This tech is the reason modern movie CGI looks so much better than it used to, but it takes a toll on most PCs. That being said, the latest-gen consoles like the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S can handle ray tracing, as well as NVIDIA’s 30-series graphics cards. As you can see from Tsyrendashiev’s teaser for his project, ray tracing doesn’t change the low resolution, but it makes the lighting elegant and cinematic.
Low res, nice light — Tsyrendashiev released a teaser trailer for his ray tracing remake, offering fans a glimpse into his work so far. The ray tracing adds impeccable, realistic lighting to every environment. As one viewer puts it, when ray tracing is applied to such an old game, it gives Half Life a “weirdly satisfying charm.”
The creator’s code is available on GitHub and the final version will be uploaded there when it’s complete, which is expected to be sometime in 2022. As Tsyrendashiev explains in the teaser’s bio on YouTube, “These things, they take time.”