Recent news revealed that the developers of Shadow of the Tomb Raider released the long-awaited update, which introduced support for detailed ray-traced RTX shadows and intelligent DLSS anti-aliasing. The new shadow calculation method significantly enhances the game's visual quality, as demonstrated in the trailer and accompanying screenshots released for this occasion.
In Shadow of the Tomb Raider, the developers reported that ray tracing is used solely for shadow calculation, introducing a total of five new shadow types. These include shadows from point light sources such as candles and light bulbs; from more directed rectangular light sources like neon signs; from conical lights such as flashlights or street lamps; from sunlight; and, finally, shadows from semi-transparent objects like foliage, glass, and so forth.
The screenshots clearly show that the shadows in the game have become much more realistic: soft and semi-transparent shadows are now present. Those interested can view dynamic screenshots from NVIDIA comparing the game in RTX mode to standard mode: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8.
Ray tracing can be activated in the graphics settings. There are three detail levels to choose from: 'Medium', 'High', and 'Ultra', with the latter designed for enthusiasts who want to push the limits of modern hardware (but only in this mode are semi-transparent shadows supported). The developers and NVIDIA recommend the 'High' setting for the best balance between visual quality and performance. The 'Medium' level only supports light shadows from point light sources, which are noticeable only in some earlier urban locations in the game.
Shadow of the Tomb Raider also supports DLSS — the developers reported that this technology can improve performance by 50% at 4K, 20% at 1440p, and 10% at 1080p. For various NVIDIA graphics cards, NVIDIA recommends the following combinations of RTX and DLSS:
- GeForce RTX 2060: 1920 × 1080, high graphics settings and medium ray tracing settings, DLSS enabled;
- GeForce RTX 2070: 1920 × 1080, high graphics settings and high ray tracing settings, DLSS enabled;
- GeForce RTX 2080: 2560 × 1440, setări grafice înalte și setări înalte pentru ray tracing, DLSS activat;
- GeForce RTX 2080 Ti: 3840 × 2160, setări grafice înalte și setări înalte pentru ray tracing, DLSS activat.
Sursa: 3dnews.ru
