ray tracing Archives

AppWizard

October 11, 2026

Squadron 42 has a Steam page

Game director Chris Roberts announced that Squadron 42, the single-player component of Star Citizen, will be released in Q2 2027 to avoid clashing with Grand Theft Auto 6. A dedicated Steam page for Squadron 42 has been created, listing the game’s system requirements and indicating an install size of 150GB. The game does not reference modern features like ray tracing or DirectX 12. High-profile actors Gillian Anderson and Henry Cavill will appear in cutscenes.

AppWizard

October 8, 2026

Dynamic Nvidia DLSS upscaling in Gears of War: E-Day is ace, and I wish more PC games took this approach

Nvidia DLSS upscaling is favored by the author, but the release of Gears of War: E-Day has changed their perspective on its use. The game features a dynamic upscaling option that works with a customizable frame rate target, enhancing image quality and performance management. Dynamic resolution scaling is common in console games but less so on PC, where options often lack customization for specific performance metrics. Gears of War: E-Day allows players to switch between upscalers like Nvidia DLSS 4.5, AMD FSR 4.1, and Intel XeSS 2, with the author typically using DLSS in Performance mode on a 4K setup. Testing on a system with a Ryzen 7 9800X3D and GeForce RTX 5090, the game averages 77fps at maximum settings, being 97.8% GPU bound. Transitioning to dynamic DLSS with a target of 60fps results in an average of 64fps and an average resolution scale of 61%, with an 11% increase in pixel count but an 18.4% decrease in performance. VRAM usage increases by nearly 3GB. The author prefers prioritizing sharpness and visual enhancements over smoothness, ensuring consistent 60fps gameplay and allowing users with less powerful graphics cards to enable frame generation without latency concerns. The author hopes more games will adopt similar configurability in the future.

AppWizard

September 30, 2026

Silent Hill: Townfall’s First Update Released on PC as Version 1.3.1

Silent Hill: Townfall update 1.3.1 was released on September 24 for PC users on Steam and the Epic Games Store, addressing minor bugs such as reducing gameplay stuttering from shader precompilation issues. Players continue to report several known issues, including: - Framerate drops: Inconsistent frame rates and sudden drops in specific areas. - Crashes/freezes on PC: Crashes and brief freezes reported by users. - AMD Radeon crashes: Increased crashes for Radeon users with ray tracing enabled; disabling this feature is suggested. - Controller double-input: Some controllers registering inputs twice; disabling Steam Input may help. - Puzzle/progression bugs: Glitches hindering puzzle progression; restarting from the previous checkpoint is suggested. - Black-screen during a cutscene: Reported occurrence of a black screen during a significant cutscene. - DLC not unlocking: Initially, some Deluxe Edition and pre-purchase DLC failed to unlock, but this has been fixed. - The Weight stealth sections: Developer acknowledged player concerns regarding stealth encounters and is working on gameplay balancing.

Tech Optimizer

September 26, 2026

Norton 360 for Gamers vs Bitdefender vs Malwarebytes [2026]

Norton 360 and Bitdefender Total Security achieved perfect scores from AV-TEST in June 2026, while Malwarebytes had a 100% real-world protection rate in AV-Comparatives’ testing but with a higher false-positive rate. Bitdefender Total Security is recommended for PC gamers as it minimizes frame-rate impact to 0-2% during gameplay. Norton 360 for Gamers includes features for streamers and competitive players but has a higher renewal price. Malwarebytes Premium is noted for its minimal resource usage but lacks a dedicated game mode. The pricing for Norton 360 starts at .99 for the first year and increases to .99 upon renewal, Bitdefender starts at .99 for a single device, and Malwarebytes Premium aligns closely with Norton’s entry price but does not include a VPN. In FPS testing with Cyberpunk 2077, Norton showed a 2-3% drop, Bitdefender a 0-2% decrease, and Malwarebytes under 1%. Norton uses a hybrid detection model, Bitdefender employs cloud-based scanning, and Malwarebytes focuses on behavior-based detection. Norton offers gamer-tag dark web monitoring and a bundled VPN, while Bitdefender has limited VPN features on standard tiers and Malwarebytes lacks these protections.

Tech Optimizer

September 25, 2026

Norton 360 for Gamers vs Bitdefender vs Malwarebytes [2026]

Norton, Bitdefender, and Malwarebytes have adjusted their antivirus products to mitigate the negative effects on gaming performance. In June 2026, Norton 360 and Bitdefender Total Security both received a perfect AV-TEST score of 18 out of 18, while Malwarebytes achieved a 100% real-world protection rate in AV-Comparatives testing, though it had more false positives. Bitdefender Total Security is recommended for gamers due to its low frame-rate impact of 0-2%, while Norton 360 offers features for streamers and competitive players, and Malwarebytes serves as a lightweight secondary scanner. The value of gaming accounts has increased, making them targets for cybercriminals, with malware campaigns like Vidar 2.0 accounting for 41% of gaming-related malware detections. New malware families such as Katz and Bee specifically target Discord and gaming platforms. In terms of performance, Norton showed a 2-3% FPS decrease in Cyberpunk 2077, while Bitdefender's impact was only 0-2%, and Malwarebytes had less than 1% impact. Norton and Bitdefender are tied in detection capabilities, both scoring 18/18 in AV-TEST, while Malwarebytes had a 92.4% offline detection rate and 98.3% online. Norton includes a no-log VPN and gamer-tag monitoring, while Bitdefender offers identity protection without specific gamer-tag monitoring. Malwarebytes lacks a VPN and password manager. Pricing varies, with Norton starting at .99 for three devices, Bitdefender at .99 for one device, and Malwarebytes at .99 for one device. To switch antivirus solutions, users should back up their license keys, use removal tools, and ensure game-aware modes are active. Each product has unique strengths: Norton excels in gamer-tag monitoring, Bitdefender minimizes CPU usage, and Malwarebytes is lightweight but lacks additional features.

