The new 2.5 version of the Lossless Scaling software has introduced the first universal frame generation method. This can theoretically be enabled in any game as long as it has a functioning borderless windowed mode and it works even with integrated GPUs.
I’ve spoken with the software’s developer to learn more about this impressive technical achievement based on a machine learning model made from scratch. The first attempts are dated back to last Summer, although the real work on Lossless Scaling’s frame generation began in the Fall.
It works essentially as an overlay, which is why there might be conflicts with other overlays. I’ve been told Lossless Scaling captures the game’s frames with the same API used by the popular broadcasting software OBS and generates the extra frames interchangeably.
There are some caveats, though. The recommended minimum to have the best quality is 60 FPS in a game and a 120 Hz monitor, but it can also be used in a combination of 30 FPS and 60 Hz in some games at a resolution of up to 1080p. Moreover, the game has to be locked to half your monitor’s refresh rate for proper frame pacing. It is also recommended that you tweak the game’s settings to maintain a consistent frame rate at all times to minimize stuttering.
Lossless Scaling previously made the news here on Wccftech when it allowed users to activate AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR) 1.0 in any game and then NVIDIA Image Scaling (NIS) on AMD or Intel graphics cards. However, the new version of the software introduced a no-scaling option that can be used for those instances where users only need the frame generation component. You could, for instance, run the game natively or use a regular in-game upscaler like AMD FSR 2.0, NVIDIA DLSS 2.0, or Intel XeSS and then enable frame generation via Lossless Scaling if the game doesn’t have built-in support for it.
Of course, as with any frame generation method, this will introduce some additional latency. The software doesn’t have any way to counteract that right now, although it might change in the future. If you have a recent NVIDIA GPU and the game supports Reflex, you can use that. Otherwise, it can be injected into most games through Special K or the latest RTSS beta.
I’ve briefly tested Lossless Scaling with FG and have to say that it works pretty well, considering its obvious limitations compared to AMD and NVIDIA’s techniques. I couldn’t notice any major motion artifacts; however, there was noticeable ghosting in the UI elements. I mentioned it to the software creator and was told it was hard to avoid, though there’s still room for improvement in that area.
As a bonus feature, this frame generation method also works with emulators, as you can see in the Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom video demonstration above. Indeed, it seems like Lossless Scaling FG is mostly going to be useful for emulation, older games that won’t be updated with FSR 3 or DLSS 3, or newer games that still run on graphics cards without support for AMD or NVIDIA’s technologies.
