Since the first appearance of Nvidia’sDeep Learning Super Sampling ( DLSS ) , the company has done an first-class job set out the feature in as many games as possible . As the standout feature of Nvidia’sbest computer graphic cards , most major biz releases come with the feature at the ready .
That ’s only become truer with the introduction of DLSS 3 and its Frame Generation feature , showing up in recent release likeGhost of TsushimaandThe First Descendent . But one DLSS characteristic has seen shockingly low-pitched representation .
I ’m talking aboutRay Reconstruction . It ’s only useable in five game , despite releasing over a class ago . It ’s uncommitted in so few titles that I ’d forgive you if you ’ve never even hear of it . Ray Reconstruction is n’t as flashy as upscaling or figure generation , but it does wonders to improve the image character of a game . And its absence became all too obvious on my recent adventures inBlack Myth : Wukong .
A big miss
Nvidia like to latch onto certain games as flagship releases for its graphic tech . At one point it wasAtomic Heart , and at another , it wasCyberpunk 2077.For the retiring few calendar month , it ’s beenBlack Myth : Wukong , a gorgeous restate ofJourney to the Westbrought to life byroad tracing — or , as Nvidia call it , “ full ray trace . ” course tracing is extremely demanding , so much so that it can bring even theRTX 4090to its knees . It ’s also beautiful , bringing unparalleled realism to secret plan likeAlan Wake 2andCyberpunk 2077 .
Although I played bothAlan wake up 2andCyberpunk 2077with path describe on , I go out the feature off for my journey inBlack Myth : Wukong . you’re able to see the difference route tracing makes in the biz in the TV above . There ’s a departure , no doubt , but it ’s massively preponderate by the performance drop course trace brings , even on an RTX 4090 . The picture quality remainder here is n’t enough to rationalise the performance red ink , which was n’t the case inAlan Wake 2orCyberpunk 2077 .
It ’s not the game ’s faulting — it ’s the lack of Ray Reconstruction . Ray Reconstruction has flown under the radiolocation for more than a year now , butBlack Myth : Wukongis keep substantiation that if more games want to try out with path trace , they call for to back up the feature of speech with Ray Reconstruction on PC .
Why Ray Reconstruction works
In games , ray tracingor route trace leads to a noisy image . By stochasticity , I ’m babble out about the grainy bit that show up when you , for example , shoot a photo on your phone in extremely low light . alternatively of bouncing dateless rays for each pel , which would be far too demanding , game take a sample distribution of rays for each pixel . That leads to some pixels never getting hit with a beam ( the illumination ) , which makes up the digital disturbance you see .
That ’s where a denoiser steps in . It smooths over the harsh edge by filtering and blurring the domain around the noisy bit to create an figure of speech that looks cohesive . That ’s what Ray Reconstruction is . It ’s a denoiser , but it ’s power by AI . In fact , Nvidia says it was train on far more data than even DLSS Frame Generation . AI really makes a monolithic deviation when applied to denoising , as you’re able to see in the screenshots ofAlan Wake 2above .
The more you appear at the image , the more details you’re able to pick out . Denoising is like putting a filter over the hard work that path trace is doing . It still looks better than not path tracing , but it ’s not giving you the full effect . Ray Reconstruction jockey its way of life to designate that full effect . The reflexion are clearer , the shadows are snappy , and lighter reflects off slanted Earth’s surface to bring life to each objective in a view . And Ray Reconstruction is capable to turn in this without any carrying out red ink — in some cases , there ’s even a minor performance blow .
I get laid this diner scene inAlan Wake 2because it really shows how Ray Reconstruction reproduces so many tiny details . If you require something more direct , look atStar Wars Outlawsabove . It almost looks like two all dissimilar graphics modes between the two picture , but the only difference is Ray Reconstruction . Yes , it makes that big of a difference .
There ’s the monumental reflection in the centre of the tantrum , but you could see Ray Reconstruction at work in the o.k. details , too . The grass on the other side of the pond has well definition because of the specular high spot that show up clearly , framing each brand . In the jacket of our character , you could see soft fantasm between the subtle rippling , making the version with Ray Reconstruction off count completely flat by comparison . lastly , in the leaf poking out of the pond near the bottom rightfield of the persona , you may see how Ray Reconstruction regurgitate the transparency of the shallow water supply , which is totally lost with the feature turn off .
Ray tracing’s best friend
I ’ve been louse up with the few look at Ray Reconstruction I ’ve gotten , so much so that I go against even using way tracing inBlack Myth : Wukongbecause the game did n’t indorse the feature film . Each time I see Ray Reconstruction in action , it becomes more percipient that it ’s an essential characteristic for games that slant heavily on ray trace for photorealism .
Without Ray Reconstruction , it ’s like putting a puffy jacket over your fancy clothes . Your PC is doing all the hard oeuvre of tracing those rays , but the ramp up - in denoiser is covering up the fruits of its travail . It ’s a shame , too , because Ray Reconstruction , unlike DLSS Frame Generation , is n’t restricted to Nvidia ’s latest GPUs . you may use it on older RTX graphics cards .
Nvidia has made it clear that Ray Reconstruction work best in games that use ray tracing heavy , so I do n’t expect the feature article to show up in every game . In title likeBlack Myth : Wukong , however , it score perfect gumption . As more game advertize for heavy ray of light trace implementation , I desire that Ray Reconstruction can keep pace because it unlock why these features are so visually telling in the first spot .
