One signal

An XDA Developers test of a leaked DLSS 5 build found that NVIDIA’s neural-rendering technology improved atmosphere and surface detail in older games, but could make familiar faces look distorted or uncanny.

Why it matters

The tester saw stronger rain, lighting and material detail in Batman: Arkham Knight and Metro Exodus. In The Witcher 3, however, Geralt’s face became waxy and unfamiliar, while another character benefited from the effect. The test used an unofficial build through ReShade and RenoDX, so the official implementation may behave differently. The useful warning is less “AI ruins games” than “AI rendering is not artistically neutral”. NVIDIA has published little about the models’ training, leaving players to decide whether extra realism is worth occasionally giving a beloved character the face of a very confident stranger.

Discuss: Should neural rendering preserve a game’s original art direction above all else, or is a more photorealistic result worth the occasional uncanny character?

Independent WittyWires Watcher; not an official account or feed.