Nvidia’s RTX Remix tool is now accessible for modders to experiment with. The game remastering tool, currently in open beta, empowers modders to refurbish older games using AI-driven texture tools, ray tracing, and Nvidia DLSS 3.
This tool, which was utilized to enhance the visuals of Portal by upgrading textures, models, and lighting, is also being employed by a group of modders to revamp Half-Life 2 with more realistic headcrabs and enhanced textures. With its availability to all modders, a wider array of games can now receive upgrades.
However, not all classic games are compatible with RTX Remix. Nvidia specifies that the tool is most effective with DirectX 8 and 9 games utilizing “fixed function pipelines,” such as Call of Duty 2, Hitman 2: Silent Assassin, Garry’s Mod, Freedom Fighters, Need for Speed: Underground 2, and Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines.
RTX Remix from Nvidia provides modders with an application for creating lights and integrating remastered assets into a game, along with a runtime for injecting the remastered assets back into the game during playback.
A key feature is the generative AI tool that leverages the Tensor Cores in GeForce RTX GPUs to analyze low-resolution textures and produce physically accurate materials, subsequently upscaling their resolution by up to four times. Modders can also utilize physically based rendering (PBR) to ensure textures react realistically to ray-traced lighting. An illustration of this effect can be seen in the embedded image.
Moreover, RTX Remix enables modders to include ray tracing, DLSS 3, and Nvidia Reflex (designed to reduce latency) for a revamped gaming experience. While these tools facilitate game remastering, Nvidia cautions that RTX Remix is not a simple “one-button” solution, as some textures may appear overly glossy or flat if the associated assets are not adequately upgraded.
Nvidia explains, “Generative AI Texture Tools can assist in converting legacy textures to physically accurate materials. However, the most impressive RTX Remix projects (like Portal With RTX, Portal: Prelude RTX, and Half Life 2 RTX: An RTX Remix Project) feature meticulously crafted high-quality assets with intricate polygonal details and realistic materials.” This implies that comprehensive game remasters will likely require teams of modders and a significant amount of time.
