FPS saver macro for Cataclysm

[Fef]

A big thanks to Fef for this thread and the inspiration to create a full guide outlining all
of the existing video settings. Locking this thread to prevent any necros and to direct
people to this (http://www.dual-boxing.com/showthread.php?p=337130) thread (http://www.dual-boxing.com/showthread.php?p=337130) for updates or go straight to the Wiki page below.

http://www.dual-boxing.com/wiki/index.php/Advanced_Video_Settings


I like my main window to look as good as possible, so I need to turn the slave windows all the way down. My old macros didn't work anymore after 4.01, so I spent quite a lot of time trying to figure the new graphic options out. Since I didn't find anything here (sorry if I didn't search right), I though I would share.

Here is what gets sent by ISboxer when switching character.

To current window :

/jamba-team iammaster all
/console farclip 1250
/console groundEffectDensity 256
/console groundEffectDistance 260
/console environmentDetail 150
/console particleDensity 100
/console shadowMode 1
/console waterDetail 3
/console reflectionMode 3
/console sunShafts 2
/console basemip 0
/console terrainMipLevel 0
/console projectedTextures 1
/console weatherDensity 3
/console componentTextureLevel 9
/console textureFilteringMode 5
/console Sound_EnableAllSound 1

To all but current window :

/console farclip 50
/console groundEffectDensity 0
/console groundEffectDistance 0
/console environmentDetail 0
/console particleDensity 10
/console shadowMode 0
/console waterDetail 0
/console reflectionMode 0
/console sunShafts 0
/console basemip 1
/console terrainMipLevel 1
/console projectedTextures 0
/console weatherDensity 0
/console componentTextureLevel 0
/console textureFilteringMode 0
/console Sound_EnableAllSound 0

[Ualaa]

Good idea on the dynamic settings.
Thanks for sharing this.

[naPS]

Where are you putting these settings in? Under a mapped key?

[Ualaa]

The easiest will be to create a mapped key for each.
It will be a warcraft macro action.

If you click on a team, under Character Sets, and then a Slot Number, you can see which mapped key is run when that toon becomes the leader.

I'd probably make a totally new mapped key, for the switch; have it call this new Mapped Key on a switch.
Have the new Mapped Key call whatever the default, on switch mapped key is.
And in addition have it run the First of the Settings Mapped Key (Target: Current Window) and the Second of the Settings Mapped Key (Target: Other windows).

[Fef]

Totally right, Ualaa.
Just I was lasy and put everything in the ISboxer wizard-generated Key Map called Control > JambaMaster. The one that is called on character switch.

I just added the big settings macro after what used to be the single Jamba command (/jamba-team iammaster all), this gets sent to the current window (the one I just switched to). Within the same Key Map and step, I added a second action, sent to All w/o current with all the minimum settings commands.

[Ualaa]

My set up is bloated in a lot of ways.
But has a bit of complex stuff as well.

For example, I have ten on-switch-run-this-mapped-key commands.
Two for each of my five slots.

This is for dynamic formations.
Where the other slots move, but the current master does not.
Five of those slot specific mapped keys do JambaFollow on a switch (caster teams).
And five of those slot specific mapped keys do not initiate any type of follow (melee teams).

Each of my changed switch mapped keys, call the existing JambaFollow or JambaMaster Mapped Keys.
So, the default keys are unchanged.
But the new mapped keys, have the custom stuff in them.

Similar to the settings graphical up/graphical down, based on if the toon is a Master or Follower...
I have two mapped keys, for Click to Move (tied to my Caster Switch keys).
Where CTM is disabled for the Active Toon, if it is a caster.
But is enabled for the slave toons if they are casters.
So clicking on the ground does not have my active toon run about, which I found annoying.
(Melee teams all have CTM enabled, for IWT spamming).

I'm not sure I would want high settings on the master toon.
But I do know I want higher settings.
And the slaves can run with everything down all the way.
I'll definitely add some form of the graphical, on-switch keys to my set up.

[Slats]

How does this effect performance btw?

Curious :)

Does it make PIP as instant as usual?

