by fregrin » Mon Feb 27, 2012 13:00
Bioware highly recommends that you don’t make any changes to client_defaults.ini and client_settings.ini so be warned. To make these tweaks work, you will have to set your client_settings.ini to read-only and if they still don’t work, you may have to make the changes to ‘client_defaults.ini’. You may have to make the changes again after the patch if it over-writes the changes made to your CFG. It is recommended that you keep a back-up of the original file before you add/alter tweaks.
Where To Find SWTOR INI Settings File
You can find it in:
C:\Users\%username%\appdata\Local\SWTOR\swtor\settings\client_settings.ini
If you can’t find the client_settings.ini file on your operating system, you may have to do the following subjected to whatever OS you use.
For Windows XP
Click Start, then Run and type “shell:Local AppData” (without quotes) then browse to SWTOR \ swtor \ settings. You should find it.
For Windows Vista/ Windows 7
Click Start, type “%localappdata%\swtor\swtor\settings” (without quotes). You should be able to see it now (It’s a hidden file).
Before you begin editing your CFG or INI settings file, do make a back up of client_settings.ini
Windows Vista / 7
\Users\(user name)\AppData\Local\SWTOR\swtor\settings
Windows XP
\Documents and Settings\(user name)\Local Settings\Application Data\SWTOR\swtor\settings
You may see the following variables in this file (Values may be different based on your settings). You may not see all these variables but you can add them as explained later:
[Renderer]
Height = 1080
Width = 1920
WindowX = 0
WindowY = 0
DynamicLightsLimit = (#)
TextureAnisotropy = (#)
FarClipScale = (#)
PlantDensity = (#)
D3DFullScreen = true
NativeHeight = 1080
NativeWidth = 1920
AllowDepthOfField = true
doBlobShadows = false
SpeedTreeDistanceScale = (#)
EnableBloom = false
UseMinSpecShaders = false
TextureQuality = (#)
VerticalSyncState = false
AntiAliasingLevel = (#)
MeshLODQuality = (#)
enableadvenvirolighting = false
DebugAdvEnviroLighting = false
If you have an ATI Card and have added ‘AntiAliasingLevel = 2′ tweak, it may cause your game to close after the splash screen. To fix that, remove that tweak.
Now let’s talk about the impact each setting would have on the performance or graphics of Star Wars: The Old Republic before explaining which settings you should really consider tweaking. Note that this isn’t the only INI setting file in SWTOR and we will explain others later in this guide.
Go the next page for details on Advanced SWTOR Tweaks or check this page for General SWTOR Tweaks and sample config files.
• Controls_TabTargetIgnoreNPC = boolean – false
• Controls_InheritedTargeting = boolean – false
• PVP_Always_Check_Ability_Target_Arc = boolean – true
• GUI_DisplayPlayerInfo = boolean – false
• Social_UseOverheadChat = boolean – false
• Social_ChatOverSelf = boolean – false
• Nameplate_UseOld = boolean – false
• Nameplate_EnemyNPC = boolean – false
• GUI_MapHideFoWMasks = boolean – false
Graphics_Mirror.ini
• Graphics_ClipDistance = int – 1 [0.1 - 4.0]
• Graphics_WindowedMode = boolean – false
• Graphics_DynamicLightComplexity – loc:1101[0 - 2]:preferences
• Graphics_ShadowQuality = int – 0.5 [0.1 - 1.0]
he####_CharName_PlayerGUIState.ini
• GUI_SocialCenterLocked = boolean – true
• GUI_SocialCenterVisible = boolean – true
• cbtSpamFilterRed = boolean – false
• cbtSpamFilterGreen = boolean – false
• cbtSpamFilterWhite = boolean – false
• cbtSpamFilterBlue = boolean – false
• cbtSpamFilterSpamResture = boolean – false
• GUI_CodexBreakoutVisible = boolean – false
Easy, you can use this CFG maker, make the tweaks per your needs, and click Create CFG button; it will output a ready-made CFG that you can use for Star Wars: The Old Republic. The tool can be found HERE.
