OldUnreal (Engine)

yes, there is

MaxAnisotropy - [Integer]
Controls the use and level of anisotropic texture filtering. Disabled if set to 0. Should make no difference if set to 1 (isotropic texture filtering). If set to greater than 1, specifies the maximum degree of anisotropy to use for texture filtering.

Indeed a good idea, fits even better here. Already 2 makes a noticeable difference.

As for software, it wasn't changed that way, it's still the way it was in older versions, but do you have the speed problem in the updated version as well there?

Yes, in software mode. Direct3D or OpenGL work fine with the FPS Limit, but the texture filtering hurts my eyes.

I don't see how any settings is helping. Textures are still filtered. The game brightness is also screwed up in any mode, its like the gamma setting goes through the roof and the game is made for that. Lowering the gamma you can't see a thing, leaving it like that makes it all bright and bad looking.

I got a few screenshots, but the non-software ones are very dark. You might have to up your gamma settings to see them correctly. Thats because both OpenGL and Direct3D pumps up the gamma up while the light is naturally lower, which is what I hate so much about them.

This represents the lighting issue I have with NoFiltering=True in Direct3D or OpenGL:
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/21 ... issue.jpg/

The 2 next is Software, then OpenGL. Software looks much better, the textures are sharper and the lights are vivid.

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/28/softwaren.jpg/
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/20/toodark.jpg/

NoFiltering does make the texture look more like Software, but the light issue is just too immersion breaking, and the lighting is still bad.

I know how picky that all sound. And I haven't even discussed the other problems of why I wanted to stick to the older Unreal version.

I think I'll just go back to finding a way to make Software work correctly.

The lightning/gamma problem is probably coming from a bad setting somewhere in your inis.

As for the textures in software, they look sharper because they are pixellated in that strange software way whereas they are clean and neat in openGL. OpenGL looks much better with detail textures.

Heh, no.

I get that this is a matter of opinion, but detail textures or not the textures are pixelated. You don't filter and try to make pixelated textures smooth. It just makes them blurry and unfocused, which is hard to look at for me.

Here is how it looks like for me. I don't see how this could be compared with pixel software rendering

Maybe I got already to used to it, but even with Glide it didn't look any better in my opinion.

You're using hi-res textures, are you not? This won't help in custom maps with old textures or if you're not using hi-res textures. The lighting is still largely inferior.

Yes, but most custom maps are using plain default textures too, only a little amount uses customs textures, the overall quality and impression is still very improved. If or if not using the high res textures is of course a matter of personal choice again, but for me it was as if someone had opened my eyes when I've seen the huge difference for the first time.

Anway, here is a shot with original textures:

Yes, with the original textures it look really bad. Blurry, again. Lighting is messed up, too uniform. I'm lacking the words to define this lighting that is driving me nuts. The beauty of the game is completely gone with OpenGL or Direct3D.

EDIT: That OneXBlending seems to be making a difference for that, though. Looking better already.

And sorry, I never quite appreciated HD that much in old games. They look like they don't belong.

uhm. I have to admit, I fail to agree. Softdrv is in any aspect rough, unprecise, hard cutting (for lighting too) and pixellated. I have no idea how one can feel that this better than the smooth results with the other render drivers. And yes, I mean smooth, not blurry- if you have a look at the original textures in editor, and I mean as picture/graphic, and not used as in-game texture, they look absolutely the same. It's just the way they are.
That also explains the difference when using the high res textures- they fix the origin of the blurry look by increasing the quality of the template.

And lighting just does the same as Glide did and what it always looked like, how it was intended....

*shrugs*

No idea anymore

Well, to be fair I'm extremely picky, and I got some issues resolved even in OpenGL so it looks to my taste, more or less. I should have tried more carefully the options people had given me above.

OneXBlending to True is what makes lighting looks so horrible. Its on by default in anything that supports it. Software doesn't have it. Having it to False is mandatory for me, thats how the Unreal lighting looks the best.

LODBias at -2 was not enough, -3 to -5 is better. Anything far away looks a bit weird, like in software, but it doesn't look blurry.

And I think you're mixing blurry with pixellated. Just because you can see the pixels doesn't make them blurry. Low res texture with filtering however, appear blurry. Maybe the problem here is just what we consider blurry.

In any case, I'm fairly happy with how it looks now, so thanks guys. I just wish I could increase the resolution without making the HUD smaller, but that is another thing entirely.

I surely don't mix up blurry and pixellated, just SoftDrv surely has its own way to display things and the blurry what you are talking about is indeed caused by the original texture- many things are influencing this, like filtering, mipmapping, the anisotropy, etc.
In the end I think its a matter of personal impression and that's something you surely can discuss, but never argue about

Well, in any case I'm happy you found a way now which is satisfying.