Games have always had the ability to control the graphics quality settings. This was typically available so users can tailor the quality of the graphics to their PC hardware configuration. With the multitude of PCs and tablets and devices, this needs to be an option. If I am running a Microsoft Surface tablet, it may not have enough graphical power to run Zwift at 2880x1920 resolution. So I would like the ability to turn down and tweak individual graphics features like display resolution, textures, antialiasing, shadow quality, lighting, to my liking so that I get higher framerates in events. Can this be added as a feature?
Zwift knows what you are running an matches the graphics for you.
The graphics you get with say an RTX5070 doesn’t look anything like what you get on low spec devices.
If you want better frame rates in events you need to be looking at single-thread performance of the CPU in your system. That is the primary driver of frame rates in almost all situations. You do have the ability to adjust display resolution, and if your system has the video screenshots setting enabled, turn it off for a small improvement in frame rates. If you’re using a laptop with integrated graphics like a Surface tablet, then almost everything is already at the lowest setting because that’s all it can handle.
The problem is that high spec devices also get caught with terrible graphics if they aren’t assigned a profile. All the single thread performance in the world won’t help that.
This is where the ability to force a particular graphics level would be useful and will take away the need for Zwift to add a new GPU or device to their “profiles” and avoid people with new high spec machines ending up with terrible looking graphics, or the same situation for older high spec GPUs that have slipped through the cracks.
If it’s a unique worry that someone will set a high profile and have poor performance and then complain, make them read a disclaimer, tick a check box “I agree blah blah blah”.
Many other games for a very long time don’t seem to force graphics settings on users. You have presets, but you can also adjust them or go back to the defaults. It doesn’t seem to cause problems with “too complicated”.
I interpreted the request as a desire to achieve higher frame rates:
That would be entirely about either (1) more CPU performance, or (2) lower graphics settings. But since a Surface Tablet will already be on the lowest profile, lowering the screen resolution or disabling video screenshots is all you can do and basically nothing else will matter. Since Derek mentioned events, I interpret that as poor frame rates when in crowded situations. That is 100% a CPU problem.
For someone who wanted the reverse of this request - higher graphics settings - then being able to select a higher profile could help.
Totally agree with this and I gave the staff this feedback today and yesterday and earlier this week (sorry guys!)
The point is to be able to adjust and tailor graphics settings to what I need. Adjusting for performance is only one example, but being able to turn the quality all the way up would be a use case as well.