Four years later, Nier: Automata finally gets some Steam improvements Eurogamer.net If you click on a link and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. Read our editorial policy. Four years later, Nier: Automata finally gets some Steam improvements Not so far. News by Tom Phillips Deputy Editor Updated on 13 Jul 2021 21 comments Nier: Automata's long-awaited Steam patch will finally arrive this Thursday, 15th July. Patch notes detail numerous visual improvements such as 4K textures for the game's user interface, 60 FPS pre-rendered cut-scenes and improvements to the game's anti-aliasing, global illumination and ambient occlusion/bloom. It has been four years since Nier: Automata arrived on Steam, and three months since we first heard some form of "upgrade patch" was at last on the way. Watch on YouTube The Steam version of Nier: Automata has always struggled with performance and technical issues, leaving players to turn to community-made solutions such as Kaldaien's "FAR" mod (Fix Automata Resolution). These issues came to light again earlier this year when the game arrived on Xbox Game Pass. Improvements to that version led to its Steam edition getting review-bombed by fans for suddenly being the poorer version. But while the Xbox Game Pass version did add some new features - more on those below - Digital Foundry found it also contained some of the game's original issues. Still, the kerfuffle did seem to prompt developer Platinum Games into promising PC fixes were finally on the way. Watch on YouTube Many of this week's additions to Nier: Automata on Steam were previously added in the Game Pass version, such as a borderless video setting, FidelityFX options and improved HDR performance. But there is also mention of a stabilised framerate and other "stabilisation" options. Could these be the fixes fans have waited years for? We'll have to see how well these play out later this week. For now, here are those long-awaited patch notes in full: Changes made: Borderless Video Settings - Borderless video settings have been implemented Fidelity FX - A Fidelity FX CAS feature has been added HDR - The system will now detect whether HDR has been activated in the Windows display settings, and automatically boot the game in HDR mode if it has Anti-aliasing - Adjustments to the anti-aliasing functionality UI textures (4K) - Approximately 270 UI textures for icons, backdrops and UI elements etc. now support 4K resolutions Cut scenes - The bit rate has been improved and all pre-rendered cut scenes adjusted, so they will now play in 60FPS and display in the correct aspect ratio without stretching the picture Global illumination - A new "Global illumination" feature has been implemented. This can be set to three different levels; High, Medium or Low Ambient occlusion/ bloom - The rendering targets for ambient occlusion and bloom effects have been changed to dynamic resolution based on the game's resolution Bug fixes: It is now possible to switch between recently selected display modes for screenshots, such as between full screen and windowed mode or between borderless and windowed mode, by pushing the Alt + Enter keys together. The mouse cursor is no longer displayed when using a game pad controller. The frame rate has been stabilised at 60FPS under default settings. Other stability related fixes have also been implemented. Become a Eurogamer subscriber and get your first month for £1 Get your first month for £1 (normally £3.99) when you buy a Standard Eurogamer subscription. Enjoy ad-free browsing, merch discounts, our monthly letter from the editor, and show your support with a supporter-exclusive comment flair! 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