Technology appeared Ray Tracing It first appeared in the gaming industry exactly five years ago when DICE introduced it in a game Battlefield V. Since then, this technology has become a means through which game developers showcase the graphics of their games and their development skills, to the point that the absence of AAA games from it means that the performance is not at its best. For example, Starfield does not support “Ray Tracing” because it is very demanding and its performance cannot support it. This technique.
Despite the importance of this technology, most games do not present it appropriately. Many users have noticed that games that support ray tracing exaggerate the technology by presenting many pools of water, as if these pools are the only way to ensure that the technology is doing its job. Well, although the real life that is intended to be simulated in the games does not contain this amount of pools. So what is the secret behind the large number of water pools in these games?
A simple overview of ray tracing technology
Let’s take a little lesson in physics. It is known that light is a type of electromagnetic radiation made up of photons, and it travels in straight lines under all circumstances unless it encounters a wormhole where gravitational forces force it to bend. In order to see an object, light travels from its source, passes through some objects and reflects from others, and here the objects and their shadows appear to us. In the process, the light loses some of its power – if not all of it – and is transformed into thermal energy.
Reflections
What this revolutionary technology attempts to do is simulate what happens to light in real life and apply it in games, where light rays are subject to the laws of physics as they emerge from their source, pass through transparent and semi-transparent objects, are reflected through shiny objects, and are blocked by opaque objects, and the technology takes into account Characteristics of each body according to the shape of the body and the type of material; wood, metal or water, and the physical state; Solid, liquid or gaseous.
Shadows
Let’s apply this to a game, and I’ll change the example from a previous article about ray tracing. Let’s say you activated the technique while playing Cyberpunk 2077 – which I recommend you try after the Phantom Liberty expansion – and you wandered down the street to come across an illuminated billboard. You will find that the light from this panel reflects across the bodies of cars and falls on a small pool of water, for example. Here you will see the reflection of the panel across the pool of water as if it were a mirror, and this will not happen unless the laws of physics allow light to behave like this in the same situation.
Why do developers of games that support ray tracing technology exaggerate in showing off water pools?
Pools of water, bodies of water, and other shiny, reflective glass and metal objects are the best way to entice players’ eyes and immerse them in the game world, through which players feel that the game world is alive and interacting with them, and it does not matter that the reflected rays within the game are generated by “Ray Tracing” technology. Or subject to the laws of physics, but what is important is that these ponds and bodies of water be somewhat realistic and reflect the rays well.
Cyberpunk 2077
What is interesting is that games that support this technology contain a lot of water pools and really smooth objects as if they are an integral part of the visual experience, and this appears clearly in the teasers for some games, especially when the technology was new in the gaming industry. Commercial advertising was and still is a major driver of this marketing trick, as displaying the technology across bodies of water and smooth objects gives players a strong impression that the game’s graphics are superior and well-polished, which increases their interest in it.
Not only that, the reason behind offering a lot of pools of water and other shiny surfaces may be because the independent developer wants to introduce his game to the largest number of players as if it were a kind of free advertising. This is what the independent Chinese developer FYQD did with the game Bright Memory: Infinite, as the game supports “Ray Tracing” technology and increasing accuracy with deep learning “DLSS”, and indeed the developer’s attempt succeeded, as Nvidia published Blog The game supports these two technologies, and the game received the attention of some players, including me.
Also, it is easy to notice the “Ray Tracing” effect that players’ eyes love with reflections, and this will only be achieved if the scene contains many bodies of water and metal and glass objects. Most players do not care about the realism of lighting and shadows as much as they care about attractive and visually pleasing reflections. Therefore, if players find that the visual enjoyment is not enough to be worth sacrificing smooth performance and paying more money to buy graphics cards that support the technology, then no one will want to activate the technology and may be reluctant to buy cards. Powerful graphics.
Cyberpunk 2077
Finally, the reason for exaggerating the display of reflections and adulation of ray tracing support may be to hide the weakness of the graphics or justify the high operating requirements, poor compatibility with the hardware “optimization” or poor performance, just as the graphically ugly The Lord of the Rings: Gollum did. And Forspoken is technically ugly. Despite its support for ray tracing, both games provided frustrating graphics and disastrous performance, and this technology did not save them from being the laughing stock of the year and an example of indifference to improving performance.
The exaggeration of this technique makes it far from reality
How strange it is for game developers to praise that the graphics of their games are close to realism thanks to the support of revolutionary technologies such as “Ray Tracing.” And once they support it in their games, we are surprised by a lot of unjustified shine. One place in the game may be crowded with so many bodies of water and shiny objects that it is not It happens in real life, and the strange thing is that the floors themselves are not immune to this, as they radiate light and the reflections appear as if they were mirrors or huge metal plates!
Control
Ironic that many players dissatisfied Regarding these imaginary reflections that many developers believe that introducing them will improve the graphical experience and increase the sales of their game, some have wondered: “Since the floors are so shiny, why the hell don’t they put mirrors instead?!” It has reached the point that some players prefer to play without activating the “Ray Tracing” technology in order to save their eyes from burning, save the life of their precious graphics cards, and enable them to run games with smooth performance.
I want to ask every developer when ray tracing their game to ask themselves one question: “Will this be realistic?” It is a very simple question, but it is very important and it really changes a lot. If the answer is no, then why would someone sacrifice a large part of the frame rate or suffer some loss of quality by activating “Upscaling” techniques to avoid a drop in performance for the sake of some subdued reflections? To the laws of physics and completely contrary to reality? Think for God’s sake!
Cyberpunk 2077
Fortunately, a few developers realized in time that perfection is unconditional and that the greatness of Ray Tracing does not lie in beautifying reality, but in simulating it with its advantages and disadvantages as it is. Among these developers is CD Projekt Red, which introduced Ray Tracing. Wonderfully in Cyberpunk 2077The game offers a great level of shadows, reflections, and “Ambient Occlusion” day and night, and it also supports “Path Tracing” to enjoy “Ray Tracing” at its maximum settings, which I advise you to try to see the charming Night City in its true beauty.
