Starfield is one of 2023’s biggest game launches, so the level of scrutiny for its technical performance on PC has been nothing short of high. While the game runs relatively smooth, it’s common knowledge that it performs worse than expected when it comes to delivering high framerates. Player outcry has been immense in response to the performance issues, so Bethesda has finally caved and will officially add Nvidia DLSS support to Starfield in a coming update.
Bethesda published a blog post today outlining plans to add various new features to Starfield including PC-specific upgrades such as Nvidia DLSS, HDR support and a calibration menu, brightness and contrast controls, an FOV slider, 32:9 ultrawide monitor support, and an eat button for food laying around the world.
The only disappointing thing about this update is a lack of any roadmap or mention of specific release plans for these updates. These are the only announcements thus far for updates coming to Starfield. Presumably, we’ll get these things sooner rather than later.
Starfield Nvidia DLSS support may include Frame Generation
The inclusion of official DLSS support for Starfield is great news for anyone playing on PC with an Nvidia RTX 20, 30, or 40 Series GPU. Although Starfield already supports AMD’s open-source FSR upscaler, many simply would prefer to use DLSS as an option. In fact, demand is so great that a DLSS mod currently sits at the top spot on NexusMods and is also on our list for the best 17 Starfield mods.
Nvidia DLSS is now more than just an image upscaler technology though. Nvidia officially splits it up into Super Resolution to denote the image upscaling, while also offering Frame Generation which inserts AI-created frames to further boost framerate smoothness. Bethesda’s post doesn’t explicitly mention Frame Generation or Super Resolution, but the devs have mods to compete with now so it would make sense.
I personally can’t think of a better example of a game that could benefit from Frame Generation either, because the latency penalty for Frame Generation just isn’t a big deal in a single-player game like this where higher fps is sorely needed. The downside, of course, is that Frame Generation is only available to RTX 40 Series GPUs as one of Nvidia’s newest gaming software features.
Image via Bethesda
Quality of life improvements to enjoy
The lack of HDR support also immediately disappointed many players, so Bethesda’s adding that along with a calibration menu and brightness and contrast controls. This should help a lot to clear up the poor image quality on high-end displays such as OLED and Micro-LED monitors, as well as other displays that offer decent HDR and contrast specs.
FOV can also have a large impact on the gameplay experience, and it’s a bit crazy we don’t have a way to modify it without mods. Bethesda will add this soon, which should also help users struggling with low fps to gain back some frames via lower FOV settings. On the opposite end of the spectrum, those with ultrawide monitors will soon be able to use their entire screens again to soak up the space scenery for more immersion.
The last thing on the docket is added support for eating consumables found around the world. If you thought it was incredibly annoying that you had to pick up a food and eat it via menu, you’re not alone. You’ll soon be able to gain health and stat benefits much more easily via consumables you happen across in the world.
Nvidia DLSS support is another important step in improving performance for Starfield on PC, but we have a ways to go before the game feels up to snuff. The latest Nvidia driver update delivers another small fps boost, but we’ll need more than that and the best graphics settings before Starfield’s indisputably in a better place performance-wise.
Published: Sep 13, 2023 01:34 pm