rvgl.ini vs. GUI settings

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7wells
Posts: 148

rvgl.ini vs. GUI settings

Unread post by 7wells » Mon Mar 15, 2021 7:23 pm

Hello!

There are variables/parameters/settings in rvgl.ini which I did not find in any of the guides. E.g. there are some desribed that are not available in rvgl.ini (latest version) and others are simply missing, so maybe the guide is a bit outdated. Can yo please help me to understand the meaning of the ones below? For most I have added what I think corresponds to settings that are available in the game's setting menu (some with question marks, where I am unsure). Thank you for your help to complete the picture. :)

[Video]
EnvLevel = 2 --- Question: What is this? (not mentioned in the documentation, unless I oversaw it)
ParticleLevel = 2 --- video settings/render settings/Particles
MirrorFlag = 1 --- video settings/render settings/Reflections
ShadowFlag = 1 --- video settings/render settings/Shadows
LightFlag = 1 --- video settings/render settings/Lights
RippleFlag = 1 --- video settings/render settings/Water Ripples
InstanceFlag = 1 --- video settings/render settings/Instance Models
SkidFlag = 1 --- video settings/render settings/Skid Marks
EffectFlag = 1 --- video settings/render settings/Shininess? --- Question: In the docu it is told to enable/disable certain visual effects like mesh deformation and the bomb scorch effect that can be taxing on low end systems or mobiles. Is this the corresponding flag? (not that I mixed them up)
ScreenWidth = 1920 --- video settings/Resolution
ScreenHeight = 1080 --- video settings/Resolution
ScreenBpp = 24 --- video settings/Resolution
ScreenHz = 60 --- video settings/Resolution
Orientation = -1 --- explained in the docu
Brightness = 50 --- video settings/Brightness (0-100%, in 5% steps)
Contrast = 50 --- video settings/Contrast (0-100%, in 5% steps) --- Question: Is this the same as gamma control?
DrawDist = 4 --- video settings/Draw Distance (0=Lowest, 1=Low, 2=Medium, 3=High, 4=Highest)
Texture32 = 1 --- Question: What is this? (not mentioned in the documentation, unless I oversaw it)
Vsync = 2 --- video settings/Enable V-Sync (0=No, 1=Yes, 2=Adaptive)
ShowFPS = 1 --- video settings/render settings/Show Frame Rate (0=Off, 1=On)
LimitFPS = 0 --- explained in the docu
LimitLatency = 0 --- explained in the docu
CenterHud = 0 --- video settings/render settings/Center HUD (0-100%, in 5% steps)
SplitScreenMode = 1 --- video settings/render settings/Screen Split (0=Auto, 1=Horizontal, 2=Vertical)
MaintainAspect = 1 --- video settings/Maintain Aspect (0=No, 1=Yes)
TextureFilter = 1 --- video settings/render settings/Texture Filter (0=Point, 1=Linear)
MipmapFilter = 2 --- video settings/render settings/Mipmap Level (0=None, 1=Point, 2=Linear)
Anisotropy = 16 --- video settings/render settings/Anisotropy (0=Off, 2x, 4x, 8x, 16x)
Antialias = 16 --- video settings/render settings/Antialias (0=Off, 2x, 4x, 8x, 16x)
GenerateMipmaps = 1 --- video settings/Generate Mipmaps (0=No, 1=Yes)
CompressTextures = 0 --- explained in the docu
Threaded = 0 --- explained in the docu
Profile = 0 --- explained in the docu
Shaders = 1 --- explained in the docu
ShaderLights = 8 --- explained in the docu
ShaderShadows = 4 --- explained in the docu
ShaderEffects = 4 --- explained in the docu
EnableFBO = 1 --- explained in the docu
EnableUBO = 0 --- explained in the docu
EnableSSO = 1 --- explained in the docu
SortLevel = 1 --- explained in the docu

[Misc]
UseProfiles = 1 --- explained in the docu
Version = "rvgl" --- Question: What is this? (not mentioned in the documentation, unless I oversaw it)

A general question about profiles: If UseProfiles is set to 0 (=None), then multiple profiles support is disabled and the DefaultProfile is loaded automatically, or if none exists, a profile is created automatically. What does this mean? Why/when do we need multiple profiles? As I asked in another thread (no answers yet), I do not understand if/when multiple players racing in splitscreen on one device need one (separate) profile each. Can you please explain this here, too? Thank you so much. :)

