the game world. After all, anyone who has ever played something knows that there is a special menu for some functions. It's called "settings". This is where the "customization" of the game for the user takes place.

In order to answer our question today, you will first have to launch the game. In the state and window in which it is currently displayed. Now, using the mouse or keyboard, go to "Settings". Here find Carefully look at the inscriptions. There should be a "full screen" option. Check it off. Now save your changes. See what happened. The game started in the form in which you wished. However, there are a couple of other options that can help you. Let's get to know them. After all, the already proposed methods do not always work.

Alternative way

So, let's see how to make Skyrim full screen if the previous options were useless. Sometimes, for unknown reasons, crashes and malfunctions occur that prevent the correct operation of hotkeys and game settings. But there is a so-called "alternative" way to change the screen mode. Now we will get to know him.

First of all, go to "Start". Now search for the "SkyrimPrefs.ini" file. This is the treasured place that is responsible for the game settings. We will have to work with him. You need to open it with notepad and find the line bFull Screen there. Is there a 0 after the =? Then change to 1. Next is to "percentage" the display of the game. To do this, type 1024 in the iSize H line, and change the W value to 1280. It remains to save the file. You can start the game and enjoy the results achieved. But there is one more option left. It doesn't suit everyone. However, let's break it down.

If there are problems in Steam

So, now it's time to talk to you about the case when all the proposed options have already been left behind, and the game has not yet unfolded. Yes, it is worth noting that this has to do with Steam users. As a rule, they often have problems with the "deployment" of games. Let's try to figure out what's what.

If you are thinking about how to make Skyrim full screen, then first of all try to "walk" through all the previous steps. Did not help? Then you should "clean up" the folder with the game a little. To do this, go to "My Documents". Now find "Skyrim". Open it and see what kind of files are stored there. Delete them and restart your computer. Launch the game using Steam. That's all. The problem is over.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is the fifth installment in the epic role-playing saga The Elder Scrolls. The new game features a vast, detailed fantasy world for you to explore at your own pace. Like the rest of the games in the series, Skyrim lets you choose how you play the game. One can be a warrior, a magician, a thief, or all three at the same time; one can be good, evil, or neither; ignore the main quests and just randomly collect treasures. All these possibilities (and many others) are made possible by the fact that Skyrim contains such unlimited possibilities that only a computer game can have.

When a game developer (Bethesda Game Studios) claims that game content takes literally hundreds of hours, this is not an exaggeration at all. The duration of the gameplay directly depends on how curious and ready for adventure you feel. In terms of graphics, the world around and its inhabitants look even more realistic and alive than ever before. The completeness of the picture is complemented by an excellent musical accompaniment, written by the same composer who wrote the music for Morrowind and Oblivion. This makes an already outstanding game even richer.

The purpose of this guide is to allow you to better understand and put into practice all the configuration options available in Skyrim, as well as familiarize yourself with special advanced settings to improve your gaming experience.

• Processor: 2 GHz dual core CPU (Quad Core CPU)
• RAM: 2GB (4GB) RAM
• Hard disk: at least 6GB free space
• Video Card: DirectX 9 compatible (GeForce GTX 550 Ti or GeForce GTX 260 or higher)
• Sound card: DirectX compatible
• Internet connection: required to access Steam
• Operating system: Windows XP, Vista or Windows 7

In this guide, you will find complete descriptions for all the settings that appear in the game's various options menu. To compare the influence of a certain setting on the quality of the game picture, we provided this material with game screenshots that clearly illustrate the action “before” applying a certain effect and “after” it. Each setting provides detailed information about the effects and possibilities it achieves. Also keep in mind that the level of influence of one or another option specifically on your system depends on the configuration of the latter, as well as on other game settings and general system settings. Here we have tried to provide as much information as possible so that you can make an informed choice (which settings to enable and which not) to achieve the best balance of image quality and performance.

General system optimization

Before proceeding to the settings inside the game, make sure that Windows itself and the drivers are installed correctly. Because due to incorrect settings of the operating system and drivers, a large number of performance problems arise. In particular, slowdowns, freezes or complete “ejection” from the game can be caused precisely by the internal settings of Windows and some old or incorrectly configured drivers. Check out our guide to setting up your PC specifically for gaming, or at least make sure your graphics drivers are up to date with the latest version available.

performance measurement

To evaluate the success of any innovation, you will need something that can objectively measure gaming performance in FPS (Frames Per Second - the number of frames per second). The easiest way to make such measurements is to use the FRAPS utility. Download, install and run this program before launching the game itself. You will see a yellow FPS counter in the corner of the screen. Keep an eye on his readings throughout the game, especially during scenes where graphics are heavily involved: massive battles in large areas, especially around cities. If at the same time your FPS level drops more than twice or to the level of single digits (0-9), then this is a sure sign that you need to adjust some settings so that the minimum FPS level does not fall below 25. Then you will be provided constant support of the optimal level of frame rate.

