In a major announcement ahead of the Game Developers Conference (GDC), NVIDIA has revealed significant advancements in its RTX neural rendering technologies. These innovations promise to elevate gaming graphics to unprecedented levels by integrating artificial intelligence (AI) directly into the graphics pipeline. This new approach, described as neural shading, is set to revolutionize the way games are rendered, offering developers enhanced frame rates, superior image quality, and optimized system resource usage.
Partnering with Microsoft, NVIDIA is set to bring neural shading support to the Microsoft DirectX preview. This collaboration will allow developers to tap into the AI Tensor Cores within NVIDIA GeForce RTX GPUs, accelerating neural networks from within a game’s graphics pipeline. Essentially, this means that the AI can now work more closely with traditional rendering methods to deliver a more immersive and visually pleasing gaming experience.
Shawn Hargreaves, Direct3D development manager at Microsoft, commented on this development, highlighting the potential impact on the future of graphics programming. By enabling neural rendering across the gaming industry, developers can fully utilize RTX Neural Shaders, paving the way for richer and more immersive experiences on Windows platforms.
In addition to these advancements, NVIDIA has also announced updates to the NVIDIA RTX Kit, a suite of neural rendering technologies for game developers. The updates include support for Unreal Engine 5, particularly for the RTX Mega Geometry and RTX Hair features. This will enable developers to create visually stunning games with more complex geometry and realistic digital humans.
Moreover, the NVIDIA RTX Remix platform has officially launched, offering modders the tools to create breathtaking remasters of classic games. A new playable demo of “Half-Life 2 RTX,” featuring the latest neural rendering enhancements, will soon be available. This demo will showcase features such as full ray tracing, NVIDIA DLSS 4 Multi Frame Generation, RTX Neural Radiance Cache, RTX Skin, and more.
Reaching a significant milestone, NVIDIA also announced that over 100 games and applications now support DLSS 4, a technology that debuted with the GeForce RTX 50 Series GPUs. DLSS 4, or Deep Learning Super Sampling, uses AI to generate additional frames, significantly boosting frame rates and enhancing visual quality. This technology has been rapidly adopted by developers, making it the most quickly embraced NVIDIA game technology to date.
### RTX Kit Integration with Unreal Engine 5
The gaming industry has witnessed exponential growth in the number of triangles used to create game graphics over the past three decades. With the introduction of Unreal Engine 5’s Nanite geometry system, developers can now construct expansive open worlds filled with hundreds of millions of triangles. However, as ray-traced game scenes become increasingly complex, the computational cost associated with ray tracing also rises, making it difficult to achieve real-time frame rates.
To address this challenge, NVIDIA has introduced RTX Mega Geometry, which accelerates the ray tracing of scenes with intricate geometry. This allows developers to incorporate up to 100 times more triangles than current standards, unlocking new possibilities for game design and visual fidelity. RTX Mega Geometry will be accessible to developers from the NVIDIA RTX (NvRTX) branch of Unreal Engine 5.
Meanwhile, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 50 Series GPUs have introduced RTX Hair, a new method for rendering hair and fur in gaming. Instead of relying on traditional triangle primitives, RTX Hair utilizes a linear swept sphere primitive, which more accurately represents individual strands of hair. This advancement leads to improved image quality and performance, especially when rendering realistic digital humans.
At the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), NVIDIA demonstrated its neural rendering capabilities through the “Zorah” technology demo. An updated version of the Zorah demo, built in Unreal Engine 5, will be showcased at GDC. This demo highlights the latest advancements in neural rendering, including RTX Mega Geometry, RTX Hair, ReSTIR Path Tracing, and ReSTIR Direct Illumination.
### Revisiting ‘Half-Life 2’ with RTX Demo
The official release of RTX Remix, featuring DLSS 4 with Multi Frame Generation and other RTX neural rendering technologies, empowers modders to create stunning RTX remasters with superior image quality and higher frame rates. Since its beta release, RTX Remix has enabled remasters of classic games with fully ray-traced lighting, enhanced materials, and cutting-edge RTX technologies.
Over 30,000 modders have embraced the platform, creating mods for hundreds of classic titles. More than one million gamers have experienced these RTX Remix mods, which include NVIDIA Lightspeed Studios’ “Portal with RTX” and the community-driven “Portal: Prelude RTX.”
Owners of “Half-Life 2” can explore the capabilities of RTX Remix across the environments of Ravenholm and Nova Prospekt by downloading a free “Half-Life 2 RTX” demo from Steam. Developed by four top mod teams under the name Orbifold Studios, this remaster features full ray tracing, remastered assets, DLSS 4, NVIDIA Reflex, RTX Neural Radiance Cache, RTX Skin, and RTX Volumetrics.
### Over 100 DLSS 4 Games and Applications Available
DLSS 4, introduced with the GeForce RTX 50 Series GPUs, has received an enthusiastic response from gamers and developers alike. Within a short span, it has been integrated into over 100 games and applications, becoming the fastest-adopted NVIDIA game technology ever.
DLSS 4’s groundbreaking Multi Frame Generation technology uses AI to produce multiple additional frames per traditionally rendered frame. This innovation, combined with the full suite of DLSS technologies, can boost frame rates by up to eight times compared to traditional rendering methods. The resulting performance improvements on GeForce RTX 50 Series graphics cards and laptops allow gamers to enjoy maximum visual settings at the highest resolutions, with impressive frame rates.
Upcoming titles, including Lost Soul Aside, Mecha BREAK, Phantom Blade Zero, Stellar Blade, Tides of Annihilation, and Wild Assault, will launch with DLSS 4 support, offering GeForce RTX gamers an unparalleled PC gaming experience in each title.
In conclusion, NVIDIA’s latest advancements in neural rendering and DLSS technologies are set to redefine the gaming landscape. By integrating AI into the graphics pipeline, developers can create more immersive and visually stunning games, pushing the boundaries of what is possible in the world of gaming. For more detailed information, readers can explore NVIDIA’s official announcements and resources.
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