Hello,

Right off the bat, The Forever Winter is in Early Access, so performance optimization is still a work in progress. The game may run poorly on many systems, and significant improvements likely won’t come until the developers release patches. The community urged the devs to launch the game, and they delivered, albeit in an incomplete state. So, I won’t dwell on performance issues—it's like judging an unfinished painting.

That said, I've found some tweaks you can try to improve FPS by roughly 10 or more. The goal here is to guide you in creating a custom .ini file to adjust certain settings within The Forever Winter config folder. Since the game uses Unreal Engine 5, we can experiment with engine variables to reduce performance strain and potentially boost FPS.

1. Create a Separate Engine.ini File
   
   
   Steps:
   • Copy your existing GameUserSettings.ini file in the config folder.
     
   • Rename the copy to Engine.ini.
     
   • Open Engine.ini in Notepad and delete all existing content.
     
   • Add the following lines:
   
   
   [/script/engine.renderersettings] r.AntiAliasingMethod=0 r.Upscale.Quality=0 r.Upscale.Softness=0
   
   These settings disable Anti-Aliasing and adjust upscaling to create crisper visuals, though you may notice increased aliasing or shimmering. These changes sharpen the image without the default blur, caused by forced TAA on lower resolutions. Try them to see if you prefer the enhanced clarity.
   
   Example
   
   
   
2. Override the Resolution Scaler
   
   
   Steps:
   • Add the following variable to force a specific resolution scale (0-200). Start with a value based on your native resolution (100). Lowering this setting can reduce GPU load but may blur the image.
   
   
   r.ScreenPercentage=40
   
   Example
   
   
   
   
3. Sharpen Without Third-Party Filters
   
   
   Steps:
   • Use this setting to sharpen the image further. Adjust to taste—values between 0.5 and 1 are recommended, but you can increase it up to 2.5 (be cautious with oversharpening).
   
   
   r.Tonemapper.Sharpen=0.5
   
   
4. Disable Unnecessary Effects
   
   
   Steps:
   • Disabling these effects can help boost performance without significant visual trade-offs:
   
   
   r.DepthOfFieldQuality=0 r.BloomQuality=0 r.FilmGrain=0 r.SceneColorFringeQuality=0 r.DisableDistortion=1 r.Tonemapper.Quality=0 r.LensFlareQuality=0
   
   
5. Disable Fog Effects
   
   
   Steps:
   • Disabling fog can provide a performance boost but may impact the game’s atmosphere.
   
   
   r.Fog=0 r.VolumetricFog=0
   
   Example of possible Fog removal
   
   
6. Make the File Read-Only
   
   
   Steps:
   • After saving your changes to Engine.ini, go to "Properties > General" and check the "Read-only" box. This step prevents the game from overwriting your custom settings.

Once these changes are applied, boot up the game and see the results immediately. You might encounter some visual anomalies due to the tweaks, but overall, these steps should help improve FPS. I’ll continue experimenting and share updates as I find additional optimizations.

Happy hunting!

-MrV

11/07/2024
• Aligned guide with Steam’s formatting standards.
  
• Improved the clarity of the instructions section for easier understanding and follow-along.