Not going to lie, lack of raytracing is a real let down and frankly feels like a unfinished product because of it. We are in the year 2024 and RT should be standard at this point.
So, are you talking RT for the Global Illumination though, or just for RT shadows and reflections and fill and all that?
If you're just talking the shadows, reflections, and other effects, okay. Sometimes RT solutions don't play nice with other systems and the Horizons puts a lot of focus on performance across its platforms (this PC game runs very happily on Steam Deck,) but PC buyers expect those toggles to be in there by now.
(None of the three Decima PC ports have offered any RT graphics options, so far.)
For the GI, though, the game is designed to work a certain way for its biome and day/night and cinematic trick lighting effects. It's intentionally faked to make it constantly look like a movie. The character has an imaginary kicker always behind her at 45° to make her pop from the BG and look like she just walked SI cover shoot all the time. Each hour of the day (semi-hourly actually; double the ToDs of the first game) is given its own bake of lighting and color tone for the mood which they're setting for that biome's version of day or dusk or night. A little more red and brightness here because the days should be harsh in this area; a little twinkle and contrast there because this area looks so evocative at nighttime; additional fake brighteners here and there because it looks better that way. Doesn't seem like that's something where RT just swaps in and plays nicely with all the rigged systems. RT could potentially be added for a mixed lighting solution to handle the indirect lighting in specific needs, but the design was not exactly made to be naturally consistent, it was made to feel natural even when it's not.
When you look at the RT mods for the first Horizon (which are ReShade, not the same but it's a starting point ...they also went apespit with the HRD on this,) you see some of the ropey mismatch and other issues where it gives good dimensionality to areas in shadow as you're walking around (which admittedly is what matters most of the time) but then issues in maintaining consistency and tone. (It's also an even funnier version of the full-swap done at key ToD transitions, considering that they sped it up.)
Decima still not having any RT features is curious, and we'll see if Death Stranding 2 changes that. (Analysis of that first trailer showed some possibilities but it may instead be using similar systems implemented in H:FW; DF for their analysis saw signs of screen space reflections and managed shadows but then potentially RTGI for the fill.) RT features are a tool suite that Guerrilla has for sure been investigating, and RTGI apparently is the direction most likely to be explored for what games Guerilla and its prominent partner KojiPro would be served best by for their games. (BTW, goddamn, typing only those two known Decima developers makes me sad that Cambridge is gone...) Unfortunately, neither of the GDC events Guerrilla is paneling are about its graphic systems (one's about puzzle design, the other UI in the editor) so we're unlikely to get a sneak preview of any upcoming plans for a bit.
80+ percent up this year so far.
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