Tag Archives: id Software

Vulkan Ray Tracing (Quake 2 RTX) On AMD Radeon RX 6800!

Take a look at the AMD Radeon RX 6800’s Vulkan Ray Tracing performance in Quake 2 RTX – the world’s first cross-vendor Vulkan Ray Tracing game!

 

Vulkan Ray Tracing : What Is It?

Vulkan is an open-source and cross-platform graphics API. It offers better performance to graphics APIs like OpenGL, DirectX and Metal.

In November 2020, The Khronos Group released the final Vulkan Ray Tracing extension specifications, followed by an upgraded Vulkan SDK with full Ray Tracing support on 15 December 2020.

This allows developers to easily integrate ray tracing into their games for any GPU that supports the “VK_KHR_ray_tracing_pipeline” extension.

 

Vulkan Ray Tracing (Quake 2 RTX) On AMD Radeon RX 6800!

On 15 December 2020, Quake 2 RTX was updated to support Vulkan Ray Tracing, becoming the world’s first game to support it!

With support for Vulkan Ray Tracing, not only can NVIDIA RTX cards run Quake 2 RTX, so can the new AMD Radeon 6000 series graphics cards!

So we thought – what the heck, let’s give the Radeon RX 6800 a spin, and see how well it does in Quake 2 RTX!

1080p Resolution

At the 1080p resolution, the Radeon RX 6800 was able to maintain an average frame rate of between 55-65 fps. Definitely the best resolution to play.

1440p Resolution

At the 1440p resolution, the Radeon RX 6800 was able to maintain an average frame rate of between 35-42 fps. Quite playable.

4K Resolution

At the 4K resolution, the Radeon RX 6800 was only able to deliver an average frame rate of between 15-18 fps. Real jerky!

 

Quake 2 RTX : Vulkan Ray Tracing Requirements

This is what you require :

  • Download and install Quake 2 RTX 1.4.0 or newer
  • AMD
    – Requires Radeon RX 6000 series, or future RDNA 2, cards.
    – Upgrade to Radeon Software Adrenalin 2020 Edition 20.11.2 Beta or newer
  • NVIDIA
    – Requires GeForce RTX / Quadro RTX graphics cards.
    – Upgrade to Game Ready Driver 460.89 (Windows) or 460.27.04 (Linux), or newer

 

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How To Get All Quake Champions + QuakeCon 2020 Railgun!

To celebrate QuakeCon 2020, Bethesda is giving away some Quake Champions freebies!

Find out how to get all Quake Champions, as well as an exclusive QuakeCon 2020 Railgun!

 

Quake Champions

Developed by id Software, in conjunction with Saber Interactive, Quake Champions is a fast-paced Arena shooter, a genre established by the original Quake 20 years ago.

Mixing the dark mythos of Quake with the innovative multiplayer of Quake III Arena, the game adds a modern twist – Champions, each with unique attributes and abilities for players to master.

These fierce warriors each wield unique attributes and abilities, enabling players to compete in their own distinctive style, while adding an additional layer of strategy to the game.

The Next Great Quake Multiplayer Game

Quake’s signature rocket jumping, skill-based competition, and incredible speed remains intact, providing veterans with a welcome return and new players a fresh way to showcase their multiplayer skills.

Incredible, Diverse Champions

Quake Champions introduces a roster of elite Champions, each equipped with unique attributes and abilities that are additive to Quake’s established gameplay. Champion skills offer a great variety to fit your play style.

Uncompromising Weapons, Ready for Battle

Quake’s devastating arsenal of flesh-chewing weaponry, including fan-favorites like the thunderous Rocket Launcher, electrifying Lightning Gun, and snipe-tastic Railgun are back alongside new additions for you to master.

Intense Game Modes

Established and beloved game modes return, including the gib-filled fragfests of Deathmatch and Team Deathmatch and the competitive fury of 1v1 Duel mode, while a new team-based mode, Sacrifice, joins the fray.

 

Quake Champions : Get All Champions FREE!

To celebrate the 25th annual QuakeCon on 7 August 2020, Bethesda will let everyone unlock ALL of the Quake Champions!

Just play ONE (1) Quake Champions match from now until 9 August 2020 (1500 UTC).

This will unlock all Quake Champions that will be yours to keep, even after the event!

 

Quake Champions : Get FREE QuakeCon 2020 Railgun!

Orange QuakeCon weapon skins are tradition, and this year, you can get the QuakeCon 2020 Railgun!

All you have to do is just log into Quake Champions, between now until 9 August 2020 (1500 UTC).

 

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Watch AMD Vega Run DOOM On Vulkan!

AMD recently revealed architectural details of the upcoming Vega GPU, but many people were disappointed that AMD is not ready to launch it yet. Will it matter how fantastic AMD Vega is on paper if it’s nowhere close to reality? The good news is AMD appears to be close to the final silicon.

In fact, at the AMD Tech Summit in Sonoma, we were shown an AMD Vega prototype running DOOM on Vulkan. Billy Khan from id Software also came to vouch for the performance and stability of the latest Vega silicon.

 

Watch AMD Vega Run DOOM On Vulkan!

AMD showed off this Vega prototype running DOOM at the 4K resolution of 3840 x 2160, using the Ultra Quality preset. DOOM was running with the Vulkan upgrade, of course, which allows for asynchronous compute. The video shows the Vega prototype deliver frame rates of 60-70 fps, with an average of 65 fps.

We tried to take a closer look inside the chassis to catch a look of the AMD Vega graphics card, but it appears to be well-shielded from our view. All we can say is that the card appears to be rather quiet… at least it was not audible in the hubbub of the room.

 

id Software On AMD Vega And Vulkan

Earlier that day, Billy Khan (Lead Project Programmer of id Tech 6 and DOOM) spoke about AMD Vega and Vulkan. Here are the key takeaway points :

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  • Vulkan brings “close to the metal” coding to the PC
  • This allows for closer development of console and PC games
  • Micro-optimisations are now very easy to port from consoles to PC
  • They have been running DOOM at 4K on super high quality at over 70 fps on an early (few weeks old) AMD Vega silicon

We came away with the feeling that Billy was very impressed with the performance and stability of the Vega GPU. Hopefully, this will assuage the frustrations of AMD fans who are eager to see the AMD Vega to take on the NVIDIA Pascal…

 

The AMD Vega Launch Date

Right now, AMD will not reveal how close they are to the final silicon. Only that they aim to launch Vega in the first half of 2017.

For more information on AMD Vega, take a look at our AMD Vega GPU Architecture Tech Report.

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