How Gaijin Tuned DLSS 5 for War Thunder
With the upcoming Eagle's Shadow major update for War Thunder, players will see the introduction of NVIDIA DLSS 5 featuring 3D-Guided Neural Rendering. In an interview, Gaijin Entertainment Art Director Kirill Stupin explained how the integration of neural rendering into the Dagor Engine enhances material and lighting details while maintaining the game's signature historical authenticity.
The primary goal for the development team was to enhance, rather than alter, the established visual identity of War Thunder. DLSS 5 operates at the final stage of the graphics pipeline, utilizing rendered frames and motion vectors to add lifelike lighting and material detail. According to Stupin, the technology provides a new level of microcontrast that was previously unattainable, resulting in a more natural and detailed image.
Technical Challenges: The Color Space Dilemma
A significant technical hurdle involved color space compatibility. While DLSS 5 operates in sRGB color space, the Dagor Engine utilizes a linear HDR space. To prevent conflicts between post-processing effects—such as bloom or chromatic aberration—and the neural rendering process, the team had to implement an invertible color management pipeline. This allows them to produce a 'semi-final' sRGB image for DLSS 5 to process before mapping the changes back into linear HDR space.
Visual Impact and Evaluation
Gaijin evaluated the implementation across air, ground, and naval combat scenarios separately, acknowledging that viewing distances and visual priorities differ significantly between these modes. The most striking improvements are observed in overcast or rainy conditions, where DLSS 5 enhances soft diffuse lighting, wet surface details, and object depth, contributing to a more atmospheric battlefield.
Despite the visual enhancements, the team emphasized the importance of preserving historical accuracy. Tuning the model and intensity values required multiple iterations to ensure that vehicle markings, surface wear, and material properties remained faithful to the original assets, which is central to the War Thunder experience.
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