ETA: NVIDIA Real-Time Ray Tracing on Consoles

[superaquafin]

Posting this as an ETA/PSA and to discus a few of the major updates coming to both the consoles and PC versions of Warframe:

 

DLSS: NVIDIA uses it's dedicated tensor cores to accelerate DLSS rendering but does Warframe have any plans on implementing this mechanic in the future? 

XBoX One Keyboard and Mouse support: Will the aforementioned KB&M update feature customizable keybindings and complete mouse control during gameplay? 

Ray Tracing: Everyone knows its coming, but will Ray Tracing be an RTX/NIVIDA exclusive or will AMD cards/Consoles also utilize this technology?

Edited October 7, 2018 by superaquafin

[(PSN)watt4hem]

Current gen : no, not ever.

Next gen : still probably won't.

 

Real time ray tracing is still a very new tech, and a hefty one at that. I don't think most pc can even handle it, let alone consoles.

 

Also, tag abuse much? This is not spoilery/a PSA.

Edited October 7, 2018 by (PS4)watt4hem
Also, oot, i #*!%ing hate spongebob gifs.

[QueenKharn]

DLSS has been shown through testing to deliver little to no performance or visual improvements over what can currently be done with current gen tech, and ray tracing has yet to have any proven usefulness to the end user given the cost of the tech involved.

Ray tracing hardware will be useful for developers so they don't have to program work-arounds to generate the same visual lighting effects, but that's on the developer's side. On the consumer side the tech is too expensive, and uptake will be too little and too slow to have any real effect until a few years have passed.

Or it could just end up going the way of the PhysX chip.

Edited October 8, 2018 by KokoroWish

[peterc3]

3 hours ago, superaquafin said:

Ray Tracing: Everyone knows its coming

Coming when? There's a significant performance hit, even with the cards that make it half-usable at the moment. No chance of seeing it anywhere until AMD has it down and then both companies have bargain cards with the tech and every console supports it.

DE isn't going to implement middleware or specific tech from only one company that can't be used on any other card or consoles. I don't see how DLSS would be any different in this case.

[ADM-Ntek]

2 hours ago, KokoroWish said:

DLSS has been shwn through testing to deliver little to no performance or visual improvements over what can currently be done with current gen tech, and ray tracing has yet to have any proven usefulness to the end user given the cost of the tech involved.

Ray tracing hardware will be useful for developers so they don't have to program work-arounds to generate the same visual lighting effects, but that's on the developer's side. On the consumer side the tech is too expensive, and uptake will be too little and too slow to have any real effect until a few years have passed.

Or it could just end up going the way of the PhysX chip.

exactly if nvidia again decides to hog the tech nobody will use it much since they don't want to piss of AMD users. just like physx and gameworks a couple titles that get funded by nvidia. and that is sad from what i have heard like ray tracing is very easy to add to a game for some drastic visual upgrades. and it is just graphics i have heard of devs wanting to use it for things like AI. obviously price at this point is to high but that is normal for a first gen implementation. with the 3000-4000 series tech will have a chance to mature and even middle end will be able to handle it. for consoles it will be interesting currently both use AMD APUs and to get ray tracing they would either have to switch to separate GPU and CPU or ray tracing needs to be possible on AMD. if sony and MS keep the current cycle new consoles will come in about 2-3 years by then the tech should be more usable but it depends on nvidia and how willing they are to share.

[Tessa_Wolf]

considering consoles have been only using AMD GPU's and if it continues to use AMD i dont see that ever being possible untill they use nvidia or create there own Ray Tracing system. and even on that its a very performance demanding aspect. the new $1000 graphics cards can only use the new RTX features but only at 1080p 60fps in some games, in others its 30fps. you would be lucky for console price to get 480p 15fps with a features like RTX.

[HellVOps]

Drastic visual upgrades at the cost of performance(well duh?!) and specialized hardware, so it will take a whole while until it catches mainstream users interest and wallet(Oh look that x game uses it, we must have it too).

Heck, even RTX games like the new tomb rider will get the RTX option only AFTER its release date in a patch, and who knows when that gonna be? for now, only a select few who can afford the hardware but have nothing to test it out but benchmarks.

Endnote: I highly doubt WF will get RTX support so soon after the release of the first cards, 2-3 years minimum.

[Sloan441]

I wouldn't hold my breath. 

This gen consoles, including the XB1X, can't handle ray tracing. 

The next gen consoles, which are going to be essentially Ryzen/Vega SoCs, won't be able to handle it either. 

Next gen after that? Maybe. If the industry backs ray tracing, which they may not. Best case you're looking at around 6 years. 

The PC side of things is a bit different. However, there are a few problems.

One is initially only two games will support this. More may jump on board, but you have an issue of devs not wanting to support a feature that isn't in demand since there's no installed base. 

Two is the vast majority of PC gamers are on marginal hardware as it is for 1440p, much less 4K or something utilizing ray tracing. The Steam surveys clearly show that around a quarter to a third of PC gamers would be better off on a console. 

Three is there are only three video cards at present that can do it--and only of them is an improvement over the present 10-serious nVidia GPUs. The 2070 Is an also ran and the 2080 is basically equivalent to the 1080ti outside of ray tracing. It'll only become significant when more games have the tech and the 1080ti's dry up. The 2080ti is certainly a very powerful and capable card, ray tracing or no. However, it's $1200; essentially a Titan by any other name. The only real demand for RTX cards are going to be among those wanting bleeding edge tech. This is around 4% to 5% of your installed base. The rest will only come into its own as the 10-series, particularly the 1080ti, disappear from the marketplace. Nvidia will only be able to push these cards as the 10-series dries up and/or they cut prices. 

AMD looks to be eyeing the market, but they're an also-ran with their current gen GPUs. They're doing very well with CPUs presently (VERY well...), but they need a new family of GPUs to even compete with the 10-series. We'll see. 

Bottom line: pioneers take the arrows as usual. It'll be years before an installed base of RTX cards will drive a serious demand for games with ray tracing. Worse, only the $1200 2080ti is even an upgrade to the $700 1080ti, and there are a lot of 1080ti's still out there. The 2080ti is a seriously powerful card, but it only really comes into its own in serious 4K gaming. That's its niche and it's a very small niche--along with $2000 120hz 4K monitors.