Nvidia technology promises to take the game of blocks to another level in Minecraft with RTX
THE NVIDIA announced on Tuesday (14) the launch of the beta for Minecraft with RTX, a new version of the classic Minecraft that uses the power of technology Ray Tracing to bring graphics of a very high definition to the block game.
What Minecraft with RTX
Contrary to what many may imagine, the beta announced by NVIDIA not a new shader or mod for the original game, but a completely redesigned version of the game that uses the technology of Ray Tracing in real time to transform the scenarios of Minecraft in a graphic quality that until then existed in the imagination of fans.
Adopted by the main game development platforms (such as Unreal Engine, a Unity and the Frostbite) The technology Ray Tracing allows developers to create effects of light, reflection and shadows in a way never seen before in video games, allowing the development of virtual environments that follow the same rules of dispersion and propagation of light that we have in the real world, which allows the creation of extremely realistic landscapes and scenery.
Minecraft one of 30 games that have already confirmed that they will use the technology of NVIDIA to increase the immersion of its players, and joins last year's big hits that changed the whole notion of graphic quality of a video game (like Control and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare) and some of this year's most anticipated releases (such as Cyberpunk 2077 and Watch Dogs Legion).
One of the great tools of the system Ray Tracing what the NVIDIA call of Path Tracing, a technology that makes it possible to develop details that until then were unthinkable in a video game, such as taking into account the different degrees of illumination of the different light sources in the scene, both direct and indirect light sources ( also called by developers as global illumination, or global lighting in free translation).
It also allows us to deal realistically with the ways in which these lights interact with objects in the scene, whether in the projection of shadows of different intensities, in the differentiation of reflections caused by metallic surfaces or by water mirrors, or by the way in which this light interacts with transparent objects, making the way the light acts on a dirty window different from how it passes through a crystal glass without any dust.
With the RTX turned off, it is possible to see how there is a great lack of detail in the image, mainly in the matter of lighting (Image: NVIDIA)
When turning on the RTX, it is clear how the light mechanics help to make the scene much clearer (Image: NVIDIA)In addition to all this, the Path Tracing it also allows an exponential improvement in the quality of objects in the scenery that emit their own light (such as luminous stones and lava surfaces in Minecraft), and to guarantee a higher quality in fog scenarios, allowing developers a finer control of the fog density and how the different rays of light interact with it in each type of scenario.
Without RTX technology, the lava is just a few red blocks with no highlight (Image: NVIDIA)
The same scenario becomes much more threatening with RTX technology, as it is possible to notice the differences in light emitted by lava and castle lights seen through the windows (Image: NVIDIA)All of this can be further improved with the use of DLSS 2.0, the second version of the graphic AI of NVIDIA that used on all company boards that have the technology RTX. One of the great advantages of this second version of the technology is that, unlike the previous one, it does not use specific elements of each game, which allows the same AI to be easily used in any application – and, in turn, should increase the number of games using this technology.
The great advantage of DLSS 2.0 that it can take part of a pixel and scale it up to 4x, thus allowing you to obtain 4K quality images while requiring less from the video card, increasing processing speed by up to 1.7x without losing anything in image quality.
Content for all
The six maps that will be available in the Minecraft beta with RTX (Image: NVIDIA)The beta version of Minecraft with RTX, which should be available from April 16 (Thursday), already comes with six basic maps that players will be able to explore, all of them developed by well-known celebrities from the game world.
Of Temples and Totens
Map Of Temples and Totens (Image: Nvidia)Created by the artist group Razzleberries, this map will have a theme based on the exploration of the jungle and lost runes, with several puzzles (Portuguese puzzles) that must be solved by the players.
Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace Map (Image: Nvidia)Facing fans of The Lord of the Rings and other medieval fantasy adventures, this map created by YouTuber GeminiTay place the player in a medieval castle, where he must survive the monsters that inhabit the place while trying to find the hidden treasure in it.
Imagination Island
Imagination Island Map (Image: NVIDIA)Created by the group Blockworks, the map is a real amusement park, offering different types of activities for the players to have fun while exploring all that it has to offer.
Aquatic Adventure
Aquatic Adventures Map (Image: Nvidia)Created by Dr_Bond, this aquatic kingdom is the ideal setting for anyone who has a lot of interest in the kingdom of Atlantis or just a lot of faith in The Little Mermaid.
Color, Light & Shadow
Color, Lights & Shadows Map (Image: NVIDIA)Created by YouTuber PearlescentMoon, the map works as a kind of technology tutorial Ray Tracing, with scenarios made to show how much it can make a difference in the use of light and shadow effects – like, for example, a room with mirrors of different materials where it is possible to see the same reflection being shown being shown differently in different materials .
Neon District
Neon District Map (Image: Nvidia)Created by YouTuber ElysiumFire, this stylish map cyberpunk features scenes illuminated by neon lights to show how the Ray Tracing can help in the creation of objects that have their own light and do not depend on an external light source (such as sunlight), and how that light interacts with the different elements of the scene
DIY
And, for those who prefer to create their own maps, the beta version of Minecraft with RTX already come with an included editor, allowing users to create their own worlds with new technology.
It is precisely in this creation of maps that players will be able to better notice one of the main changes made in this new version of the game: the new physics of game materials.
So far, all blocks of Minecraft they were defined by only two values: color and opacity (which defined how solid or transparent the material created). J no Minecraft with RTX, six values are used in the creation, adding to the two existing metality / normality (which define whether the block has metallic characteristics or not), emissivity (which defines whether it will emit its own luminosity) and roughness (which define whether the surface is smooth or rugosa).
These six values - an exclusivity of the Minecraft with RTX – will allow users to create their own maps so that they have the same graphic quality as those already available in the beta, and help the huge community of creators to Minecraft to take their creations to another level.
Minecraft with RTX enable the creation of materials with a greater variety of textures and luminosity (Image: NVIDIA)In addition, to facilitate this creation, a series of special texture packs created by the group will also be available. Razzleberries, in addition to several materials already ready to be used in their constructions.
But, if you don't find what you're looking for, the game will also come with a guide teaching you how to build your own custom materials using Adobe Substance Painter, in addition to a guide teaching how to convert your creations from Minecraft Java to Bedrock, which is the only platform that will run the beta version RTX.
Next release
THE Minecraft with RTX will be available for download from this Thursday, April 16th, and for now be exclusive with the version of the PC game that runs on platforms Windows 10 – that is, the back Bedrock.
The game will be compatible with all video cards from NVIDIA that have technology support RTX (GeForce RTX 2080 Ti, GeForce RTX 2080 Super, GeForce RTX 2080, GeForce RTX 2070 Super, GeForce RTX 2070, GeForce RTX 2060 Super, GeForce RTX 2060 and all models in the GeForce RTX gaming notebook line), and can be purchased free of charge inside itself Marketplace in Minecraft.
If you are new to the game, you can take a free trial of Minecraft for Windows 10 before purchasing the game.
Have you discovered the performance of video cards with RTX? Check out some that we selected for you:
Source: Nvidia