Keep in mind that in Skyrim, vertical sync (VSync) is enabled by default and cannot be disabled via the in-game settings. This means that your frame rate will be capped by the screen refresh rate, which is typically 60 FPS. Mouse lags are also possible. Some of the ways to deal with the default V-sync issue will be covered in the Advanced Settings section of this guide.

General Settings

Before we take a closer look at the various graphics settings that have the most significant impact on performance and image quality, let's take a look at the other settings. To get into the game settings, you need to launch Skyrim, load a saved game or start a new game. After that, press the ESC key and select the "Settings" menu item.

Graphics-related options will be discussed later, but now let's take a closer look at the gameplay, display and audio settings.

Gameplay

Invert Y: If there is a cross next to this option, then moving the mouse forward will make your character look down, and moving the mouse back will make him raise his head and look up. If this option is not checked, then the character reacts to mouse movements in the forward order: forward - up and back - down.

Look Sensitivity: This slider determines the level of mouse sensitivity: the higher the level of the slider, the more sensitive the mouse becomes to your movements. But remember: if the mouse "lags" even after you set this indicator to the maximum, you need to check the frame rate. If its value is constantly at the level of 20-25 FPS, then you need to adjust the settings so as to improve the FPS level. Only after that the response of the mouse will return to normal. In the Advanced Settings section of this guide, we'll look at some advanced settings that will help mitigate mouse lag.

Vibration: if you have a gamepad capable of transmitting vibration and you use it in Skyrim, then check this option to enable vibration transmission during the game. Otherwise, leave the box empty.

360 Controller: This option must be enabled if you are playing Skyrim with an Xbox 360 joystick. If the aforementioned joystick is connected to your computer, but you do not want to use it to play Skyrim, make sure this option is disabled and / or disconnect controller as otherwise it may cause hardware conflicts.

Difficulty: The game has five levels of difficulty. In order from easiest to hardest, they are called Novice (novice), Apprentice (student, journeyman), Adept (expert, adept), Expert (expert, specialist), and Master (master, master). The higher the difficulty level, the more difficult it is to go through battles: in order to kill the enemy, he will need to inflict more damage. However, unlike Oblivion, the level of enemies in the Skyrim game world will not automatically "pull up" to match your current level. Often, battles will take place with both frankly weak and very strong enemy units. What's more, the difficulty level can be changed at any time, and the changes will take effect immediately.

Show Floating Markers: In your Journal, you can determine which quests to make active with the Enter key or by left-clicking on the names of the respective quests. A small checkmark will appear above each active quest in the journal. In turn, on the compass at the top of the screen, such a quest will be highlighted with an arrow. If this option is enabled, then a smaller version of such an arrow will also float above the corresponding character (object, terrain) from the quest when he is near. Deactivating this option removes floating markers, but does not affect the display of other quest markers.

Save on Rest: If selected, then whenever you go to sleep (Sleep), an autosave will be created (the state at the point in time before going to sleep).

Save on Wait: similar to the previous one. An autosave will be created every time for the moment before selecting the "wait" option (Wait).

Save on Travel: similar to the previous one. The game will automatically save all the time you use the Fast Travel option. Save time: before starting a journey to a new location.

Save on Character Menu: If this option is active, then it can be used to determine the amount of time (in minutes) that must pass before an autosave is created after you enter the Character Menu (default is the TAB key).

Created using one of the four options above, Auto Save files are different from Quick Save files, other manually created "saves" and do not overwrite them. However, the total number of simultaneously existing Auto Save files is limited to three, so more recent "auto saves" will replace previously created ones. Four different autosave options are designed to make it easy to create regular "autosaves". So that in case you forget to save manually or using a quick save, you have at least one more or less fresh and good point to resume the game. If you often use Quick Save or manual saving, then you do not need to activate these four options.

Display

Brightness: This slider controls the overall brightness of the game. Install it according to your preference. The slider position in the middle corresponds to the default brightness level.

HUD Opacity: Allows you to set the transparency (transparency) for the main elements of the Heads Up Display (HUD): compass, crosshair, health, magicka, and stamina levels. The further to the left you move the slider, the more transparent these elements become, until they become completely invisible at the leftmost point of the slider. If the constant presence of a HUD seems intrusive or distracting to you, then you can reduce the level of transparency of its elements, leaving them visible, but less expressive.

Actor Fade, Item Fade, Object Fade, Grass Fade, Light Fade, Specularity Fade: All of these metrics have an impact on performance and image quality and will be covered in their respective sections of this guide.

Crosshair: If you check this box, then a round “front sight” of the sight will appear in the center of the game screen. If you uncheck the box, the sight will disappear. However, even if you turn off the crosshair display, the eye symbol will still be displayed in the middle of the screen during sneaking, indicating the level of "exposure".

Dialogue Subtitles: When this option is selected, subtitles are displayed for the spoken responses of the characters you are in dialogue with. However, anything they say outside of their direct conversation with you will not be shown with subtitles.

