I know this is an old game, but the reality of it is I run a PC that far exceeds the requirements of a aging game. I think in all of us there is this side of us to slide the bar on Ultra settings and have a game look as pretty as possible. If we wanted to run on low, might as pull out a console not a PC. Which brings me to the topic. So I run a I7-12700k Intel CPU, 32 gigs 4800 mhz RAM, 3080 RTX Founders Edition Graphics card and over 10 Tb of NVmie SSD along with that I have the best connection I can get at fiber optics the game on Connery can run at 15 ms with that being said I have closest to the best of what technology can offer today for a gaming PC it’s ludachris. So like many I always ran Ultra setting, never listened to the in order to be competitive you need to run potato settings. I was about the immersion and being engaged in another world. Shadows have always been wonky in this game, but I never believed it. So I kept graphics on High, textures on Ultra, Lighting on High, then turned off shadows, flora and everything else on low, about the only thing I kept was ambient occlusion. I found the headless bug to disappear and as the battles got bigger, less input lag, less chop and the battles seemed more enjoyable. So I played with screen brightness to substitute shadow and was surprised at how dramatic the improvements became. Shadows need to be gutted and improved at not such a high performance cost and the graphics are long overdue for a cleanup and better optimizations. Why do those that try to run with the highest graphics with flora for instance when others turn it off to get the edge?
Shadows don't really add much to the visual experience anyway. Too busy watching 360 degrees to appreciate any shadows. Yeah the flora thing should not be an option. Either make in mandatory or off altogether.
