The Real-time Ray Tracing with GPU Progressive Lightmapper

[shankly1985]

https://blogs.unity3d.com/2018/03/2...ys-gpu-progressive-lightmapper/?sf185783339=1
AMD Radeon Rays Integrated into Unity’s GPU Progressive Lightmapper
As developer marketing manager at AMD, my mission is to enable developers to create ground-breaking experiences. That’s why I am so passionate about GPUOpen — AMD’s open-source initiative to supply game and professional graphics developers with powerful tools to design better GPU-powered applications. In the blog below, I’ll dive into AMD’s Radeon Rays integration with Unity and how you can learn more on GPUOpen.

Revolutionizing render times and workflows for realistic light effects has been one of the dominant themes at GDC 2018. The announcement of AMD’s Radeon Rays integration in Unity’s GPU Progressive Lightmapper is particularly exciting to game developers looking to boost the visual fidelity of their games assisted by an interactive baking workflow.

Powering the GPU Progressive Lightmapper is a full integration with AMD’s Radeon Rays – a fully open source high performance GPU-accelerated ray tracing engine for low level engine developers and supporting OpenCL, Vulkan and C++ backends. Radeon Rays can be used as an important building block of a renderer supporting global illumination rendering, sound rendering (through True Audio Next) and AI.

Radeon Rays can be used for lightmap baking and light probe calculation using ray tracing and is being integrated by a number of developers to improve the lighting effects in their games. For a deeper dive into how Radeon Rays are used in a gaming rendering workflow, check out this presentation from GDC 2017.


Previous lightmapping solutions would take hours to compute even moderate sized scenes. Expansive outdoor environments could take days.

Rendering Times: CPU vs GPU
Unity’s previous light mapping solutions were entirely CPU-based and could require several hours to compute for a moderate sized scene. Expansive outdoor environments could take days to lightmap. Using Radeon Rays GPU acceleration sped up the process of tuning lights and baking up to 10x the speed of CPU based baking, giving instant feedback to the artist. The new Lightmapper also adds an interactive baking mode which allows lighting artists to navigate the scene to see the baking process in real time. It also allows them to change lighting and material and immediately see how it affects their bakes.

An example of a lightmapped scene with complex shadow interactions.

Another example of a lightmapped scene with multiple light sources and shadows.

More Rays, Less rendering time
Just how much does GPU hardware accelerate the Lightmapping process compared to previous CPU based methods? In benchmark tests comparing lightmapping hardware performance across models commonly used for benchmark (the simple cornell box, moderate sponza) and a production model (the complex blacksmith) the difference was substantial. GPU-based lightmapping generated close to 200 Million Rays/Sec, around 10X more than the level of CPU- based approaches.

With the new GPU-based progressive lightmapper, Unity users can achieve up to 10x faster bakes on a Radeon Vega in their system. The tool will also enable a faster workflow for artists to design while they bake. This means that when designers make any changes to lighting, materials, and textures, they can immediately see how that affects their baked global illumination quality. Because of the simple elegant API of Radeon Rays, developers can focus on the actual algorithm of the lightmapper instead of spending time on the integration. This means more efficient use of system resources, faster workflows and an overall better experience for Unity users as they create better quality assets.

The Real-time Ray Tracing with GPU Progressive Lightmapper is expected to be released later this year. To learn more about Radeon Rays visit GPUOpen.com and subscribe to AMD Developer News to stay up to date.

 

[Nasher]

But no one can afford a new GPU, so meh

But I don't think we're far off games looking as good as movie CGI now.

 

[D.P.]

This is an offline rendering of lightmaps, not real time

 

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

This is an offline rendering of lightmaps, not real time

Radeon Rays can be used for lightmap baking and light probe calculation using ray tracing and is being integrated by a number of developers to improve the lighting effects in their games.

The Real-time Ray Tracing with GPU Progressive Lightmapper is expected to be released later this year.

??

 

[shankly1985]

This is an offline rendering of lightmaps, not real time

Like Cat am confused! Care to explain?

 

[shankly1985]

Unlike D.P someone on Reddit explained it
Credit
ObviouslyTriggered 2 points an hour ago

The new Lightmapper also adds an interactive baking mode which allows lighting artists to navigate the scene to see the baking process in real time.

This isn’t a real time ray tracing engine this is part of the light map creation tool chain it allows you to use ray tracing to create baked (precomputed) light maps for your game, not to use real time ray tracing in your game. It reduces the baking time to about a minute (based on their benchmark graphs ymmv) so from a designer point of view it is “real time” as they can make modifications and see the results reasonably fast.

