Raytracing: The final visual step to making Pinball Arcade look insanely real?

[PeacemakerPIN]

Looking at this video for Battlefield 5 with Ray Traced reflections, it fixes everything that seemed off about the current visual setup of Pinball Arcade, despite the move to realtime lighting effects with the bulbs.

As real as the game looks now, it just isn't reflecting obvious stuff like it should.

To use Cirqus Voltaire as an example I remember when the neon tube affected the entire table like it does in real life (The effect is obviously stronger if you are playing it in the dark), sure it was faked in DX9 but it looked convincing nonetheless.

The move to DX11 introduced more realistic lighting effects, but at the same time we see less reflections with lights with the neon tube. It doesn't affect the rails to the left of the table like it did in DX9. However where the lights are reflecting looks really close to the real thing.

This is how it looks for real.

So you can see where the last visual step this engine needs to look absolutely real. Back then even talking about this was a pipedream, but now it is a possibility.

It's really exciting just thinking about that... Bummer we won't be able to revisit the de-licensed tables with ray tracing though.

Any comments on any of this?

 

[FarSight_Matt]

Be very skeptical of RTX. Yeah, it looks great, but raytracing is VERY expensive and they're doing the bare minimum. This is a first step towards this future of realtime raytracing.

They can barely push 60fps at 1080p with the 2080 ti, which is $1200!

 

[Heretic]

Agreed im no artist but i know the cost heyyyyy most of us will be around in ten when mobile does iteasily

 

[FarSight_Matt]

I think in ten years PC will be doing ray traced shadows AND reflections at 30fps instead of the ~6fps it seems to be now.

 

[Jeff Strong]

lol @ that random spotlight effect in the middle of CV for no reason. Still dunno what the hell Farsight’s art guy was thinking at the time (no offense to you Matt since I know it wasn’t you).

 

[shutyertrap]

What, you don't suspend a single flood spot directly over the top of your pinball machine, Jeff? It's all the rage!!

 

[EldarOfSuburbia]

Yeah thinking back to the 90s where it would take hours just to ray-trace a single still image... it's a step forward, for sure. But I was just having this conversation with a colleague, and I reckoned on the 5-10 year ballpark figure before this is in the mid-range cards at the $200-300 price point. I imagine the 2060s when they arrive will be able to handle 4K and other post-DH resolutions, and VR at 1080, but without any of the realtime lighting stuff.

Personally I'd rather they concentrate on hair and clothing, make it look more realistic and get rid of clipping which is still an all-to-common occurrence even in the best-optimized titles.

 

[Jeff Strong]

What, you don't suspend a single flood spot directly over the top of your pinball machine, Jeff? It's all the rage!!

 

[PeacemakerPIN]

Be very skeptical of RTX. Yeah, it looks great, but raytracing is VERY expensive and they're doing the bare minimum. This is a first step towards this future of realtime raytracing.

They can barely push 60fps at 1080p with the 2080 ti, which is $1200!

Yeah the performance penalty and price is terrible at this time. And that is supposed to be enthusiast level!

Yeah thinking back to the 90s where it would take hours just to ray-trace a single still image... it's a step forward, for sure. But I was just having this conversation with a colleague, and I reckoned on the 5-10 year ballpark figure before this is in the mid-range cards at the $200-300 price point. I imagine the 2060s when they arrive will be able to handle 4K and other post-DH resolutions, and VR at 1080, but without any of the realtime lighting stuff.

Personally I'd rather they concentrate on hair and clothing, make it look more realistic and get rid of clipping which is still an all-to-common occurrence even in the best-optimized titles.

Good point.

 

[Jeff Strong]

Yeah looking at the numbers released today, would expect more for the price. 50% more performance at 1080p, but my GTX 1060 already runs my favorite games at 60fps or thereabouts, although I haven’t tried Monster Hunter yet which is supposed to be pretty taxing on a 1060, so it would come in handy there, but not for that price. Might just get it for PS4 Pro instead.