Graphics Settings for Alan Wake PC version

[desirer]

I have already played Alan Wake on XBOX 360. My friend had seen the game at my place. As he didn’t own XBOX 360, he is now playing PC version of Alan Wake which recently released. He is not a regular gamer, so setting up a game after installation for proper operation according to hardware is something new to him. I don’t play games on PC, so can anyone help me giving short explanation of options available in graphics settings of Alan Wake PC version?

[Ashley Parker]

The first option n graphics setting s of Alan Wake in Pc is Resolution.
Resolution can be freely adjusted according to the resources provided by one’s graphic card and monitor. It can be freely changed between the options available. The minimum resolution available for Alan Wake on PC is 1024 x 768.
Resolution of the game is directly proportional to utilization of GPU of a PC. This means that the more resolution you set the game on, the more one’s GPU will be utilized. This is because higher resolution needs GPU to set rendering buffers to higher resolution.
The first time you run the game, resolution will be set to the resolution of your monitor by default. For PCs with low performance GPU, we recommend resolution of 1024 x 768 for smooth operation.

[Halle]

V-Sync is another option available in Graphics setting s of Alan Wake for PC.
This option has 2 possibilities, ‘Enable’ or ‘Disable’. Enabling will result in rendering the frames faster. This will also increase the framerate of game. But this will also decrease the consistency of framerate. Sudden drop in framerate will be noticeable. This too requires high end GPU.

[Shae]

Another option is Graphic Quality.
It provides 3 options, Low, medium and High. This decides the quality of texture that should be rendered and displayed. When on High, the objects in Game environment will be rendered in multiple passes, like reflection, refraction and so on. On medium, the objects again will be rendered in same passes but with lower level of detailing. In low settings, Most of this passes will be ignored. They will be rendered only if necessary.

[DougWison]

Another option you will see is FXAA.
It can be set on Low, high or completely off. This option decides the quality of objects to be rendered in post-rendering. These objects mostly include Grass, Bushes, Trees, water and so on. When on High, these objects react dynamically. When on off, they don’t react but remain static only for display.
Another option available is Anisotropic Filters.
This option has many values like Off, 2x, 4x, 8x, 16x. These values manage the sharpness of an object’s render according to the scene.

[mbangali]

Shadow Quality is another option in Graphics setting.
This option has 3 values, Low, Medium & High. This option requires the resources from CPU and GPu at a greater extent. When set on low, the shadow rendered is of low quality and so it its draw distance. On medium and High the shadows are rendered realistically.
SSAO Quality creates an impression depth on surface of objects or at surfaces where 2 objects come into contact. It has 3 values, of, low & High. Using it on Low is also recommended for pC with high end GPU. It adds another level of realism to the graphics.

[Enos]

Backdrop Quality is another option in Graphics setting. It has 3 values low, medium & high which decide the detail of objects placed at distance in environment. At low, the objects at larger distance like mountains, skies will not have detailing.
Godray Quality has 2 values, off & high. When set on High, it generates sunrays coming in one direction from between wall spaces and trees. They are rendered only during day scenes in game.
Volumetric Light Quality has 2 values, Low & High. This fills the light with fog or smoke when required. During day scene, Godrays are filled with dust particles.

[MinkaM]

Draw Distance option provides a slider to determine the distance till which the objects should be rendered. It requires large amount of resources of CPU and GPU. It is recommended to be on minimum for low end systems.
LOD distance provides a slider that determines the distance at which there should be a switch between low detailed object and high detailed objects.
FOV slider provides option for changing aspect ratio dynamically as per in game events. For Example, if character is looking through binoculars, then the aspect ratio objects displayed through binoculars should be adjusted.