What does NVIDIA DLSS 3 have to offer over AMD’s existing FSR 2 option for Starfield?
Fans of Bethesda Game Studios’ space-faring RPG can find out today, as the developer has released Starfield Beta Update 1.8.83, allowing players on Steam to check out many of NVIDIA’s latest performance-enhancing technologies in its newest game.
As confirmed by Bethesda, those would include DLSS Super Resolution, Deep Learning Anti-aliasing (DLAA), and, perhaps most excitingly, DLSS 3 Frame Generation for an additional boost to frame rates on supported GPUs:
This update introduces Nvidia DLSS support for our PC players. Compatible Nvidia graphic cards can now use DLSS Super Resolution, Deep Learning Anti-aliasing (DLAA), Nvidia Reflex Low Latency, and DLSS Frame generation. Please note: While DLSS Frame Generation is active, VSync needs to be toggled OFF to see the benefit. We are working to automatically adjust this setting in a future update.
The new Starfield update also adds an eat button, which allows players to gain their health back and/or get drunk without having to go into the game menu:
By popular request, we have added the ability to ingest food and drink items upon finding them in the environment. You can enjoy those Chunks immediately or save them for later. The choice is yours.
And here’s the long line of fixes and improvements that the update offers, including what appears to be a better time for stealth-focused builds:
Performance And Stability
- Addressed a number of memory related issues and leaks.
- [PC Only] Add some GPU performance optimizations, which will be more impactful on higher end cards.
- [PC Only] Improved renderer threading model, improving CPU usage most notably on higher end systems.
- Various stability and performance improvements.
Gameplay
- Added the ability to eat the food placed in the world
- Adjusted stealth to be a bit more forgiving.
- Fixed an issue where Andreja’s head would stay permanently cloaked.
- Fixed an issue that could prevent players from firing their weapons.
- Fixed issues where some NPC could be seen not wearing clothes.
- Fixed an issue where already in-progress skill challenges could stop progressing after reaching the Unity and starting a new game.
- Fixed an issue that could temporarily prevent opening the inventory or saving after entering the Unity.
- PC: Fixed an issue where mouse movement could be choppy.
- Fixed a rare issue that could cause the home ship to be lost.
- Fixed an issue where the ship services technician might be missing.
Graphics
- Addressed an issue with how ambient occlusion appeared in ultrawide resolutions.
- Optimized initial shader compilation that occurs on start-up.
- Added the ability to adjust Brightness and Contrast in the Display Settings menu.
- Added the ability to adjust HDR Brightness provided that the system supports it. (Xbox & Windows 11 only).
- Addressed a number of materials that could sometimes present an unintended pattern under certain conditions.
- Fixed various visual issues related to the new FOV slider options.
- Improved the appearance of the eyes on crowd characters.
- Addressed a number of minor visual issues related to lighting, shadows, terrain, and vegetation.
Quests
- All That Money Can Buy: Fixed a rare issue where players couldn’t sit during the negotiation with Musgrove.
- Blast Zone: Fixed an issue where the hard rocks that need to be cleared out by players will not appear on Ngodup Tate’s land.
- Echoes of the Past: Fixed an issue where the Grylloba Queen could sometimes not be reachable during the objective “Secure the Shuttle Bay”.
- Eye of the Storm: Fixed an issue where players’ quest progression could potentially be blocked due to a missing docking prompt.
- Grunt Work: Addressed an issue where progress could appear blocked if “Supra et Ultra” was completed while returning to the Lodge during “High Price to Pay”.
- No Sudden Moves: Fixed an issue that could prevent the entrance door to the Scow ship from being opened again.
- Operation Starseed: Fixed an issue where the key that is needed to exit the facility could sometimes not be present.
- Sabotage: Fixed an issue where David Barron could potentially not be found by players.
- Short Sighted: Fixed an issue where players could rarely become control-locked while speaking with Vladimir.
- The Heart of Mars: Fixed an issue where players might not be able to mine the “The Heart of Mars”.
Starfield continues to retail for $69.99, although it’s also available on Game Pass, the PC tier of which starts at $9.99/mo.