ArcheAge Mod - Environment Mod for 3.0 (Outdated, read description)

EDIT: This mod is outdated. Get the latest one here:
   • Environment Graphics Mod [ArcheAge an...  

This is an update on the ArcheAge Environment Mod now that 3.0 has officially gone live. There weren't too many changes to the config settings, so this update is actually pretty minor. That said, you'll probably want to use this updated version for the easiest time applying/rolling back the mod.

It should be noted that I'll now be maintaining this mod through this Youtube channel rather than the /r/archeage subreddit, largely because changes don't happen often and reddit posts get archived in 6 months. As a result, this version of the mod isn't subreddit or Trion-approved, so please take that into consideration.

Trion's official stance on mods is that there are no APPROVED mods and no plans to officially approve any of them. That said, there are mods (such as FOV, KR Font, etc) that they don't actively take action against because they do not affect gameplay in significant ways. For full details, you can refer to this post here:
http://forums.archeagegame.com/showth...

For those new to this mod, the ArcheAge Environment Mod is a set of small modifications made to ArcheAge config files. It's aimed at DX11 users that play on max settings (and 64-bit OS), mainly because you probably wouldn't want these changes if you had anything less. These are clientside changes that only affect the game's visuals, allowing you to better immerse yourself into ArcheAge's beautiful graphics.

The changes you'll see in-game are:

0:11 - Increased view distance for vegetation like grass, small bushes, weeds, etc and some static terrain elements*
1:15 - Increased view distance for particle effects like smoke, fog clouds, waterfalls, etc*
3:15 - Removal of glitchy terrain shadows
4:48 - Fewer instances of blurry and low quality textures
5:51 - Optional soft shadows

*Note that view distances for dynamic objects like players, ships, housing, etc are NOT affected. Those are managed by the server.

You can check the FPS counter in the top-right corner of the video to see how intensive it may be. Note that ArcheAge can have significant drops when in dense areas (like the wooded area near the end of the video).

My system for reference:

* Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit
* ArcheAge 3.0 Revelation (Glyph) installed on 200GB SSD
* Nvidia GTX 660 2GB
* 8GB RAM
* i5-4570 CPU @ 3.2GHz
* 25Mbps down, 5Mbps up broadband connection

EDIT2: For those who may have found that Saphrex's FOV mod no longer works post-3.0, please take a look at Keretus' FOV mod on his Patreon, which comes with a UI slider!

  / keretus  

EDIT: If you're suddenly suffering massive FPS drops on a fairly robust rig, then see if this small modification helps with performance. Under the folder named "mod", delete the file "option_texture_bg". Then uninstall and reinstall the mod. This should revert the texture streaming changes that may be causing this problem.

For the full discussion (and possible other workarounds you could try), check out the later half of this comment chain:

   • ArcheAge Mod - Environment Mod for 3....