 

[GoogalyMoogaly]

Unlike D.P someone on Reddit explained it
Credit
ObviouslyTriggered 2 points an hour ago

The new Lightmapper also adds an interactive baking mode which allows lighting artists to navigate the scene to see the baking process in real time.

This isn’t a real time ray tracing engine this is part of the light map creation tool chain it allows you to use ray tracing to create baked (precomputed) light maps for your game, not to use real time ray tracing in your game. It reduces the baking time to about a minute (based on their benchmark graphs ymmv) so from a designer point of view it is “real time” as they can make modifications and see the results reasonably fast.

Yeah, D.P.'s the bad guy here!

 

[shankly1985]

Yeah, D.P.'s the bad guy here!

Bad guy?
Its a forum, if you think something is wrong you should explain. His post wasn't explained very well.

 

[Gregster]

Real time is what gets me excited.

 

[D3K]

Bad guy?
Its a forum, if you think something is wrong you should explain. His post wasn't explained very well.

No one is a bad guy but he's right. It's not real-time and hardly thread-worthy. It's just another baker.

Would you have posted this if you hadn't heard about ray tracing in the last week?

 

[shankly1985]

No one is a bad guy but he's right. It's not real-time and hardly thread-worthy. It's just another baker.

Would you have posted this if you hadn't heard about ray tracing in the last week?

Yes sure why not? I have created loads of threads that are deemed not "thread worthy" if it pops up on my news feed and I like the look of it I will post it simple has that.
Reddit seemed to like it why not ocuk also lol

Still why does Dp need to be label a bad guy for not posting a detailed post?

 

[Gregster]

Still why does Dp need to be label a bad guy for not posting a detailed post?

It was the way you responded. "Unlike DP" someone on Reddit explained it. All you needed to do was put that explanation and as you had already put "Like Cat, I am also confused, care to explain?", that kinda looks like you are digging at him, even though he was spot on.

 

[GoogalyMoogaly]

It was the way you responded. "Unlike DP" someone on Reddit explained it. All you needed to do was put that explanation and as you had already put "Like Cat, I am also confused, care to explain?", that kinda looks like you are digging at him, even though he was spot on.

+1

Yes sure why not? I have created loads of threads that are deemed not "thread worthy" if it pops up on my news feed and I like the look of it I will post it simple has that.
Reddit seemed to like it why not ocuk also lol

Still why does Dp need to be label a bad guy for not posting a detailed post?

Apparently even if you don't understand what you're posting until someone on reddit explains it for you.

 

[D.P.]

Unlike D.P someone on Reddit explained it
Credit
ObviouslyTriggered 2 points an hour ago

The new Lightmapper also adds an interactive baking mode which allows lighting artists to navigate the scene to see the baking process in real time.

This isn’t a real time ray tracing engine this is part of the light map creation tool chain it allows you to use ray tracing to create baked (precomputed) light maps for your game, not to use real time ray tracing in your game. It reduces the baking time to about a minute (based on their benchmark graphs ymmv) so from a designer point of view it is “real time” as they can make modifications and see the results reasonably fast.

Exactly what I said, not real time Ray tracing in game.

The description is quite clear, "lightmap baking", exactly the same as Quake 1. Yes,it is GPU accelerated so relatively fast, but that is not anything new.

 

[AthlonXP1800]

GDC 2018: AMD Breaks Down Their Upcoming Projects

Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) has long been a staple in the games industry. Their GPUs and CPUs power millions of PCs, PS4s and Xbox Ones around the world, and will power many more devices for years to come. With technology advancing at a staggering pace, AMD continues to deliver updates and support for all its technologies. At GDC 2018, we got to sit down with AMD to go over their plans for the future and when we may get to see them implemented in upcoming games.

First up is the Radeon GPU Profiler (RGP) 1.2, which brings integrated frame debugging and profiling, barrier reason codes, and improved frame overview. The big news coming out of this announcement, however, is the inclusion of interoperability between RGP and RenderDoc. Developers are able to generate also generate RGP profiles from RenderDoc replays, select events in RGP and view them in RenderDoc or vice versa. This provides them with a proficient workflow for debugging.

AMD’s other big announcement is real-time Ray Tracing. The company has been investing and developing the tech for years, and is finally ready to talk about it. Currently, developers have two options when developing models: rasterization and Ray Tracing. Rasterization is the faster method that uses algorithms to approximate the appearance of objects, surfaces and textures. While it gets the job done, the results aren’t as realistic as Ray Tracing, which maps light rays from each pixel to realistically simulate light interactions. The results are amazing, but it’s processor intensive.