BetaBeacon

September 8, 2026

AI upscaling is about to transform Android gaming forever

The Arm Mali G2-Ultra graphics chip offers performance improvements of up to 20% in demanding mobile graphics benchmarks compared to the previous generation. It also introduces native AI support through the new NX neural accelerator, which is a hardware accelerator integrated into the GPU's shader core and supports INT8 and INT16 operations. The G2 series offers a wide range of configuration options, including the Ultra range with the highest core count for laptop-class performance, the Premium range for mid-tier mobile options, and the Pro range for budget devices.

AppWizard

September 4, 2026

Onimusha: Way of the Sword PC Performance Analysis

Tomorrow marks the official release of Onimusha: Way of the Sword, and Capcom has provided a PC benchmark tool for gamers. Benchmark tests were conducted using an AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D processor, 32GB of DDR5 RAM at 6000MHz, and various graphics cards including AMD’s Radeon RX 6900XT, RX 7900XTX, RX 9070XT, and NVIDIA’s RTX 2080Ti, RTX 3080, RTX 4090, RTX 5080, and RTX 5090, on Windows 10 64-bit with specific drivers. The game includes customizable graphics settings such as Textures, Meshes, Sky, Foliage, Shadows, Ray Tracing, NVIDIA’s DLSS 4.5, and AMD’s FSR 3.1. At 1080p with Max Settings, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 showed a bottleneck but achieved an average framerate exceeding 220FPS, with all tested GPUs maintaining over 60FPS. At 1440p with Max Settings, the top five GPUs also performed well, with the NVIDIA RTX 3080 providing a smooth experience, and the AMD Radeon RX 6900XT averaging 68FPS. At Native 4K with Max Settings, the NVIDIA RTX 4090, RTX 5080, and RTX 5090 maintained framerates above 60FPS, while the AMD Radeon RX 9070XT and RX 7900XTX offered satisfactory performance. The game's graphical fidelity does not match the latest Resident Evil titles, with noticeable visual shortcomings despite being powered by the RE Engine. The Ray Tracing feature does not significantly enhance visuals. The PC demo and benchmarking process showed no stutters or performance issues, even with Denuvo anti-tamper technology in use. Overall, Onimusha: Way of the Sword runs well on PC without requiring high-end specifications, although its visuals may not impress players.

AppWizard

September 4, 2026

DLSS 5 can be jammed into almost any game now, so I’ve been playing FM26 with neural rendered little computer people because that’s just what I do

The integration of DLSS 5 .dll files into various games has produced mixed results, with some enhancements working well while others cause visual glitches. A review of The Blood of Dawnwalker revealed issues with the DLSS pipeline, resulting in an unexpected undead appearance for a character. A demonstration at Gamescom showed that DLSS 5 can significantly enhance visuals when used correctly, particularly with Model C at 60-70% intensity. However, Nvidia has noted that DLSS 5 can lead to a 50-60% reduction in frame rates, especially at 4K resolution. For example, on an RTX 5090, frame rates dropped from approximately 110 fps to below 50 fps with DLSS 5 activated. DLSS 5 can also run on lower-spec GPUs, although it was initially demonstrated with dual RTX 5090s. In Football Manager 26, DLSS 5 improved visuals without achieving photorealism, maintaining a steady 60 fps. The ReShade HDR Installer allows users to integrate DLSS tools into unsupported games, but results may vary and troubleshooting may be necessary. The official release of DLSS 5 will not include the fine-tuning sliders available through ReShade, which could complicate the preservation of developers' artistic intent. For best results, users should use the Upscaled or DLSS version of DLSS-NR rather than the 'Present' method, and may need to try different RenoDX DLSS 5 tools if issues arise.

AppWizard

August 30, 2026

DLSS 5: Modders Push Leaked Neural Rendering Into 10+ More PC Games

Modders have integrated Nvidia’s leaked DLSS 5 Neural Rendering library into over a dozen PC games, including Cyberpunk 2077 and GTA V, following its discovery in an early access build of NBA 2K27. The RenoDX Discord community reverse-engineered this feature and used tools like RenoDX and ReShade to apply the library to various games. Nvidia describes DLSS 5 as a significant architectural advancement in real-time neural rendering that enhances graphics with photorealistic lighting and materials. Modders have successfully applied the library to titles such as Control, Red Dead Redemption 2, and The Last of Us Part II Remastered. These modifications are unofficial and not sanctioned by Nvidia or the game publishers. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has defended the technology against criticism, emphasizing that it allows for artist oversight rather than being a generic AI filter. DLSS 5 is set to launch in fall 2026, with support confirmed from major industry players. All current comparisons and tests are based on the leaked build rather than official Nvidia code.

AppWizard

August 16, 2026

Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced’s Denuvo Has Been Cracked

Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced was released on July 9 and was cracked by voices38, bypassing its Denuvo anti-tamper protection in just over a month. The game is a full remake with enhanced combat systems, new naval mechanics, and expanded exploration features. It introduces new narrative elements and characters, while also supporting Ray Tracing for improved graphics. Several publishers, including Square Enix, Capcom, KRAFTON, NEOWIZ, Gearbox, IO Interactive, Bethesda, Bandai Namco, and Warner Bros, have removed Denuvo from various titles, reflecting a trend against the use of anti-tamper technologies in gaming.