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Mass Effect 3 PC Thread: Fixing Bioware's broke-ass console port, now with holstering

moop1167

Member
Actually, for the record, normal MSAA + supersampling transparency AA DOES NOT WORK. It just lowers performance but reduces jaggies in no way at all. The Mass Effect 1 + 2 compatibility bits do not work on Mass Effect 3.

The only AA for Nvidia that works is the SGSSAA custom bit. So yes, you do have to use SGSSAA to get rid of jaggies unless you use super high resolutions for downsampling purposes.

You sure? I ran 8xAA + 4xSSAA and I saw a reduction in jaggies. You can tell in the opening area because the buildings in Vancouver had less aliasing then with it off. Using a combined AA mode did the trick as well. I dunno =/

Anyways, did you see the "busemaxqualitymode=false" entry in the coalesced? Any idea what it does?
 
You sure? I ran 8xAA + 4xSSAA and I saw a reduction in jaggies. You can tell in the opening area because the buildings in Vancouver had less aliasing then with it off. Using a combined AA mode did the trick as well. I dunno =/

Anyways, did you see the "busemaxqualitymode=false" entry in the coalesced? Any idea what it does?

I'm sure. I just ran through the same area with MSAA + SSAA and then full blown OGSSAA (2x2) and neither of them did a damn thing for jaggies. It's all placebo unfortunately. For some reason those old AA bits seem to be broken.

Have you tried turning it on yet? Not sure if the game would use that, I just forced max quality via Gamersettings.ini.
 

moop1167

Member
I'm sure. I just ran through the same area with MSAA + SSAA and then full blown OGSSAA (2x2) and neither of them did a damn thing for jaggies. It's all placebo unfortunately. For some reason those old AA bits seem to be broken.

Have you tried turning it on yet? Not sure if the game would use that, I just forced max quality via Gamersettings.ini.

I can't get the same to load my savegame right now for some reason so no I haven't tried it.
 

njean777

Member
This is the first Mass Effect I've played on the PC. The only one I've played previously was Mass Effect 2 on 360.

Download it over Origin, 360 controller in hand. Doesn't respond? Maybe it's in the options? Nope. Google it and what the fuck is this shit?

Apparently it's 1995 again and nobody uses a gamepad.

Fucking Bioware. First SWTOR is a piece of shit now this.

Welcome to Bioware, been slipping since ME2 and keep on going down the mountain. Oh and their fans keep on accepting it and not caring because, Bioware=God, they can do no wrong.
 

RedSwirl

Junior Member
All I think I really need here is a texture pack. Other than that I'm fine with how the game looks and runs. Haven't seen a single tear and barely a frame drop or jaggie in sight.
 

curttard

Banned
Playing with Pinnacle Game Profiler and 360 controller, it's playable but still very clumsy navigating menus and choosing squadmate powers by having to move the cursor around with the right stick. Lack of gamepad support in this day and age, nevermind for a game whose lead platform is 360, is ridiculous.

What happened to the film grain? No time and money to put that in either? It was in both previous games and I miss it in this one.
 
The low res textures are really starting to shit me off.

The icing on the shit sandwich is that details like medals and frills are just normal mapped on the clothes. So you just get this blocky square mess sticking up from everyone's uniforms.

Then you have the reasonably high face textures going down into the torso and you see the low res on the upper torso sitting there taunting you.

I've got a GTX 5-fucking-70. I don't need textures made for a Voodoo 2.
 

Lime

Member
The low res textures are really starting to shit me off.

The icing on the shit sandwich is that details like medals and frills are just normal mapped on the clothes. So you just get this blocky square mess sticking up from everyone's uniforms.

Then you have the reasonably high face textures going down into the torso and you see the low res on the upper torso sitting there taunting you.

I've got a GTX 5-fucking-70. I don't need textures made for a Voodoo 2.

Yeah, it's really ridiculous. The texture resolution have simply become beyond the pale. Liara's alternate outift (the white&blue armor) looks like a PS1 texture.
 

Paracelsus

Member
Is it normal that despite forcing 8xSSAA the game looks like it has 2 samples if at all? Not even Crysis was this jaggied and I doubt it has anything to do with the game running at 1440x900.
 

XiaNaphryz

LATIN, MATRIPEDICABUS, DO YOU SPEAK IT
Is it normal that despite forcing 8xSSAA the game looks like it has 2 samples if at all? Not even Crysis was this jaggied and I doubt it has anything to do with the game running at 1440x900.

