From Crawl to Tall: eqclient.ini Changes and DX11

Since the January 17, 2024 game update that brought DirectX 11 (DX11) to live servers, playing EQ for me became annoying. Lag, stuttering, poor framerates, and long zoning. It seemed I would either have to wait for Darkpaw to fix this, or, worst case, spend money I don't have on new computer equipment. The game was practically unplayable.

Then I came across FrankTheNotTank's thread here: https://forums.daybreakgames.com/eq...1-lag-black-shaders-too-dark-gameplay.295741/

I decided to try this. I exited EQ. From my EQ folder I copied my eqclient.ini file to another folder for a backup, then deleted the one in the EQ folder. Note that Windows by default hides the ".ini" part of the filename, so on your system it might just be eqclient (INI file). I knew EQ would create a new eqclient.ini file, although it would be missing my personal settings, that's why I made a backup copy, so I would have those settings if needed.

Then I started up the LaunchPad. From there I went to the gear icon Advanced Tools and Validate Game Assets. Which probably found nothing. Then I went though Game Configuration.

Instead of it saying "AMD Radeon(TM) RX Vega 11 Graphics" twice as it used to, the second line was now "Microsoft Basic Render Driver". Clicking on Next, I kept all the boxes for models checked as before, since I have plenty of memory. Clicking Next, I unchecked Mip Mapping and Dynamic Lighting. I checked Texture Caching and kept Texture Compression checked.

Resolution I changed from some high numbers to 640x480. This would mean the first time I started EQ afterwards it would be a tiny box on my screen. But that's ok because once it was in-game I could change it to a larger settings. Texture Quality I changed from High to Low.

I finished this and started up EQ.

Once I was in-game, I opened Options and went to the Display tab. Then I clicked the Video Modes button and changed it to 1920x1080 (your setting will depend upon your monitor resolution). It wasn't easy doing this with such a small tiny box EQ but once I did the game filled up the screen and I could adjust it a bit for normal gaming. My chat windows were moved a bit but easy to fix.

I would have to set settings back to how I like but it was so much better. The game was like it was before the DX11 change. No more lagging or stuttering or long zoning. At least it was close enough to before the update to be fine.

I did go into my old eqclient.ini to get my key binds (what keys do what that I had changed from default) and my text chat colors (I was used to different ones than default). A few more settings would have to be adjusted as well.

So, now to the nitty gritty. What changed to make my EQ go from unplayable with DX11 to about the same as before the update?

Well, I did change the Texture Caching and a few other things in the LaunchPad Game Configuration. Was that all I needed to do and not have to replace the eqclient.ini? I don't know. But let's look at the differences between the old (it could be 25 years old) eqclient.ini and the new one.

First off, I would tell Darkpaw that the graphics/performance settings should not be in the same file as keybinds, text chat colors, druid tracking settings, AutoAFK settings, chat filters, and whatever else is in there. Some of what is in my file might be left over from years ago, who knows. Put the graphics/performance settings in their own file. Next, when the game makes a change to some setting used in the file, go in the player's file and make the change. Delete the obsolete entries. You can make a backup of the file first if you are worried (in fact, due to bugs that would probably be a good idea).

When the LaunchPad starts, it should check the eqclient.ini file and fix it by removing obsolete stuff and bad settings.

In fact, if possible it would really be nice to have EQ do what some other games do which is offer a test of your system's performance and then set things to recommended settings, with the option for the player to change them. But that is a pretty big project, although with the change to DX11 and all the issues we are having it might be worth it.

So, now to the differences:

Old: MipMapping=TRUE
New: MipMapping=FALSE

Old: ShowDynamicLights=TRUE
New: ShowDynamicLights=FALSE

Old: TextureCache=FALSE
New: TextureCache=TRUE

Old: TextureQuality=1
New: TextureQuality=0

These look like things I changed in the LaunchPad Game Configuration settings and might be enough to be behind the massive improvement in EQ performance after DX11 borked it up.

But let's move on and look at more.

Several settings differ in the Old and New where one might use TRUE/FALSE and the other use 1/0 (one/zero). Unless there is a bug (possible) that should make no difference. EQ should read 1 as TRUE and 0 as FALSE. So I will ignore when they are the "same".

Old:
ClientCore0=-1
ClientCore1=-1
ClientCore2=-1

New:
ClientCore0=-1

Note the extra ClientCore should make no difference, especially when only running one instance of EQ.

Old: PostEffects=1
New: PostEffects=FALSE (remember FALSE=0)

Old:
[VideoMode]
Width=1920
Height=1080
WindowedWidth=1923
WindowedHeight=1069

New:
[VideoMode]
Width=800
Height=600
WindowedWidth=1920
WindowedHeight=1069

This is after I set the Video Modes button and changed it to 1920x1080, the new eqclient.ini still has it as 800x600. I have no idea if this makes any difference.

