Antialiasing Problem

[fsgregs]

Boux:

Thanks for the code. Unfortunately, I copied it, pasted it into a text editor, saved it as a txt file, then changed its name to "celestia.nhprofile" and tried to import it within nHancer. I got an error message and nhancer woud not import it. I then tried copying and pasting it into OpenOffice, saved it as an xml file, changed its name to celestia.nhprofile and tried to import it with nHancer. I got the same error message. The message read, "Error reading XML file. There is an error in XML document (3,27)"

Could you email me the nhprofile file itself? Thanks

Frank

[ANDREA]

Same error message like Frank's,the only difference is the code, here:
"Error reading XML file. There is an error in XML document (3, 30 )".
I used Notepad2 to save it.
Can you help, please?
Thank you

Andrea

[Boux]

Frank, Andrea,
Try this one
I have "rar'd" it to make sure the header stays in.
If it does not works, I may have another solution.
Just let me know.

[Boux]

Some more nHancer stuff
Just two sample pictures taken off a couple screenshots to demonstrate how nHancer can help improve the quality.
For the purpose of the exercise, the shots have neither been resized nor compressed (beware the size > 4 MB).
The following parameters have been entered in Nhancer:
- Anti-Aliasing: Multisampling 16xQ
- Anisotropic filtering: 16x
- Vertical Sync: On, Force OpenGl Triple-Buffer
- Texture Filtering: High Quality
- Trilinear optimization: Off
- Aniso optimization: Off
- Force DXT3 (OpenGL): On <-- this one is very important!
- High Dynamic Range (HDR): on
- Conformant texture clamp: on
- OpenGL Control: Multithreading On
- OpenGL MultiDisplay Mode: Optimized for single display modes
- CPU Multi Core support: Multicore
- In left panel, near the "Executables" window where celestia.exe should show up: Profile can be activated manually: checked
Let all other parameters as default unless you are running SLI:
- SLI Mode: Auto
- SLI Load Balancing Graph: on or off according to liking

Do not forget to maximize the pictures in your browser as it will likely resize them down.

Picture one Hubble: no jaggies, nice refection effect on the left solar panel, nice earthshine effect

Picture two close-up of the ISS: no jaggies, some nice bloom effect on the rods

I use the latest 2.4.0Beta7 version of nHancer with Nvidia 174.74 Vista 64 drivers in SLI mode.

[BobHegwood]

Sorry to bother here, but I get better quality images of both the large Hubble Telescope and the ISS without doing anything to my setup. Please understand that I am NOT using the HDR version of Celestia though. What am I not understanding here? Why would I want the HDR version? Do you know what I mean?

Sorry, mis-understanding (and Brain-Dead) Bob

[Boux]

Sorry to bother here, but I get better quality images of both the large Hubble Telescope and the ISS without doing anything to my setup.

A screenshot is a screenshot, i.e. a one-off grab from the framebuffer.
This is static and is very different from dynamic real-time rendering on a real-world screen. The pictures are provided only for fb to fb grab comparison purposes.
The pictures I posted are running at 60 fps here.
A screenshot that would give a closer look to reality would have to be made of at least 2 dozens superimposed and averaged framebuffer grabs.
I have no time to devote to such a trivial task.
But it's up to you if you want to do that. Please show a composite screen capture with, let's say 30 averaged layers so that we can have a better idea of what you get.

Please understand that I am NOT using the HDR version of Celestia though. What am I not understanding here? Why would I want the HDR version?

I do not know what you want or don't want actually.
HDR rendering is standard for all latest advanced 3d apps, especially games which are way ahead regarding very high quality real-time scene rendering.
It just looks more natural and more dynamic.
And the hardware it is running on is among the best currently available, so why would I not push it to the limit?

Do you know what I mean?

Not sure.

[Adirondack]

With 6600GT: 8
Font rendering is still readable but looks ugly though.

Adirondack

I think this may be due to the way 8x antialiasing is done on the 6600: instead of just multisampling, I believe that the 6600 uses a combination of 2x supersampling and 4x multisampling. I'll have to look into this more and see if there's a workaround. It may be possible to make the text looking better by fine-tuning the subpixel offset for text.