General Subtitles: This option determines whether words spoken by characters in the game outside of dialogue with you will be shown as subtitles.

The difference between the last two settings can be illustrated with this example: if you pass by the characters in the game and they mutter something indistinctly, or when you engage in combat with them, then their words will be shown as subtitles with the 'General Subtitles' option enabled . If you are chatting with a specific character and the dialog interface is open, then all the other party's answers will be dubbed with subtitles only when 'Dialogue Subtitles' is selected. If both options are active, then all spoken words will be repeated in the text.

Sound (Audio)

Master: This is the master control for the overall volume of all sounds in the game.
Effects, Footsteps, Voice & Music: These sliders adjust the volume level of the respective game elements.

Many aspects of the gameplay, interface and audio can be adjusted later (during the game process). This will be discussed in more detail in the Advanced Settings section of this guide. And now it's time to consider the various settings related to graphics.

Graphic settings (Video Settings)

The full range of graphics settings is available in the Options menu section, which can be called up whenever you start the game from the Steam game server. In this section, we will take a closer look at each of the graphics settings and see how they affect performance and picture quality.

We start the performance graph for each of the settings from the “base level”, where all options are set to high quality of detail display (High detail preset), and vertical synchronization (VSync) is disabled (how to disable it is in “Advanced Settings” ). From this baseline, we varied specific settings to measure the effect they had on performance and image quality.

The parameters of the system on which we tested the game:

• GeForce GTX 560 1GB
• Intel Core i7 940
• 3GB RAM
• Win7 64-bit
• NVIDIA 285.79 Beta Drivers
• Resolution & Antialiasing

This covers those general video settings that are found in the main Options window, accessible after launching the Skyrim Launcher.

Graphics Adapter: Your graphics card (GPU) is shown here. Check that it is correctly defined. If this is not the case, then see the General System Optimization section of this manual. You can also read the beginning of the Advanced Settings section to learn how to reset all settings to their defaults.

Aspect Ratio: This option determines the ratio of the height and width of your monitor and affects which options are available to you in the Resolution setting. To avoid distortion of the picture, choose the ratio option that matches your monitor. In most modern displays this is 16:9 or 16:10, in older models it is 4:3. The correct aspect ratio should be set automatically, but if you're not sure, then do a simple test: make sure that round objects in the game (like shields) look really round. If such objects are flattened or stretched (have the shape of an ellipse), then the proportions are set incorrectly.

Resolution: This defines the resolution of the game image, expressed as the number of horizontal and vertical pixels (for example, 1920x1080 pixels). The number of resolution options is limited by the following parameters: the capabilities of your video card and monitor; is there a check mark next to ‘Show all resolutions’? the ‘Aspect Ratio’ settings discussed above. The higher the resolution level you select, the more detailed the image on the monitor screen will be. You should also not forget that too high a resolution can provoke and increase the load on the system (in particular, on the video card), as a result of which the overall level of gaming performance will decrease. For a clearer image on LCD monitors, you need to select the highest possible resolution level (the so-called "native" resolution of the monitor). In the same case, when you choose a resolution below the possible maximum, also check the box next to the 'Windowed Mode' box, the value of which will be discussed later in the text.

The graph shows the changes in the FPS value depending on changes in the resolution settings:

The graph shows that the FPS value is inversely proportional to the resolution level: the better the image, the lower the performance. But in our game, the FPS does not drop as much as in others. The thing is that in Skyrim the level of loading of the central processing unit (CPU) is forcibly limited. This means that if your processor is a little weak, but you have a powerful graphics card, then changing the resolution will not have any noticeable effect on the overall system performance.
Windowed Mode: if you want to run Skyrim in a separate window on the Desktop (so that the game does not take up the entire screen, hiding other applications and Windows elements) - then check this box. Running the game in this mode is the best solution if you need to reduce the resolution of the game screen to improve performance while maintaining image clarity. However, this can cause problems with memory allocation in the system, so if you observe any instability, then it is better to return to full screen mode.

Antialiasing: Antialiasing (AA) is a technique that reduces jagged lines in Skyrim and has four options: Off, 2 Samples, 4 Samples, and 8 Samples. This corresponds to a multiplicity of 0, 2, 4 and 8 times multi-smoothing (Multi-Sample Anti-Aliasing, MSAA). The higher the level of smoothing, the less jagged will be the contours of various objects in the game world. But the higher the potential level of FPS loss.

In the pictures above, notice the roof of the building and the wooden fence just behind the player character. When anti-aliasing is not applied, the contours of these objects have a pronounced "teeth" effect. When the AA level is set to "2 Samples", the roughness is already largely smoothed out. At the “4 Samples” level, the lines are almost perfectly even. All the charm of choosing the level of "8 Samples" with the naked eye is quite difficult to appreciate, at least in these static screenshots.

