‘This will all be under our artists’ control’: Bethesda tries to quell DLSS 5 criticism
Starfield was one of the games used to demonstrate Nvidia’s divisive new feature
Bethesda Game Studios has attempted to quell criticism of the newly-announced DLSS 5 by assuring players its implementation will still be in the hands of developers.
On Monday Nvidia announced DLSS 5, the next generation of its image enhancement technology, which it claims is “the most significant breakthrough in computer graphics since the debut of real-time ray tracing”.
DLSS 5 uses an AI model to alter the visuals of supported games with what Nvidia calls “photoreal lighting and materials”, but there has been some backlash from some players who have accused it of applying an unwanted filter of generative AI visuals over the original graphics.
Now, following the use of Starfield as one of the examples of DLSS 5 in action, Bethesda has sought to reassure players that its developers will have full control over the tool, and that players don’t have to use it if they don’t want to.
Replying to a Digital Foundry tweet linking to a video in which the publication gave its hands-on impressions on DLSS 5, the official Bethesda Game Studios account noted that the demo it played wasn’t the finished article.
“Appreciate your excitement and analysis of the new DLSS 5 lighting here,” it wrote. “This is a very early look, and our art teams will be further adjusting the lighting and final effect to look the way we think works best for each game.
It added: “This will all be under our artists’ control, and totally optional for players.”
According to Nvidia, developers will be able to tune “intensity, color, and masking to determine where and how enhancements are applied to maintain the game’s unique aesthetic”.
However, the DLSS 5 announcement has still been met with significant criticism on social media from games industry professionals, partly due to how it drastically alters the original art direction of its supported games.
Steve Karolewics, a rendering engineer at Respawn, wrote: “DLSS 5 looks like an overbearing contrast, sharpness, and airbrush filter. Remarkably different frames with the rationale of photo-real lighting? Nah, I think I’ll stick with the original artistic intent.”
Nvidia says DLSS 5 will be supported by a number of publishers including Bethesda, Capcom, NetEase, NCSOFT, S-GAME, Tencent, Ubisoft, and Warner Bros. Games.
