Red Dead Redemption 2 patch fixes memory bugs, save corruption, and improperly lit fur

Red Dead Redemption 2 is now just a few days away from its big Steam debut, and the good news for dedicated storefront devotees isn't just that the game will finally be available through their reseller of choice, but that it should also be in better shape than it was when it first appeared on the Epic Games Store. Rockstar dropped another patch today that promises improvements to overall performance and stability, and also addresses some very specific problems, such as issues with partial lighting of fur and hair when the resolution scale is set higher than your PC's native resolution.

Is that a weird problem? It sounds weird to me. But even if your fur is fine, the patch also tackles a number of other, maybe-more-serious issues. To wit:

Improvements to fix an issue that resulted in a crash when running out of memory
(Any users experiencing memory-related error messages should check their virtual memory settings are correct by following the instructions on this support article: https://support.rockstargames.com/articles/360038178954/)
Improvements to fix an issue that resulted in potential save corruption and permanent loss of progress if the player was signed out of their Social Club account while in Story Mode
Improvements to fix an issue that resulted in partial lighting of hair/fur when the Resolution Scale graphical setting was set to higher than the native resolution
Improvements to fix an issue that resulted in a crash when entering the Landing Page during game startup
Improvements to fix an issue that resulted in a crash during initial startup for some specific hardware configurations
Improvements to fix an issue that resulted in random crashes during gameplay on systems using an Nvidia GTX 970 graphics card
Improvements to fix an issue that resulted in a crash when starting the Benchmark Tool on low-end systems
Improvements to fix an issue that resulted in instability on some systems running Windows 10 Version 1909 (November 2019 Update)
Improvements to fix an issue that resulted in audio stuttering/stalling when the game is running at high framerates
Improvements to fix an issue that resulted in pixelated/blocky rendering artifacts on shadows during some cutscenes
Improvements to fix an issue that resulted in rendering and lighting artifacts when the Screen Space Ambient Occlusion graphical option was set to Ultra
Improvements to fix several issues that resulted in rendering and lighting artifacts on some systems during gameplay
Improvements to fix several issues that resulted in random crashes during gameplay in Story Mode and Red Dead Online

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It's a fairly hefty patch—our in-house cowboy put it at around 2GB, but a few folks on Reddit have it at close to 3GB—but early indications are that, overall, it's doing what it's supposed to. And like the previous patch, this one won't reset your graphics settings, although several redditors have said that they've had to fiddle with their settings post-patch for best results. If RDR2 seems blurry after the update installs, you might find some useful advice for clearing it up in the thread.

Also of note, since it wasn't there when the date was announced, the Red Dead Redemption 2 Steam page is now live. It will be available for purchase there on December 5; it also remains on sale on the Humble Store (which will get you an Epic Store code) for 20 percent off until 1 pm ET on December 3.

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.