Another week, another stunning Baldur’s Gate 3 mod… this time targeting the in-game textures. For those already familiar to the modding scene, you’ll know there are already a few HD texture options out there dotted around Nexus. However, these can sometimes lead to performance hits. That’s where modder Lexxo 1000’s latest work comes in.
After testing several texture overhauls and realising they weren’t ‘happy’ with how they were built, they set out to build a mod that upscales all non-virtual textures using Topaz Labs and Gigapixel AI. Normal maps / physical maps are left ‘untouched’ in this mod as upscaling them ‘typically adds artifacts,’ the modder warns.
There are also a few other caveats. Lexxo states that you shouldn’t stack with other texture upscalers, apart from if you’re using Vivid series. They also state that VRAM usage, as expected with a mod of this type, will be higher than if you’re running the game vanilla.
Sadly, as per every HD texture mod, this is just for PC players only, who are spoilt for choice if they’re looking to boost the overall presentation of the Larian’s masterpiece. Another HD texture mod, the BG3 Texture Upscale Project, may also be worth taking a look at . The ‘massive texture pack’ upscales textures by 4x, leading to quite drastic improvements in visual fidelity.
In contrast, Lexxo 100’s mod follows a strict 2x resolution bump, as they claim that ‘going higher showed no meaningful gain in-game versus the extra size/VRAM’.
It’s not all bad news for console owners, though. The brilliant Jay Dunna, who we strongly recommend checking out if you’re a Baldur’s Gate 3 fan, has highlighted a number of new, and old, exciting mods that have now found their way on to non PC formats.
Our pick of the bunch is the Phoenix Wings mod – released last month – which gives your character flaming wings. It’s only been downloaded a handful of times, so if you’re looking to make a statement, or just drastically change-up your character’s appearance, this hidden gem could well be for you.
The good news for Baldur’s gate fans is that Wizards of the Coast has confirmed Baldur’s Gate 4 is ‘of course’ going to happen but it won’t be created by Larian. For now, all attention is on a new, unrelated entry to the Dungeons and Dragons universe that aims to appeal to both hardcore D&D fans and more casual players ‘who love playing action games’. To help, they’ve drafted in industry veteran Stig Asmussen, who served as game director on Respawn’s Star Wars: Jedi games and as creative director on God of War 3.
