There should be no question marks about the use of DLSS etc. when it comes to system requirements. (Image: stock.adobe.com – Konstantin)
In recent days, Stalker 2’s system requirements have attracted attention mainly due to its high storage space requirements. But now there is There was a lot of excitement on Reddit about a completely different topic:
How did Stalker 2’s system requirements come about?
The crucial sticking point is whether the information published on November 12th refers to playing in native resolution or with upscaling techniques such as DLSS.
It is now clear that the latter applies. But in the graphic from the appropriate one News on Steam
There is no mention of upscaling in this graphic.
This is different with the system requirements stated in text form, which are located at the bottom of the official one Stalker 2 Steam page condition.
The note has now been added there that for the minimum information TSR and comparable technologies
were used and for those recommended System requirements TSR, DLSS, FSR und XeSS
.
What does upscaling mean? Using techniques such as TSR (Unreal Engine) and DLSS (Nvidia), the image is calculated in a lower resolution than set and then scaled back up to the target resolution in the best possible quality.
Was bringt Upscaling? The lower the resolution, the higher the frames per second (FPS), unless they are limited by factors such as a CPU that is too slow or too little (video) memory. Upscaling is primarily used to increase the FPS.
How good does upscaling look? This varies depending on the game, the technology used and the quality level. In the best case, the image quality even increases, at least in certain areas. But it can also be visibly worse. Cases with only minor differences between the native and upscaled images are also possible.
How the ball got rolling
The fact that the system requirements of Stalker 2 refer to DLSS & Co. first became known through a query to the developers on Discord, like a Reddit post documented.
It is not yet clear why this was not explicitly mentioned in the official information from the start.
3:17
Stalker 2 warns in the trailer: Anyone who is not familiar with the complex weapon system will have problems
Information about upscaling is important
Ideally, developers should always indicate whether system requirements relate to playing at native resolution or using upscaling techniques. After all, you could otherwise incorrectly assume that you have an additional performance buffer through DLSS and the like.
Since these technologies are becoming increasingly widespread for good reason and their use is often recommended, there is at the same time no fundamental reason why system requirements should not be based on them, as long as the exact conditions are clearly stated.
However, you have to keep in mind that their use, especially in low resolutions such as Full HD, can result in a significantly blurrier image due to the already low base resolution.
We’ll take a closer look at how well Stalker 2 plays with different hardware and settings, including DLSS and the like. The game’s release date is November 20, 2024.
