Watch the video:
0:00 - Intro/Explanation
0:40 - Display Settings
1:49 - Quality Presets
3:08 - Open Config folder
4:45 - Engine.ini Tweaks
5:58 - Engine.ini Tweaks FPS
6:50 - Motion Blur
7:00 - Bonus Tweaks
8:15 - Bonus Tweaks FPSGrounded 2 Optimization
The release optimization of Grounded 2 is okay for powerful modern systems, but lacks any customizability. All users have control over is a preset that ranges from Low to Epic. 4 graphics presets. Nothing more, nothing less.
This is obviously stepping over Resolution and Render Scale - For which we don’t have control over the upscaler used.
Open the config folder
Navigate to %LocalAppData%\Augusta\Saved\Config\ on your system, no matter where you own the game. To get there press Win+R or Start+R to bring up the Run dialog. Copy and paste the path above and hit Enter.
This will take you to the game’s configuration folder, and assuming you’ve launched and closed the game at least once, you should have some files in this path.
In here you’ll see Windows for Steam, WinGDK for Xbox App, or another name for the folder where your configuration files are stored, like WinGRTS. Open this as well.
Preset Config file
While there is a file to customize the settings in-depth, editing and saving currently does nothing. GameUserSettings.ini is generated and ‘updated’ on every exit cycle of the game. Changes do stay, and it’s likely that this file will have an effect on the in-game graphics and FPS in some notable way, but for now we can only ignore this file.
Workarounds
As this game runs on Unreal Engine 5, we can create new configuration files for the engine to use. There are a few well-known tricks to force specific behaviour.
We will create an Engine.ini file in your WinGDK, WinGRTS or Windows folder, as above. You can either copy/paste the code below into a new text file there (remember to remove the .txt and replace it with .ini), or just click the download button next to the text box, and pop the file right in.
This config file mostly disables Lumen, as well as film grain.
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IMPORTANT Remember to make the file Read-Only or it may be deleted, and the changes undone on the next launch. Right-click, Properties and tick Read-only. Remember to uncheck this to modify the file.
If you already have an Engine.ini file, combine the options under each [header] section, removing duplicates where they exist, and adding entire sections where they are missing.
Performance
FPS was boosted by this simple change, as follows on my Windows 11, Nvidia 3080 Ti, Intel i9-13900K system - running at 3440x1440. You should see similar changes.
Before tweaks:
| Preset | FPS |
|---|---|
| Epic | 22 |
| High | 32 |
| Medium | 43 |
| Low | 51 |
After tweaks:
| Preset | FPS |
|---|---|
| Epic | 27 |
| High | 37 |
| Medium | 49 |
| Low | 60 |
See any changes?
Here is a screenshot from the normal Epic preset:
And the Epic preset with tweaks:
Bonus tweaks
The Engine.ini file gives you access to a lot more. I previously covered using a similar file to optimize Killing Floor 2. Why not throw some more options in here? (Btw I got even more FPS).
This is mostly a modified version of this Reddit post by u/bkwl22 with the Grounded 2 Lumen changes from above.
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After tweaks (Bonus):
| Preset | FPS |
|---|---|
| Epic | 30 |
| High | 40 |
| Medium | 53 |
| Low | 61 |
And a screenshot of the Epic preset with bonus tweaks:
