Nvidia and AMD revealed at Computex 2022 that Hitman 3 would obtain assist for ray tracing and each Nvidia and AMD’s supersampling applied sciences, following an announcement from developer IO Interactive late final 12 months. The replace is right here and I’ve had an opportunity to attempt it out, however I wasn’t left salivating over all of the visible glitter like I anticipated.
Ray tracing can definitely make visuals extra practical, however on this recreation, it proves that including ray tracing to all video games isn’t mandatory — particularly when it tanks efficiency with out including a lot when it comes to noticeable profit. Hitman 3 is a actuality verify, particularly in case you assume ray tracing is the be-all and end-all of graphics.
Hitman 3 doesn’t want ray tracing
Hitman 3 has little or no to achieve from ray tracing, and spending a while with the brand new replace solely confirmed that for me. The replace brings ray-traced reflections and shadows, which you’ll be able to toggle on individually. But after taking part in by way of a number of missions and capturing round 50 screenshots, it’s laborious to see the profit.
You can see an instance of that from the Dubai degree above. The ray-traced model (left) reveals the beam that Agent 47 is climbing solid barely extra shadow, however these two scenes are nearly similar. If they weren’t facet by facet, I wouldn’t have the ability to inform you which one is utilizing ray tracing, definitely.
That’s to not say ray tracing isn’t doing something, simply that it’s not doing very a lot. I observed the reflections most on semitransparent reflective surfaces (principally glass), the place ray tracing reveals reflections that wouldn’t usually render. You can see an instance of that within the Maldives degree from Hitman 2 beneath (ray tracing is on the left).
I captured one other instance within the Miami degree (beneath), the place you’ll be able to see the ticket sales space window reflecting the individuals in step with the ray-traced model (left).
The subject is that these comparisons solely maintain up in one-for-one screenshots. While taking part in, they’re laborious to note as a result of Hitman 3 already has improbable reflections and lighting. In many circumstances, you’re getting ray-traced reflections even with out ray tracing turned on, which each the Maldives and Miami ranges confirmed.
For the window in Miami, it confirmed the great ray-traced reflections from a distance, however that reflection rapidly shifted as soon as I took a couple of steps towards the window. Hitman 3 already makes use of screen-space reflections, and even with ray tracing turned on, it should default to those reflections once you’re up shut. Below, you’ll be able to see how the center and proper photos (ray tracing on and off, respectively) look similar regardless of the ray-traced reflection within the left picture.
In this scene, ray tracing helps the shadows greater than anything. They look improbable, however that wasn’t my expertise by way of all the ranges I checked out (extra on that within the subsequent part).
In the Maldives, I discovered related shifting to the default reflections. The home windows on every hut (beneath) look a lot nicer from a distance with ray tracing turned on, however they’ve the very same reflection once you stand up near them.
There are some visible advantages to turning on ray tracing in Hitman 3, however the vanilla construct presents a lot of the identical expertise, particularly regarding particulars you’ll really have a look at. Unfortunately, the professionals of ray tracing in Hitman 3 are massively outweighed by the cons.
Ray tracing can look a lot worse
Hitman 3 wasn’t designed with full-on ray tracing in thoughts, which results in some awkward scenes the place turning ray tracing on really makes the sport look worse. I used to be particularly dissatisfied within the neon-dripped Chongqing degree, the place I anticipated ray tracing to shine probably the most.
In the ray-traced picture (above left), you’ll be able to see the left wall doesn’t maintain a mirrored image just like the picture with out ray tracing. The ray-traced picture is definitely extra practical — a rain-soaked wall in an alley wouldn’t mirror lights which might be a mile or extra away — however does it look higher? Not actually.
It’s a case of expectation versus actuality. IO Interactive clearly designed this scene in order that it was drenched within the neon glow of a Chinese metropolis, which suggests bending the foundations of how gentle behaves to realize an inventive imaginative and prescient. Turn on the ray tracing swap, and people intentions are misplaced.
Chongqing was disappointing, however the Miami degree was downright surprising. With ray tracing on, some shadows confirmed nasty interactions with the extremely detailed surfaces within the recreation. You can see the streaking and aliasing current on Agent 47’s again within the ray-traced picture (beneath left), which isn’t current with ray tracing turned off.
As my screenshots from Miami present within the part above, ray tracing renders shadows that in any other case wouldn’t be within the recreation. It’s a perk, however when a shadow that’s taking on a good portion of the display screen seems to be a lot worse, it’s time to prioritize.
I’m not knocking Hitman 3 right here. It’s a ravishing recreation, probably the greatest video games to indicate off the facility of your gaming PC. The drawback is that ray tracing is coming in on high of what’s already a superb lighting implementation that saves on efficiency the place it must with out sacrificing an excessive amount of picture high quality.
And efficiency is the important thing metric for ray tracing in Hitman 3 as a result of it completely tanks your body fee.
Hitman 3’s ray tracing tanks efficiency
You could also be questioning: So what? Ray tracing is probably not excellent, nevertheless it nonetheless presents some visible benefits. It’s laborious to justify ray tracing in Hitman 3 when efficiency is introduced into the combo, although. Turning ray tracing on tanked my body fee to round a 3rd of what I achieved with it turned off.
That’s not stunning since ray tracing is demanding in any recreation that helps it, however AMD’s FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR) and Nvidia’s Deep Learning Super Sampling (DLSS) don’t do sufficient to fight the issue. Even with probably the most aggressive Performance mode of FSR, ray tracing is 36 frames behind. Keep in thoughts, as nicely, that the run with out ray tracing is at native decision.
FSR and DLSS don’t look nice at their most aggressive modes, both. You can see an instance of that in Berlin above. The DLSS (center) and FSR (left) photos present a nasty wash on the puddle within the backside left, and so they each confirmed shimmering and flickering on the illuminated wall towards the again.
A nasty displaying for ray tracing
Ray tracing can elevate the look of a recreation, nevertheless it’s not a assure. In a comparatively gradual third-person stealth recreation like Hitman 3, ray tracing doesn’t make sense when balanced in opposition to the reflection and lighting choices accessible at the moment, in addition to the efficiency price of ray tracing.
Contrary to Nvidia’s RTX advertising and marketing and the claims of current-gen consoles, ray tracing will not be a necessary function in AAA video video games. It’s pointless in lots of circumstances, and Hitman 3 is a major of instance of that.
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