Hunt: Showdown 1896

Hunt: Showdown 1896

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Hunt: Showdown 1896 - Best Graphics Settings for Ultimate Clarity & Performance
By Sain† Asunder
This guide is for Hunt: Showdown players who want to enhance their visual clarity and optimize performance using NVIDIA GPU settings.

Focused on reducing blurriness from DLSS and sharpening image details, these settings will help you:

  • Identify enemies more easily
  • Navigate the environment with clearer visuals
  • Strike a balance between clarity and performance

I intend to eventually update this guide with screenshots for better guidance at a later date.

I’ve shared these settings with fellow gamers who use a variety of hardware configurations, and they’ve been extremely satisfied with the results. That’s why I’ve decided to share this guide here on Steam—hopefully, it helps others enjoy the same experience!

While these settings prioritize visual fidelity over FPS, they aim to minimize performance drops. AMD GPU users can also benefit from the in-game settings provided.

Important:
These optimizations are completely safe and will not result in any bannable offenses. Whether you're playing in 4K or at lower resolutions, this guide will help you achieve the best visual experience in Hunt: Showdown's atmospheric world.

A quick note:
This guide is shared in good faith, and I understand that everyone’s preferences differ. If you disagree with my settings, that’s fine, but please avoid toxic or trollish behavior—there’s enough of that in the darker corners of this community. Let’s keep it respectful and enjoy the game together!
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Before You Begin
GPU Types:

High-end GPUs: RTX 2070 and above, RX 5700 XT and above
Mid-to-lower-end GPUs: GTX 1650, RTX 2060, RX 5600 XT

These settings are designed to balance visual clarity and performance. High-end GPUs can handle more intensive settings, while mid-to-lower-end GPUs may require some adjustments to maintain smoother gameplay at lower resolutions.

CPU Considerations: While this guide focuses on GPU settings, your CPU also plays a role in performance. High-end CPUs (e.g., Intel i7-10700K or AMD Ryzen 5 5600X) can handle multi-core tasks better and maintain higher frame rates. Lower-end CPUs may need additional adjustments for smooth performance.

Important Note: After applying any of these settings, reboot the game to ensure that all changes take effect.
In-Game Graphical Settings
Below are the recommended in-game settings for Hunt: Showdown to enhance clarity and performance. Settings marked as (Essential) are crucial for the best experience, while the function/purpose of each setting is explained for better understanding.

Resolution
  • Native (4K, 1440p, 1080p)
  • Function: Determines image clarity. Higher resolutions provide sharper visuals but reduce performance.

Window Mode
  • Full Screen Windowed (or Full Screen for more FPS)
  • Function: Full Screen boosts FPS, while Full Screen Windowed allows easier alt-tabbing.

Vsync
  • Off
  • Function: Prevents screen tearing but can introduce input lag.

Max FPS
  • Uncapped or cap at your desired frame rate (if your GPU and can sustain it)
  • Function: Limits FPS to prevent overloading the GPU. Only needed if you hit or exceed your monitor's refresh rate.

Near Depth of Field
  • Off
  • Function: Blurs nearby objects for cinematic effect. Off ensures maximum image clarity.

Motion Blur
  • Off
  • Function: Adds blur during movement for realism. Off keeps visuals sharp.

Gamma
  • Adjust to preference
  • Function: Adjusts brightness and contrast to your liking, especially in darker scenes.

HDR
  • Off
  • Function: Enhances contrast between light and dark areas. Off avoids performance drops.

Video RAM Usage Target
  • 80%
  • Function: Controls VRAM allocation for smooth performance without overloading the GPU.

Super Resolution (DLSS)
  • 4K: DLSS Balanced (DLSS Quality for better visuals at a slight FPS hit)
  • 1440p/1080p: DLSS Quality or Balanced
  • Function: Uses AI to upscale the image, balancing clarity and performance.

Object Quality
  • High-end GPUs: Ultra
  • Mid-range GPUs: High
  • Function: Affects the detail and complexity of in-game objects, especially at a distance.

