We often hear about this technology, but what is it for?
After the teraflops, it's time to talk about another term that is widely used to advertise new gaming consoles. In fact, every time Sony spoke of PlayStation 5, also mentioned the ray tracing. But what is ray tracing and how will it affect Sony's next generation console?
Without going into unnecessary technicalities, we will explain in simple words what it is and how it works.
PS5 Ray Tracing: What is it?
First of all, we need to understand what ray tracing actually is. Ray tracing is essentially a method to simulate realistic light in computer graphics. A slightly more detailed explanation is that ray tracing simulates the "path" that light takes when it interacts with open spaces and objects. This allows the light to have a "volume", something you don't necessarily get from generic light sources in video games.
Ray tracing allows light to interact with its surroundings in a dynamic and natural way. For example, a ray of sunlight shining through an apartment window in Grand Theft Auto V is basically just a block of light. It creates shadows and moves according to the time of the game, but that's it. With ray tracing, that ray of sunlight "fills" the space it enters - it is no longer just a block, it is a dynamic shape that changes and interacts with surfaces based on where it comes from and the angle at which it enters. room.
This video showing a PC mod for Grand Theft Auto V is a great example of how ray tracing can improve lighting effects in video games:
However, as expected, ray tracing can be quite challenging. Used primarily in movies, it's not something you can see and experience in video games on current consoles, but with the power of PS5, ray tracing will become much more common. We are already seeing its application in games like Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, where it was used sparingly in some scenes to make them more believable.
Mark Cerny, system architect of PS5, points out that the ray tracing solution of the new console of the Japanese giant is not an effort in half: "There is a ray-tracing acceleration in the hardware of the GPU," he says, clarifying that not it will be a simple software fix. While the term ray tracing is certainly used more for mere commercial reasons, the technology is undeniably impressive and will bring substantial improvements to the gaming experience and beyond!
