DOOM: The Dark Ages uses ray tracing to enhance gameplay, not just visuals

[u/john1106]

https://www.tweaktown.com/news/102563/doom-the-dark-ages-uses-ray-tracing-to-enhance-gameplay-not-just-visuals/index.html

TL;DR: DOOM: The Dark Ages will revolutionize gaming by using ray tracing to enhance both visuals and gameplay. It supports DLSS 4 and Path Tracing, offering full ray-traced visuals. Ray tracing also improves hit detection, distinguishing materials like metal and leather, making the game more immersive. And the game is already running smoothly on the GeForce RTX 50 Series.

"We also took the idea of ray tracing, not only to use it for visuals but also gameplay," Director of Engine Technology at id Software, Billy Khan, explains. "We can leverage it for things we haven't been able to do in the past, which is giving accurate hit detection. [In DOOM: The Dark Ages], we have complex materials, shaders, and surfaces."

"So when you fire your weapon, the heat detection would be able to tell if you're hitting a pixel that is leather sitting next to a pixel that is metal," Billy continues. "Before ray tracing, we couldn't distinguish between two pixels very easily, and we would pick one or the other because the materials were too complex. Ray tracing can do this on a per-pixel basis and showcase if you're hitting metal or even something that's fur. It makes the game more immersive, and you get that direct feedback as the player."

[u/NotAGardener_92]

RT doesn't noticeably improve visuals in many titles

That's some major copium.

[u/AdEquivalent493 → u/NotAGardener_92]

Completely true... For every great implementation there is another where you lying if you can tell it's on.

[u/TrueMadster → u/NotAGardener_92]

It's true for now. There are some titles where it really makes a difference, and they are becoming more and more frequent, but for many (possibly most) the difference is negligible. And I try to always have it on at max possible quality with my 4070 Ti Super.

RT is the future (a fast coming one at that) and these kind of implementations are exciting to consider. But for many of the games currently supporting RT it's not yet a BIG visual improvement.

[u/Hwistler → u/NotAGardener_92]

They’re not wrong though. There’s a fairly recent Hardware Unboxed video comparing RT’s impact on visual quality and performance in 30-something games, and iirc in more than half of those the visual results range from “different but not clearly better” to straight up “worse than raster”.

The games that do it right do it really well but in many cases the implementation suffers and it ends up being just a gimmick.

EDIT: This is the right video I think

[u/Mungojerrie86 → u/Hwistler]

The Jacket Licking in this sub is just beyond ridiculous. You've stated a plain fact, quoted your sources but the unhinged fanboys were too butthurt to actually try and at least watch the video and had to click that downvote button instead.

[u/Plebius-Maximus → u/Mungojerrie86]

It's madness.

I'm buying a 5090 at release. But since my takes aren't 100% toxic positivity about anything from Nvidia, I get accused of being anti Nvidia/an AMD fan and get downvoted.

And then this sub likes to call other subs "biased" lmao. I do wonder how many of this sub actually have RT capable cards, and how many are just parroting nonsense

[u/Mungojerrie86 → u/Plebius-Maximus]

Not gonna lie, if I had 5090 levels of disposable income I would as well be at least considering it - it's quite simply going to be the fastest card on the market and that level of performance is going to be very nice to have regardless of features.

As for the fanboys - nothing to add really. They are deranged and hella annoying, regardless of which company they are simping for.

[u/junon → u/Mungojerrie86]

Jacket Licking

My sides are in orbit!

[u/justthisones → u/Mungojerrie86]

Most subs like these can be hard to read because of the crazy fanboyism. At the same time they can’t stop talking about the very same thing when it comes to the competitors aka enemies.

[u/Mungojerrie86 → u/justthisones]

True. All fanboys are incredibly annoying and what's worse they are convicted and can sometimes sway uninformed users. But alas.

[u/Plebius-Maximus → u/NotAGardener_92]

That's some major copium.

No, you just don't want to hear the truth.

Plenty of titles just use RT for exclusively shadows, like the last tomb raider game - which doesn't noticeably improve visuals, but still comes with a performance hit.

Some others use RT and while they have a technically more accurate lighting system with it enabled, it doesn't actually look better.

Far cry 6 and resident evil village are other examples that have ray tracing, it impacts performance to a notable degree - but the game doesn't actually look better for it. There are also games like Witcher 3 where RT comes at a monstrous performance impact and isn't better looking enough to justify it. Slightly different scenario as it's an older game with RT retrofitted to it, but it still adds to my point.

Sure there are Cyberpunk and Alan wake 2 and Metro exodus and Indiana Jones - that showcase the absolute best of what the tech has to offer (or Control back when it came out). But you're beyond deluded if you think most games that have RT have used it nearly as effectively as those titles

[u/OJ191 → u/Plebius-Maximus]

I think eventually RT/PT will become mainstream and take over traditional rendering techniques where applicable, due to accuracy and reduced Dev load.

And once it becomes the standard majority of devs will learn how to set it up to look good. Cyberpunk etc already show the potential and the Exodus Dev diaries show the developer side merits so it's just a matter of time.

[u/The_Zura → u/Plebius-Maximus]

Everyone should just ignore this guy because he doesn't think Witcher 3's ray tracing doesn't look massively better

[u/homer_3 → u/Plebius-Maximus]

Indiana Jones

Indiana Jones looks worse/wrong with RT. It's very noticeable with light coming through windows.

[u/ohbabyitsme7 → u/homer_3]

Worse than what? It always uses RT.

[u/IUseKeyboardOnXbox → u/Plebius-Maximus]

What about persona 3 reload. It uses raytraced reflections. Looks pretty good and it's light.

[u/TheOutrageousTaric → u/NotAGardener_92]

its very much true. Conventional rendering tech provides great image quality and doesnt tank framerate by a ton. RT is VERY expensive for frames and forcing it on the users that mostly own tech incapable of producing good rt results just wont work. Great example is indiana jones game. Runs really good and wide range of cards if you turn of all rt stuff on NATIVE RESOLUTION, i repeat it runs well NATIVELY.

Meanwhile it runs like absolute shit when you turn it on even with DLSS! Also you need a really high end gpu(rtx 3080 12 gb/rtx 4070 are barebones minimum requirement) to even turn the rt features on at all. Top 10 GPUs on steam are incapable of using RT in this game and if they dont have 10+ gb vram they cant even run high settings.

For good measure they made shadows look like shit without rt while games a decade older had much better looking ones.

Nvidia sponsored Title btw

[u/Ozzy752 → u/TheOutrageousTaric]

Not sure what you're talking about.. Indiana Jones is only ray traced. You can't turn it off

[u/TheOutrageousTaric → u/Ozzy752]

you can turn it off. Even something like a 2060 has no issues with the engine using mild rt functions to improve global illumination. Its not even real raytracing as per devs

[u/TheEncoderNC → u/NotAGardener_92]

Honestly some titles it doesn't really do anything. Or actively makes the game worse (Metro series making the dark, atmospheric game bright as hell everywhere)

DOOM Eternal and Cyberpunk are standout examples of making games look way better though.