Actually, for the record, normal MSAA + supersampling transparency AA DOES NOT WORK. It just lowers performance but reduces jaggies in no way at all. The Mass Effect 1 + 2 compatibility bits do not work on Mass Effect 3.

The only AA for Nvidia that works is the SGSSAA custom bit. So yes, you do have to use SGSSAA to get rid of jaggies unless you use super high resolutions for downsampling purposes.

.
 
So far the game works decently with Xpadder. The profile I posted has worked best for me. But honestly, fuck Bioware for being too fucking lazy to have one programmer spend a day implementing 360 controller support. Every other major release seems to have it. Syndicate had it, Darkness II had it, almost every game on my Steam list has it.
 

markatisu

Member
So far the game works decently with Xpadder. The profile I posted has worked best for me. But honestly, fuck Bioware for being too fucking lazy to have one programmer spend a day implementing 360 controller support. Every other major release seems to have it. Syndicate had it, Darkness II had it, almost every game on my Steam list has it.

Yeah that profile works for the most part, I think I tweaked a button or two but why it was left out is just baffling. I mean the 360 on a basic level is a PC so I can't believe it was extremely difficult to port over the control set from that version.

If THQ who is slowly going under can have a game like Space Marine with 360 pad support from the start how can Bioware and EA with a infinitely more popular (Game wise) license and funding not
 

Erebus

Member
I like the FOV fix but god does it destroy every cut-scene in the game. No wonder Bioware locked it at the default value.
 

Bisnic

Really Really Exciting Member!
I like the FOV fix but god does it destroy every cut-scene in the game. No wonder Bioware locked it at the default value.

It only destroy them because its a custom-made way of changing the FOV. If Bioware actually did something, cutscenes would have been fine.
 
Yeah that profile works for the most part, I think I tweaked a button or two but why it was left out is just baffling. I mean the 360 on a basic level is a PC so I can't believe it was extremely difficult to port over the control set from that version.

If THQ who is slowly going under can have a game like Space Marine with 360 pad support from the start how can Bioware and EA with a infinitely more popular (Game wise) license and funding not

I feel exactly the same way! I just beat Space Marine a week or two ago and the 360 support was perfect.

Over 40 of the games I've bought on Steam in the last 6 months have 360 controller support. This includes Space Marine, Alice, Bastion, Arkham City, AvP, Deus Ex HR + Missing Link, Dirt 3, Skyrim, Hard Reset, Jamestown, Just Cause 2, Nation Red, Saint's Row 3, Serious Sam 3, Sonic Generations... and that's just looking in my favorites list on Steam!

Poor show, Bioware.
 

Zen

Banned
This game seems to look slightly assy no matter what I do, between the much worse textures and the lowered polygon count for models, I'm struggling to make a Femshep that's true to my original that doesn't look like complete ass. This thread is very appreciated, hopefully we can get a permanent FOV mod down the line. So far the only characters that look good are the ones that were imported and downgraded from ME2.
 
FOV fix update

There should be a Widescreen Fixer update today that will allow you to independently adjust FOV while running, in cover, wall cover, etc. Here's the quote from the developer:

Hello all,
In development new version containing HUGE improvements
- You can now set your own custom FoV for: Normal, FOV, Wall cover, other objects cover. AIM FOV is still the same.
- Main Menu is now available. Known Issue: Sometimes right panel doesn't appear.
- Usage of the Bench to upgrade weapons is now fully functional: Know issue: sometimes the panel on the right with the mod doesn't appear. If this is the case: Leave the whole menu altogheter and retry 5-10 times. (There is a strange timeout here..and believe me I spent yesterday and today to figure it out...but still nothing...) So this will have to do:)
Release date: Tomorrow, Friday 9th of March;))
Best Regards,
Helifax

Hopefully he does an FOV fix for cutscenes... either that or he's left the FOV default for cutscenes, which would be perfect.
 

scitek

Member
I feel exactly the same way! I just beat Space Marine a week or two ago and the 360 support was perfect.

