This is a modification that alters values of shadow cascade(s) for better performance.
In practice, what happens when using this mod is the terrain shadows (outside-cockpit) being drawn as far as before, but with overall performance improved with quite small visual difference trade-off. The other benefit is that, at the same time, the inside-cockpit shadows maintain high quality in all settings (4096x4096 pixels shadow, though even that can be changed if really desired).
- Better performance with hardly any shadow quality loss
- Works perfect with both screens/monitors and VR
- No slower loading of missions of any kind
- Made for DCS 2.8 but also works with DCS 2.9 (both MT and ST, Open Beta or Stable)
- Not IC compliant for Multiplayer (only works with servers which allow mods!)
This mod has also its own dedicated mod thread at the ED Forums:
https://forum.dcs.world/topic/321214-shadows-reduced-impact-shadows-cascade-reduced/
------ INSTALLATION ------
This mod replaces one file found in the game installation folder (same paths and structure as you see in the mod).
A mod manager (such as OvGME) is recommended, because it's the quickest way to install and uninstall mods in the game.
OvGME download and tutorial:
https://wiki.hoggitworld.com/view/OVGME
If instead you prefer to install this mod manually, there are some very simple instructions in the "READ_ME" provided with the downloaded file.
------ EDITING THE MOD ------
If you need to further improve performance (but at cost of shadowmap quality), you can edit the SHADOWS.LUA file with any text editor and change the size value of shadowmap. I left some notes about this subject in the "READ_ME" file.
Feel free to experiment - remember to always backup your files!
------ CREDITS AND THANKS ------
- To KEGETYS for the original mod this was based on.
- To the people at E.D., as there are original files modified for the purpose of this mod.
------ CHANGELOG ------
v2.11 -- minor corrections in cascade(s)
v2.0 -- changes for compatibility with DCS 2.8 OB featuring MultiThreading
v1.0 -- initial release based on older Kegetys mod
