DCS Optimized Textures Powershell Script

[zildac]

I've made a simple powershell script to automate the process of making a "Optimized Textures" mod like you can see in this topic:
[/url]
Requirements:
Script: https://gist.github.com/zbysiek/8df79276f659674b3926a0a757050f2f
TexConv:
[/url]https://github.com/microsoft/DirectXTex/releases
Powershell 7.4:
https://learn.microsoft.com/powershell/scripting/install/installing-powershell-on-windows?view=powershell-7.4#installing-the-msi-package

Usage instructions:
0. Delete _backup and _downloads folder in your main DCS Install to avoid compressing unnecessary files
1. Create a folder on your desktop, place the script and texconv.exe there
2. Open powershell as admin, type Set-ExecutionPolicy Unrestricted
3. Close the powershell window (we don't want to execute the script as admin, just in case, DO NOT EXECUTE THE SCRIPT AS ADMIN)
4. Open Powershell 7 in the same folder by right clicking > Powershell 7 > Open Here (DO NOT OPEN AS ADMIN)
5. Make sure the path in the console is pointing to the correct folder, if not type: cd "full-path-to-folder"
5. Execute the script by typing in .\dcs-texture-optimizer.ps1
5. Select your main DCS folder in the pop up window
6. Wait for it to finish
(Optional, but recommended):
7. Open powershell as admin, type Set-ExecutionPolicy Restricted


After it's done the files are gonna be ready in a OvGME ready format under ./Mod
 
Original comment: https://forum.dcs.world/topic/323252-dcs-optimized-textures/page/10/#comment-5512828
The script is primarily designed to be pointed into the main game, but you can also point it to a specific folder. Just make sure there's a directory or a zip with the filters in the whitelist.

Again thanks for your effort doing this. It really should be an ED job and I'm a little confused as to why they haven't sorted what appears to be a fundamental aspect of the platform bit mind boggling tbh

[tomeye]

Apologies if my question is not strictly related to thread but does anyone knows how ED uses high/medium textures in graphic options? I am asking this because when I set to medium all new aircrafts (ah-64, ch-47) utilize less VRAM. My idea is to set medium for those while keep high for old modules (uh-1h, mi-8) which do not consume VRAM.

[MAXsenna]

Apologies if my question is not strictly related to thread but does anyone knows how ED uses high/medium textures in graphic options? I am asking this because when I set to medium all new aircrafts (ah-64, ch-47) utilize less VRAM. My idea is to set medium for those while keep high for old modules (uh-1h, mi-8) which do not consume VRAM.

Then you have to use presets, and switch according to the module. It's the same current settings for all. Now, they could've had that option under special, but they don't.

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[tomeye]

37 minutes ago, MAXsenna said:

Then you have to use presets, and switch according to the module. It's the same current settings for all. Now, they could've had that option under special, but they don't.

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I wonder how these presets work and modify textures size on the fly and eventually affect VRAM usage? This must be working on a different way than the script because they apply immediately.

[MAXsenna]

I wonder how these presets work and modify textures size on the fly and eventually affect VRAM usage? This must be working on a different way than the script because they apply immediately.

I'm not 100% sure what you mean. The Powershell script takes the textures and resizes them in a ready mod one can apply, that takes time.
You have three presets available. If you save High to preset 1, then select Medium and save it to 2. You have two presets available. They obviously switch on the fly because the textures have already been been rendered by Eagle Dynamics and the 3rd parties. So no "calculations" is needed. It's like you look at one picture in each hand where one is high res, and the other medium. They are already ready for you to look at.
Don't compare the script to the stock default settings in the game. If that was your "question".
Cheers!

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[zbysiek]

7 hours ago, tomeye said:

I wonder how these presets work and modify textures size on the fly and eventually affect VRAM usage? This must be working on a different way than the script because they apply immediately.

It just uses the LODs that are generared in .dds files.

High = 100% resolution
Medium = 50%? resolution
Low 25%? resolution

Tbh with so many modules having wastly different texture sizes it should just be under special options with a numerical value of the compression you want.

[MAXsenna]

Okay! Testing this now. Are there any progress or does it just display like this until it's finished?

Cheers!

[Zyll]

It should show a progress bar after some time along with a file name and counter eventually.

Make sure you point at a folder that has textures and zips that it will actually process (it will iterate through subdirectories too). I know if I run it on a folder which has already been optimized before, it will look like it's hung, but I think it's just working and not finding anything to optimize). So if you have Taz's optimized textures installed, back those out before running this script.

Zyll @ TAW

[MAXsenna]

It should show a progress bar after some time along with a file name and counter eventually.

Make sure you point at a folder that has textures and zips that it will actually process (it will iterate through subdirectories too). I know if I run it on a folder which has already been optimized before, it will look like it's hung, but I think it's just working and not finding anything to optimize). So if you have Taz's optimized textures installed, back those out before running this script.

Zyll @ TAW

Thanks. I'll. Try again, I just pointed it the the root DCS OpenBeta folder.

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[zildac]

Thanks. I'll. Try again, I just pointed it the the root DCS OpenBeta folder.

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And also make sure you have the requisite disk space, caught me out a couple of times.