Texture Quality
  • High-end GPUs: Ultra
  • Mid-range GPUs: High
  • Low-end GPUs: Low
  • Function: Controls the resolution of textures on objects and surfaces. Higher settings give more detail.

Texture Filtering
  • All GPUs: 16x Anisotropic
  • Function: Sharpens textures at angles (e.g., ground and walls) for clearer visuals.

Lighting Quality
  • High-end GPUs: High (Set to Medium if FPS drops)
  • Mid-range GPUs: Medium
  • Function: Controls lighting effects. Higher settings make lighting more realistic, but lower settings improve FPS.

Global Illumination
  • High-end GPUs: Medium (Set to Low for performance gain)
  • Mid-range GPUs: Low
  • Function: Simulates how light interacts with surfaces, improving realism at the cost of performance.

Shadow Quality
  • Low
  • Function: Affects the detail of shadows. Lower settings reduce GPU strain.

Shadow Filtering
  • Low
  • Function: Softens shadows for realism. Lower settings maintain performance.

Effect Quality
  • Low
  • Function: Controls the detail of visual effects like explosions and smoke. Lower settings improve FPS.

Post-Processing Quality
  • Low
  • Function: Adds effects like bloom and color corrections. Lower settings reduce visual noise and improve performance.

Particle Quality
  • Low
  • Function: Controls the detail of particles (dust, debris). Lower settings improve performance.

Water Quality
  • Low
  • Function: Affects the detail of water surfaces. Lower settings save GPU power.

View Distance Ratio
  • High-end GPUs: Ultra
  • Mid-range GPUs: High
  • Function: Defines how far objects are rendered in full detail.

View Distance Lights
  • Low
  • Function: Controls how far distant light sources are rendered.


View Distance Vegetation
  • High-end GPUs: Medium
  • Mid-range GPUs: Low
  • Function: Affects the density and quality of distant foliage.

GPU Tessellation
  • High-end GPUs: On
  • Lower-end GPUs: Off
  • Function: Adds detail to surfaces through extra polygons. Off saves FPS for mid-to-lower-end GPUs.




Summary
  • Essential Settings: Stick to the essential settings for the best image clarity and performance.
  • For 1080p/1440p: Experiment with non-essential settings like Lighting and Water Quality, but prioritize the essential ones.
  • For Mid-to-Lower-End GPUs: Follow mid-range recommendations to maintain smooth gameplay without compromising too much on visuals.
NVIDIA Control Panel Settings
Below are the recommended NVIDIA Control Panel settings to maximize clarity while balancing performance.

Note: Desktop Color Settings and Desktop Size and Position are applied globally, while Manage 3D Settings should be applied specifically to huntgame.exe under Program Settings.

Global Settings (Affect All Applications)
Adjust Desktop Color Settings

Digital Vibrance: 65-80%

Function: Digital Vibrance improves visibility in Hunt: Showdown by increasing color saturation and contrast, making it easier to differentiate between foliage, structures, and enemy players. It's a simple but powerful way to improve in-game clarity without using banned tools like ReShade, offering players a fair and effective means of enhancing their visual experience.
With settings in the 65%-80% range, you’ll get better visibility of enemies and the environment without distorting the game’s natural look, particularly in tricky lighting or dense environments.

Adjust Desktop Size and Position
Perform Scaling On
  • High-end GPUs: GPU
  • Mid-range GPUs: Display
Function: Controls where scaling is handled. Using the GPU improves image quality and reduces input lag, while Display scaling is recommended for mid-range GPUs to save resources.

Tip: If Image Sharpening isn’t available, set scaling to Integer Scaling (for your main display) under Adjust Desktop Size and Position.

