Earlier this year, Dark Souls 2 received a stunning path tracing mod, but developer Ganaboy‘s impressive project isn’t yet done with FromSoftware‘s series, as a similar mod is in the works for Dark Souls3. Following the first impressive showcase, the modder doubled down with another also featuring NVIDIA DLSS 5 that simply looks stunning.
The new video showcase shared today on YouTube is set in the Crucifixion Woods, which have never looked better, so much so that it feels like the game shown is an official remaster and not a modded version, giving the game a second life. In addition to path tracing, the game is running with NVIDIA DLSS 5 as well, which is applied pre-upscaling to run with much lower performance cost, further improving the already stunning path-traced visuals.
Alongside the video, the creator of the Dark Souls3 path tracing mod also shared an FAQ providing more information about the project, how it differs from the Dark Souls2 path tracing mod, its size, and more. You can find the full FAQ below.
- LE (Lighting Engine) uses the advanced form of NRD-SH which gives comparable quality to Ray Reconstruction. Ray Reconstruction has a heavy performance penalty on RTX 20 and 30 series GPUs, so it’s recommended to use NRD-SH. NRD-SH is the primary/default denoiser for DS3LE.
- Release date is expected to be end of year.
- More than 80% of the entire game is now added in BVH.
- Install size is expected to be around 3-4 GB (10x geometry of DS2).
- Performance is similar to DS2LE. Even with a large increase in geometry, if you used Quality mode DLSS in DS2, you will need to use Balanced mode in DS3.
- Postprocess/lighting tweaks will be made as per testing.
- DS3LE lighting will have fake lights in worst-case scenarios. Unlike DS2, torch mechanics will not be given priority in the default lighting setup. You will not need a torch to progress using DS3LE-PT.
- It will work with UXM / ME2 / ME3.
- Online/Seamless compatibility is untested, so the developer can’t say anything definitively right now.
- All AMD ray tracing capable cards are supported. Note, however, you still need a decent GPU.
While Dark Souls3 has aged well since its launch in 2016, there’s no denying that the game doesn’t look on par with modern games, including the stunning Bluepoint Games‘ Demon’s Souls remake. As FromSoftware doesn’t seem interested in remaking or remastering its older games for the time being, this path tracing mod is set to make the PC version the version to get for those who want to enjoy the game at its very best.
About the author: Francesco De Meo has been covering video games and technology since 2012, starting his career at small outlets like Gamersyndrome and GeekSnack.
After joining Wccftech gaming section in 2015, he quickly expanded his video gaming coverage with in-depth reporting, interviews with iconic industry figures such as Grasshopper Manufacture founder and No More Heroes creator Goichi “Suda51” Suda, Resident Evil series creator Shinji Mikami, Team NINJA’s president and Nioh series director Fumihiko Yasuda, and Silent Hill creator Keiichiro Toyama, reviews and on-the-ground coverage of major industry events such as Gamescom and E3.
When he’s not reporting or reviewing, Francesco can be found playing the genres he loves most, spending time with his six cats, reading, writing music, playing guitar and drumming for his progressive rock band.
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