bespoking a simple 'console option' amongst a permutation of CPU and GPU variations wouldn't complicate things a bit? i mean maybe not i'm not a software engineer but ... yeah
No, it would not. Permutations of CPU and GPU are completely irelevant. I am simply asking them to include optional preset that has similar shadow/LoD/etc settings as the leading console. It has zero to do with anyone's PC hardware.
Having graphics options preset from non-pc platforms will be a hassle, imagine additional options below 'auto detect' which would say
- Switch handheld graphics
- Switch docked graphics
- Xbox One base console graphics
- Xbox One X console graphics (resolution)
- Xbox One X console graphics (performance)
- PS4 base console graphics
- PS4 Pro console graphics (resolution)
- PS4 Pro console graphics (performance)
No please, those above number of options would actually be more than the default graphics options in some games.
Yes, let's take an idea, blow it into insane hyperbolic proportions and pretend it is inpractical.
FFS. Obviously I am not asking for developers to include every single console permutation. Just one from, say, the leading console would suffice. Or one depending on their choice.
your pc doesn't completely reproduct a console hardware, nor would handle the game exactly as a console even if it had the same exct hardware inside of it. It means that if you go for a preset based on a console hardware, you are going to overshoot or undershoot some parts of the settings that you rig can handle better or worse than consoles.
if you want a baseline, you already get that with the usual low-mid-high-very high presets present in most games.
a console preset isn't a thing because it doesn't actually benefit anyone other than people that want to go for comparisons.
Of course developers are free to offer the option if they want depending on how much work it actually entails, but i still think it kind of miss the point of the entire existence of graphical options on a pc game, which is to customize your experience.
The preset does not have to be 100% identical, although that wouldn't be all that difficult. But just like there are already existing presets, there could easily be one most closely matching the console from the already existing settings. Like Digital Foundry is asking.
You claiming it would not benefit anyone is just your personal incorrect opinion. At the very least it would benefit me, since it would make tweaking easier.
On PC there are tools like Geforce Experience that will automatically recommend settings based on your actual hardware. This will give you a much better result than trying to use console-like settings that have been "fine-tuned" for running at 30 fps on a different set of hardware.
The "Low, Medium, High, Ultra" presets that are included with many games are also likely to be better tuned for running on PCs than a console preset would be.
In my experience GF Experience is useless (always undershoots or overshoots) and the presets high/normal etc are nice and all, but give no information about what they actually are, so I still have to go and tweak them.
If I had a, say, PS4 preset available. I would simply choose that, see how the game runs, and then increase my resolution or detail accordingly.
Low, "Console", Medium, High
IO Interactive knows what to turn on and off to reach console-like graphical quality, so just make that a preset in addition to the usual. people thinking console-level toggles are "limiting" are just complicating things for the sake dick waving
Yep. It is bizzare.
But shadows and LOD are variable too?! You can't expect to take settings from a 1080p optimized version and switch the resolution to 4K while expecting the same image quality. Maybe they used 1k shadow maps or low res AO and it will look terrible on 4K. Same with the LOD and other settings.
Good point - but that's why it would just be optional baseline and you can go and tweak to your hearts content from that.