the method we are talking about is Hotsampling
feel free to look up and do your own research for it, but basically it change our ingame resolution to a higher resolution just to take a screenshot.

I didn't know this at first, and i thought these people must have advanced PC rig or supercomputer or something lol. (tho some people do) but a lot are NOT, they just use this method (which is rarely talked about) -- or perhaps i'm the odd one out and it's actually a common knowledge 😵

Here's a screenshot taken at 1080p


And one at 4k


What? No difference you said? well then, we can close this guide as it's useless i guess
-- or not lol.
the difference is when we zoom in the image / open the full image in steam gallery

(click the image below to see full image)


versus

can you see how the second image has a more crisp look, esp in the hairs, eyelash, and you can even clearly see the pores on his skin lol


so does this process matter? well YES and NO, if you just want to put a screenshot capturing a certain mood or message, then NO it doesnt matter, but if you want to put a rich detailed screenshot of a person/ scenery you like, then YES for most cases.

to do hotsampling, there are several tools we can use:

• NVidia Ansel /Amd equivalent, it can capture the screenshot at a higher resolution using their AI technology.
  
  
• Ingame Photo Tool -- some game offers us to take screenshot at a higher resolution than our game resolution. ie. Overwatch offers us to take 2x, 4x, 8x native resolution when taking screenshots
  
  
• We can change the resolution manually from the game (tedious but it works) take the screenshot then revert it
  
  
• SRWE -- i think the most common tool many people use from FransBouma which is also included in most of Otis Tools. This offers us the ability to change the resolution on the fly to capture the screenshot and revert it -- quite straight forward, and recommended esp if you want to use other otis tools.
  https://github.com/dtgDTGdtg/SRWE
  
  
• resize-raccoon -- the tool i used and will discuss here. advantage to SRWE: easier to use, has cute racoon as icon (lol)

install resize racoon from here
https://github.com/mistenkt/resize-raccoon/releases

• Run the game, and Open the Resize Raccoon
  
  
• Add a new profile by specifying the target game process, name, size and position and whatever else is there. Make two preset, one for your native resolutoin and one for taking the sceenshot
  
  
• You can set the higher resolution however you want, but i recommend using the same aspect ratio.
  ie. FHD is 1920 × 1080 (most likely is what most people are using as their native resolution)
  recommended upscale resolution:
  2k - 2560 x 1440 (about 1.5 x of FHD, also a common resolution these days)
  4K - UHD (3840 × 2160)
  8K - UHD (7680 × 4320)
  
  if you are unsure what your native resolution, right click on desktop -- display setting; scroll down to see Display Resolution
  
  
• after you set up your native resolution and your desired resolution (don't forget to save), you're good to go
  
  
• when you reach a part where you want to take a screenshot, just pause/use photo mode etc that you usually do before taking screenshot, click to apply the higher preset from resize racoon, take screenshot (f12 in steam) careful as to not move the camera (i usually use alt tab when going to game from racoon) and revert to native resolution after taking the screenshot
  
  
• Profit!!

Video guide of using Resize Racoon:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ei5UAPHBp7o


If you have some more tips, feel free to share it below, and if you experimented with the setting and find a value that you like better, also feel free to share in the comment below.
i try to make these guides simple and concise,
so if you have constructive feedback, or if you spot mistakes, please let me know.
Thank you!! Sharing is Caring 🤍