Today gaming developers face a critical challenge: balancing the need for cutting-edge graphics and performance with the high costs and time investment of engine development.
Most studios opt for popular engines like Unreal Engine 5, sacrificing uniqueness for efficiency. This trend threatens to homogenize game experiences and limit innovation.
Are we losing the distinct flavors that in-house engines can bring to games?
Enter Saber Interactive’s bold move with Warhammer 40K: Space Marine 2. Let’s explore how Saber Interactive uses its proprietary technology to push the boundaries in Space Marine 2, potentially setting a new standard for balancing visuals and smooth gameplay.
Engine and Performance
While Warhammer 40K: Space Marine 2 doesn’t have Ray Tracing or other cutting-edge techniques, the team has effectively used their engine to deliver big environments filled with detailed objects and many enemies.
The sheer amount of objects, effects, particles, and action at any given moment is outstanding and rarely seen in modern video games.
However, this comes at a high cost, making the game CPU-intensive. For example, with a 5700x3D CPU, the game can easily drop to the 70s in terms of frame rate, which can hurt performance scalability.
Graphics Settings Menu
On the bright side, the graphics menu is impressively well-designed. It has preview images and clear descriptions that give insights into how each setting affects the visuals.
However, the small number of graphics settings may limit how much performance can be gained.
Image Reconstruction Techniques
Space Marine 2 takes an unusual approach to image reconstruction techniques by offering FSR1, FSR2, and DLSS2 instead of their newest versions.
Frame Generation is not supported for either technique, but Saber Interactive has stated that DLSS3 and FSR3 support will be added post-launch.
At native 1440p, the different techniques show varying results:
| Technique | Visual Quality | Performance |
|---|---|---|
| TAA | Shimmering, but sharp | Baseline |
| FSR2 | Less shimmering | 43% faster than TAA |
| DLAA | Soft and blurry | 49% slower than FSR2 |
When using upscaling, both DLSS and FSR2 perform similarly, although DLSS’s softness becomes more noticeable.
FSR1, when used with TAA for upscaling, gives the game an oil painting look with an oversharpened appearance. As expected, FSR1 is faster due to its nature as a simple spatial upscale, less complex compared to DLSS and FSR2.
Overall, the DLSS implementation in Space Marine 2 is subpar. It’s hoped that Saber Interactive will improve it or add a sharpening slider in future updates.
Dynamic Resolution Scaling
The game includes a Dynamic Resolution Scaling (DRS) option, which can be used with any upscaler and allows you to choose a target frame rate. This feature works surprisingly well.
For example, using FSR2 and targeting 60 fps, even during intense combat, DRS stayed responsive and kept the target frame rate most of the time. However, if your monitor has a refresh rate above the targeted frame rate, it’s important to limit the frame rate to your target value.
Without a limiter, DRS targets the maximum refresh rate, which greatly affects image quality. Therefore, Dynamic Resolution Scaling is highly recommended for keeping stable performance during intense combat scenarios.
Individual Graphics Settings
High Impact, Low-Performance Cost
| Setting | Recommended | Visual Impact | Performance Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texture Filtering | Ultra | Significant for angled textures | 3-4% from Low to Ultra |
| Texture Resolution | High (8GB GPUs) | Notable improvement from Low/Medium to High | Minimal impact, potential memory issues on 8GB GPUs at Ultra |
Texture Filtering significantly affects the quality of textures viewed from an angle with minimal performance impact. Ultra is recommended for the best visual quality.
Texture Resolution offers notably better textures and improved visual effects when set to High. Ultra is not recommended for 8GB GPUs due to potential memory issues.
Moderate Impact, Balanced Performance
| Setting | Recommended | Visual Impact | Performance Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shadows | Medium | Hard to notice during gameplay | 8-10% hit from Medium to High |
| SSAO | High (FSR2/TAA), Default (DLSS) | Improves overall lighting depth | Varies |
| Effects | Medium | Impacts water, character decals, particle quality | Balanced |
| Details | Medium/High | Significant from Low to Medium, diminishing returns beyond High | Varies |
Shadows and SSAO improve overall lighting and depth. Medium shadows offer a good balance, while SSAO recommendations vary based on other settings.
Effects and Details settings have noticeable visual impacts. Medium settings for both offer a good balance between quality and performance.
High-Performance Cost, Variable Impact
| Setting | Recommended | Visual Impact | Performance Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| SSR | Default | Slight improvement in resolution and accuracy at High | Significant, especially during combat |
| Volumetrics | Low | Minimal | High-performance cost |
| Cloth Simulation | Low | Hard to notice during gameplay | Impacts CPU performance |
Screen Space Reflection (SSR), Volumetrics, and Cloth Simulation have high-performance costs relative to their visual impact.
It’s recommended to keep these settings lower to maintain good performance, especially during intense gameplay scenarios.
Summary
These are the recommended settings for Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2. In conclusion, these optimized settings should bring out the best in the game, balancing visual quality and performance to ensure a stable, enjoyable experience.
Remember, using Dynamic Resolution Scaling is key to maintaining consistent performance during the game’s most demanding moments.
With these settings, you can easily enjoy the large environments and intricate details of Space Marine 2 without giving up too much on performance.
