[SOLVED] What is Ultra graphics settings?

[bruvvamoff]

I've got gtav and far cry 5 and a high end rtx2080ti build.
I'm new to high end and eager to test the performance of the gpu also see the detail.
The graphics settings are quite frankly bewildering.
Is there not a way to select ultra, 4k, and be done with it?
Also far cry when I select highest resolution the screen becomes zoomed in like I'm only seeing one corner of the image.

 

[rgd1101]

Also far cry when I select highest resolution the screen becomes zoomed in like I'm only seeing one corner of the image.

and is that more than what your monitor resolution?

 

[Frag Maniac]

Ultra settings just add a finer grade of graphic detail. Ultra shadows usually means their edges are much softer and more natural looking, and the shadow map size is increased. Shadows will also often have farther draw distance (meaning rendered on farther objects), and the detail with which complex things like tree branches are shadowed becomes more accurate.

On Particles, smoke, dust, and fog become more realistic as particle density is increased. It may also react to wind on Ultra, where on lower settings it doesn't.

Lighting is one feature than can be drastically affected by higher settings. Everything from sun rays filtering through trees and such (God Rays), the natural glow of HDR when the sun is low in the sky, how light reflects off objects, whether the light is static, or follows a moving object such as the sun (Dynamic), etc.

The latter is why Ray Tracing and GPUs like Nvidia's RTX series is being used now, as it changes how realistic light and reflections are. Ray Tracing uses the exact path (ray) of the light source, as well as the exact reflection path. The other method of light rendering is rasterization, which merely vaguely estimates where light will fall.

You can learn a lot just by checking out graphics guides like the GeForce ones. These are generally done for popular AAA Nvidia endorsed titles, and they talk about every graphic setting in detail and show screenshot comparisons of each setting used.