36.8+ Graphics issue workaround

[TargetOne]

Hi,

Like most, I hate the graphics bug (grainy images, especially with movement) introduced in ASA game client 36.8. Frankly, DLSS is now broken. And there doesn't seem to be any real fix, other than waiting for WildCard to do so. However, I've been playing with my driver settings outside of the game, and figured out how to improve the visuals, at least a little.

Note, I have an Nvidia 3060 Ti GPU, so these settings are Nvidia-specific. But AMD cards may have something similar.

First, open the Nvidia Control Panel. Navigate to 3D Settings, Manage 3D settings, Program Settings,and select "Ark Survival Ascended". Then,in the list below, turn on Image Scaling. Leave the Sharpness at 50% (you can tweak this later to suit your personal preferences).

Launch the game. Go to Settings, General, Video. Make sure Window Mode is Fullscreen, turn off Super Resolution, and set Anti-aliasing to "Native". Then go to Resolution. There should now be several available resolution settings lower than the native resolution of your monitor. (For example, I have a 2560x1440 monitor, and there are now entries in the list for 2176x1224, 2048x1152, 1969x1108, etc.). Select one of these intermediate resolutions, then click Save.

The "graniness" of the in-game graphics should be greatly reduced. It won't be perfect, but it's better than nothing. Which resolution you use will be a tradeoff between image detail and frame rate, try them all.

What Nvidia Image Scaling does is, it renders the game at a lower-than-native resolution, then upscales it to native. This has the effect of smoothing out the images, while also improving the frame rate a bit. DLSS, when it was working, did much the same thing, only using a far superior method. DLSS would be vastly preferable, of course, but until WildCard fixes it, we're stuck with what tools we have.