[MiRai]

How does this effect performance btw?

Curious :)

Does it make PIP as instant as usual?
By setting it to your window swap key it would just automatically turns down the settings in your slave windows and turns up your settings on your main. I have not tried this myself but I'm sure these are settings that don't require a /reload or show a loading bar of any sort otherwise it could defeat the purpose of instant window swap.

[Fef]

By setting it to your window swap key it would just automatically turns down the settings in your slave windows and turns up your settings on your main. I have not tried this myself but I'm sure these are settings that don't require a /reload or show a loading bar of any sort otherwise it could defeat the purpose of instant window swap.

Indeed, nothing in there requires a /reload, so the swap is just as instant as usual.

When it comes to performance, turning everything to minimum on the slaves (moreover at only 10FPS) allows me to get rather nice graphics on the main while keeping a steady 60 FPS. On the main, everything is basically up to maximum settings, including the new fancy water effects. Some exceptions, though : Shadows are set to "Fair" and anti-aliasing is on minimum.

I am running a Mac Pro with a Radeon HD4870.

[Blubber]

Any idea if you can use a /console command to disable the "Reduce input lag" option?

[outdrsyguy1]

great post, thx, will definately implement

[MiRai]

Any idea if you can use a /console command to disable the "Reduce input lag" option?
I don't know the command but, what would be the point of doing this on the fly? The Reduce Input Lag option when enabled hammers
my FPS (as its tooltip states) in certain situations on my Q9550 system, hence, I leave it disabled all the time with no desire to ever
turn it back on.

[Ualaa]

Testing this out now; in Dalaran it seems to add 1.5 seconds to my swap speed.

[Fef]

Testing this out now; in Dalaran it seems to add 1.5 seconds to my swap speed.

Depending on your configuration (in particular video card, I guess), you might want to adjust some of your high settings.

/console shadowMode 1
/console waterDetail 3
/console sunShafts 2
... are the ones having the most effect on my system (even though there is not much water in Dalaran, so it should not have an effect). Try ShadowMode 0, it should make quite a big difference.

[Vociferate]

How do you go about setting this up?

I tried making an ATG and doing it through the Character Slots.

The closest I got was getting the High Settings to work, but not setting the slaves to a low threshold.

[Ualaa]

Create a mapped key, called High Settings, and another called Low Settings.
Have them both target the current window.
And do keybind > warcraft macro actions, putting high settings in one and low settings in the other.

Take your window swap mapped key (the one which is auto run, when you switch leaders/slots).
And then have it do High Settings (Target: Current Window) and Low Settings (Target: Window All Without Current).

[Ualaa]

Depending on your configuration (in particular video card, I guess), you might want to adjust some of your high settings.

/console shadowMode 1
/console waterDetail 3
/console sunShafts 2
... are the ones having the most effect on my system (even though there is not much water in Dalaran, so it should not have an effect). Try ShadowMode 0, it should make quite a big difference.


I'll try that..
Using a GTX275 for a 2560x1600 screen, so lower settings should help some.

[Ualaa]

Usually play with view distance and spell effects maximized, everything else down rather low.
And then limit main screen FPS to 60 and slaves to 20 FPS.

I've lowered most of the settings, for the main screen.
But now dynamically have maximum view distance on the active toon.
And much lower view distance on the slaves (minimal).

Overall, my graphics are a bit higher on the main, then before.
And I can switch from any toon, to any other and retain the higher settings.
Also the switch speed is instant, as before.

Still tinkering around, but am currently using (as my Higher Settings):
/console farclip 1250
/console groundEffectDensity 64
/console groundEffectDistance 260
/console environmentDetail 40
/console particleDensity 100
/console shadowMode 0
/console waterDetail 0
/console reflectionMode 0
/console sunShafts 0
/console basemip 1
/console terrainMipLevel 1
/console projectedTextures 0
/console weatherDensity 0
/console componentTextureLevel 2
/console textureFilteringMode 1
/console Sound_EnableAllSound 1

[Unded]

Usually play with view distance and spell effects maximized, everything else down rather low.
And then limit main screen FPS to 60 and slaves to 20 FPS.

I've lowered most of the settings, for the main screen.
But now dynamically have maximum view distance on the active toon.
And much lower view distance on the slaves (minimal).

Overall, my graphics are a bit higher on the main, then before.
And I can switch from any toon, to any other and retain the higher settings.
Also the switch speed is instant, as before.

Still tinkering around, but am currently using (as my Higher Settings):
/console farclip 1250
/console groundEffectDensity 64
/console groundEffectDistance 260
/console environmentDetail 40
/console particleDensity 100
/console shadowMode 0
/console waterDetail 0
/console reflectionMode 0
/console sunShafts 0
/console basemip 1
/console terrainMipLevel 1
/console projectedTextures 0
/console weatherDensity 0
/console componentTextureLevel 2
/console textureFilteringMode 1
/console Sound_EnableAllSound 1

Ualaa a bit more detailed for those of us new to ISboxer-I want to "tweak" my settings to run 5 accounts from from one computer until I can get funds to upgrade "main" computer-have been running two computers for now. Can you "walk us through" exactly where and what t do?

[Vociferate]

Create a mapped key, called High Settings, and another called Low Settings.
Have them both target the current window.
And do keybind > warcraft macro actions, putting high settings in one and low settings in the other.

Take your window swap mapped key (the one which is auto run, when you switch leaders/slots).
And then have it do High Settings (Target: Current Window) and Low Settings (Target: Window All Without Current).

Not sure if I am making it correctly.

Here is what I have done:

2 Key Maps:

High Graphics
Low Graphics

No Hotkey

Action:
New WoW Macro --> Hot key --> Ctrl + Shift + Delete --> High Settings
New WoW Macro --> Hot key --> Alt + Shift + Delete --> Low Settings

F5-F9 are the keys to select my slots, set up under the Character Sets.

F5 Slot 1
F6 Slot 2
F7 Slot 3
F8 Slot 4
F9 Slot 5

So, I made the new Mapped Keys:

F5 Graphics High -> F5 Hot Key -> New Keymap Action Do --> High Settings: Current Window
F5 Graphics Low -> F5 Hot Key -> New Keymap Action Do --> Low Settings: All other Windows

And I repeat that for F5-F9.

Will it not work, because of how many times I have used the Fx keys to set the graphics? Because something isn't working and I am just so unsure.

[Ualaa]

What I did:


Created a new mapped key, called it "High Settings".
Gave it the hotkey Control + Shift + Period.
Right Click Actions > Keystroke Actions > Warcraft Macro Action.
Target: Window (Current).
Key Combination: Control + Shift + Period.
Display As (Checked): Control + Shift + Period (Settings Up).
Using this:
/console farclip 1250
/console groundEffectDensity 48
/console groundEffectDistance 260
/console environmentDetail 40
/console particleDensity 100
/console shadowMode 0
/console waterDetail 0
/console reflectionMode 0
/console sunShafts 0
/console basemip 1
/console terrainMipLevel 1
/console projectedTextures 0
/console weatherDensity 0
/console componentTextureLevel 1
/console textureFilteringMode 1


Created a new mapped key, called it "Low Settings".
Gave it the hotkey Control + Shift + Comma.
Right Click Actions > Keystroke Actions > Warcraft Macro Action.
Target: Window (Current).
Key Combination: Control + Shift + Comma.
Display As (Checked): Control + Shift + Comma (Settings Down).
Using this:
/console farclip 350
/console groundEffectDensity 0
/console groundEffectDistance 0
/console environmentDetail 0
/console particleDensity 10
/console shadowMode 0
/console waterDetail 0
/console reflectionMode 0
/console sunShafts 0
/console basemip 1
/console terrainMipLevel 1
/console projectedTextures 0
/console weatherDensity 0
/console componentTextureLevel 0
/console textureFilteringMode 0


Navigated to the mapped key(s), which are run when the window is switched, in my case JambaMaster.
I actually have multiple switch mapped keys, based on slot, but that isn't important as these still call on the JambaMaster mapped key.
Added:
a) Do Settings (High) in General Key Map > Target: Current Window.
b) Do Settings (Low) in General Key Map > Target: All Without Current.

[Fef]

Edit : Oops, sorry Ualaa, your reply was not there when I started mine. It takes me a bit of time to try to explain things clearly in English ;)


I think the simplest way to test the effect is just to modify the JambaMaster Key Map generated by the ISboxer wizard. It doesn't imply creating any new Key Map and allows to get a good impression of what outcome to expect. So let's go over that in details :

First, save you current ISboxer setup so you have a backup to revert to if something gets broken.

The ISboxer wizard creates a Mapped Key called JambaMaster, it is in the Control Key Maps section. It has no hotkey by default, and only one step with one action which corresponds to the following WoW macro :

/jamba-team iammaster all

This gets sent to Window:Current with the ingame key combination Ctrl+Shift+F12 by default (I think).

This mapped key is sent to the new current main character on every switch. This is activated in Character Sets > You Group > Slots > 1 > When I switch to this character - Do this Mapped Key > Control - JambaMaster

So, what I propose is to modify this JambaMaster Key Map in the following way :

-1- Edit the Ctrl+Shift+F12 -> Self action by adding "high graphics" settings in there (see higher in the thread). But at all cost make sure to keep the /jamba-team iammaster all line in there. In my setup, the macro looks like this

/jamba-team iammaster all
/console farclip 1250
/console groundEffectDensity 256
/console groundEffectDistance 260
/console environmentDetail 150
/console particleDensity 100
/console shadowMode 1
/console waterDetail 3
/console reflectionMode 3
/console sunShafts 2
/console basemip 0
/console terrainMipLevel 0
/console projectedTextures 1
/console weatherDensity 3
/console componentTextureLevel 9
/console textureFilteringMode 5
/console Sound_EnableAllSound 1
/script SetView(2)


-2- Make a copy of the Ctrl+Shift+F12 -> Self action, and paste it in the same step. Edit it to give it a new key combination (anything not already in use will do), to have it sent to Windows:All w/o Current, and paste you "low graphics" command in the macro window replacing everything that was previously there. In my setup, the macro looks like this :

/console farclip 50
/console groundEffectDensity 0
/console groundEffectDistance 0
/console environmentDetail 0
/console particleDensity 10
/console shadowMode 0
/console waterDetail 0
/console reflectionMode 0
/console sunShafts 0
/console basemip 1
/console terrainMipLevel 1
/console projectedTextures 0
/console weatherDensity 0
/console componentTextureLevel 0
/console textureFilteringMode 0
/console Sound_EnableAllSound 0
/script SetView(2)

-3- Now, save, Export All to Innerspace, do a /reload in every window, and start switching characters. It should work ! :)

In case it would not work, check that the key combination you used for the "low graphics" action of you new edited JambaMaster Mapped Key is not already in use for some other purpose.

If things get broken, just load you backup ISboxer configuration and try again ...

[Vociferate]

Thank you very much both Ualaa and Fef, explained very well. :D

Even my old block head got around it.

Thanks again!

[SaraiE]

Is there a way to set your zooming mode? Everytime i switch, I have to zoom out, annoying.

SaraiE

[Ualaa]

You can save five camera positions.
Which includes angle of the camera, zoom distance etc.

And then include in your switch macro:
/Script SetView(1);SetView(1)

Change to the relevant view.

[Fef]

You can save five camera positions.
Which includes angle of the camera, zoom distance etc.

And then include in your switch macro:
/Script SetView(1);SetView(1)

Change to the relevant view.



Not that it matters at all, but out of curiosity, why the double SetView ? I always used just /script SetView(2) and it seems to work fine.

[MiRai]

Not that it matters at all, but out of curiosity, why the double SetView ? I always used just /script SetView(2) and it seems to work fine.
Placing it in there twice makes it instant, if you only put it in there once it will slowly zoom the camera in or out.

[Lax]

For anyone getting #132 crashes when using this macro, try removing the basemip lines. Related: http://isboxer.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=1932