Very important for achieving realistic lighting and reflections in visuals.
Very important for achieving realistic lighting and reflections in visuals.
Well guys, today I had a fascinating conversation during a client meeting. We were discussing how gaming is moving along the RT path and its current adoption in the industry. Some folks didn’t mind the framerate or settings as long as they had RT enabled, while others were quite the opposite. I was curious about how people actually perceive this technology right now. Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments. As for my take, I’ve tried Ray Tracing, but it doesn’t stand out to me. In its present form, I find it really unnecessary and don’t use it in any of my games. For me, the most important factor is having a GPU with solid raw performance for native rendering. In Cyberpunk 2077, RT actually made my experience worse, but since it was only one game with such a poor experience, I didn’t go with the worst answer.
I don't believe any of those choices fully match my view. I've used RT and I find it to be a solid technology, though only in certain situations. In some titles it seems unnecessary—the performance drop feels excessive. In others, the visuals are impressive and valuable if you have the right hardware. The most accurate statement would be "I've tried RT and it's not a major concern for me," but that doesn't capture the full picture. I think it matters a lot, but only when applied thoughtfully, not just as a marketing gimmick.
I mean, certain shadows, lights, and reflections can be quite impressive, achieving a realistic and high-quality look without using ray-tracing. Games like World of Tanks already look great with this approach if your PC meets the requirements: (World of Tanks) [screenshot from not my gameplay]. Personally, I’m fine with RT, but I understand others say it’s not essential. Especially since some titles can shine without it. I probably won’t be able to run most games on RT—maybe a few—but if I can, I’d enable it. If not, I don’t mind because the technology for reflections, shadows, and lights isn’t bad and can still feel believable.
If it's there I switch it on, though it's not essential. Restricting games to only those with RT would be impractical. Honestly, we're still early in the RT journey, so I avoid getting stuck in debates about what's currently available. It seems shortsighted of me focusing only on the present moment. We're navigating a strange phase—things will feel clunky and slow.
The only titles where RT feels natural are Cyberpunk. It really shines when played on a 3080 or 7900XTX, delivering around 60fps at ultrawide 1440p resolution.
I'm discussing visuals. I experimented in various environments and completely transform the vibe of Night City. The rough, dirty streets suddenly become polished, sparkling surfaces. Certain moments shift their mood entirely. The only aspect I enjoy in CP2077 is the ray-traced shadows. Everything else falls short. I favor the game in HDR mode without any real-time rendering. I still appreciate the vivid colors and neon saturation, as well as the dramatic sunsets, but the city maintains its character. In other titles I've played, I'd honestly say I couldn't tell the difference unless I directly compared two still images side by side.
I worry about relying too much on games as a solution and losing the ability to creatively use lighting effects. Art direction in games tends to fade over time, making visuals look dated. I think ray tracing is being used excessively for instant lighting changes, which isn't ideal. If performance remains acceptable, I might enable it, but currently it's too resource-heavy even on high-end systems.