NVIDIA continues to develop the RTX Remix initiative and has introduced new tools for developers and enthusiasts.
NVIDIA has released an update to RTX Remix, a platform for modding classic games with ray tracing support. The editor has been enhanced with an advanced particle system, allowing modders to completely rework visual effects: from fire and smoke to energy projectiles, as seen in Portal RTX.
The innovation makes it possible to replace outdated 20-year-old sprites with ray-traced and physically interactive particles. These effects cast shadows, reflect in the environment, react to collisions with objects, and can be used en masse without a significant drop in performance. An example is the Antlion from Half-Life 2 RTX, a scene that contains up to 100,000 active particles.
The Half-Life 2 RTX example also demonstrates how the new system can be used to rework fire effects: the flame becomes "alive," sparks fly out of it, and smoke gradually rises into the sky. All parameters—size, color, density, behavior—can be adjusted manually in real time via the Alt+X interface.
For advanced users, the RTX Remix Toolkit is available—a full-fledged editor with advanced features. It was used to create the best projects in the RTX Remix Mod Contest, whose winners received $60,000. Among the noted mods are remasters of Painkiller, Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines, I-Ninja, and Call of Duty 2.
To date, RTX Remix supports over 165 games. The community is actively developing: 237 modding projects have already been launched, and the total number of downloads has exceeded 2 million.
