DOOM: The Dark Ages would’ve taken longer to make “by a magnitude of years” without ray-tracing, says IdTech engine lead

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Ray-tracing technology has officially arrived in gaming. Previously avoiding the use of this advanced lighting technique, certain games now demand ray-tracing capable hardware to operate, including titles like Indiana Jones and The Great Circle, Star Wars Outlaws, and the latest release DOOM: The Dark Ages.

In an interview with Digital Foundry, Id Software’s engine technology director Billy Khan clarified that ray-tracing isn’t merely a sophisticated lighting option; it’s a resource that accelerates the game development process. This eliminates the requirement to pre-prepare lighting solutions, allowing games to consume less storage space on PCs and consoles. Moreover, developers can now work at a faster pace than ever before due to this innovation.

DOOM would’ve taken longer without ray-tracing

To the technology analysis group, Khan clarified that developing DOOM: The Dark Ages without incorporating ray-tracing would have significantly extended the project’s duration by several years, even while maintaining its expansive environments and intricate cinematics.

For a long time, developers have been required to prepare lighting with lightmaps and shadowmaps beforehand, which can consume significant amounts of time to compute. Any modification in the environment like shifting a light fixture or repositioning an object necessitates recalculation of those pre-prepared computations from scratch. Unlike ray-tracing, these pre-computed maps also require storage space.

As a gamer, I can tell you that if ray tracing wasn’t part of the equation, we’d be looking at a significant delay in release dates, maybe even doubling or tripling the development time.

DOOM: THE DARK AGES DIRECTOR OF ENGINE TECHNOLOGY BILLY KHAN

As a gamer, I’ve noticed that being able to swiftly tweak and refine gameplay experiences is key to making them more refined and varied. Ray tracing technology enables us to achieve “what you see is what you get,” effectively replacing the artistic approximations with exact visuals for PC or console displays. No more time-consuming bakes that consume hours on end! This change in speed is staggering, potentially reducing iteration time by a factor of 10, if not 100. It’s like being able to adjust the position of a light during a meeting, instantly making a certain area darker, for instance.

Khan clarified that incorporating ray-tracing into DOOM: The Dark Ages wasn’t merely for making the game visually stunning, but primarily to enhance the overall gaming experience. By using real-time ray-tracing instead of pre-baked solutions, there is significantly more time available for exploration and experimentation, which the team wouldn’t have had otherwise.

He pointed out that without ray tracing, achieving the same design objectives would have required a significant increase in time, possibly years, due to our inability to generate the same type of content. In simpler terms using baked lighting solutions, certain elements might seem incongruous, particularly during scenes involving mechs colliding with buildings or tearing pieces off. Baked lighting doesn’t work for dynamic objects, so the overall illumination would appear inconsistent without ray tracing; however, with ray tracing, these issues are resolved, making everything look more harmonious and realistic.

Khan further elaborated that it’s fortunate that “all the platforms incorporate ray-tracing technology.” Although a Nintendo Switch 2 version hasn’t been unveiled yet, it’s worth noting that even the current Switch has some form of ray-tracing support, albeit with limited and less impressive results. This realization made it unnecessary to invest an excessive effort in making the game compatible with older hardware, considering that gamers with outdated graphics cards might need to upgrade if they wish to play. (Just as we all upgraded for DOOM 3.)

As technology advances, “compulsory ray-tracing” is expected to increase in usage within the industry. Since game production times are significantly longer nowadays, ray-traced lighting and reflections are crucial for reducing development time. Instead of waiting another three years for DOOM: The Dark Ages, Id Software might not have had that luxury.

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2025-05-21 16:40