← Previous | Start | Next →

Scalability.ini in-depth

For the Scalability.ini file there’s a fully commented version that is distributed with every version of Unreal Engine. See (Unreal Folder)/Engine/Config/BaseScalability.ini.

In this section, we’ll only look at a reduced version.

The Scalability.ini file can be used to really fine-tune the scalability settings of your project. However, it is worth starting with the defaults and adjusting them when needed. There are ways to use these defaults with modern machines, as we’ll see in the next part.

Section ScalabilitySettings

This section is used to determine the quality level for each scalability group using the benchmark results for the CPU and the GPU.

The PerfIndexThresholds are composed of four different fields:

• The type of the comparison. This can be GPU, CPU, Min. Depending on this field, Unreal will look at the GPU benchmark result, the CPU benchmark result, or the minimum of both values.
• The threshold for the Medium quality level. If the benchmark value is higher than this value, Unreal will apply the Medium quality level settings for this scalability group.
• The threshold for the High quality level.
• The threshold for the Epic quality level.

If a benchmark value is below the Medium threshold, Unreal will apply the Low quality level settings for this scalability group.

The Cine quality level is a special case, as it will never be applied automatically.

[ScalabilitySettings]
PerfIndexThresholds_ResolutionQuality="GPU 18 42 115"
PerfIndexThresholds_ViewDistanceQuality="Min 18 42 105"
PerfIndexThresholds_AntiAliasingQuality="GPU 18 42 115"
PerfIndexThresholds_ShadowQuality="Min 18 42 105"
PerfIndexThresholds_GlobalIlluminationQuality="GPU 18 42 115"
PerfIndexThresholds_ReflectionQuality="GPU 18 42 115"
PerfIndexThresholds_PostProcessQuality="GPU 18 42 115"
PerfIndexThresholds_TextureQuality="GPU 18 42 115"
PerfIndexThresholds_EffectsQuality="Min 18 42 105"
PerfIndexThresholds_FoliageQuality="GPU 18 42 115"
PerfIndexThresholds_ShadingQuality="GPU 18 42 115"

• Screen percentage of the Low quality level.
• Screen percentage of the Medium quality level.
• Screen percentage of the High quality level.
• Screen percentage of the Epic quality level.
• Screen percentage of the Cine quality level.

PerfIndexValues_ResolutionQuality="50 71 87 100 100"

Section ResolutionQuality

I still need to learn about this section myself. Consider this part of the documentation incomplete.

[ResolutionQuality]
!ResolutionPresets=CLEAR_ARRAY
; Use the project's default screen percentage
+ResolutionPresets=(Name="Default",ResolutionQuality=0.0)
; 1080.0f / 2160.0f = 50%
+ResolutionPresets=(Name="Performance",ResolutionQuality=50.0)
; 1260.0f / 2160.0f - 0.1f / 2160.0f = 58.328%
+ResolutionPresets=(Name="Balanced",ResolutionQuality=58.328)
; 1440.0f / 2160.0f - 0.1f / 2160.0f = 66.662%
+ResolutionPresets=(Name="Quality",ResolutionQuality=66.662)
; 2160.0f / 2160.0f = 100%
+ResolutionPresets=(Name="Native",ResolutionQuality=100.0)

Scalability Group Quality Sections

These are sections for each scalability group and quality level.

The section name is composed of the scalability group and the quality level like this: [ScalabilityGroup@QualityLevel]. Instead of the named quality level, this uses the numeric value:

• Low: 0
• Medium: 1
• High: 2
• Epic: 3
• Cine: Cine (Exception)

The contents of the individual sections are the console variable overrides, which can be seen in the AntiAliasingQuality sections. As you can see in this example, the quality increases with the quality level.

[AntiAliasingQuality@0]
r.FXAA.Quality=0
r.TemporalAA.Quality=0
...

[AntiAliasingQuality@1]
r.FXAA.Quality=1
r.TemporalAA.Quality=1
...

[AntiAliasingQuality@2]
r.FXAA.Quality=3
r.TemporalAA.Quality=1
...

[AntiAliasingQuality@3]
[AntiAliasingQuality@Cine]

[ViewDistanceQuality@0]
[ViewDistanceQuality@1]
[ViewDistanceQuality@2]
[ViewDistanceQuality@3]
[ViewDistanceQuality@Cine]
...

Next →