Regardless of the level of anti-aliasing we choose, some parts of the game will still appear somewhat jagged, especially foliage. This can be fixed by using the FXAA filter (more on that later), or by forcing Transparency Antialiasing, which is discussed in detail in the Video Driver Settings section of this guide.

The performance impact of changing this setting is shown below:

Anti-aliasing can have a significant impact on FPS, but a lot also depends on the resolution you choose. As you can see from the graph, using 8x MSAA has a significant performance impact overall, resulting in only a marginal improvement in image quality. By and large, if you want to use anti-aliasing, then the best options are 2x or 4x MSAA. But if you need to increase the FPS level, then MSAA is the thing to turn off first. FXAA can also be considered as an alternative way to smooth images, but we will talk about it later. Note also that 8x MSAA caused artifacts at 2560x1600, so we didn't measure performance on this combination of settings.

Anisotropic Filtering

Anisotropic Filtering: Anisotropic filtering (AF) is a texture enhancement technique designed to improve image clarity on surfaces at an angle to the viewer. Similar textures are visible in the pictures below, if you look at the road that opens in front of us. Here, anisotropic filtering is first turned off, and then its multiplicity is increased from two to sixteen times. The higher the AF ratio used, the clearer and more distinct the road surface becomes, receding into perspective.

In these in-game screenshots, you can see how the image quality changes when a certain AF level is applied. This effect is most noticeable on the main path of wooden blocks and on the stone road running parallel to it: with increasing AF, they become clearer. Already with an anisotropic filtering factor of 2, the overall improvement in detail looks significant, and with 4x AF applied, the clarity of textures at medium distances is noticeably higher than before applying the filter. With a factor of 8, even the most distant surfaces become clearer, and 12 and 16 make only barely noticeable improvements compared to the previous level.

If you want to improve the quality of textures even more using anisotropic filtering, then this parameter can be forced to be activated through the control panel of the video card. In this case, the image quality will be much sharper compared to applying AF directly through the game's graphics settings interface. This issue will be discussed in more detail in the Video Driver Settings section of this guide.

The dependence of performance on changes in AF indicators is shown below:

Anisotropic filtering has a very small impact on the performance of modern graphics cards. In fact, 8 AF is the best option, while 16 AF is the choice for those who want maximum image clarity with little loss of performance. If you have an outdated video card or you have to literally “pull out with your teeth” every unit in the FPS indicator, then 2 AF is enough to feel a noticeable improvement in texture quality compared to the complete absence of such a filter.

Detail Presets

Detail: There are four basic auto-settings for the graphics quality level in the game: Low (Low), Medium (Medium), High (High) and Ultra (Ultra). Each preset affects a wide range of settings, as well as the effect of antialiasing filters (Antialiasing) and anisotropic filtering (Anisotropic). In general, such a composition has a significant effect of improving performance and image quality. However, do not forget that all installations have been made for you and are supplied as a ready-made kit. Therefore, using presets is not the option when you need to customize the graphics in Skyrim clearly for yourself with jewelry precision.

The figures above show the differences between the capabilities of each of the presets:

• at a low level (Low), the image looks generally acceptable, but the detail of the game world is frankly poor. The textures are very blurry despite the fact that the texture quality (Texture Quality) is set to "Medium", and this is not the lowest possible value. Grass and foliage are almost invisible, objects seem unusual in the game world, the shadows are very short: therefore, everything that is already behind the character does not cast shadows at all. In the water, except for the sky, nothing else is reflected. Antialiasing and Texture Filtering filters are also not applied, which manifests itself in jagged contours and blurring of distant images.
• at medium level (Medium), the parameter "quality of textures" (Texture Quality) is set to the highest value. However, this does not greatly affect the level of clarity of the overall picture due to the parallel activated FXAA and quadruple multi-smoothing (Multisample Antialiasing). The last filters are used to reduce jagged textures. The increase in shadows, the appearance of trees and other details in the distance add more depth to the overall picture. Water already reflects not only the sky, but also the main elements of the terrain, which looks more realistic.
• at the "high" (High) level, objects look much clearer, since FXAA, eight times multi-smoothing (Multisample Antialiasing) and eight times anisotropic filtering (Anisotropic) are active at the same time. Together, these filters improve image quality by minimizing blurring. Grass and leaves look much more believable, as do objects nearby. Sheds, stumps, stones and a bridge stand out for their realism on the right, and the ground surface (both near and far) takes on clearer contours. The shadow from the character is much clearer (since its resolution has been increased), the rest of the shadows have increased to normal length. Water already reflects everything, not just the sky.
• at the "Ultra" level, noticeable differences are visible on distant objects. Most of the objects on the right began to cast shadows, the number of trees on the mountain top increased, and the mountains themselves became more detailed. The surface of the water has undergone minor changes, becoming more similar to the color tones of the sky. By increasing the level of anisotropic filtering (Anisotropic) to 16, distant textures also become noticeably clearer.

