Ray tracing has been the hottest buzzword in graphics lately. All the marketing material uses it, most people don’t know what it actually means, and everyone is hyping it up. Real-time ray tracing, in layman’s terms, is advanced lighting technology that seeks to realistically simulate exactly how each ray of virtual light interacts with the simulated materials and environments to produce authentic shadows, reflections and more.
CD Projekt Red incorporated ray tracing tech when creating diffuse llumination, ambient occlusion, reflection and shadow effects, to be precise. Ray tracing is particularly demanding on hardware, which is why using it in unison with 4K is such a good demonstration of the capabilities of the RTX30 line of GPUs that represent the new high-end of the hardware spectrum for gaming PCs.
Since ray tracing is all about lighting, what better world to showcase it in than one where dazzling neon lights illuminate a futuristic city full of metallic surfaces and dark corners? Ever since The Witcher 2: Assassin’s of Kings debuted the RED Engine, CD Project Red has always made a point of pushing boundaries of graphical fidelity with each of their major titles. The Witcher 3 was also one of the best looking titles of its time - and still holds up! It is no surprise that Cyberpunk 2077 is intended to continue this proud tradition of being a graphical spectacle.
