The RTX demonstration of Quake II is already available. It is available through Steam or Nvidia store. RTX is Nvidia’s brand for ray tracing, which includes graphics cards, computers and games compatible with this system. This reconstruction of Quake II has been one of the most attractive and accessible manifestations of this technology.
To disguise this magnificent experience, obviously, you will have to have an RTX GPU in your system. If so, the first three levels of Quake II are waiting for you to download and enjoy, for free. And if you like the experience, you can buy the full game for $4.99.
Quake II RTX uses VKRay, an extension that allows using the Vulkan API to add ray tracing to the development of a video game. Built on Q2VKPT, a version of the game created by Christoph Schied using the Quake II open source engine, the RTX version is also built on a Vulkan renderer, so it is also compatible with Linux.
Also, Quake II is not far behind in the effects: HDR with dynamic lighting, precise sunlight and realistic indirect lighting, new materials with real refraction like water and glass, new textures for weapons and even a noise suppressor to improve the quality from the image.
If you want to return to the planet of the Strogg, prepare your team: an RTX 2060 graphics card is necessary at least to run the game correctly. Sorry, AMD, but this time the green tide won the game, at the tip of a BFG shot.
It will be the same FPS that we already knew and that you can play with these improvements as long as you have a GeForce RTX graphic card adapted for it. All those who already have a copy of Quake II will be able to play the entire campaign or the multiplayer and thus check on their own how it has evolved with these changes in lighting and textures.
