Cyberpunk 2077 Mods to Improve Performance and Controls
It's only been a week since the launch of Cyberpunk 2077, and the game has already got a whole lot of mods. Currently, fan-made modifications are mainly focused on improving such elements as performance or controls.
Cyberpunk 2077 failed to live up to all the hopes placed in it, but this does not change the fact that it is still one of the most important games of the year. No wonder that right after the launch various modders got busy. Promptly, we decided that it's worth to look at the most interesting fan projects prepared so far.
It should be emphasized that currently the game's modding options are very limited and will remain so until the players come up with a way to load their own scripts, for example. This should change soon, because the creator of WolvenKit tools for The Witcher 3 has already announced that in the future his work will also support Cyberpunk 2077.
However, this is a song of the future. Currently, the mods are mainly focused on slight alterations and removing the game's numerous shortcomings, which is a good thing, because Cyberpunk 2077 needs all the help it can get in this department.
Improving performance
Let's start with mods that improve performance.
PerformanceOverhaulCyberpunk - mandatory!
First of all, every player should install PerformanceOverhaulCyberpunk, regardless of whether they have a weak PC that can't handle CP2077, or a powerful rig and just want to squeeze a little more out of it.
The aim of the project is to fix bugs in the game that cause performance drops and issues with engine stability. The change log is massive and new ones are added all the time. Mod is updated even two or three times a day. The modification also fixes a problem with Simultaneous Multi-Threading/SMT, so you can see a big performance gain on PC with AMD processors. It also fixes memory leaks due to a Spectre gap, and correctly allocates memory for the game based on our configuration.
It also solves the problem of engine freezing on CPUs without AVX support and adds support for more controller models. It also enables us to disable Async compute, which causes significant performance increase on weaker GPUs (older than Nvidia RTX or Vega in case of Radeons). On the latest models, this will result in a deterioration in game performance.
For players with extremely weak PCs, PerformanceOverhaulCyberpunk also allows for disabing most of pedestrians and traffic.
Config Overhaul, or more performance gains
If PerformanceOverhaulCyberpunk is not enough to make the game run decently on our PC, then the next step is to use Config Overhaul for Cyberpunk 2077, a tool that enables us to change settings to increase performance. It's easy to use and offers several configuration sets - from light changes that provide a few extra fps to an aggressive variant that looks nasty but gains 20 fps or more.
Toaster Mode - desperate measures
If these two projects were not enough to achieve satisfactory performance, the last resort may be Toaster Mode. It enables a larger range of resolution scaling - instead of 55-100 we get 10-100. Thanks to this, the game can work in very low resolutions, generating an image, which is then enlarged to the size of our monitor. The effect is ugly as sin, but if we're only interested in the gameplay, this project enables us to play on very weak PCs that wouldn't have a chance to run Cyberpunk 2077 without it.
Improving the game
Expanded config options
Configuration is not limited to trying to squeeze some additional fps from the engine. Some players have different needs. Project More Options expands the options available in the menu beyond the values provided by the developers at CD Projekt RED. It also adds new settings that are normally only available when editing config files.
The Better Field Of View Slider project is also worth mentioning. As the title suggests, the mod allows for changing the field of view more than by default. The standard FOV is 100, and with this modification the cap is increased to 150.
Better controls
Many of the elements in the design of controls in Cyberpunk 2077 are very questionable, as they differ significantly from standard solutions. For example, we are accustomed to dodging by holding the direction key with e.g. CTRL, and in CP2077 we have to press the direction button twice instead. If you are bothered by this, it's worth to take interest in two projects:
They both do more or less the same thing - apart from changing the way we execute dodges, we can, for example, toggle slow walking or scrolling dialogues with the mouse. The differences are hidden in the details. Ehnanced Controls is a little bit more complex and offers additional options. E to Interact - V to Walk and Drive - Dedicated Dodge - Dialogue Scroll is easier to use and focuses only on the most important changes.
Better Vehicle Handling
Many people complain about driving in the game. The Better Vehicle Handling project was created to remedy this. It changes the behavior of vehicles on the roads, so that they are easier to control. Version 0.2 makes them even stick to the road, so it's better to start with the less aggressive version 0.1 first.
Improving visuals with ReShade
Traditionally, ReShade sets were the very first game mods, as they do not require modification of game files. Such projects improve the visuals by modifying shadows and light effects and manipulating contrast as well as other color settings.
Of those released for Cyberpunk 2077, the most popular is Cyberpunk Autonomous ReShade - True HDR, because the project retains the atmosphere of the game, sharpening only the image, adding nicer versions of some effects and simulating the HDR effect.
ReShade sets increase the hardware requirements of the game. If we have such a powerful PC that we can afford that, then it's also worthwhile to take a look at the Draw Distance Boost project, which increases the draw distance of objects, so that the city retains a high level of detail even far from the player.
- Cyberpunk Autonomous ReShade - True HDR - download page
- Draw Distance Boost - download page on Nexus Mods
Most of the above mods can be found on our FTP, along with installation descriptions. In any case, you can create mirrors under the license offered by the project or we have obtained permission to do so directly from the authors of these projects.
