Visions of the future in the 1960s tended towards bright, bold colors, and Star Trek didn't have CG to create detailed imaginary backdrops. But Quake 2 RTX's aesthetic, in its most dramatically lit corners, is pure Star Trek: The Original Series. The original game was James Cameron's Aliens, rendered in the finest detail that 12 megabytes of video memory could produce. When Nvidia's designers really went over-the-top with colored lighting, I realized they had changed the kind of sci-fi Quake 2 evokes. Ray tracing helps iron out some of Quake 2's more tedious moments and just generally make its spaces more interesting to explore. I got lost in the hallways more than once, and would've spent way more time wandering in vain without the lights to guide me. Unlike Quake 1's standalone levels, Quake 2 uses a hub design, where you're frequently backtracking through previous areas after completing a secondary objective. The colorful lighting isn't just for show-it quickly became the way I navigated the corridors of the Strogg base, remembering I needed to pass through a striking red room to get back to a previously locked door. Playing Quake 2 RTX absolutely gives Quake 2 a different feel, but I think it uses the technology in ways id's developers would've tried themselves if they could have back in 1997. This changes what it's like to explore the nooks and crannies of the Strogg base, giving it a bit more of the horror vibe id would later go for in Doom 3. Where there isn't an in-world light source, you have to supply your own. For example, Nvidia added a flare gun into the game to make it easier to see in the dark-a vital tool in Quake 2 RTX, because the dark is now really dark. Just look at this difference between a couple rooms:īut after a few hours, it started to seep in that this stuff wasn't just eye candy. It wields ray traced lighting like an artist who's just been miraculously cured of color blindness, drenching one corridor in purple, another in sickly green. If there's one thing id Software games absolutely never needed, it's subtly.Īnd Quake 2 RTX is not subtle. And it gets in the way of the satisfying flow from one headshot to the next. "Subtle" for the time was probably referencing the fact that some enemies will double over in pain when you shoot them, which in 1998 passed for realism but in 2021 is a little comical when it happens every single time. PC Gamer called it "the most sensational and subtle shooter ever" in a 1998 list of the 50 best games of all time, where it took third place. It was still amazing tech for 1997, of course. There are wall sconces and bits of colored lighting here and there, but they never stand out, or cast a glow throughout the room they're in. Quake 2's color palette is dominated by browns and grays, with the occasional exciting bit of glowing red lava. Quake 2 RTX's simple geometry and textures put all the focus on the lighting, and in doing so completely transform the game. The lighting and reflections may look amazing, but everything else is already so detailed it's hard for them to really stand out. Licensed under the terms of the GPLv2.In modern cutting-edge games like Control or Cyberpunk 2077, ray tracing is like the shiny cherry on top of a realism sundae. Q2Pro : Copyright © 2003-2011 Andrey Nazarov. Q2XP Mod Pack : Used with permission from Arthur Galaktionov. Roughness and specular channels were adjusted in texture maps to work with the Quake II RTX engine. Subject to Creative Commons license version 1.0. Copyright © 2019 D Scott Boyce All Rights Reserved. Quake2MaX "A Modscape Production" : Textures from Quake2Max used in Quake2XP. Q2VKPT : Copyright © 2018 Christoph Schied. Quake II : Copyright (C) 1997-2001 Id Software, Inc. Such licenses and notices are provided for informational purposes only. This product is based on or incorporates materials from the sources listed below (third party IP). Bethesda, Bethesda Softworks, ZeniMax and related logos are registered trademarks or trademarks of ZeniMax Media Inc. QUAKE, id, id Software, id Tech and related logos are registered trademarks or trademarks of id Software LLC in the U.S. © 1997 id Software LLC, a ZeniMax Media company. For news on more graphically-advanced, ray-traced games, demos and experiences, stay tuned to. We hope you enjoy our first foray into remastering classic games with today’s cutting-edge visual effects. And if you want to get a GeForce RTX GPU so you can experience Quake II RTX and upcoming ray-traced games at fast framerates, head here. If you want to learn more about the tech and advanced features of Quake II RTX, read our Advanced Users Guide. If you need help, check out our User Guide and head to our forum.
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