--Chris

FYI: 8 works fine with 8800GTS, but 16 causes ugly fonts here too.

Adirondack

[BobHegwood]

A screenshot is a screenshot, i.e. a one-off grab from the framebuffer.
This is static and is very different from dynamic real-time rendering on a real-world screen. The pictures are provided only for fb to fb grab comparison purposes.
The pictures I posted are running at 60 fps here.
A screenshot that would give a closer look to reality would have to be made of at least 2 dozens superimposed and averaged framebuffer grabs.
I have no time to devote to such a trivial task.
But it's up to you if you want to do that. Please show a composite screen capture with, let's say 30 averaged layers so that we can have a better idea of what you get.

HDR rendering is standard for all latest advanced 3d apps, especially games which are way ahead regarding very high quality real-time scene rendering.
It just looks more natural and more dynamic.
And the hardware it is running on is among the best currently available, so why would I not push it to the limit?

Very sorry here, Boux...
I obviously do NOT know what I'm talking about.
I was simply trying to understand the advantages of the HDR rendering over my current setup, which - to me - works pretty well now.
I'll get back to you when I understand, and have used the HDR version a bit.

Again, sorry to bother.

[selden]

Bob,

HDR is supposed to make things that are extremely bright look like they're bright. Right now, Celestia doesn't do that: you can look at the Sun, for example, and see sunspots and stars. When HDR is enabled, when you look at the Sun you'll see a glaring white object and not much else. When it sets or is eclipsed, though, then the stars will come out.

[Imy]

Which anti-aliasing are you talking about?

Celestia implements it in two different environments.

The anti-aliasing entry (Ctrl-X) in the Render pulldown menu only affects orbital paths. It does nothing for the edges of spheres.

The entry in celestia.cfg controls full-screen anti-aliasing.
AntialiasingSamples 4
You have to delete the # at the beginning of its line to enable it. It affects everything, but only if you've enabled application controlled anti-aliasing in your grahics driver's Display Properties.

I've also always seen Celestia on my computer with such antialiasing troubles. I've suspected it's been a lack in the program instead of graphic-card bad parameters that's why I supposed HDR would have to correct that. But as I've said, I've discovered that Celestia lets all 3D antialiasing stuffs to the card. And for my Nvidia card 4200 TI on default, some parameters, those for antialiasing, were either lets to "application control" or only desactivated. When I've changed those, All Celestia's objects become very well softened!

Should be welcomed (if it is not already done somewhere in Celestia documents...) to introduce users to antialiasing management in General and in Celestia?
The menu check for antialiasing should not be rephrased to indicate that this option concern only orbit drawings?
In documents, or in all help windows, should not be indicated to users that their card should have good parameters (all users have not technical capabilities to know that and how to do that)?

What is your opinion?

[selden]

I've added a description of antialiasing to the page about the display in the celestia wikibook.

http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Celestia

[Imy]

Thanks selden for these sentences on Celestia Wikibook about what is and how is managed antialiasing. These are easy to understand for common user like me, without to be too much technical with a such topic. I think that easy understandable descriptions of antialiasing link stuffs like buffering and others would be also welcomed in graphic hardware part in order user to be conducted a bit in modifying his card parameters.

I've used Celestia for a long time now, and if I hadn't registered and hadn't often read this forum, I would have not searched on wikibook any information. More, I wouldn't know that such documentation could exist!
I think it would be really useful to add html pages of the wikibook (at the date of the Celestia .exe release for instance) in basic package, or adding an internet link to wikibook in Celestia menu (with special links on common topics like antialiasing similar to FAQ?). Celestia interface lacks of help things for users ! New users who discover this program, have not in mind to search anywhere in internet few information on Celestia. I want say that antialiasing help on wikibook would be very more useful if users could easily get this information, could not be?

I know that a new interface is building, but I think adding such menus would be clearer. Reformulating antialiasing check menu caption (CTRL X) in render menu from Antialiasing to thing like Orbit and line Antialiasing would bremove the equivocate current meaning of the menu, wouldn't be?