[MagicSlave]

Sorry if this is a stupid question, but does this modding produce different results performance-wise compared to just setting textures to medium (or low) in the graphics options?
Thanks

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[MAXsenna]

Thanks guys! Just took a looong time. Probably because I pointed it to the root folder.
Now off to testing. BBL

[tomeye]

12 hours ago, zbysiek said:

It just uses the LODs that are generared in .dds files.

High = 100% resolution
Medium = 50%? resolution
Low 25%? resolution

Tbh with so many modules having wastly different texture sizes it should just be under special options with a numerical value of the compression you want.

Do you think we could automate this per module?

[zbysiek]

10 hours ago, tomeye said:

Do you think we could automate this per module?

Please elaborate

 

11 hours ago, MagicSlave said:

Sorry if this is a stupid question, but does this modding produce different results performance-wise compared to just setting textures to medium (or low) in the graphics options?
Thanks

Sent from my FP4 using Tapatalk
 

No. In my case Terrain textures low and textures medium before optimzation produced the same performance as Terrain Textures High and Textures High after optimisations.

[tomeye]

2 hours ago, zbysiek said:

Please elaborate

Override the graphic settings and apply medium textures for the heavy modules.

[MAXsenna]

Whoa! Just WHOA!!!

Judge for yourself!

Before

After

 

For those of you that have followed this thread, especially the strange slowdowns reported the past few weeks.

 

Well, it seems this has been solved for me now. It does have slowdowns here and there, while the 20FPS below 900' is completely gone for me.

NOW! Applying this fix with an ordinary mod manager is not really the way to do it. Takes a lot of time, first backing up the original files, and then replacing them with the fixed ones. And of course there will be a lot of reads and writes, which finally kicked me in the but and have forced me to start using this mod manager. It takes, well not seconds on my slow system, but a couple of minutes or so. And basically no backup and writes.

https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/files/3339453/

Couldn't find a forum thread for it, but this is a similar tool.

 

Thanks @zbysiek  EXCELLENT WORK!!!

 

 

[YoYo]

9 minutes ago, MAXsenna said:

Whoa! Just WHOA!!!

Judge for yourself!

Before

After

 

For those of you that have followed this thread, especially the strange slowdowns reported the past few weeks.

 

Well, it seems this has been solved for me now. It does have slowdowns here and there, while the 20FPS below 900' is completely gone for me.

NOW! Applying this fix with an ordinary mod manager is not really the way to do it. Takes a lot of time, first backing up the original files, and then replacing them with the fixed ones. And of course there will be a lot of reads and writes, which finally kicked me in the but and have forced me to start using this mod manager. It takes, well not seconds on my slow system, but a couple of minutes or so. And basically no backup and writes.

https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/files/3339453/

Couldn't find a forum thread for it, but this is a similar tool.

 

Thanks @zbysiek  EXCELLENT WORK!!!

 

 

Which GPU?

[MAXsenna]

Which GPU?

2080Ti
32Gigs
4 SSD's in stripe. I need more space, so I'll try one of those M.2 cards.
i7-3970X

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[zbysiek]

9 hours ago, MAXsenna said:

Whoa! Just WHOA!!!

Judge for yourself!

Before

After

 

For those of you that have followed this thread, especially the strange slowdowns reported the past few weeks.

 

Well, it seems this has been solved for me now. It does have slowdowns here and there, while the 20FPS below 900' is completely gone for me.

NOW! Applying this fix with an ordinary mod manager is not really the way to do it. Takes a lot of time, first backing up the original files, and then replacing them with the fixed ones. And of course there will be a lot of reads and writes, which finally kicked me in the but and have forced me to start using this mod manager. It takes, well not seconds on my slow system, but a couple of minutes or so. And basically no backup and writes.

https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/files/3339453/

Couldn't find a forum thread for it, but this is a similar tool.

 

Thanks @zbysiek  EXCELLENT WORK!!!

 

 

I'm sorry for swearing but that's a fucking neat mod manager, I'll add it as a recommendation in the main post.

17 hours ago, tomeye said:

Override the graphic settings and apply medium textures for the heavy modules.

I still don't follow, what exactly would you like added to the script?

[zildac]

6 hours ago, zbysiek said:

I'm sorry for swearing but that's a fucking neat mod manager, I'll add it as a recommendation in the main post.

I still don't follow, what exactly would you like added to the script?

Is it possible to add some kind of debug/verbose logging mode? Not sure if Texconv supports this.

[Legs]

So i ran it, when i check the Mods folder that it created in the directory for the subsequent aircraft (C:\Users\MyName\Desktop\Reduced Texture Mod\Mod\Mods\aircraft\CH-47F, there are no files in that folder. Did i do something wrong or forget a step?

[Legs]

I think i pointed it to the root when i initially ran it. So if i want to run it for i guess just the aircraft, do i point it to the CoreMods/aircraft?

Edited September 14, 2024 by Legs

[Zyll]

Coremods would have the exterior model textures, mods (assuming you own it) has the cockpit textures. You would want to run from the DCS root folder, not sure why you would have gotten no files in that folder.

Zyll @ TAW

[Legs]

1 hour ago, Zyll said:

Coremods would have the exterior model textures, mods (assuming you own it) has the cockpit textures. You would want to run from the DCS root folder, not sure why you would have gotten no files in that folder.

Zyll @ TAW
 

So do i point it to F:\DCS World\Mods\aircraft and run it there?

[Legs]

Just ran it again, pointing it to the above directory and there are several folders with their Cockpit/Textures subfolders that are empty