author: Konrad Serafinski
30 Minutes of Minecraft With Ray Tracing
A Minecraft video, lasting a bit over half an hour and presenting the game with path tracing (a less popular version of ray tracing) has surfaced on the web. All this again thanks to the SEUS modification.
A few weeks ago we wrote about the achievement of a modder that used SEUS (Sonic Ether's Unbelievable Shaders) modification to add support for path tracing technology (a little less known version of ray tracing) to Minecraft. While then we only got a few screenshots and short films, now the fans of the "block" game were given a real treat. A video that lasts just over half an hour has appeared on the web and shows the potential of this solution. Below you can see how Minecraft presents itself with real-time ray tracing enabled.
The video comes from the Digital Foundry channel, which deals mainly with the technological aspects of video games, as well as reviews and testing of components. The video, which presents Minecraft's capabilities with path tracing enabled, was recorded on high-end hardware. The game was launched on a machine with Intel Core i9-7900X processor, 32GB of RAM and Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Ti graphics card. Even such "monster" had problems with runnin Minecraft with path tracing in 60 frames per second (1080p resolution).
The video perfectly illustrates the operation of path tracing technology. The way in which light effects spread across walls and floors is striking. The impact of path tracing on Mojang AB's game is particularly visible when is a dynamic change in lighting is present. This technology can make even Minecraft (which is not one of the most beautiful games) a small visual masterpiece.
If you are an active Minecraft player and you like the path tracing mod, you can download it and also support the project here. You must remember, however, that in order for the modification to work properly, you need to have high-end hardware. Let's remind that Minecraft is not the only title that had a chance for a second youth thanks to real-time ray tracking. Previously, Quake II had also been given a similar opportunity. Is ray tracing/path tracing the real future of gaming or just a temporary fad?