Over 40 of the games I've bought on Steam in the last 6 months have 360 controller support. This includes Hard Reset, Serious Sam 3

Both of which are fucking PC-exclusive and in no way intended to be played with one. Still supports it, though!
 

cyberheater

PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 Xbone PS4 PS4
Which is the only reason I've not bought. No 360 controller support. No sale. Stupid bastards.
 

hlhbk

Member
I seriously don't understand people complaining about controller support. Some games you can't play without a controller, ME3 is not one of them.
 

mileS

Member
FOV fix update

There should be a Widescreen Fixer update today that will allow you to independently adjust FOV while running, in cover, wall cover, etc. Here's the quote from the developer:



Hopefully he does an FOV fix for cutscenes... either that or he's left the FOV default for cutscenes, which would be perfect.

Yea all I really want is FoV of 90, but auto default back to normal for cutscenes .. Gimme that and I'm set.
 

markatisu

Member
I seriously don't understand people complaining about controller support. Some games you can't play without a controller, ME3 is not one of them.

That is true, but its not like the game has fundamentally changed since ME1. Its just laziness when your lead platform is and always has been the 360 to outright drop support in a PC port

While the game can be played with mouse and keyboard there is absolutely no excuse for no pad support
 
I seriously don't understand people complaining about controller support. Some games you can't play without a controller, ME3 is not one of them.

It's fucking PC gaming, we're used to having choices. And you know what? I'd rather play with a controller. I'd rather have the option of being able to lounge away from my 42" HDTV I use as a PC monitor and use my controller rather than be forced to sit in my office chair and use a mouse and keyboard. It's more comfortable, and Mass Effect 3 is just as good with a controller.
 

Omikaru

Member
I seriously don't understand people complaining about controller support. Some games you can't play without a controller, ME3 is not one of them.

Did it not occur to you that maybe some people want to play ME3 on their HTPC? And before someone posts that hideous Phantom lapboard thing, a controller is still the most elegant way to play games in the living room.
 

LogicStep

Member
So those of you using the xpadder solution, how does it feel? Like playing the console version? I think I tried using that in the past with another game and it just felt off.
 
So those of you using the xpadder solution, how does it feel? Like playing the console version? I think I tried using that in the past with another game and it just felt off.

Yeah, it feels like the console version during play. Only odd thing is that the right stick emulates your mouse cursor so you scroll around with that in menus/inventory.
 

curttard

Banned
Doesn't quite feel like console; the aiming movement has not been tuned to the controller, there is no aim assist, etc. And moving the cursor with the right stick through menus, including the command/power/weapon HUD, is very clunky.
 

markatisu

Member
Doesn't quite feel like console; the aiming movement has not been tuned to the controller, there is no aim assist, etc. And moving the cursor with the right stick through menus, including the command/power/weapon HUD, is very clunky.

It's easy enough to adjust but there are times I slip back into 360 mode and think why is it not working !?!? LOL
 
Doesn't quite feel like console; the aiming movement has not been tuned to the controller, there is no aim assist, etc. And moving the cursor with the right stick through menus, including the command/power/weapon HUD, is very clunky.

Did you read the OP? If you turn off mouse dampening and set sensitivity to 30-35% like I suggested, it is so much smoother/easier to aim. Try it.
 

Big-E

Member
I seriously don't understand people complaining about controller support. Some games you can't play without a controller, ME3 is not one of them.

You really don't understand how people could want actual support to play the game in front of their tvs or to lounge back in a comfy computer chair? The fact is, MEs combat has never needed the increased precision from a KB/M set up and you could argue that using a controller is the optimum way to play the game.
 

hlhbk

Member
You really don't understand how people could want actual support to play the game in front of their tvs or to lounge back in a comfy computer chair? The fact is, MEs combat has never needed the increased precision from a KB/M set up and you could argue that using a controller is the optimum way to play the game.

I played the first ME on my 360, and after playing with the PC UI and KB I will never go back to a gamepad. Outside of sports games it's mouse and KB all the way!
 

ghibli99

Member
I seriously don't understand people complaining about controller support. Some games you can't play without a controller, ME3 is not one of them.
You might not like it, but it's become more of the standard than not, and will probably become more so as we head into the Win8 generation. For RTS and FPS games? I still prefer mouse/kb, but 3rd person action games and stuff that is more console-oriented, I expect controller support in there at least as an option (doesn't have to be the default).
 

curttard

Banned
Did you read the OP? If you turn off mouse dampening and set sensitivity to 30-35% like I suggested, it is so much smoother/easier to aim. Try it.