General SWTOR Tweaks
How To Fix Indoor Low FPS
If going inside caves and other indoor locations makes the game unplayable for you, you may want to open the graphics settings and set the graphics quality preset to high.
Apply the settings and play the game. Quit the game, start and then go to graphics settings again, and then set the graphics quality preset to low.
It’s a game bug that keeps the settings to high even though you have set it low hence setting them to high and then following up with low settings brings them back to where you want them to be.
Recommended Tweaks For Better Graphics
• AntiAliasingLevel = 4
• FarClipScale = 3.9371195 (Draw Distance)
• enableadvenvirolighting = true
• DebugAdvEnviroLighting = true
SWTOR Tweak – How To Decrease Draw Distance
If you can’t tweak ‘Farclipscale’ or if new value doesn’t affect draw distance, you may want to follow these steps to make this tweak stick:
Step 1
Go to your Settings Folder:
C:\Users\\AppData\Local\SWTOR\swtor\settings
Step 2
Replace with your Windows Username.
Step 3
Look for ‘client_settings.ini’ file in your settings folder and open it with notepad.
Step 4
Add ‘FarClipScale = 0.3371195′ (Recommended Value) above ‘PlantDensity’. You can also try 0.1371195 or 0.5371195. These are community suggested values that should work well and give you a performance boost.
Step 5
Save your client_settings.ini file and make it ‘Read-Only’ to make the changes stick. If you want to increase the draw-distance try 0.5371195 or 0.7371195.
Note. You can further tweak graphics_mirror.ini file to add ‘Graphics_ClipDistance = 0.1′ along with the recommended value for farclipscale.
Sample SWTOR Configs – Graphics and Performance
You can use these sample configs if you can’t figure out and customize your own.
Sample Config #1 (Game Runs Smooth, Better Graphics)
[Renderer]
Height = 900
Width = 1440
WindowX = 0
WindowY = 0
DynamicLightsLimit = 2
MeshLODQuality = 1
TextureAnisotropy = 16
AntiAliasingLevel = 4
FarClipScale = 3.9371195
PlantDensity = 150
D3DFullScreen = true
NativeHeight = 900
NativeWidth = 1440
doShadows = true
doBlobShadows = true
UseMinSpecShaders = false
enableadvenvirolighting = true
DebugAdvEnviroLighting = true
EnableBloom = true
VerticalSyncState = true
FullScreen = true
TextureQuality = 0
AllowDepthOfField = true
GammaRamp = 1.037854
SpeedTreeDistanceScale = 1.1347826
RefreshRate = 75
[Game]
MoviesFolder = ..\..\Movies
SwtorRegKey = SOFTWARE\BioWare\Star Wars – The Old Republic
Sample Config #2 – 30 FPS Config (Low-End PCs/Laptops)
Client_Settings.ini
Add the following to your graphics_mirror.ini file:
[Renderer]
D3DFullScreen = false
EnableBloom = false
Height = 768
NativeHeight = 768
NativeWidth = 1366
RefreshRate = 60
TextureQuality = 0
UseMinSpecShaders = true
VerticalSyncState = false
Width = 1366
WindowX = 0
WindowY = 0
AllowDepthOfField = true
doShadows = false
doBlobShadows = false
PlantDensity = 0
SpeedTreeDistanceScale = 0.75
FullScreen = true
FarClipScale = 0.1371195
AntiAliasingLevel = 0
enableadvenvirolighting = false
DebugAdvEnviroLighting = false
TextureAnisotropy = 0
MeshLODQuality = 0
DynamicLightsLimit = 0
[Game]
MoviesFolder = ..\..\Movies
SwtorRegKey = SOFTWARE\BioWare\Star Wars – The Old Republic
Graphics_mirror.ini
Add the following to your graphics_mirror.ini file:
[Settings]
Graphics_Resolution = 1366×768
Graphics_VerticalSync = false
Graphics_Buckets = loc:11020:preferences
Graphics_ConversationDepthOfField = true
Graphics_ShadowQualityDropdown = loc:160002:preferences
Graphics_WindowMode = loc:160011:preferences
Graphics_TextureQuality = loc:11012:preferences
Graphics_ClipDistance = 0.1