NVIDIA has made an exciting announcement just before the Game Developers Conference (GDC), revealing significant advancements in its NVIDIA RTX™ neural rendering technologies. In collaboration with Microsoft, NVIDIA is set to introduce neural shading support to the Microsoft DirectX preview in April. This partnership will allow developers to utilize AI Tensor Cores found in NVIDIA GeForce RTX™ GPUs to accelerate neural networks directly within a game’s graphics pipeline.
The introduction of neural shading marks a pivotal shift in graphics programming, merging traditional rendering techniques with artificial intelligence to significantly enhance frame rates, improve image quality, and optimize system resource usage. Shawn Hargreaves, the Direct3D development manager at Microsoft, stated, “Microsoft is adding cooperative vector support to DirectX and HLSL, starting with a preview this April. This will advance the future of graphics programming by enabling neural rendering across the gaming industry. Unlocking Tensor Cores on NVIDIA RTX will allow developers to fully leverage RTX Neural Shaders for richer, more immersive experiences on Windows.”
The NVIDIA RTX Kit, a comprehensive suite of neural rendering technologies designed for game developers, is receiving significant updates, particularly with support for Unreal Engine 5. This includes enhancements for RTX Mega Geometry and RTX Hair features, empowering modders to create visually stunning remasters of classic games. Additionally, the official release of the NVIDIA RTX Remix open-source platform has been announced today.
Gamers will be excited to learn that a new playable Half-Life 2 RTX demo will showcase the latest advancements in neural rendering technology. This demo, set to be available on March 18, will feature full ray tracing, NVIDIA DLSS 4 Multi Frame Generation, RTX Neural Radiance Cache, RTX Skin, and more.
NVIDIA is celebrating a significant achievement with over 100 DLSS 4 games and applications now available, marking a remarkable adoption rate just two years after the technology's launch. DLSS 4, introduced with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 50 Series GPUs, features Multi Frame Generation, which utilizes AI to generate up to three additional frames per traditionally rendered frame. This innovation allows gamers to experience up to an astonishing 8x increase in frame rates compared to traditional rendering methods.
The evolution of gaming graphics has been exponential over the past three decades, particularly with the introduction of the Unreal Engine 5 Nanite geometry system. This system allows developers to build expansive open worlds filled with hundreds of millions of triangles. However, the complexity of ray tracing in these scenes has made achieving real-time frame rates challenging. NVIDIA’s RTX Mega Geometry accelerates ray tracing, allowing for the use of up to 100 times more triangles than current standards. Furthermore, the RTX Hair technology, introduced with the GeForce RTX 50 Series, enhances the ray tracing of hair and fur by employing linear swept sphere primitives, thereby improving both image quality and performance.
NVIDIA continues to push the boundaries of what is possible in gaming technology. The latest updates and partnerships are set to enhance the gaming experience significantly, making it more immersive and visually stunning. With the game's landscape constantly evolving, NVIDIA's innovations like RTX Neural Shaders, DLSS 4, and NVIDIA RTX Remix are paving the way for a new era in gaming graphics.