That's all the important differences. However, the old eqclient.ini also has these settings below that the new eqclient.ini does not. Are the ignored by EQ or are they causing problems?

DisableWestBugFix=0
14PixelShaders=TRUE
1xPixelShaders=TRUE
HidePlayerWin=0
HidePartyWin=FALSE
HideTargetWin=0
HideSpellsWin=0
HideHotboxWin=FALSE
HideChatWin=FALSE
HideMainMenuWin=FALSE
ChatLineSpacing=0
VideoMode=0
CombatMusic=0
ServerFilter=0
ShowGrass=0
DisableTattoos=FALSE
UseArrowCamera=FALSE
DoProperTinting=FALSE
SpeakerType=0
IgnoreNumLockState=FALSE
LoadVeliousArmorsWithLuclin=FALSE
Gamma=20.000000
StreamItemTextures=1
SpellParticleDensity=1.000000
SpellParticleNearClipPlane=2.000000
SpellParticleCastFilter=24
EnvironmentParticleDensity=1.000000
EnvironmentParticleNearClipPlane=8.000000
EnvironmentParticleCastFilter=24
ActorParticleDensity=1.000000
ActorParticleNearClipPlane=8.000000
ActorParticleCastFilter=24
ActorNewArmorFilter=24
HideAltAdvWin=1
TargetGroupBuff=1
WindowedGamma=1
LinearGammaContent=1
AllowPreLuclinMountRiders=1
VeteranRewardsTimestamp=1583610159
TerrainTextureQuality=2
Announce=0
SkyUpdateInterval=60000
Shadows=0
HideFirstUseAlerts=0
Bloom=1
SkyCubemapSize=0
IgnoreFile1=1
FogScale=4.000000
Sky=2
LoD=1
SameResolution=1
InverseMouse=0
LookSpring=0
MouseActive=1
Destroy=0
AANoConfirm=0
pointMerchantNoConfirm=0
MouseWheelZoom=1
MouseTurnZoom=1
MouseRightHanded=1
NameFlashSpeed=5
TradeskillResultLoreEquippedWarning=1
UiScale=1.00

Most of these are likely meaningless, obsolete, or non-default options that would be added to the new file if I changed them in-game. But only Darkpaw knows.

That's all I have for now. At this point, if you have the same or similar DX11 problems I did, I suggest you do the LaunchPad changes I did and see if that is enough to fix it. Deleting your eqclient.ini is not something to do without being very careful. However, it is an option if all else fails.

Good luck.

I've created a blog post with just the LaunchPad changes (no eqclient.ini editing needed) here: January 17, 2024 Game Update Possible DirectX 11 Fix for those that just want to try the safest fix.

The blog post is a walkthough to help you do it without special knowledge or extra reading needed.

This may or may not help you but is easy to revert back.

I hope this helps most of those who are still having issues. Looking at your "no longer used" list, it seems like a lot of kruft built up over the years. I wonder if more of those having issues have had a long install vs newer. Migration from older versions to new can trip up a lot of development.

Players should be able to fix this....enjoy the weekend...

I dont know why the graphics were listed twice before, but this is the technical information I got from a dev if you want to add a footnote.

That selection window does not say this but you are selecting your preferred GPU. When you complete the game configuration it writes an encoded eqdevice.txt file. When EQ launches it uses this file to set which GPU it uses "per user preference".

In early beta there was an issue where the GPU override could have not supported DX11, this was supposed to have been fixed to allow the game to select a DX11 compliant GPU if it exists. I think this was about when they pushed an update to the configurator that changed which GPUs were displayed, though basic renderer is not DX supported at all.

The eqdevice.txt file isn't even required for launch and can be deleted to just let the game choose the GPU.

Not a bug, makes no difference, probably up to designers choice which one was written out. Both string and bit are transposed to the proper boolean value.

You would have previously boxed 3 clients (ClientCore0-2). Every time you start up a new client it will increment and add a new entry if it doesnt exist. Default is -1 (allow Windows to schedule on all cores). If you wanted to multibox and pin each one to a different core you could manually add as many entries as you box and set the core number (zero based).

This will disable the colored overlays that are required to react to during missions and raids.

Width/Height is for full screen, WindowedWidth/WindowedHeight is for windowed.

Only "set" values are written to ini. Certain values are "set" when a brand new ini is constructed. After that, the value is "set" after its toggled in game. Any values not set use the default fallback.

Some of those settings still exist and are using the default fallbacks. Some of those values (like gamma) are removed from game and no longer read in so are not impacting the game by being in the file.

It really should say this. I can see someone clicking on one not realizing it was actually selecting that as their GPU.

I know that TRUE/FALSE or 1/0 is not a bug. What I meant was if they are not properly transposed that would be a bug.

Thanks. I'll have to see if this causes me to not see the auras (overlays) needed for missions and raids. I don't know why that would be set to FALSE. This can be a very big problem for players and I don't know why it would be set to FALSE ever.