The dependence of the performance level on changes in the detail settings is shown below:

The graph shows how significantly the performance can change depending on the different detail settings. The transition from Medium to High is very significant at low resolutions, reducing the frame rate by almost half. But in any case, the set of settings for each of the presets is far from ideal. We advise you to start with the detail settings that best suit your system (without overloading it), and then adjust each filter individually to achieve the best balance of performance and quality of the game image.
In the next section, we begin a detailed study of all the graphics settings that are available by clicking on the "Advanced" (Advanced) button in the Skyrim Options window.

Texture Quality & Radial Blur Quality

Texture Quality: Textures (generally) are images that cover the surfaces of all objects in the game world, giving their appearance an effect of depth and detail. This setting controls the level of detail for textures and has options for low (Low), medium (Medium) and high (High) levels. As they change from low to high, the visual depth and detail of the structures increases, improving the overall perception of the picture.

In the screenshots above, you can see how the use of varying degrees of this effect affects the image quality. At the Low level, surfaces and objects are very poorly detailed. This is done primarily to ensure that the game runs even on the weakest system configurations. On Medium, the overall picture already looks much more detailed: the leaves become more distinguishable, the bark on the trees is more realistic, and the road is structured and deep. The rocky hill, visible in the distance to the right, also acquires pronounced detail. When using High, the difference with the previous level is also very noticeable: the bark and leaves become even clearer, the road is clearer, and the rocks (regardless of the distance) are “overgrown” with new details.

Try to use anisotropic filtering (AF, covered earlier in the tutorial) in order to improve texture clarity. Also keep in mind that FXAA settings (discussed later) contribute to a slight blurring of the overall picture and can therefore reduce the clarity and definition of textures. Therefore, if very sharp textures are important to you, FXAA should not be used.
The impact of this indicator on the performance level is shown below:

As you can see from the graph, this setting has a very moderate effect on the FPS level. However, the graph cannot show that if your video card has a low amount of RAM (Video RAM; VRAM), then you may start to experience a slight “braking” or periodic “lags” when using the High level. The minimum level we recommend is Medium, because at Low the details are still too blurry to enjoy the game.

Radial Blur Quality: This setting controls the amount of visibility of the Radial Blur effect, which is most often used to simulate disorientation and pain if you miss hits in battle. It's called "Radial" because the jitter and blurriness seem to diverge in circles from the center of the screen. Three options (levels) are available for this effect: low (Low), medium (Medium) and high (High). As practice shows, there is no significant difference between these three levels.

Comparative screenshot frames were intended to demonstrate the difference in applying each of the levels of this setting, but it is rather problematic to see it due to the fact that this is a dynamic effect in itself. While the screenshots show Medium and High as being more jittery than Low, during dynamic gameplay, the overall amount of jitter for each level looks about the same. With this setting, you won't be able to disable the effect completely (if you don't like it). For more information on how to do this, see the Advanced Settings section of this guide.

The performance impact of changing this setting is shown below:

The graph confirms that changing the Radial Blur Quality parameter does not have a noticeable effect on game performance (mainly due to the fact that changing the levels of the parameter itself does not significantly affect the visual image).

Number of decals and shadow detail (Shadow Detail & Decal Quantity)

Shadow Detail: This setting determines the overall resolution of most shadows cast by players, objects, and buildings in Skyrim, as well as the length of those shadows. Four levels are available: low (Low), medium (Medium), high (High) and ultra (Ultra).

You can see in the images above that at Low, the hero and the tree near him cast fuzzy shadows due to their low resolution setting to save game performance. At the Medium level, the contours of the shadows become more visible. When using High, they take on even more detailed outlines, although some blurring still remains. Additional shading becomes noticeable at medium distances. At Ultra level, there is a subtle improvement in the appearance of shadows, they also appear on rocks and a canopy located in the distance.

Due to the specific nature of game shadows, their quality will differ markedly depending on the distance and light source. For example, a shadow cast by an indoor object from a nearby fire will have smoother edges and appear more detailed. And the shadows from objects that are farther from the fire will remain "square". By the way, we noticed a small game glitch (not only in this game moment) and it can be seen in the pictures above: after the shadow detail level changes from High to Ultra, additional leaves appear on far-standing trees.

There are several ways to add and adjust shadows using the set of commands described in the Advanced Settings section. You can also add beauty to the game atmosphere by even more in-depth display of shadows using the preset Ambient Occlusion. For more information, see the Video Driver Settings section.

How gaming performance changes depending on the change in the shadow detail parameter can be seen in this figure:

The graph shows the significant impact of shadow detail level on FPS. This is not surprising since shadows are widely used throughout the game world. In practice, the effect of this parameter on FPS can be even more significant in some gaming episodes, so use it sparingly so as not to hurt performance and get rid of "lag" in some specific episodes. For example, simply switching from Ultra to High can boost FPS noticeably without any loss in image quality.

