Indiana Jones and the Great Circle - Performance Tips

[Silent_Scone]

Ah, to be 38 and still chasing the thrill of adventure like a fedora-wearing archaeologist racing against time. If you're anything like me, the original Indiana Jones trilogy defined an era of daring escapes, ancient mysteries, and unforgettable one-liners. From the rolling boulder in Raiders of the Lost Ark to the heart-stopping bridge scene in Temple of Doom, these films etched themselves into the hearts of a generation.

Now, with Indiana Jones and the Great Circle in our hands, it feels like stepping back into the sepia-toned world of treasure maps and ancient secrets—but this time, we get to play as Mr Ford himself.

System Specs

Some Quick LOD Tweaks for better visuals

Hunting the web there seem to be some quick adjustments that help improve LOD distancing and pop-in. The issue predominantly impacts foliage, and the recent patches have not addressed it. This issue is particularly noticeable when traversing in areas with dense foliage.

• What it Does: Increases the distance at which high-detail models and textures load, reducing pop-ins.
• How to Adjust
  Open the developer console with the ~ key.
  • Enter r_lodScale 4 (values between 1-10; 4 is a good balance).
  • Re-enter the command each time you play (use the Up arrow to recall).
• Performance Impact: Minor FPS drop
  Tailored VRAM Settings

  • • • • Match Texture/Resolution Settings to VRAM

          Res	8GB VRAM	10GB VRAM	12GB VRAM
          1080p	Medium	Ultra	Very Ultra
          1440p	Low	High	Supreme
          4K	NA	Medium	Ultra

          Low-VRAM Tips:

          • Play at 1080p or 1440p.
          • Disable ray tracing or use DLSS to upscale.
          • Adjust texture cache settings based on available VRAM.

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Specs

AMD 9800X3D @ 5.533GHz

48GB @ 6400MT/s CAS28

ASUS TUF RTX Gaming OC (OC Profile)

ROG Crosshair X870 Hero

Graphic Preset Performance
Tests conducted in Giza level

The visual quality between the defined presets seems almost indistinguishable in certain environments. So much so, I wasn't sure if it was a bug. The performance and power consumption did, however, show tangible gains. The bottom line is that it doesn't appear that users sporting the minimum specs are missing much of the glory and still getting most of the fidelity. of the higher settings.

Ray Tracing Performance

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle uses ray tracing for global illumination, subsurface scattering and reflections - including a full path tracing mode. 

With Full Ray Tracing, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle delivers meticulously rendered shadows, reflections, and global illumination, significantly enhancing visual fidelity.

Tests conducted in Giza level

As expected, RT and "full path tracing" modes offer subtle yet distinguishable lighting differences. For foliage-based effects, the sub-surface scattering offers a more natural gradient depending on how much light can pass through. With raster (RT Off), the impact is darker, more linear, and, ultimately, less realistic. When utilising full path tracing over prebaked lighting, GPU power draw takes a 23% hike - but this is expected. Performance takes a 45% decrease when using PT, which is why this option should be reserved to the RTX 4080 and RTX 4090.

Optimise Performance for Path Tracing

• Ray Tracing Options:
  • Sun Shadows – Improves shadow detail.
  • Ray Traced Reflections – Noticeable quality boost with a moderate performance cost.
  • Ray Traced Global Illumination (RTGI) – Drastic lighting improvement but very demanding. Vegetation appears more natural.
    
    Tips:
    • Turn Off RTGI for better frame rates.
    • Use Path Tracing only on RTX 4090

DLSS Quality

Here’s how DLSS 3 enhances Indiana Jones and the Great Circle. These comparison shots showcase how the AI-driven technology improves image clarity and preserves fine details, all while boosting performance. For a closer look at the performance benefits of upscaling with DLSS3 see NVIDIA's article here.

DLSS 3.0 upscaling quality is impressive, with only Ultra Performance mode showing clear signs of obvious image degradation. Despite its advanced implementation of DLSS 3, the game does not exhibit common performance issues like shader compilation or traversal stutters. 

All in all, despite initial developer specifications that left many adventurers nervous, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle proves to be exceptionally well-optimised. It leverages the cutting-edge capabilities of the idTech engine to deliver a broad range of advanced technologies and configuration options, all without compromising performance drastically.