Thanks. So the difference between old and new means nothing.

I thought that might be the case. However, I wasn't sure.

I hope they are not impacting the game. Something sure was and I'm throwing everything at the wall and hoping something will stick.

Thanks Soulbanshee for your information.

Still used, west bug issue where textures disappeared only when facing cardinally west. The fix also broke other systems so an ini only toggle was created.
DisableWestBugFix=0

You toggled these windows at some point.
HidePlayerWin=0
HidePartyWin=FALSE
HideTargetWin=0
HideSpellsWin=0
HideHotboxWin=FALSE
HideChatWin=FALSE
HideMainMenuWin=FALSE
HideAltAdvWin=1


Obsolete, can delete
14PixelShaders=TRUE
1xPixelShaders=TRUE
Gamma=20.000000
WindowedGamma=1
LinearGammaContent=1
StreamItemTextures=1
VeteranRewardsTimestamp=1583610159 (likely obsolete)
TargetGroupBuff=1 (used to be able to toggle /tgb)

Still used
CombatMusic=0
ShowGrass=0 (/showgrass, this is radial flora)
DisableTattoos=FALSE
SpellParticleDensity=1.000000
SpellParticleNearClipPlane=2.000000
SpellParticleCastFilter=24
EnvironmentParticleDensity=1.000000
EnvironmentParticleNearClipPlane=8.000000
EnvironmentParticleCastFilter=24
ActorParticleDensity=1.000000
ActorParticleNearClipPlane=8.000000
ActorParticleCastFilter=24
ActorNewArmorFilter=24
TerrainTextureQuality=2
Announce=0 (/announce)
SkyUpdateInterval=60000
Shadows=0
HideFirstUseAlerts=0
Bloom=1
SkyCubemapSize=0
Sky=2
LoD=1
InverseMouse=0
LookSpring=0
MouseActive=1
MouseWheelZoom=1
MouseTurnZoom=1
MouseRightHanded=1
AANoConfirm=0
pointMerchantNoConfirm=0
Destroy=0
NameFlashSpeed=5
TradeskillResultLoreEquippedWarning=1
UiScale=1.00
AllowPreLuclinMountRiders=1

Unsure, can delete and use defaults unless you added for specific advanced functionality
VideoMode=0
ServerFilter=0 (https://forums.daybreakgames.com/eq...rverfilter-if-it-still-does-something.203272/)
ChatLineSpacing=0
FogScale=4.000000
UseArrowCamera=FALSE
DoProperTinting=FALSE
SpeakerType=0
IgnoreNumLockState=FALSE (https://forums.daybreakgames.com/eq/index.php?threads/numpad-enter.212236/)
LoadVeliousArmorsWithLuclin=FALSE (https://forums.daybreakgames.com/eq/index.php?threads/velious-armor-textures.232811/)
IgnoreFile1=1
SameResolution=1

Suggested that to the dev during beta, but bigger fish to fry.

Yah, can you retype all these posts in English.

There is an other guide which explains some of the above mentioned settings of the eqclient.ini (not mine): https://www.jaburt.com/eq/eqclient.htm .

https://forums.daybreakgames.com/eq...ent-ini-changes-and-dx11.295752/#post-4278789

I already posted the link to the simple English how to do the relatively simple fix here:

January 17, 2024 Game Update Possible DirectX 11 Fix

As for EQ graphics settings in general: https://everquest.fanra.info/wiki/Graphics_and_performance_settings_guide

I'm pretty sure false is the default. I know I've had to go in and manually check this box after a fresh install in the past.

I thought I would mention that with PostEffects=FALSE I was able to see the auras in the Laurion's Song mission Final Fugue. Both from the mini-bosses and the Plucked one from Kar the Unmovable.

However, I do have on my wiki, "Enable Post Effects setting determines whether the game can tint your screen a color.", which appears to refer not to auras but to tinting your entire screen. The Under Siege mission in Night of Shadows is one raid where your screen gets tinted if you need to do something.

Therefore, I enabled PostEffects in-game and my eqclient.ini file now shows, PostEffects=1.

So far, it appears to have no negative effects upon my EQ performance.

As with everything, time will tell how things go.

Yep, event auras falls under one of the particle effect settings, but it might be spell not environment.

Mipmapping off helped a lot, but made the game look awful. Meh.

Do you have Advanced lighting on? In PoK, toggling that button didn't seem to have any effect. But in the new tower zone, the textures were blown out with it on and nice-looking with it off.

If we go the route of creating a fresh eqclient.ini file, what are the "tedious" settings we should copy from the old one (so we don't have to go through and set them all up again)?

I see: TextColors, Chatfilters, and KeyMaps
Are there any others that would take way too long to set them up manually again?

I think those are the main ones.

Yeah, that's what I thought. I think everything else are just toggles in the game. Thanks.