AMD’s solution is to add Radeon ProRender support for real-time GPU acceleration of ray tracing techniques mixed with traditional rasterization based rendering. Developers can choose how much of each technique they want in their particular model, helping them control their performance budget. In theory, this can help game developers achieve a greater degree of photorealism without sacrificing performance. In practice, we may still be a ways off from implementation.

Speaking with AMD, the team confirmed that you’ll need high-end hardware that, as of now, isn’t priced for the mainstream market. Initially, expect to isolated effects use this technique in-game. Shadows and reflections are where we’ll begin to see it pop up until more powerful hardware becomes mainstream.

AMD is planning for the future and the future looks photorealistic indeed. While real-time Ray Tracing may be a while off, the company continues to work with game developers to bring out the best possible effects in their games. Their most current work can be seen in Far Cry 5 where they worked hand-in-hand with Ubisoft Montreal on the game’s stunning water. They’re doing fantastic work and it looks like it will only get better from here on out.

https://www.hardcoregamer.com/2018/03/30/gdc-2018-amd-breaks-down-their-upcoming-projects/295010/

Look like Polaris GPUs cant handle software ray tracing as it is too processor intensive and high end Vega 56 and 64 could do some software ray tracing effects while Volta, Ampere, Turing and Orin are the only Nvidia GPUs that has hardware ray tracing with RTX technology that can do real time ray tracing in games like Metro Exodus and others by end of 2018.

 

[shankly1985]

GDC 2018: AMD Breaks Down Their Upcoming Projects



https://www.hardcoregamer.com/2018/03/30/gdc-2018-amd-breaks-down-their-upcoming-projects/295010/

Look like Polaris GPUs cant handle software ray tracing as it is too processor intensive and high end Vega 56 and 64 could do some software ray tracing effects while Volta, Ampere, Turing and Orin are the only Nvidia GPUs that has hardware ray tracing with RTX technology that can do real time ray tracing in games like Metro Exodus and others by end of 2018.

Only GPUs you say this like they released and ready to buy lol
Shock factor, new future GPU will support hardware, while older gen will be software only. Its nothing new GPUs will always be adding in new features that need hardware support. Nvidia have spoken, and I sure AMD will showcase when the time is also ready. What we do know is AMD is also working with Microsoft.

AMD Working with Microsoft to Integrate DirectX Real-time Ray-Tracing
Following Microsoft’s announcement regarding the addition of a new technique to DirectX 12 called Ray-tracing, both AMD and Nvidia made statements regarding the future of this technology.

One of the surprises from GDC 2018 (Game Developers Conference) in San Francisco was Microsoft’s announcement regarding the introduction of a new rendering technique in DirectX 12 called Ray-tracing, which should help developers significantly boost the visuals in games and other 3D rendered environments.

Ray-tracing is described as the only possible way of rendering photorealistic images, which is something like the Holy Grail for developers. It might seem that it’s far into the future, but Microsoft’s announcement regarding the implementation of Ray-tracing into DirectX 12 is the first step to reach that goal.

Who’s ready?
As you can imagine, it’s not enough for Microsoft to update DirectX 12 with new capabilities. GPU makers also have to be ready with proper APIs to make sure that they can render it properly. And while Nvidia was quick to add that RTX, an implementation that will power all ray-tracing APIs supported by NVIDIA on Volta and future GPUs, the AMD camp remained silent, until now.

It turns out that they are actually already working on it, and they are cooperating with Microsoft for the best possible implementation.

Scott Wasson, Senior Product Manager of Software at AMD noted that “AMD is collaborating with Microsoft to help define, refine and support the future of DirectX12 and ray tracing. AMD remains at the forefront of new programming model and application programming interface (API) innovation based on a forward-looking, system-level foundation for graphics programming. We’re looking forward to discussing with game developers their ideas and feedback related to PC-based ray tracing techniques for image quality, effects opportunities, and performance.”

AMD has a ton of presentations at GDC, many of which are related to Vulkan, but they also have one that’s called “Real-Time Ray-Tracing Techniques for Integration into Existing Renderers.”

The company announced the real-time ray-tracing Support for ProRender and Radeon GPU Profiler 1.2, so it looks like the company will be ready for the new technology as well. The only difference is that the ray-tracing from AMD is built for Vulkan and not DirectX 12, but we’ll know more after their presentations at GDC 2018.