All articles tagged with #path tracing
NVIDIA’s side-by-side Pragmata path-tracing shots are criticized for washing out depth and undermining the game’s art direction, with reviewers saying the RTX-on visuals look unfinished and overly bright, more like an Instagram filter than intentional lighting, and that most players won’t enable RTX in Pragmata at launch.
At GDC 2026 NVIDIA unveiled Mega Geometry, a RTX-based geometry tech using nested triangle clusters to boost detail with lower memory cost, demonstrated in The Witcher 4 foliage and a path-tracing boost in Alan Wake 2; 007 First Light will also ship with path tracing for more realistic shadows, leveraging RTX cores optimized for this feature.
Bolt Graphics, a startup from Sunnyvale, introduces the ZEUS architecture claiming significant performance improvements in graphics rendering, including 2.5x the path tracing performance of NVIDIA's RTX 5090, through innovative hardware and software design, aiming to revolutionize consumer and HPC graphics markets.
MachineGames has released a Path Tracing patch for 'Indiana Jones and the Great Circle,' and benchmarks show that the NVIDIA RTX 4090 can only run the game smoothly at 1080p without DLSS 3. With DLSS 3 Quality Super Resolution and Frame Generation, the game achieves smoother performance at higher resolutions, including 4K. The demanding nature of Path Tracing makes DLSS 3 essential for a good gaming experience, and future GPUs like the rumored RTX 5090 may improve performance but are unlikely to handle native 4K path-traced games smoothly.
MachineGames has released the first update for "Indiana Jones and the Great Circle," introducing Path Tracing support for high-end PCs, requiring at least 12GB VRAM. The patch also includes various performance improvements, bug fixes, and gameplay adjustments, such as resolving issues with HDR and DLSS, whip detachment, and animation glitches. Additionally, the update addresses PC-specific issues like performance on larger levels and graphical artifacts on AMD GPUs. Future updates are expected to add AMD FSR support.
Cyberpunk 2077 Patch 2.1 introduces path tracing and regular ray tracing improvements, with reflections showing the best enhancements. While not perfect, these improvements reduce ghosting issues. The patch also includes other features such as a metro system and new vehicles. However, the introduction of NVIDIA DLSS 3.5 Ray Reconstruction support for regular ray tracing mode comes with a performance hit on certain GPUs.
The original Tomb Raider game gets a visual upgrade with RTX Remix path tracing, making its dated graphics look amazing and enhancing its atmosphere. Crystal Dynamics is working on a new entry in the series powered by Unreal Engine 5, which will connect with new film and television projects, marking the beginning of a new interconnected universe for the franchise.
A new 4K video showcases Cyberpunk 2077 running in path tracing Overdrive Mode with over 100 mods, elevating the game's visuals to new heights. CD Projekt Red's upcoming Phantom Liberty expansion, launching in September, is expected to push the game's visuals even further. The game's PC requirements have been updated to reflect the need for SSDs, signaling a shift away from regular HDDs in certain types of games. Cyberpunk 2077 is available on multiple platforms.
Ray tracing and path tracing are both techniques used in computer graphics to create realistic lighting effects. While ray tracing calculates the intersection of rays with objects in the scene, path tracing takes it a step further by recursively tracing rays multiple times to gather additional data. This results in better image quality, especially in indoor scenes, as path tracing simulates the behavior of light-reflecting objects as secondary light sources. Path tracing improves the accuracy of shadows, ambient occlusion, and overall illumination, making the lighting in the scene more realistic.
Modders have been experimenting with RTX Remix Path Tracing in classic PC games such as Call of Duty 2, Fallout New Vegas, Skyrim, STALKER, and Trackmania Forever. However, these mods are still in an early stage and full of bugs and visual glitches. NVIDIA has not shared any additional details about the Remix Creator Tool, so it is unclear when we will see a bug-free RTX Remix Mod.
NVIDIA's RTX Remix modding tool is being used to introduce real-time path tracing to older titles, including Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, which looks incredible even in the early stages of its path tracing implementation. The mod enhances the game's now-dated visuals, making them much better than those of the official remaster released back in 2021.
The RTX Remix Mod is now compatible with Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, allowing PC gamers to enjoy full real-time path tracing in the classic game. Despite being a work in progress, the mod significantly improves the game's graphics, and modders achieved this by only using the RTX Remix Runtime. This is the second game to see major visual improvements with RTX Remix, and modders are eagerly waiting for NVIDIA to release the Remix Creator Tool.
YouTube user 'Uncle Burrito' has shared a video of Need for Speed: Underground 2 with RTX Remix Path Tracing, which brings numerous lighting and shading improvements. However, this is an early implementation and has major graphical and visual glitches. NVIDIA has only released the RTX Remix Runtime, making it difficult to mod older games. Once the RTX Remix Creator Tool is released, modders will be able to assign new assets and lights within their remastered scene, and use AI tools to rebuild the look of any asset.
Cyberpunk 2077 looks even more stunning with path tracing, Superpopulation mod, and over 100 other modifications on an NVIDIA RTX 4090 GPU. CD Projekt Red has also introduced Intel XeSS support and is working on the game's Phantom Liberty expansion, set to release later this year on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S.
A new mod allows for Cyberpunk 2077's RT Overdrive upgrade to run on any DirectX12 Ultimate class graphics hardware, including Nvidia's entry-level RT-capable desktop graphics card, the RTX 3050. The mod reduces the number of bounces of indirect lighting, resulting in a reduction of fidelity in reflections and darker areas. However, the mod increases performance by 20-35%, making it possible to get a 1080p, 30fps experience on the RTX 3050 and a good selection of higher-end AMD offerings. The mod is available on Nexus Mods and opens up the possibility of experiencing path-tracing on current-gen GPUs.