I did that; felt worse for me, so I switched it back. It's possible it's also conflicting with settings in Pinnacle, so it might not be having the same effect for me that it does for you.
 

teh_pwn

"Saturated fat causes heart disease as much as Brawndo is what plants crave."
Strange. I had AMD catalyst 12.1 on my desktop, searched on AMD's video drivers and nothing was new. But on my laptop (which has sandy integrated GPU) I saw 12.2 and updated CAP for better crossfire performance with Mass Effect 3. I went back and repeated the configuration search on both my desktop and laptop 3 times in disbelief, each time only my laptop sees the 12.2.

So I downloaded with my laptop and copied over the network to my desktop. Seems to run fine. I think it improved the fps slightly, but I played like 5 minutes with 12.1. FPS stays 57-60 now mostly, whereas before I think it dipped to 40 fps at times.
 

Jtrizzy

Member
Which is the only reason I've not bought. No 360 controller support. No sale. Stupid bastards.

Me too. I'll buy it someday for $10. It kills me a little bit every time I support companies who do shit like this. I'm too old and don't have time to learn an in depth control scheme like kb/m. It kills me in BF3 as well, but at least they included some semblance of support.
 

Durante

Member
Interestingly I get quite a bit better performance using downsampling instead of forcing SGSSAA. Doesn't make much sense to me since both should require a similar amount of effort from the GPU, but there it is.
 

hlhbk

Member
Interestingly I get quite a bit better performance using downsampling instead of forcing SGSSAA. Doesn't make much sense to me since both should require a similar amount of effort from the GPU, but there it is.

How do you downsample?
 

Sectus

Member
Is anyone else experiencing stuttering in the game? The game runs at a flawless 60fps for me, the only exception being stuttering in specific levels as I look or move around. I'm assuming the stuttering is because it's loading in new level data or textures. I got the same problem in Arkham City too although it's not as bad in this game. For instance, the multiplayer levels have flawless performance, but some singleplayer levels (for instance, the normandy) stutter quite a bit.

Does anyone know of any solution to that? Or at least know which hardware component would be the bottleneck?

Edit: I think my CPU is my bottleneck. Looking at task manager, it's at 50% some of the time, I'm guessing the game only ever uses 2 cores maximum and it's maxing those out.
 

USIGSJ

Member
Looks like someone finally made Coalesced.bin editor working now. Tested a few commands like toggleflycam, FOV. I'm not sure if I'm allowed to post a direct link to it because some commands (like fov) can work in MP too so someone might consider that cheating.

dancer4jxuq.jpg
 

Alex

Member
I love PC gaming, but I hate mouse and keyboard, I'll claw at the wall for any chance to use a controller in games that aren't competitive with sensitive controls like FPS or RTS.

Bioware has no excuse for this, it's a port of a damn 360 game.
 

Jtrizzy

Member
Is anyone else experiencing stuttering in the game? The game runs at a flawless 60fps for me, the only exception being stuttering in specific levels as I look or move around. I'm assuming the stuttering is because it's loading in new level data or textures. I got the same problem in Arkham City too although it's not as bad in this game. For instance, the multiplayer levels have flawless performance, but some singleplayer levels (for instance, the normandy) stutter quite a bit.

Does anyone know of any solution to that? Or at least know which hardware component would be the bottleneck?

Edit: I think my CPU is my bottleneck. Looking at task manager, it's at 50% some of the time, I'm guessing the game only ever uses 2 cores maximum and it's maxing those out.
Maybe try disabling the in game vsync and use d3d. I think bp mentioned it in this thread, but he was suggesting to do it in the ini files iirc.
 

curttard

Banned
Dumb question from someone who's never used Nvidia Inspector before: Do I have to manually enable the profile every time I play the game? Can I at least enable it in a .bat script that will also launch the game? I've already got one that suspends XBMC and starts my Nvidia overclocking profile, then launches the game(s), so I could easily add a line to choose Inspector profiles.
 

Entropia

No One Remembers
Stupid question - how do I use this D3D program exactly? I downloaded the rar file, put the folder in Program Files... the Application doesn't open though?
 

Lime

Member
Looks like someone finally made Coalesced.bin editor working now. Tested a few commands like toggleflycam, FOV. I'm not sure if I'm allowed to post a direct link to it because some commands (like fov) can work in MP too so someone might consider that cheating.

Ehm, the Coalesced editing has existed since the demo and the OP even mentioned how FOV and flycam works.
 
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