What they should probably do is is cap the settings to what computers at release time can handle, then patch it later with “graphics enhancements” that do nothing but raise the cap. They could even do it more than one. It keeps users’ expectations reasonable at launch and then lets the developers look like they’re going the extra mile to support an older product.

As a bonus, they could store the settings in a text file somewhere that more sophisticated users can easily edit to get max settings on day one.