APortal with RTXplayer is calling attention to a screenshot of the DLC’s incredible lighting technology. The addition of ray tracing toPortalwas always going to visually transform the game into something unexpected. Light bouncing through Valve’s complex puzzle levels, casting complex shadows, and adding realistic illumination was always going to look incredible. Yet some small details inPortal with RTXare worth appreciating for their beautiful simplicity.
ThePortal with RTXDLC was officially released on December 8. It was developed by Nvidia’s Lightspeed Studios as a showcase of its RTX technology, with theNvidia GeForce RTX 3060 cardlisted as a minimum requirement. While ray tracing is the core feature of the DLC, Lightspeed has also updatedPortal’s textures and models to better showcase the lighting changes. Unsurprisingly, reception toPortal with RTXhas been mixed due in no small part to the extreme hardware requirements necessary for a stable frame rate.
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Reddit user Jodeth showcased a special moment from theirPortal with RTXplaythrough in a recent post. The image they shared isn’t anything surprising. In fact, it’s exactly what anyPortal with RTXplayer would expect, but it’s still exactly what everyone would want to see. The screenshot shows howray tracing inPortal with RTXallows light to travel through the game’s portals. With one portal in light, the second portal can carry that light into a darkened area.
Light going through a portal in a game based on portals with DLC namedPortal with RTXmay seem obvious, but it’s still very cool to see in motion. Promising to deliver on the idea on paper is one thing, but to see it actually happening is something else entirely.
Ray tracing technology, for those unfamiliar, is a method for simulating how lighting travels, reflects, refracts, and so on realistically. Most lighting in games, even when presented realistically, does not actually work like real light. It’s faked, and won’t react dynamically to moving objects or complex features. Ray tracing is a step toward realistic lighting that can react, but understandablyrequires significant PC hardware resourcesto create a more authentic simulation.
It’s going to be some time beforeRTX and ray-traced lightingare widely available and used. Most games that do, likePortal with RTX, are better described as technical experiments or art pieces. Hardware performance needs to grow more powerful for something like ray tracing to become normal. Still, if it means light can travel through portals, it’s clearly worth continuing to pursue.
