Mimimi: Why the hell are graphics settings never standardised?

Philipp Rüegg

17.9.2018

Translation: machine translated

Whenever possible, I play PC games in maximum graphic splendour. All I have to do is set the details to maximum. Wait, what is the maximum? High? Very high? Ultra? Epic? Sometimes like this, sometimes like this? Boo, why is it never standardised?

Great, the code for the new "Shadow of the Tomb Raider" is in your e-mail inbox. Install and try it out right away. The last two "Tomb Raider" games were prime examples of the latest graphics tricks. The latest port from Nixxes Software also promises to be a feast for the eyes, especially for PC gamers. As a long-established PC gamer, the graphics menu is always the first thing I click on when I start a new game. If the box has enough oomph - and in fact otherwise - I set all the details to maximum. Most games have a preset control for this, so you don't have to change all the options individually.

I set the preset to "Highest". The name is self-explanatory. So the game sets all graphic details to maximum - right? No, it doesn't. Even at first glance, I can see that the texture filter is only set to 8x anisotropic. 16 is normally the maximum here, and it's the same here. So I set it manually to the actual maximum. And shadow quality is also only set to High instead of Ultra. Lens flare and screen effects are even completely deactivated. How can you misunderstand "Highest"? At least the German version says Ultra High, so I can turn a blind eye to that.

Which name stands for the maximum?

"Shadow of the Tomb Raider" is no exception. I dare say that in most games, the presets do not really correspond to the promised specifications. But presets are one thing. What annoys me even more is that there is no standardised designation. Sometimes High is the highest value, sometimes Very High, sometimes Ultra and if the manufacturer is particularly funny, Epic. But I could live with that as long as it was at least standardised in the game. You can't go wrong. In "Shadow of the Tomb Raider" the texture quality goes up to Ultra, but shadow quality only up to High and dynamic hair only up to Normal. Why is that? Why?

But even that I could accept if games at least used sliders to adjust the options. Then I could see at a glance whether something could be adjusted or not. In most games, however, you have to painstakingly click through the various values to find out which damn value is the highest.

But it gets worse: If the manufacturers really want to piss on your leg, they use technical terms instead of adjectives and the options can be clicked through like a carousel. So you don't know when you've reached the end, nor which strange rendering technique is the best: CSAA, MSAA, HBAO, VXAO, WTF? TO RIP OUT. Then you can fire up Google before playing and hope that another spaz is as clueless as you are or that a blog has already analysed the graphics settings for you.

I guess it will never change. Sure, it's not really that bad. But I can guarantee that I'll go through every single setting again for the next game to see if there's anything that can be turned up.

Philipp Rüegg

Senior Editor

Philipp.Rueegg@digitecgalaxus.ch

Being the game and gadget geek that I am, working at digitec and Galaxus makes me feel like a kid in a candy shop – but it does take its toll on my wallet. I enjoy tinkering with my PC in Tim Taylor fashion and talking about games on my podcast http://www.onemorelevel.ch. To satisfy my need for speed, I get on my full suspension mountain bike and set out to find some nice trails. My thirst for culture is quenched by deep conversations over a couple of cold ones at the mostly frustrating games of FC Winterthur. more

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