The choice between Path tracing and Ray tracing has become a necessary discussion about graphics among gaming enthusiasts. Both offer compelling advancements in visual fidelity. However, their functioning differs from each other. Let’s see which is better for gaming visuals.
What is Ray Tracing?
Ray tracing is one of the more sophisticated rendering techniques used in computer graphics to control the way light falls on the object and interacts with it in a virtual setup. It is different from the traditional rasterization methods ( translation of mathematical vector shapes into pixels) in the way that it doesn’t simulate lighting effects through approximations and shortcuts to provide a more realistic portrayal of light and shadows.
The core idea involves tracing the path of individual light rays as they travel through a scene, interacting with surfaces, and producing lifelike visual effects. Rays are traced from the camera (viewer’s perspective) into the scenes, and their interactions with objects determine the final pixel colors.
When we see it from a gaming perspective, it enhances the overall visual quality and immersive experience as it accurately simulates lighting effects, including realistic reflections, refractions, and global illumination. With the help of this technique, we can expect improved rendering of complex materials, such as glass, metal, and water, fostering a heightened sense of realism.
Read: How to turn on RTX Ray Tracing in Minecraft?
What is Path Tracing?
Path tracing is another rendering technique that can be called a modified version of Ray tracing. Ray tracing traces rays directly from the camera; however, path tracing considers only the probable path that the ray might take when shot through a scene.
It employs the Monte Carlo method to simulate the randomness inherent in light behaviors, making it capable of producing lifelike visuals with accurate lighting, shadows, and so on. There is more complex mathematics involved in calculating, multiple rays for every single pixel, however, it still costs lower overhead than the former technique.
From a gaming perspective, path tracing is particularly preferred for global illumination and needs accurate lighting interactions and more realistic and visually appealing scenes.
However, it is also necessary to consider the computational demands of path tracing. This technique can be resource-intensive as real-time apps such as video games often require balanced visual fidelity with performance.
Path Tracing vs Ray Tracing for Gaming Visuals
Experiencing a game where every setting, feature, and overall aesthetic is at its absolute best is what every gamer aspires to achieve. The choice between ray tracing and path tracing can hinder this journey. However, making the right choice can elevate the entire gaming experience, adding an extra layer of immersion and visual delight.
Starting with realism and visual fidelity, ray tracing offers realistic lighting effects such as reflections, refractions, and accurate shadows. For example, in a game with ray tracing, reflecting surfaces like water or glass would accurately mirror the surrounding environment, and dynamic shadows would be cast realistically based on the light sources’ positions, whereas path tracing would result in more realistic indirect lighting effects. For instance, in a game with path tracing, the color of surfaces is influenced not only by direct light sources but also by indirect light bouncing off other surfaces.
When considering computational demands and performance, choosing between the two becomes a bit of a puzzle. Ray tracing is known for real-time lighting as it follows the natural path of how light navigates through a scene; however, it’s quite heavy on hardware, to the extent that even advanced hardware can struggle in heavily ray-traced games. On the other hand, Path tracing can also offer better-looking visuals at the cost of a lower burden on the user’s hardware.
There’s another side to this discussion as well: whether it is necessary at all to use these two options, as we can see in the case of Hogwarts Legacy, where ray-traced or path-traced lighting adds very little to the experience. Checking the potential of graphic cards is pretty necessary to make such a decision.
Read: How to Trace an Image in GIMP?
Do games look better with Ray tracing?
Yes, games can look significantly better with ray tracing due to the advanced rendering technique and the benefits it brings out. Ray tracing can be quite harsh on the hardware; however, it has its benefits as well. Some of them are the improved quality of shadows, natural-looking lighting effects, etc. Ultimately, the maker decides to incorporate it or not.
Read: What is RDNA 2?
Does Ray tracing boost FPS?
Yes, Ray tracing has a very dominating role in the device’s performance, as it requires more processing power from the system. Users can see a visible frame rate dropping, which sometimes is a turn-down for such a good technique, and users can expect it even while using a powerful GPU.
