Quake RTX (vkQuake-RT)

Overview

Quake RTX refers to a ray-traced version of the classic 1996 game Quake, implemented through the vkQuake-RT engine. This engine replaces the traditional OpenGL renderer with a path-traced renderer, allowing the original levels to be rendered with modern lighting techniques such as global illumination, reflections, and realistic shadows.

The project was developed by Sultim Tsyrendashiev and released in 2022. It is primarily considered an experimental renderer demonstrating how classic Quake content can be displayed using modern ray-tracing technology.

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Features

Path-Traced Lighting

All lighting is calculated in real time using ray tracing rather than the original baked lightmaps.

This allows:

realistic torch lighting
indirect light bounce
lava illuminating nearby walls
dynamic shadows from moving objects

Global Illumination

Light spreads naturally through the environment. Torches and lava can illuminate surrounding geometry and create realistic ambient lighting.

Reflections

Some surfaces can reflect light and surrounding geometry depending on the material properties used by the renderer.

Modern Upscaling

The engine supports modern upscaling technologies:

DLSS
FSR

These allow the game to render internally at a lower resolution while maintaining visual quality and improving performance.

Renderer Switching

vkQuake-RT allows switching between the traditional renderer and the ray-traced renderer during gameplay.

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Installation

1. Install the original Quake game.

2. Download the vkQuake-RT release.

3. Extract the files into a folder containing the original Quake game data.

Example folder structure:

```

quake-rt/

vkQuake.exe

RayTracedGL1.dll

nvngx_dlss.dll

id1/

pak0.pak

pak1.pak

```

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DLSS Support

DLSS is not included directly with the engine due to NVIDIA licensing restrictions.

To enable DLSS:

1. Download nvngx_dlss.dll.

2. Place the file next to vkQuake.exe.

3. Replace the default renderer with the DLSS-enabled version of RayTracedGL1.dll.

If installed correctly, the following command becomes available in the console:

```

rt_dlss 1

```

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Common Console Commands

Enable Ray Tracing

```

rt_enable 1

```

Enable DLSS

```

rt_dlss 1

```

DLSS Quality Settings

```

rt_dlss_quality 3

```

Quality modes:

| Value | Mode |

| ----- | ----------------- |

| 0 | Ultra Performance |

| 1 | Performance |

| 2 | Balanced |

| 3 | Quality |

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Render Scale

```

rt_renderscale 0.7

```

Lower values improve performance but reduce visual clarity.

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Maximum Ray Bounces

```

rt_max_bounces 2

```

Reducing the bounce count improves performance with minimal visual difference.

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Global Lighting Multiplier

```

rt_globallightmult 1.5

```

Controls overall brightness of the scene.

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Dynamic Light Intensity

```

rt_dlight_intensity 4

```

Controls brightness of dynamic lights such as explosions and torches.

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Limitations

No Support for Remastered Models

vkQuake-RT uses the original Quake model format and does not support enhanced models from the 2021 Quake remaster.

Experimental Project

The last official release of vkQuake-RT was in 2022 and development has slowed significantly.

Hardware Requirements

Ray tracing is computationally expensive and requires a modern GPU to run smoothly.

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