Hybrid rendering based on ray tracing is becoming one of the key promising technologies in computer games (and one of the features of next-generation consoles of 2020). However, at present, NVIDIA graphics cards with hardware support for RTX are required for these effects. But, , the creators of World of Tanks have demonstrated ray tracing effects in their popular multiplayer game, which work with any DirectX 11 class graphics cards, including those from AMD.
Now Wargaming has released a demonstration of World of Tanks enCore RT (it can be downloaded ), thanks to which owners of non-RTX-supported graphics cards can check ray tracing in the game, albeit with caveats. Instead of offering a full range of effects that can be found in some DirectX 12 games with DXR, ray tracing in this case is limited to improving shadow quality. The developers have also provided a video detailing the technology:
The main advantage of the upcoming Core engine update is the support for qualitatively new, softer, and more realistic shadows. This will be possible thanks to ray tracing technology. New shadows will appear on all 'living' game units (except destroyed vehicles) that are illuminated by sunlight. The thing is that the technology is resource-intensive, and therefore its application has been limited to vehicles only.
Ray tracing in WoT uses the open-source Intel Embree library (part of Intel One API), a set of high-performance optimized cores that provide a range of ray tracing effects. Wargaming has so far limited itself to shadows, but may implement other effects in the future.
‘Recreating incredibly soft and natural shadows is just the beginning of the ray tracing era in gaming graphics. Thanks to this technology, we can recreate realistic reflections, global illumination, and overall lighting in real time. However, the full implementation of effects is a matter for the more distant future,’ the company writes.
Interestingly, NVIDIA , which will focus on adding ray tracing to classic PC games, as was done in .
Källa: 3dnews.ru
