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Written for Aion NA/EU
Written by: Bunny
Last Updated: 23 October 2011
Introduction:
***NOTE: The Aion Console only works in 64-bit now***
Since using 64-bit is against the rules, it prevents the use of the Aion Console.
This guide explains how to enable and use the Aion Console to tweak your graphical settings to optimise performance. It is a summary of information about the Console from multiple sources available. Please refer to the credits for more information.
Firstly, this is not a guide explaining how to hack. Believe it or not, the Aion Console primarily exists for the purpose of tweaking the way your game looks. The console is a feature of the CryEngine itself, so it is not totally unique to Aion, it can be found with any game using this graphics engine. If you do not consider yourself to be computer savvy then I would suggest not messing around with the Console, or you will likely bust something.
Secondly, tweaking your graphics via the Aion Console (or the "OVR" as it is referred to) will not get you banned. NCsoft confirmed this for everyone back in November 2009 with the following statement:
Tamat, on 24 November 2009 - 09:48 PM, said:
"Modifying your voice pack or fidgeting with your system.OVR will not get you banned unless your voice pack or system.OVR contains a bot that automated your game client. We are hunting bots not Anime fans. I am not saying it is alright to use Japanese voice packs, I am saying it is not OK to bot. "
Even so, NCsoft do not offer any support in relation to using the Console. While many of us enjoy tweaking our game graphics using this method to make Aion look pretty, it is very much a "use at your own risk" kind of deal.
Using the Aion Console:
1. Setup the Aion Console
The first thing you need to do is setup a file called "system.ovr" with some basic settings. This can be quite complicated, so I'll try to make it as simple as possible.
1.1 Create a basic OVR file:
The first thing you need to do is create a file called "system.ovr" using Notepad or Wordpad. The system.ovr file should contain the following lines of code to begin with:
Spoiler
Here is an explanation of what each line means:
con_disable_console = "0"
- Allows you to use the in-game console by pressing PauseBreak key.
g_open_aion_web= "0"
- Disables opening Aion webpage when quiting.
d3d9_TripleBuffering= "1"
- Enables Triple buffering, which offers a significant performance boost.
r_Texture_Anisotropic_Level= "16"
- Sharpens textures with minimal performance loss.
d3d9_TextureFilter = "TRILINEAR"
- Sets filtering type to 'Trilinear'
g_chatlog = "1"
- Allows all chatlog data to be recorded in a file called "Chat.log"
- I recommend deleting this file now and then, to prevent it becoming too large.
log_IncludeTime = "1"
- Includes a time/date stamp in the "Chat.log" file.
g_save_preset = "1"
- Saves your settings.
1.2 Enabling the OVR for the first time:
Ok so at this point you have a basic OVR file saved onto your computer. Now you need to enable it for the first time. You only need to do this once, then it will be available to turn on anytime.
1. Close Aion and the NCsoft launcher.
2. Browse to your Aion folder (eg. C:\Program Files\NCSoft\AionEU )
3. Locate the file called "system.cfg" and delete it (created each time you exit Aion so don't worry).
4. Save the "system.ovr" file you downloaded earlier into the same folder (eg. where the system.cfg was).
5. Right Click on Aion in the NCsoft Launcher list
6. Select "Properties"
7. Under "Extra Command Line Parameters (Advanced)" type: -DEVMODE "con_disable_console =0"
8. Start the NCsoft launcher and load up Aion.
Note: The first time you do this, your previous sound and graphics settings will be reset so after you load Aion you may need to fiddle with them in-game. You will only need to do this once.
2. Running the Aion Console
If you have done everything correctly, you can access the Aion Console by hitting the "Pause/Break" key when you are playing Aion. You can close it again by hitting the same key. Now it's time to get started tweaking your graphics!
2.1 Field of View *most popular*
This is by far the most popular tweak people use in the Aion Console, particularly in PvP.
The standard field of view in Aion is 55, which isn't very high, so most people increase this to 100 so they can see more of the game at once. Once you make this change, you will notice that the hills in the distance seem clearer, your character appears to move faster and you get the feeling that you can see more around you.
To increase your feild of view, enter the following command into the console window in Aion:
Are you lost? Ok lets back up a little bit.
If you have installed the Aion Console correctly, as I explained in section 1, simply launch Aion, login to the game, then hit the "Pause/Break" key to start the console. You should then see a green window overlaying your Aion game and a flashing cursor waiting for commands.
At the cursor, type in \g_minfov 100 then hit the enter key. Close the Aion Console by hitting the "Pause/Break" key again and look around in the game to see the impact of the change you made.
Well done! You've made your first tweak
2.2 Other Basic Graphics Tweaking:
There are hundreds of settings to play with in the console, but antialiasing, brightness and contrast are the first ones to play with. To try these out, you can enter the following commands into the console window one by one, to see if you like them.
