• This is how Quake II looks in your rose-colored memories, isn't it?
  • Just lookit those water effects.
  • Ray-tracing allows for more realistic point-based light sources inside the environments.
  • Soak in those rays.
  • An example of the variable lighting effect seen in the RTX version. Here's a scene at dusk…
  • …the same seen in full daylight…
  • …and with an extra-bright sun.

While Quake II's fast-paced first-person shooter gameplay might be timeless, the 22 years since the game's release have not been kind to its muddy textures, pointy polygons, and extremely basic light modeling. Nvidia is looking to fix that with an updated, real-time ray-traced version of the game, dubbed Quake II RTX.

Windows and Linux users will be able to download the first three levels of the graphically updated game as shareware starting at 6am Pacific Time on June 6. You can play the remaining levels and multiplayer if you point the installer to a legit copy of the full game on your hard drive. The source code for the Vulkan-based update will be posted on Github as well, though Quake II expansion packs will not be supported without extra effort from the community.

“Its rare that a PC game has the impact and longevity of Quake II, and seeing it reimagined with ray tracing 20 years later is something special for me," id Software Studio Director Tim Willits wrote in an announcement post.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unGtBbhaPeU?start=0&wmode=transparent&w=640&h=360]

While lone modders have worked to add raytracing to Quake II in the recent past, Nvidia is putting significantly more work into this professional effort, which was previously shown as a demo at this year's Game Developers Conference. The company is touting features including "two-bounce" global illumination, player reflections off water and glass, variable &quoRead More – Source

[contf] [contfnew]

Ars Technica

[contfnewc] [contfnewc]