Decal Quantity: This setting determines the number of decals that can be seen at once. As a rule, decals are small images that are additionally applied to characters, objects and the surrounding area. These may be pieces of dirt, blood, or traces of charring. Available options: none (None), medium (Medium), high (High) and ultra (Ultra). However, it seems that this option has no effect on blood splatter in Skyrim, because even with the setting turned off, your weapons, enemies, and the screen (on the back) still remain quite bloody during the battle.

The main differences when varying different levels of this attunement were seen in the appearance of a large number of black charred spots on the ground after the use of destructive spells. They are not present when Decal Quantity is not enabled at all; at the Medium level, quite a lot of them already appear; Switching to High and Ultra levels does not noticeably increase the number of decals that simultaneously appear on the screen. Although in practice it is rather difficult to count the number of decals that appear in most scenes, the theoretical values ​​for the maximum number of these additional images are as follows: None - 0, Medium - 100, High - 250 and Ultra - 1000.

The performance dependence on changing this parameter is presented below:

It can be seen from the graph that this setting has very little effect on the performance of the game, although it can slightly "load" the system in massive battles when spells are used and a lot of decals are generated (like blood, soot, etc.). Since in most cases high settings do not produce drastic changes in appearance, we recommend setting it to Medium for the best balance of performance and picture quality.

FXAA & Water Reflections (FXAA & Water)

FXAA: NVIDIA's FXAA filter (short for Fast Approximate Anti-Aliasing) is a jagged edge smoothing method that has proven to be very effective to moderately effective. Four options for its action are available for selection: off (Off), low (Low), medium (Medium) and high (High). FXAA can be used in place of, or in conjunction with, the standard in-game Antialiasing filter we covered earlier in this guide.

The screenshots above show the basic combinations of the various anti-aliasing filters available in Skyrim. On the first couple of images, the standard antialiasing (Antialiasing) was not used at all, only the FXAA effect is visible there. When this filter is turned on, the total number of jagged lines becomes much smaller, such as the outline of the top of the bridge in the distance, bushes and trees, the outlines of a horse and rider on it. However, this filter also blurs the overall picture a little, making it a little hazy and reducing the clarity of the textures, as seen in the example of the wooden planks of the bridge in the foreground. In the third image, FXAA is already off, and 8x standard anti-aliasing (8xAA) is enabled instead. Comparing the third image with the first and second (where only FXAA was used), it can be seen that eight times the level of AA eliminates the "aliasing" on most objects without blurring them like FXAA. The overall picture itself looks much clearer, however, it is worth noting that 8x AA does not smooth out the foliage. Well, the last image is presented, where FXAA and 8x AA are included together. It looks extremely smooth. Be that as it may, the overall picture is still not as blurry as with FXAA alone, and fog is more noticeable.

The performance impact of changing this filter's values ​​is shown below:

FXAA stays true to its reputation as a moderately efficient filter, with minimal impact on FPS at various resolutions. This makes it an indispensable assistant for those players who are looking for a resource-sparing and fairly effective anti-aliasing tool to replace the more intensive and resource-consuming anti-aliasing filter option available in the game menu. On the other hand, if FXAA blurring is a concern for you, but you still want to achieve smooth foliage, you can enable Transparency Antialiasing, which we will discuss in more detail in the Video Driver Settings section.

Water: There are four options for the reflection that appears on the water surface: Reflect Land, Reflect Trees, Reflect Objects, and Reflect Sky. If you wish, you can turn off all reflections by unchecking the corresponding boxes (Reflect None), or vice versa, use them all together (Reflect All). Depending on the selected reflection option, the colors and realism of the water in the game will change.

The screenshots above compare the main water reflection options. Pay attention to the water around the nearby ruins and the water that is quite far away. When all reflections are turned off, the water looks fairly even, a pale blue color. When Reflect Land is enabled, the general contours of the landscape are visible in the water. By activating Reflect Trees, you can clearly see the reflections of the trees in the water. In the screenshot with Reflect Objects turned on, you can see that rocks and more detailed elements of the earth's surface are already visible in the water. Sky Reflection (Reflect Sky) affects the appearance of the water surface, giving it realistic highlights and changing the color. When all these options are selected together, then in comparison with the Reflect None screenshot, the Reflect All image clearly shows the depth and realism of the picture, achieved thanks to various reflected elements.

The dependence of performance on changing the parameters of the reflection options is shown below:

This graph shows that when the reflection options are enabled individually, they do not have any measurable impact on gaming performance. However, when they are turned on all together, there will be a slight jump in frame rate. Considering how dramatically these options can improve the realism and depth of bodies reflected in water, it's generally advisable to leave them enabled. At least not unless you are fighting for every FPS unit when you have large water surfaces in game scenes.

Objects and characters in view (Object & Actor Fade)

There are a number of settings on the View Distance tab of the Advanced Options window. They determine the distance between you and the object (character, object) necessary for this object (character, object) to be in your field of vision (or disappear from it). It is important that the effect of falling into / disappearing from the field of view, obtained with various combinations of the options described below, directly depends on whether you are approaching a specific object (character, object) or moving away from it. For example, if you approach a rock with the lowest Object Fade level set, that rock will instantly appear in front of your eyes, just a few steps away. But when you move away from her, you will need to overcome twice the distance so that she disappears from view again.

