First WIP Look at Doom 3 With Real-Time Path Tracing

Last month, modder Justin Marshall implemented DX12 and DXR in the official level editor for Doom 3. And a couple of days ago, the modder was able to add real-time Path Tracing to the actual game. As such, we now have our first look at Doom 3 with real-time Path Tracing.

In the video, Doom 3 runs through IceBridge. IceBridge is Marshall’s Direct3D 12 renderer layer that brings modern GPU features to classic idTech 4 rendering while keeping the original game’s dark, industrial atmosphere intact.

As Marshall explained, IceBridge is designed as a compatibility and modernization layer for older engines. It will allow legacy rendering paths to be pushed onto modern graphics APIs like D3D12. At the same time, it will open the door for features such as ray tracing, path tracing, denoising, and advanced upscaling.

As the title implies, this is a very early WIP demo. As you will see, there are a lot of visual bugs and issues. The lighting, denoising, path tracing quality, performance, and compatibility still need a lot of polish.

Nevertheless, this is a really cool video. Marshall’s current goal is to prove that classic idTech 4 rendering can be modernized through IceBridge while keeping the original game recognizable and atmospheric. And now that he has met this goal, it’s time to see whether he will be able to improve the quality of Path Tracing and denoising.

For those wondering, there isn’t any public version of IceBridge as of yet. Once the first version becomes available, I’ll be sure to share its download link with you.

I should also note that Doom 3 will also need a new HD Texture Pack with PBR materials. So, once this Path Tracing mod is out, another modder will have to work on such a project. But I’m getting ahead of myself. Let’s first wait until this Path Tracing Mod for Doom 3 is released.

If you want to play older games with Path Tracing, you should try these mods. For instance, you can find such mods for Black Mesa, Star Wars Republic Commando, Need for Speed Carbon, NFS: Underground, and Manhunt. You can also find more for BioShock, Morrowind, NFS: Underground 2, Star Wars Jedi Outcast, and Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines.

And that’s not all. Modders have released demos for their Path Tracing Mods for Deus Ex, Mirror’s Edge, and Tomb Raider. And then we have the RTX Remix Mods for Painkiller and Left 4 Dead 2. Unreal Tournament 2004 and Unreal Gold have also gotten the path-traced treatment. Half-Life fans can also play the game with Full Ray Tracing/Path Tracing. A demo has also come out for a Path Tracing Mod for Duke Nukem 3D. Then we have the beta release of the Dark Souls 2 Path Tracing Mod. Lastly, you can download these amazing Path Tracing Mods for Doom, Doom 2, Quake, and Serious Sam. These last ones are among the best Path Tracing Mods you can find. So, don’t skip on them.

Enjoy and stay tuned for more!

John Papadopoulos

John is the founder and Editor in Chief at DSOGaming. He is a PC gaming fan and highly supports the modding and indie communities. Before creating DSOGaming, John worked on numerous gaming websites. While he is a die-hard PC gamer, his gaming roots can be found on consoles. John loved – and still does – the 16-bit consoles, and considers SNES to be one of the best consoles. Still, the PC platform won him over consoles. That was mainly due to 3DFX and its iconic dedicated 3D accelerator graphics card, Voodoo 2. John has also written a higher degree thesis on the “The Evolution of PC graphics cards.”
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