A Guide to Vanguard ini Optimization

The full intent of this guide is to give you a quick rundown of how to configure Vanguard to suit the capabilities of your computer and your desires for the quality of the graphics on your screen. I'll start by defining a few terms (Overview) before explaining the settings options and giving my recommendations for both low end and high end machines (Manual Tweaks). Finally, I'll provide a fast way for you to just import the settings I recommend (ini Templates).

To help convey the myriad settings options, this guide makes use of over 30 screen shots taken from Beta 5. The images will appear small on this page, but you can click them to view the larger version. Keep in mind that images taken from Beta 5 may not reflect what the final product looks like.

To help you navigate this guide, use the links in the box below:

ini Optimization

Overview
1. WTF is an ini?
2. Performance vs. Quality
3. High End vs. Low End
Manual Tweaks
1. Performance
2. Characters
3. Environment
4. Lighting
5. Color Correction
6. Miscellaneous
ini Templates
1. High End
2. Low End

Performance Settings
Render Quality ini name: RenderQuality= What it does: Render Quality has 5 settings (Highest Performance, High Performance, Balanced, High Quality, Highest Quality). Manipulating this option in-game enables default settings for everything else in the Video tab of the UI. You can manually set RenderQuality in the ini file by changing the number that follows the equals sign (=). 1 is Highest Performance and 5 is Highest Quality. High End: Set this bad boy to Highest Quality or 5 to make items draw in faster and smoother. Low End: Set this to Higher Performance or 1 to make life easier for your graphics card and processor.

Resolution ini names: FullscreenViewportX= FullscreenViewportY= What it does: This is the resolution of the game in Full Screen mode. Limited somewhat by your graphics card, higher resolutions make the game look better but can slow down a low end machine. I highly recommend that you set the resolution to the exact same as your desktop. This way, you machine will not have to readjust if you press Alt + Tab while playing to access your desktop. Vanguard supports a multitude of resolutions to fit different needs and capabilities. The X value in the ini file is the width of your resolution (the first number in a resolution measurement). The Y value in the ini file is the height of your resolution (the second number in a resolution measurement). High End: Push it as much as you can, but keep it in line with your desktop settings to prevent lag when Alt + Tab-ing. Low End: Try 1024 x 768 for starters and then gradually see if you can work your way up to 1152 x 864 or 1280 x 1024. Again, keep it in line with your desktop settings.

Full-Screen Mode ini name: StartupFullscreen= What it does: Use this setting to toggle whether or not Vanguard runs in full screen mode. This is mostly a preference issue, but it can be a little taxing on a system to try to run a game in a window. The ini setting reads as True when the bubble on the UI is checked. When the bubble is not checked, the ini settings reads as False. High End: You can get away with running in a window if you want to, but I still don't recommend it. Low End: You should run in full screen, so make sure the bubble is checked or the ini line reads as True.

Anisotrophy ini name: AnisotropicFiltering= What it does: This makes things int he distance look better, but it taxes your graphics card to do it. When the bubble is checked, the ini setting reads as 1 (for on). When the bubble is not checked, the ini setting reads as 0 (for off). High End: Turn on this feature if distant items are looking somewhat bland to you, but note that I hear of even high end owners disabling anisotropy because the difference can be so subtle. Low End: Turn anisotropy off and give your graphics card a break.

Hardware Occlusion ini name: bUseOcclusionQuery= What it does: Hardware Occlusion runs frequent checks (queries) to determine how much distant data your hardware (processor, RAM, and graphics card) can efficiently draw at a given time. The benefit of Hardware Occlusion Queries (HOQ) is that the game will adjust the visibility for you to meet what your hardware can handle at the moment the HOQ returned data. The downside of HOQ is that your processor has to handle the HOQ, which could be frequent depending on what you are doing. The tool tip for HOQ recommends leaving it on, but I get better performance most of the time by leaving it off. High End: If you have a good processor, especially dual cores, leave this on. If you think it's slowing you down, turn it off. Low End: If you have an older processor, and especially a single processor, leave this setting off.

Character Settings
First-Person Rendering ini name: unknown What it does: This determines your perspective of the world to be in first person. Using first person or 3rd person is very much a matter of preference. Players can toggle between the views by using the mouse wheel (by default) to move the camera in or out or by pressing the F9 key. High End: Play to your preference. Low End: Moving to first person mode in a crowded town gives your machine one less body to render. It isn't much, but it might give you 1 FPS.

Show Names ini name: bShowNames= What it does: When this is on, the names of all players and non-player characters (NPC) will float above their bodies. Having all of those words on your screen can really slow down performance. This setting can be toggled in-game via the N key (by default). The setting for on reads as True in the ini file. The setting for off reads as False in the ini file. High End: Play to your preference. Low End: Keep the names off unless you need them to find an NPC.

Show My Name ini name: bShowMyName= What it does: When this is on, your names will float above your body whenever the Show Names option is turned on. The setting for on reads as True in the ini file. The setting for off reads as False in the ini file. High End: Play to your preference. Low End: Keep your name off unless you frequently forget who you are.

Hide Hood ini name: HideHood= What it does: When this option is on, you and other players will not see the hood of your cloak on your character. This is a purely cosmetic setting and does not alter performance. The ini setting is True for on and False for off. High End: Play to your preference. Low End: Play to your preference.

Hide Helm ini name: HideHelm= What it does: When this option is on, you and other players will not see the helmet equipped on your character. This is a purely cosmetic setting and does not alter performance. The ini setting is True for on and False for off. High End: Play to your preference. Low End: Play to your preference.