Here is an explanation of what each line means:
\r_FSAA = 1 - Enables full screen anti-aliasing.
\r_FSAA_quality = 2 - Sets anti-aliasing quality to high (1 is default).
\r_contrast = 0.55000 - Juices up your contrast from the default 0.5
\r_brightness = 0.55000 - Tweaks up the brightness from the default 0.5
Remember the changes aren't permanent when you type them into the live console in-game, so don't worry if anything strange happens to your display. If all else fails you can simply restart Aion to return things to normal.
Once you find some settings you like, after trial and error, you can permanently assign these to apply when you boot up Aion. To do this, you need to add the values to the "system.ovr" file you created in the previous section (open the file with Notepad and edit it). The values get added to the file slightly different to the in-game commands.
For example, if I wanted to permanently the changes I mentioned above, I would add the following lines to my system.over file. Notice that the context changes:
2.3 Intermediate Graphics Tweaking:
There are literally hundreds of settings to play with in the Aion Console, you can easily waste a few hours messing with each variable to see what it does. When you are tinkering, remember to first type the command into the console without a value on the end, which will prompt the console to tell you what the current value is stored in that variable.
Here are few that you might want to play around with to begin with:
2.4 Advanced Tweaking:
Well there had to be a section like this didn't there. I thought I would separate this from the body of the guide because really, if you've made it this far and you want more, then you're about to get the mother load!
Below is a full list of the known commands that exist for Aion. If you manage to do anything horrible while you're tinkering, don't worry it will all go away when you restart Aion
I also recommend spending some time reading through the instructions and discussion from other users in the original thread created by Aleste. It's quite long, but you'll find a lot of test results from other players that might be useful to you.
This is by far the most popular tweak people use in the Aion Console, particularly in PvP.
The standard field of view in Aion is 55, which isn't very high, so most people increase this to 100 so they can see more of the game at once. Once you make this change, you will notice that the hills in the distance seem clearer, your character appears to move faster and you get the feeling that you can see more around you.
To increase your feild of view, enter the following command into the console window in Aion:
Spoiler
Are you lost? Ok lets back up a little bit.
If you have installed the Aion Console correctly, as I explained in section 1, simply launch Aion, login to the game, then hit the "Pause/Break" key to start the console. You should then see a green window overlaying your Aion game and a flashing cursor waiting for commands.
At the cursor, type in \g_minfov 100 then hit the enter key. Close the Aion Console by hitting the "Pause/Break" key again and look around in the game to see the impact of the change you made.
Well done! You've made your first tweak
2.2 Other Basic Graphics Tweaking:
There are hundreds of settings to play with in the console, but antialiasing, brightness and contrast are the first ones to play with. To try these out, you can enter the following commands into the console window one by one, to see if you like them.
Spoiler
Here is an explanation of what each line means:
\r_FSAA = 1 - Enables full screen anti-aliasing.
\r_FSAA_quality = 2 - Sets anti-aliasing quality to high (1 is default).
\r_contrast = 0.55000 - Juices up your contrast from the default 0.5
\r_brightness = 0.55000 - Tweaks up the brightness from the default 0.5
Remember the changes aren't permanent when you type them into the live console in-game, so don't worry if anything strange happens to your display. If all else fails you can simply restart Aion to return things to normal.
Once you find some settings you like, after trial and error, you can permanently assign these to apply when you boot up Aion. To do this, you need to add the values to the "system.ovr" file you created in the previous section (open the file with Notepad and edit it). The values get added to the file slightly different to the in-game commands.
For example, if I wanted to permanently the changes I mentioned above, I would add the following lines to my system.over file. Notice that the context changes:
Spoiler
2.3 Intermediate Graphics Tweaking:
There are literally hundreds of settings to play with in the Aion Console, you can easily waste a few hours messing with each variable to see what it does. When you are tinkering, remember to first type the command into the console without a value on the end, which will prompt the console to tell you what the current value is stored in that variable.
Here are few that you might want to play around with to begin with:
Spoiler
2.4 Advanced Tweaking:
Well there had to be a section like this didn't there. I thought I would separate this from the body of the guide because really, if you've made it this far and you want more, then you're about to get the mother load!
Below is a full list of the known commands that exist for Aion. If you manage to do anything horrible while you're tinkering, don't worry it will all go away when you restart Aion
I also recommend spending some time reading through the instructions and discussion from other users in the original thread created by Aleste. It's quite long, but you'll find a lot of test results from other players that might be useful to you.
Spoiler
3. Credits
The following is a list of credited sources used to slap this guide together:
- The Definite Guide on Aion's Graphical settings, and performance tips.
- Fyyre's full list of known Aion Console commands.
~~ The End ~~
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