For QLOC, who mostly deal with porting existing console games to PC, the standard console settings usually translate to the 'medium' preset of the PC version, though some aspects might be tweaked to accommodate essential platform differences. Scalability options are then provided to whatever extent is feasible. Both presets and requirements are continuously evaluated throughout the optimization process, starting as soon as the renderer and other core features are tested and working.
How presets and hardware requirements relate is often a bit of an unknown to gamers. While every developer has their own standards, for Croteam 'minimum' specifications mean that the game will run well at low settings, and if those requirements aren’t met full technical support will not be provided. 'Recommended', on the other hand, means that the game can be played as intended ("Not medium: high", as Dean told me) at 1080p resolution.
How we judge optimized games
Armed with more knowledge of what goes into optimization and some of the most expensive effects, we can now try to reconsider some hotly debated examples of 'unoptimized' games.
One relatively recent subject of this debate was Dying Light, and in my opinion it is one of the most damning cases—not due to the developer, but due to the misguided reception it received. Dying Light is an open world game with lots of moving actors and parts as well as a dynamic day/night cycle, all ingredients that make up a technically demanding game. It shipped with a huge range of settings for draw distance in particular, which in this type of experience greatly affects both CPU and GPU load.