It looks like Nvidia has been implementing real driver support for higher-quality downsampling:
They have a much nicer name for it – Dynamic Super Resolution – even though I still don’t see what exactly is dynamic about it. If you read their description, it does sound like it sets out to fix many of the issues I also tried to circumvent when I first started working on GeDoSaTo:
Enthusiasts with compatible monitors and technical knowledge refer to this process as Downsampling, and for some time they’ve been applying a basic version to improve fidelity in games. DSR improves upon this process by applying a high-quality Downsampling filter that significantly improves image quality, by making Downsampling compatible with all monitors, by removing the need for technical know-how, and by integrating DSR into GeForce Experience, enabling gamers to apply DSR Optimal Playable Settings with a single click.
Improving downsampling quality and making it independent from monitor hardware compatibility have always been two of the most essential goals of GeDoSaTo. Obviously, with driver integration you are also in a position to make things much easier for non-technical users, something which was never a real target for GeDoSaTo.
However, the largest advantages of a driver-based method are the following:
- Compatibility - since you can act after the 3D API, and not on its level, you get compatibility with any API, including all versions of DirectX and OpenGL.
- Input Independence – a lot of the hard parts both in writing GeDoSaTo and in configuring it come with making mouse input work, since the OS knows it’s actually running at resolution X while the game thinks it’s running at Y. When operating on the driver level, OS and applications will be on the same page again, removing a major source of issues and need for implementation work.
These are things which are far harder to achieve in GeDoSaTo, and will likely never be possible on the same level.
Nonetheless, GeDoSaTo has evolved a lot from its initial role as just a downsampling tool, with HuD-less screenshot taking, postprocessing, texture replacement and other features taking a major role. Also, it seems like, at least for now, it will remain the only option for larger than 2×2 downsampling. And of course, it will always be more highly configurable – and obviously less vendor dependent – than a driver tool.
In any case, I’m really happy that high-quality downsampling is finally acknowledged by a hardware vendor (and, if history is any indication, it won’t be too long before AMD catches up). And I’m even happier to think that perhaps the reason it happened now is at least partly because of GeDoSaTo.
I’m not sure where to ask this, but I just updated GDST to the latest version and started playing DkS2 again.
Now everything started to work properly again, before I couldn’t get the textures to work.
Now here is my issue, for some reason, the controller is activating the keybinds for GDST. For example, R3/targeting causes the game to take a hudless screenshot. Is there anyway to fix this?
I found out what was causing it. I thought it was Xpadder, but it was GDST’s keybinds. I found out that the X0 keybinds were for the controller, so I put a # in front of them to disable those.
Maybe put a note on the config file for the keybinds that you can disable those if you don’t want your controller using them.
It’s kind of annoying playing the game and clicking a button only to have the GDST text hud showing up and slowing the game down.
So does this mean Nvidia’s DSR brings better performance and/or picture quality than gedosato or is it just about compability and the things mentioned?
I doubt there’ll be any significant performance difference, and you have more option in terms of scaling algorithms (and multi-level scaling!) with GeDoSaTo. The advantage is really compatibility.
Yes like you said, the advantage is really compatibility. I’ve just tried GeDoSaTo with Murdred: soul suspect unfortinatly it does not work but works partially with Fable: anniversary. i really hope one day, GeDoSaTo have got a large list of compatibility.
I’m glad NVIDIA took the step to enable a more easily accessible way to downsample as it can be quite tricky for people who don’t know what they’re doing to do it. I hope AMD does step up their game as they even disabled the old method of how to downsample without any external software on their drivers which is stupid as their GPUs can easily do it (proven by your amazing work with GeDoSaTo).
A powerful and highly configurable post-processing shader injector is worth all the trouble on its own (even without the downsampling option). Looking forward to the DX10/11/12 support in GeDoSaTo. Thanks a lot for your effort!
“And I’m even happier to think that perhaps the reason it happened now is at least partly because of GeDoSaTo”
I’m confident you can remove the “at least partly” part.
I think it’s 100% because of gedosato’s popular downsampling that this functionnality caught the attention of NV engineers…
And I was happy when I saw them mentioning GeDoSato (: I felt proud, for some reason.