Two further thoughts:
  1. Maybe we can add the missing pieces to the documentation. :)
  2. Would it make sense to group the data in rvgl.ini as in the game settings? Currently, a bunch of them is scattered throughout the file as you can see above. Not that it matters much, but maybe it's worth the effort? If not, also fine. ;)
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VaidX47
Administrator
Posts: 125
From: 333

Re: rvgl.ini vs. GUI settings

Unread post by VaidX47 » Tue Mar 16, 2021 1:11 pm

7wells wrote: Mon Mar 15, 2021 7:23 pm EnvLevel = 2 --- Question: What is this? (not mentioned in the documentation, unless I oversaw it)
Shininess, so not an EffectFlag.
7wells wrote: Mon Mar 15, 2021 7:23 pm Texture32 = 1 --- Question: What is this? (not mentioned in the documentation, unless I oversaw it)
Allows 32bit bitmap textures be displayed in 32bit instead of original 24bit, iirc older versions (introduced in 1.2?) had this switch in the UI menu called "Textures". It was for legacy system compatibility reasons, and probably not very relevant setting to have now, hence not being mentioned. Could be wrong and maybe they forgot to document it.
7wells wrote: Mon Mar 15, 2021 7:23 pm Version = "rvgl" --- Question: What is this? (not mentioned in the documentation, unless I oversaw it)
Legacy string, doesn't actually affect what is written by the user. It basically just tells what version of the game was running. RVGL and 1.2 introduced manual dev switch, so if you had the game running in dev mode, it will change to "dev". In legacy game versions, this space had either v1.0 or v1.1 written (as well as which Demo, E3, dev). So in this perspective, it means that you're using RVGL as a version of the game.
1.2 and RVGL in addition use completely different space to declare their build date/version.
7wells wrote: Mon Mar 15, 2021 7:23 pm A general question about profiles: If UseProfiles is set to 0 (=None), then multiple profiles support is disabled and the DefaultProfile is loaded automatically, or if none exists, a profile is created automatically. What does this mean? Why/when do we need multiple profiles? As I asked in another thread (no answers yet), I do not understand if/when multiple players racing in splitscreen on one device need one (separate) profile each. Can you please explain this here, too? Thank you so much. :)
Good find regarding UseProfiles=0, or rather I finally tested it out how it works.
It makes the game behave more like legacy 1.0 and 1.1. Only allowing to have single profile, and so it disables profile select menu on launch and in the main menu. Because the game still needs to store progress somewhere (good heavens no longer in windows registry), It saves data to a profile folder called "player", and technically behaves like any other RVGL profile. If the profile already existed (I assume), it picks the last chosen profile as default.

I'm pretty sure someone (or me) explained profiles before, but differently. It's a 1.2/RVGL extension to allow to store multiple Progress Table unlocks per user. It's pretty much the same as User Account in the OS, while Player name.. let's say a computer name in the OS, except it's saved per profile too.
You don't need multiple profiles for Splitscreen, it uses a single profile, and all four player names (including their controls) are saved in the profile you use. Profile is chosen at the very beginning of the game and it cannot be changed/swapped in the middle of it, only in the main menu.
If you're the only user who plays the game, multiple profiles are kinda unnecessary, but can come in handy if you want to start the game from scratch without removing your existing (cleared) progress.

---
Keep in mind RVGL documentation is for the new and updated feature set introduced in 1.2 and RVGL, some legacy things that were left untouched since 1.0 and 1.1 are likely not mentioned.
aka Vaid; >[MediaFire Stuff]<
7wells
Posts: 148

Re: rvgl.ini vs. GUI settings

Unread post by 7wells » Tue Mar 16, 2021 7:36 pm

Thank you so much for taking your time for this detailed reply. :)

If EffectFlag is not shininess, what is EffectFlag for?

When you refer to legacy settings, e.g. texture32. is my understanding correct that one should not fiddle with these but keep the values as defined in the rvgl.ini? I.e. I would keep texture32=1.

About the profiles: We are 4 players at home. Sometimes one plays alone (incl. story mode, with the goal to unlock cars and tracks etc.) with her/his own profile, but we often play also with 2, 3, or even 4 players (then the profile does not matter, I assume). What would be the best practice for us? Have one or 4 profiles? I ask, because sometimes the controller settings get lost our mixed, which confuses us and makes it necessary (not always but regularly) to go through the controller settings and restart a race.
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