FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR) is AMD’s open-source alternative to Nvidia deep learning super sampling (DLSS), and we’re starting to hear opinions from game developers on it. Although both tools achieve the same goal, Midgar Studio CEO and lead programmer of Edge of Eternity Jérémy Zeler-Maury says that FSR is much easier to implement into games and that both tools achieve similar image quality at 4K.
Edge of Eternity is a unique case study. The indie-developed JRPG includes DLSS and FSR, so the developer has experience working with both. In an interview with Wccftech, Zeler-Maury contrasted the “complex” process of integrating DLSS into the game with FSR, saying the latter only took “a few hours” to implement.
“Implementing DLSS was quite complex to integrate into Unity for a small studio like us; it required tweaking the engine and creating an external plugin to bridge Unity and DLSS,” Zeler-Maury said. “FSR, on the other hand, was very easy to implement, it only took me a few hours, requiring only simple data.”
The interview confirms a lot of what we already know about FSR. It’s much easier for developers to use, but Zeler-Maury cautions that it doesn’t work as well at lower resolutions. “For lower resolutions like upscaling to 1080p or 720p, I think DLSS gives a better result since it can reconstruct parts of missing details,” Zeler-Maury said.
DLSS uses machine learning to reconstruct an image, which makes it more equipped to maintain detail at low resolutions. FSR, according to Zeler-Maury, requires “the source data to be as sharp as possible.” As long as it is, the developer says that both tools provide amazing results, even going as far as to say they prefer FSR at 4K resolution because it produces fewer artifacts than DLSS.
In our FidelityFX Super Resolution review, we found that the upscaling technique is capable of delivering much higher frame rates at high resolutions, but the more aggressive upscaling modes give up too much visual quality. Zeler-Maury suggests that might not matter. They assert that the lion’s share of games will receive FSR support simply because it’s easier to implement.
“I think FSR being very easy to integrate means more games are going to get it, DLSS is more complicated to integrate. Aside from pre-integrated versions in engine or AAA games, I don’t think many small developers will integrate it,” Zeler-Maury said.
Still, DLSS isn’t down and out. Although it may not be able to reach as many games as FSR in the future, DLSS’ image reconstruction quality remains unmatched. FSR is providing credible competition with how easy it is to implement into games, however. A modder, for example, was able to patch FSR into Grand Theft Auto 5 before it released to the general public.
FSR supports a small list of games right now, including Anno 1800 and Godfall. AMD says that many more games will support the feature in the near future, including Far Cry 6, Resident Evil: Village, and Myst.
Edge of Eternity is available now, with the FSR patch coming in the future.