Object Fade: This slider determines the distance at which secondary game objects, such as fences, rocks, paths, etc., become visible. When this setting is at its minimum, some objects in the distance will not be visible and will only appear in view when you start to approach them. The distance at which they begin to appear is determined by the position of the slider: the further to the left it is, the closer you will need to be to the object in order for it to appear before your eyes.

The images above show the effects when the slider is set to Minimum (Minimum, 1), Medium (Medium, 8), and Maximum (Maximum, 15). When going from Minimum to Medium, a number of additional objects become visible, including some new rocks in the middle of the screen, a path to the far left, and many dry branches, rocks, and small boulders throughout the landscape. At the Maximum level, the main changes are to increase the detail of small bushes and stone ledges, respectively, to the far left and far right of the center of the screen.

The impact of this setting on game performance is shown below:

The graph shows that as the level of Object Fade increases, the FPS starts to decrease, but this is not the main thing. The main reason why this setting should not be too low (preferably leaving it at the Medium level - 7 or 8) is so that during your wanderings around the game world you will not miss interesting objects and objects standing nearby.

Actor Fade: This slider adjusts the distance at which characters and creatures can be seen. Similar to Object Fade: the lower the slider goes, the closer you need to be in order for these creatures to become visible to you.

The screenshots show the slider positions corresponding to the levels "minimum" (Minimum, 2), "medium" (Medium, 8) and "maximum" (Maximum, 15). There are four different people and a chicken in the situation. With the minimum Actor Fade level, none of this is visible. On the middle one, an elderly woman and a chicken in the middle of the screen are already visible, while the other three people are still not visible. When switching to maximum at the end of the path, two adults and a small boy are now visible, although they are quite difficult to distinguish.

The dependence of performance on changes in this indicator is visible below:

The graph shows a slight drop in FPS as Actor Fade increases. The battles and interaction of the main character with other characters is one of the key ideas of Skyrim, so we strongly recommend not to underestimate this indicator if there is no urgent need to "pull" the FPS. Alternatively, using the Minimum level will result in you literally colliding foreheads with other characters or creatures that suddenly appear right in front of your nose.

Grass & Specularity Fade

Grass Fade: This slider adjusts the amount of grass and small shrubs that appear in the respective game locations (forest, meadow, etc.). The lower the level of this parameter is set, the less vegetation is visible on the surface of the earth.

The images clearly show the difference between the three positions of the slider: “minimum” (Minimum, 0), “medium” (Medium, 3) and “maximum” (Maximum, 7). At the Minimum level, the ground in front of us is devoid of grass throughout. Sparse patches of grass are visible only in the immediate foreground, and a few solitary fern bushes can be seen in the distance. When using the medium level, the amount of small vegetation noticeably increases: grass and small grass bushes cover almost the entire road, approximately to the middle of the field of view. At the Maximum level, the entire field (even at a fairly large distance) is already densely covered with grass. But still, in the farthest corners, small “bald” pieces are visible.

The dependence of performance on the settings of this parameter is discussed below:

The graph shows that the Grass Fade setting has an impact on gaming performance, but in many cases it is not significant. And since the grass is not the most important thing in the game (and sometimes it can even obscure some objects and territories), it is appropriate to reduce this parameter to a reasonable extent if you need additional performance in outdoor scenes.

Specularity Fade: This slider is designed to adjust the level of brightness (shine) of many objects in the game world. However, in practice, its influence is almost in no way manifested.

The available levels of this setting change from minimum (Minimum, 2) to maximum (Maximum, 15). In the additional settings, you can also select the “ultra” level, then the Maximum value will become 20. Be that as it may, the screenshots above make it clear that there is absolutely no difference between the minimum (2) and maximum (20) influence of this setting. And this despite the fact that the room is full of shiny and shimmering surfaces. Barely visible changes are visible only in the density of smoke rising from the torches.

How this setting affects game performance is shown below:

The graph confirms that “from nothing there will be nothing”: since this setting does not produce visible visual effects, it almost does not affect performance in any way. This is a great reason to set it to a minimum in order to win an extra couple of FPS units without feeling it on the quality of the game picture.

Heat from fire and small objects coming into view (Light & Item Fade)

Light Fade: This slider adjusts the distance from which fire from various sources (bonfires, torches, etc.) becomes more clearly visible. In practice, this effect establishes the realism of the heat emanating from the fire and rarefied air in its immediate vicinity. The effect is best seen indoors.

The images show different levels of this effect: “minimum” (Minimum, 2), “medium” (Medium, 18) and “maximum” (Maximum, 35). On closer examination, subtle changes are hardly discernible, and during the gameplay they are not visible at all. If you take a closer look at these pictures, it becomes clear that on the torch on the right the fire has become more distinct, and in the brazier, in addition, rarefied air rising up from the flame is also clearly visible. The overall picture in the room becomes a little brighter.

The impact of this effect on game performance is depicted below:

The graph shows that applying the Light Fade effect has a negligible impact on performance levels. Since this effect affects the game picture in much the same way, it can be safely minimized if you need to increase the FPS level. It would be wise to turn it on as much as possible when the action takes place in dark dungeons to make them a little lighter.

Item Fade: This visual setting sets the distance at which small items (weapons, armor, potion vials, scrolls, etc.) enter your field of view. The lower the level of the slider, the closer you need to be near the item in order for it to become visible to you.

In the game sequence, captured in the pictures above, we see a large number of various objects densely scattered along the entire length of the road, on the bridge and near a small shack standing in the distance. When the minimum level is set (Minimum, 1), only nearby items are visible: a few mushrooms, a book, a scroll, and a couple of potion bottles. At an average level (Medium, 8), absolutely all objects become visible, including barely visible weapons, scrolls and shields in front of the barn. At the Maximum level, there are no cardinal changes with the previous image: all /pobjects are just as well visible and just as poorly distinguishable. But the vagueness of the outlines is more likely due to their microscopic size at such a decent distance.

The performance dependency on the Item Fade parameter can be illustrated below:

It can be seen from the graph that this parameter leads to a noticeable, albeit insignificant, jump in the FPS level, especially at its highest levels. For gaming purposes, we strongly recommend that you do not drop this parameter below the average level. If you set it to a minimum, then you will simply lose sight of very important and useful items while exploring the game world only because you will not notice them.

Object Detail

Distant Object Detail: This setting adjusts the level of detail for distant game objects. As a rule, these are hills and mountains: they surround almost any game landscape. Available levels: low (Low), medium (Medium), high (High) and ultra (Ultra). The lower the level you choose, the less detail will be visible in the distance. Although it is worth noting that this setting affects the realism and atmosphere of the game to a greater extent than the gameplay.

The screenshots above capture the changes brought to the distant landscape by each change in the level of detail. Pay particular attention to the mountains in the distance. At Low, they are mostly bare, angular, and devoid of any vegetation. At an intermediate level, they are already beginning to gradually fill with content, acquiring shadows, shape and a detailed surface. At the High level, the main innovation is the trees at the foot of the mountains. When set to Ultra, the trees fill the entire mountain surface, making it more believable. The important thing is that this setting does not affect human buildings in any way (as can be seen from the building on the far right).

How this setting affects gaming performance is shown below:

An obvious consequence of a cursory analysis of the graph is that as the level of this effect increases, performance decreases. This is especially noticeable when using the level of detail Ultra. Since this setting has no effect on gameplay, you can easily lower it to High or Medium to win extra performance in large open areas.

Object Detail Fade: The purpose of this effect is to provide additional options for adjusting the subtle details of objects in the game world. When enabled, non-essential details will be hidden to improve gaming performance. But if you like higher detail images, then you should uncheck this option.

At first it is difficult to find any differences in these two images. If you look more closely, it becomes noticeable that on the mountain slope in the distance to the left and in the center the ivy disappears when the effect is turned on. Also missing is a small patch of moss and a rock on the far right. In other words, the effect does not bring tangible changes, changing only very minor details.

How this effect changes gaming performance can be seen below:

The graph illustrates the slight increase in FPS when this effect is enabled. It makes sense to use it if you need to win a few FPS points. Especially considering that it has almost no effect on the game picture, removing objects, the loss of which is not immediately easy to notice.

Afterword

For those players who are used to spending their time immersed in the exploration of numerous quests and secrets, Skyrim provides a world of almost endless gaming possibilities. Try to avoid the temptation to rush through the game, and get an unforgettable pleasure from the sharp and detailed structured gameplay.

As far as general gaming performance goes, it's a good idea to play Skyrim with a good graphics card and processor in order to achieve a consistently high frame rate when using max settings. Sometimes a game can be limited by the level of load that it has on the central processor, so sometimes “braking” will simply be inevitable, especially on weak system configurations. On the other hand, such a forced restriction on the use of CPU resources has advantages for owners of powerful graphics cards: they can significantly increase the level of visual effects without any loss of FPS. However, certain new graphics settings that are available in Skyrim (we are talking primarily about the Shadow Detail settings) are very resource intensive. Shadows, along with anti-aliasing, are the first two settings that should be limited in order to avoid overloading weak systems. Everything else is for the most part a matter of taste for each player.Of course, if you like to experiment, then the possibilities of advanced settings allow you to more accurately set the compromise line on which performance and quality of the game image are always balanced.

If after reading this guide you still have questions and difficulties with the game settings, need some tips on gameplay, or just want to know more about upcoming patches and new downloadable content (DLC) for Skyrim, you are welcome to the official Skyrim forums .