If you happen to own one of Nvidia’s latest RTX series graphics cards and are also struggling with performance problems in Metro Exodus, you’re in for some luck. A February 21 update for the title recently delivered enhancements to Nvidia’s deep learning supersampling (DLSS) feature and other fixes for low-specced PCs.
The first post-launch update — version 1.0.1.1 if you purchased the Epic Store, or version 1.0.0.1 if you purchased Steam — brings fixes and improvements for DLSS to “improve overall sharpness” in the game. It also delivers otherwise undisclosed “RTX fixes and optimizations.” Other than the fixes for Nvidia’s graphics cards, the update introduces general stability improvements, a VFX fix for DX11, and benchmarking tool enhancements.
However, the experience with DLSS is not always perfect. TechRadar notes that while DLSS is now usable, some gamers are reporting that enabling it in the latest Metro Exodus update could also break HDR functionality. Regardless, it still would come as an improvement. We previously tested DLSS in the game before the patch and it wasn’t exactly perfect. There were blurs on most elements on the screen when DLSS was turned on, including on the guns and in the reflections in the water, so the update brings hope for a much better experience.
As announced at CES 2019, Nvidia’s DLSS technology leverages machine learning to render game visuals without causing performance issues or framerate drops. This is also partly accomplished with artificial intelligence on the tensor core found onboard the new RTX series graphics cards. The core can study a large sample of input frames and render scenes quickly, but Nvidia isn’t very clear on how it works beyond that. Along with Metro Exodus, only a select set of games will support the DLSS feature, including Battlefield V.
DLSS is not to be confused with ray tracing, which is another hallmark feature of Nvidia. Ray tracing is a separate rendering technique which provides more realistic lighting effects in games. Just like with DLSS, it is only currently supported in Battlefield V. Other titles confirmed to get support for ray tracing in 2019 with future updates includes both Assetto Corsa and Shadow of the Tomb Raider. Several yet to be released games will get it as well, such as Atomic Heart, Enlisted, and Justice.
