A few hours ago, NVIDIA shared four new exclusive Cyberpunk 2077 PC screenshots captured with ray tracing enabled.
These look undoubtedly gorgeous, though NVIDIA didn't specify which ray tracing effects were enabled at the moment of the capture. The following ones have been confirmed for the final version of the game (alongside DLSS 2.0 support):
- Ray-traced ambient occlusion - Ambient occlusion is a shading and rendering technique used to calculate how exposed each point in a scene is to ambient lighting. The result is a diffuse shading effect that darkens enclosed and sheltered areas and enhances the rendered image's overall tone. In Cyberpunk 2077, ray-traced ambient occlusion additionally can be used with local lights to approximate local shadowing effects where shadows are missing.
- Ray-traced diffuse illumination - This technique is used to capture sky radiance as well as emissive lighting from various surfaces, which is difficult to achieve with traditional rendering techniques.
- Ray-traced reflections - In Cyberpunk 2077, ray-traced reflections are used on all surfaces and can trace ranges for up to several kilometers. They are present on both opaque and transparent objects to simulate the way light reflects from glossy and metal surfaces by tracing a single bounce of reflection rays against the scene. This includes smooth natural mirrors like window glass, but also rougher surfaces like brushed metal. Unlike screen space techniques which can only reflect what’s on screen, ray-traced reflections incorporate the entire scene around the character, and can accurately represent objects outside the camera view or facing away from the camera.
- Ray-traced shadows - Cyberpunk 2077 preview supports directional shadows from the sun and the moon. These shadows aim to be physically accurate and even account for light scattering from clouds. Shadows may be enhanced in the final release to support other types of light sources where it is needed.
In related Cyberpunk 2077 news, Reddit user Frost_Winter also compiled lots of new tidbits of information that were shared through the recent media and YouTuber previews.
To begin with, the day/night cycle in Cyberpunk 2077 is about twice as long as The Witcher 3's, clocking in at three hours of real time. That said, apparently you'll be able to let time pass without incurring in any extra loading screen.
Melee combat will feature stamina based mechanics, which means you'll have to manage your attacks, counterattacks, blocks et cetera if you don't want to end up out of stamina and unable to perform such actions. Additionally, the animations will reflect your current skill with a specific weapon and will, therefore, improve alongside the skill itself.
Last but not least, it'll be possible for V (the player character's name in case you forgot) to hack into the Night City Police Department radio feed to get information on wanted fugitives that need to be apprehended for bounty money.
Cyberpunk 2077 will release on November 19th for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.
About the author: With over two decades of experience in gaming journalism, Alessio Palumbo has led the gaming vertical at Wccftech since August 2015. He started working at a young age for Italian websites like Everyeye.it, Gamestar.it, Nextgame.it, and Multiplayer.it before kickstarting the indie English-language publication Worlds Factory as its founder and Editor in Chief. In the last decade, he has coordinated the overall output of Wccftech's gaming section, managed PR relations, assigned reviews, produced daily news coverage, edited gaming content as needed, and delivered game reviews. Arguably, his trademark content is the long series of exclusive developer interviews that have been cited by Wikipedia and by the biggest news media and gaming publications. His passion for technology also makes him knowledgeable when it comes to gaming hardware and tech. His favorite genres include RPGs, MMORPGs, and action/adventure games.
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