Program-Specific Settings (Applied to huntgame.exe)
These settings should be applied to huntgame.exe in the Program Settings tab:
  • Image Sharpening: 0.65-1 with 0 Film Grain for high-end GPUs; 0.3-0.5 for mid-range.
  • Anisotropic Filtering: 16x
  • Antialiasing - Mode: Enhance the Application Setting (high-end), Application Controlled (mid-range).
  • Antialiasing - Transparency: 2x Supersample for high-end GPUs, off for mid-range.
  • Texture Filtering - Negative LOD Bias: Clamp
  • Texture Filtering Quality: High Quality for high-end GPUs, Quality for mid-range.
  • Threaded Optimization: On for high-end CPUs, Auto for others. (Set to Auto if you experience any stability issues)
  • Low Latency Mode: On for all systems.
  • Max Frame Rate (optional): Cap FPS slightly below the monitor's refresh rate (e.g., 162 FPS for a 165Hz monitor).

21 Comments
Sain† Asunder  [author] 15 Nov, 2024 @ 3:16pm 
@APSy Native resolution does preserve the most detail, but in Hunt: Showdown, its performance is a problem for some (definitely myself) due to the game’s poor optimization. Before the 1896 update I managed to get over 120fps on my 4k monitor (I have a 3080ti). That being said, this guide's focus is on balancing clarity and FPS . For players with powerful GPUs and lower resolutions, native can work fine, but DLSS is a great option for most setups.
APSy 15 Nov, 2024 @ 1:01am 
Turn off DLSS if you want a sharp image, no amount of AI can up the render resolution without some type of loss of detail, if you have a decent GPU and not 4k.
Sain† Asunder  [author] 7 Nov, 2024 @ 1:00pm 
@LilBiased, I personally recommend running Gsync in Nvidia Control panel if your monitor is compatible.
World peace 5 Nov, 2024 @ 4:03am 
Any consideration for gsync freesync?
World peace 5 Nov, 2024 @ 12:45am 
Awesome Guide. Looking for help some time now. And this is crazy good. Thanks man.
Ciri Facial Elen Riannon 4 Nov, 2024 @ 1:15pm 
my ssd is several years old. the 16gb ram also. I noticed something different with my temperatures.

before the release of mammonth gulch:
i limited my rtx2080 to 95% of her max potential. an when ingame, the gpu usage was between 93-98%. + i needed to activate my extra vents because the graphic-gard was going over this (82°C i think?) temperature limit.

after the release of Mammonth gulch:
i removed the limit and got back the 100% usage of my graphic-card. ingame my gpu usage is now between 80-95%. AAAND for some reason my graphic-card is NOT loud and NOT hot. Like, its not having some hard work right now.
Sain† Asunder  [author] 4 Nov, 2024 @ 10:41am 
@Ciri, yes, the slider for image sharpening. I'd recommend playing around within the 0.65 - 1 range. Many tend to run it around 0.7 - 0.85 (generally want to increase it more if you're running DLSS balanced - Ultra Performance - Though I don't really recommend going lower than balanced unless your PC is really struggling). Regarding what else could be causing those issues for you.... I'm not sure. I'd start off by first ensuring your drivers are up-to-date for the GPU (and windows). If you're running the game on a HDD instead of an SSD that could also cause problems. If you've got less than 16gb of RAM that could cause some problems as well as whether or not your experiencing any thermal throttling of your CPU or GPU as well. Those are the "big ones" I can think of without having access to your PC and poking around.
Ciri Facial Elen Riannon 4 Nov, 2024 @ 7:17am 
thx. i guess you mean this slider who goes from 0 up to 1?
if he really got exactly the same, i should have the problem somewhere else. is there something significant besides cpu and gpu?
Sain† Asunder  [author] 3 Nov, 2024 @ 6:48pm 
@Ciri Sorry to hear that. Not sure what the cause would be for you in that case. A friend of mine has the same GPU and CPU as you and experienced great results. I would revert back to your old settings but, at the very least, enable the image sharpening in Nvidia control panel and play with that as it shouldn't cause any significant performance drops and offer you much better clarity
Ciri Facial Elen Riannon 2 Nov, 2024 @ 1:18pm 
RTX 2080, 8700k
Object Quality, Texture Quality just on High.
Everything else like in your description.

Ingame: about 70 fps or frozen screen.
:steamsad: