Introduction
If you, like me, have noticed some of the very obvious technical shortcomings of the game, this guide will tell you how to easily fix them for a total cost of about 4 fps from my testing.
Locate Config File
Almost all of these changes will be made in the config file for the game.
You can find this file in the AppData folder in the following directory
C:\Users\[YourUsername]\AppData\Roaming\Fatshark\Darktide
It is the file called user_settings.config, you can open this with any text editor like Notepad++
The AppData folder is normally hidden on PCs. You can either have explorer show hidden folders to find it, or if you want an easy way to get to it, open a RUN window be typing run into the windows search bar (it should be the first thing that pop-up) and type appdataThis should pop up the appdata folder.
Editing And Saving The Config File
All of the tweaks listed below can be applied simply by saving the config file after making them, you do not need to set the file to "read-only" for the changes to stay.
HOWEVER, if you try to change any settings in-game (besides DLSS use and quality) AFTER making the changes to the config file, then it will reset all the changed values back to their defaults.
If that happens, you will need to go back to the file and redo all the tweaks, so I would suggest doing these tweaks only AFTER you have your game setup how you want it.
1. LOD/Object Pop-In
As you've probably noticed, objects very abruptly change their quality as you move closer to them only a few feet from you, and there is no way to fix this with in-game settings.
This is already very jarring, but what makes it even worse is that far background detail ALSO has its quality very reduced due to this setting.
We can fix both of these by changing the following line in the file:
lod_object_multiplierThe game's default value is 1. Changing this value to 5 completely eliminates ALL pop-in while greatly increasing background quality.
3 also works well, but I noticed only a 1 fps difference between 3 and 5, so no reason not to use 5, but that may be system dependent.
Zoomed-In Comparisons:Left is default, right is modded. notice in the red circled areas how detail is there that was not before.
This is the position taken for the screenshot before zooming in:
Top is default, bottom is modded. The gold grating is actually visible now, and the boxes near the bottom have much more detail, among other things
This is the position taken for the screenshot before zooming in:
2. Volumetric Fog Blockiness Fix
The volumetric fog in the game tends to have a blocky look to it, which doesn't look good for how much its used in the game, and there is no way to fix this with in-game settings.
We can fix this by changing the following line:
volumetric_reprojection_amountThe default value is -0.875. Changing this to a value of 0.875 almost completely fixes the blocky fog. Ironically, this issue was present in Vermintide 2 also, and the fix worked the exact same way. Really weird that the same issue is in this new game.
Zoomed-In Comparisons:Left is default, right is modded. Kind of hard to capture in a screenshot but its much more noticeable in motion
This is the position taken for the screenshot before zooming in:
If the fog is still a bit too blocky for you, there is another setting you can change, but this will cause about an extra 4 fps loss and the visual impact is minimal so its not really worth it in my opinion.
But, if you want to do it, for the following line:
volumetric_data_size = you will see 3 values listed under it. You can double the first value, 144, to 288 and that should completely eliminate the blockiness.
You can also just double all 3 of the number values for an even greater effect, but this costs about 10 fps.
3. Sun/Sky Light Shadow Resolution
Baked distance shadows from large sky and sun lights do not mesh well with their higher-quality close-level shadows due to their low resolution, and there is no way to fix this with in-game settings.
We can fix this by changing a few values.
In the file, you will find the following 2 lines, both of which each have 2 values below them that are 2048
static_sun_shadow_map_size sun_shadow_map_sizeDoubling all 4 of the 2048 values to 4096 greatly improves the distance shadows to more closely line-up with their close-range counterparts.
Zoomed-In Comparisons:Left is default, right is modded. In the circled areas especially, see how the shadows are much more defined and, in the bottom circled area, you actually have one consistent shadow instead of the weird stair-stepped/blocky shadows from the default game.
This is the position taken for the screenshot before zooming in:
4. Local Light Shadow Render Distance
You can marginally increase the game's dynamic shadow render distance by changing the following lines:
local_lights_max_dynamic_shadow_distanceNormally its at 50, change it to 0.
local_lights_max_static_shadow_distanceNormally its at 100, change it to 0.
Changing them to 0 seemingly uncaps their values and pushes them to the max possible limit of the engine.
Zoomed-In Comparisons:Left is default, right is modded. Kind of hard to see in the image, but notice how the dynamic shadow from a player character is still being cast in the modded version, whereas its gone in the default version.
This is the position taken for the screenshot before zooming in:
5. Force Anisotropic Filtering For Better Textures
Amazingly, this game has RT and DLSS, but absolutely no anisotropic filtering (AF), which is absolutely baffling.
AF is an old videogame technology that is in literally every modern videogame. It helps textures maintain their clarity at oblique angles and at a distance.
The trade-off for cost to visual return is always worth it, as the cost is almost never more than 1 or 2 fps.
To do this on Nvidia (thats what I have), open the graphics control panel, choose Manage 3D settings, choose Program Settings, and add/find Darktide.
After that, change Anisotropic Filtering to x16, then hit Apply in the bottom right.
While you're here, you can also change the Power Management Mode to Prefer Maximum Performance to get the most out of your graphics card.
Zoomed-In Comparisons:Top is default, bottom is modded. The rivets in the white symbol are now visible, the blue glowing runes near the top are more defined, the metal flooring has more detail as it gets further away from you, and even on the gun barrel on the right you can see some scuffs and scratches that were not visible before (the same gun was used in both screenshots).
This is the position taken for the screenshot before zooming in:
Top is default, bottom is modded. The carpet is detailed all the way to the end now and you can see more detail from the metal flooring past the end of it too.
This is the position taken for the screenshot before zooming in:
Testing Methodology
My system is an RTX 3090, Ryzen 5900x, 32gb RAM, Samsung 980 Pro SSD, X570i Mobo.
I tested all these settings with DLSS and RT turned off (RT isn't really worth it in this game).
I tested in 4 distinct places where I was able to easily repeat results.
The first is when you first spawn into the game's hub after choosing your character. This lets me immediately see the effects of changing LOD, shadow render distance, and volumetric fog since all of them are visible upon spawning.
The second is in the hub next to one of the mission terminals looking at a sunlit wall. This let me test the sun shadow resolution increase.
Third is running into the room with the combat tutorials/meat grinder. This is a good test of the LOD pop-in, along with volumetric fog and shadows since those also pop-in once entering the room.
Fourth was the meat grinder, just seeing the performance from your position on spawn.
Conclusion
Thats it.
Enjoy a better looking Darktide, and if you know of any other good graphical tweaks, drop them in the comments and I'll test/add them.
Source: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2899774607
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