Path tracing and ray tracing for game visual effects

The decision to use path tracing or ray tracing is a critical choice for game developers. Although they both perform well visually, there are some differences in practical applications. Therefore, game enthusiasts need to carefully weigh the advantages and disadvantages of both to determine which technology is more suitable for achieving the visual effects they want.

What is ray tracing?

Ray tracing is a complex rendering technology used to simulate the propagation and interaction of light in a virtual environment. Unlike traditional rasterization methods, ray tracing generates realistic lighting and shadow effects by tracing the path of light, providing a more realistic visual experience. This technology not only produces more realistic images, but also simulates more complex lighting effects, making scenes look more realistic and vivid.

The main concept is to simulate the propagation path of light in the scene and the interaction with objects to generate realistic visual effects. Light rays originate from the camera and interact with objects in the scene to determine pixel color.

When we look at it from the perspective of the game, it significantly improves the overall visual effect and immersive experience. This is because it accurately simulates lighting effects, including realistic reflections, refractions and global illumination. With this technology, we are able to improve the rendering of complex materials such as glass, metal, and water, giving our work a more realistic texture.

Read: How to turn on RTX ray tracing in Minecraft?

What is path tracing?

Path tracing is a rendering technique similar to ray tracing, but it focuses on the paths that light may take in a scene. In contrast, ray tracing directly tracks the rays emitted by the camera.

This technology utilizes Monte Carlo methods to simulate randomness in light behavior to produce highly realistic visual effects, including accurate lighting and shadows. During the calculation process, complex mathematical problems need to be processed, and each pixel requires multiple rays. However, compared with traditional technology, the calculation cost is still low.

In game design, path tracing technology is critical to achieving more realistic and visually appealing scenes, especially for global illumination and accurate lighting interactions.

The computational requirements of path tracing need to be considered, this technique may require a lot of resources. Real-time applications such as video games often require trade-offs between visual quality and performance.

Path tracing and ray tracing for game visual effects

Experiencing a game where every setting, feature, and overall aesthetic is at its best is what every gamer aspires to achieve. The choice between ray tracing and path tracing can hinder this journey. However, making the right choices can enhance the entire gaming experience, adding an extra layer of immersion and visual pleasure.

Starting with realism and visual fidelity, ray tracing delivers realistic lighting effects such as reflections, refractions and precise shadows. For example, in games that use ray tracing, reflective surfaces like water or glass will accurately mirror their surroundings, dynamic shadows will be realistically cast based on the position of the light source, and path tracing will produce more realistic indirect lighting effects. For example, in games that use path tracing, the color of a surface is affected not only by direct light sources, but also by indirect light that bounces off other surfaces.

When considering computing needs and performance, choosing between the two becomes a bit confusing. Ray tracing is best known for real-time lighting because it follows the natural path of how light navigates through a scene; however, its demands on hardware are considerable, so much so that even advanced hardware can struggle in heavily ray-traced games. On the other hand, path tracing can also provide better visual effects at the expense of lower user hardware burden.

There is another aspect to this discussion: is it necessary to use either option, as we saw in the example of Hogwarts Legacy where ray traced or path traced lighting has very little impact on the experience . To make such a decision, it is very necessary to check the potential of the graphics card.

Read: How to track images in GIMP?

Do games look better with ray tracing?

Yes, using ray tracing can make games look better thanks to advanced rendering technology and the benefits it brings. Ray tracing can be very demanding on hardware; however, it also has its advantages. Some of them are improved shadow quality, natural-looking lighting effects, etc. Ultimately, the manufacturer decides whether to include it or not.

Reading: What is rDNA 2?

Will ray tracing improve FPS?

Yes, Ray tracing has a very dominating role in the device's performance, as it requires more processing power from the system. Users can see a visible frame rate dropping, which sometimes is a turn-down for such a good technique, and users can expect it even while using a powerful GPU.

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