Ray tracing is a method of rendering lighting in which it emulates how a ray of light is projected, along with its properties. To trace each ray of light, and to keep track of each change of the light should it hit into different mediums is so resource intensive that such applications are seen to be used for real-time rendering like in video games. Its use is more on creating pre-rendered visuals or in other industries.
But real-time ray tracing is coming close to a reality, should all the talks at the recent Games Developers Conference suggest. Microsoft, through its DirectX API will begin to enable it on the software side, and both Nvidia and AMD has announced they are working with Microsoft to usher in this new tech.
AMD so far has announced it will be allowing real-time rendering for AMD Radeon ProRender, so it is focused on the development side of things right now.
Nvidia however is already showcasing how ray tracing can run in video games. The owner of the Unreal Engine, Epic Games, has showcased how Microsoft’s new DirectX framework and Nvidia’s real-time ray tracing tech- Nvidia RTX- works in the popular game engine. Those are some shiny, shiny First Order armours.
Metro Exodus , an upcoming game by 4A Games, also released a teaser to showcase Nvidia RTX. It looks good. Really good. Look at the shimmering lights coming into the desolate room.
More examples of real-time ray tracing by EA and Remedy can be found here.
Nvidia RTX will be available on the next generation of Nvidia graphic cards, codenamed Volta, which is set to be out later this year.
Expect to see even more impressive lighting on PC games coming soon.