Nvidia's RTX cards are some of the most powerful GPUs in the business. They launched with support for full ray-tracing and DLSS upscaling, and many modern games have launched supporting both technologies. There are other technologies that have been brought to these cards as well, but these are two of the biggest. Since then, Nvidia has also been working on RTX Remix, a platform for modders to remaster their favorite older games. Nvidia has worked with Valve to remix Portal and Half-Life 2, with the former already available for download. Now, modders can remaster older games themselves.

What is RTX Remix?

Nvidia's RTX Remix is an innovative modding platform aimed at revitalizing a selection of classic games built on DirectX 8 and 9 architectures. This platform gives modders tools to enhance the visual quality of these older games by utilizing artificial intelligence. This approach improves textures, substitutes original game assets with high-fidelity versions upscaled with generative AI, and incorporates Nvidia's advanced RTX ray tracing, DLSS, and Reflex technologies.

The RTX Remix platform is composed of two primary elements: the RTX Remix application, also known as the Toolkit, and the RTX Remix Runtime. The Toolkit facilitates the creation of new lighting setups, enhanced textures through AI, and the integration of remastered assets into game scenes using preferred Digital Content Creation (DCC) tools. Conversely, the Runtime component captures scenes from classic games, allowing them to be imported into the RTX Remix application for modification. It plays a crucial role during gameplay by dynamically substituting original assets with the updated versions and implementing real-time path tracing to illuminate game scenes.

With the introduction of the RTX Remix application in an Open Beta phase, Nvidia has extended the capabilities of modders to create advanced RTX mods.

How does RTX Remix work?

Utilizing RTX Remix does not require extensive computing expertise, as the platform automates many of the complex processes involved. However, a foundational understanding of its operational mechanics can be beneficial. RTX Remix is structured around two principal components: the runtime, which integrates with the game during play, and the toolkit, which facilitates offline game asset editing.

The runtime encompasses two distinct elements: the Remix Bridge and the Renderer. The Bridge functions as an intermediary, monitoring the game's requests and relaying them to a specific program, NvRemixBridge.exe. This program enables the game's original rendering engine to operate in a 64-bit environment, thereby accessing a greater portion of the system's memory compared to the 32-bit limit that constrains most classic games. This capability is crucial for implementing ray tracing to render textures and meshes at high resolutions.

Acting as a conduit, the Bridge forwards game commands to the RTX Remix Renderer, a potent graphics engine that employs a real-time path-tracing technique for rendering game elements such as characters and objects. Moreover, the Renderer is capable of replacing old game components with upgraded ones from an RTX Remix Mod, stored in a designated folder, by using unique identifiers (hash IDs) to track and substitute in-game elements dynamically.

The RTX Remix Toolkit enables the straightforward creation and integration of new game objects, materials, and lighting. Leveraging Nvidia Omniverse, the Toolkit offers access to an array of advanced tools designed to significantly enhance the visual appeal of the game. The Runtime specifically targets DirectX 8 and 9 games that use a fixed function pipeline, ensuring compatibility with a select range of classic titles. However, injecting the Remix runtime into games outside this scope is unlikely to work. Furthermore, even among DirectX 8 and 9 games, variations in shader techniques and rendering processes can lead to crashes and unforeseen rendering issues. These challenges necessitate ongoing enhancements to the RTX Remix Runtime to ensure seamless functionality across a broader spectrum of compatible games.

What are the minimum requirements for RTX Remix?

At minimum, Nvidia RTX Remix requires the user to have Windows 10 or Windows 11, an "Intel i7 or AMD Ryzen" CPU (this is as specific as Nvidia gets, aside from specifying 4 cores), 16GB RAM, an RTX 3060 Ti, 8GB of vRAM, and a 512GB SSD. The recommended requirements are the same for both the operating system and the CPU (except they recommend 8 cores), 32GB RAM, an RTX 4070, 12GB of vRAM, and a 512GB M2 SSD.

These are the requirements for someone who wants to make use of RTX Remix to play remastered games, but those requirements will likely vary depending on the game.

How to download and use RTX Remix

If you want to use RTX Remix, you can download it from Nvidia. It's currently in beta release and also requires Nvidia Omniverse, but once installed, you can essentially point it at an existing DirectX 8 or 9 game and get to work.

For individuals interested in engaging with RTX Remix for the purpose of modifying classic games, you'll need to meet the following technical criteria. These criteria are established to guarantee that the modification process and the subsequent development of RTX Remix modifications are executed efficiently, and they differ for modders versus developers.

Step 1: Download Nvidia Omniverse

You'll first need to download and install Nvidia Omniverse. You'll want to download the "Workstation" installer.

Step 2: Download RTX Remix

1. Launch Nvidia Omniverse.
2. Go to the Exchange tab and search "RTX Remix."

3. Select the RTX Remix application, make sure the date is correct, and click Install.

4. Once installed, click Launch.

See the requirements for modders and developers below.

Requirements for modders

• Windows 10 or 11
• NVIDIA Omniverse

RTX Remix Runtime requirements for developers

• Windows 10 or 11
• Visual Studio VS 2019 or newer
• Windows SDK and emulator 10.0.19041.0 or newer
• Meson V0.61.4 or newer
  • Please note that v1.2.0 does not work (missing library).
  • Follow these instructions on how to install and reboot the PC before.
• Vulkan SDK 1.3.211.0 or newer
  • Please note that you may need to uninstall the previous SDK if you have an old version.
• Python version 3.9 or newer

What games will use RTX Remix?

At the moment, there aren't any games you can download that make use of RTX Remix aside from Portal, although modders can play with it to create their own. Half-Life 2 is in the works as well, and we're sure that with this release, there will be even more games available for download in the future, made by the community.

As it stands, RTX Remix works best with DirectX 8 and 9 games with fixed function pipelines. These include Call of Duty 2, Hitman 2: Silent Assassin, Garry's Mod, Freedom Fighters, Need for Speed Underground 2, and Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines. There is a community compatibility list on ModDB to see which games are compatible, and you can download any game’s rtx.conf config file and the RTX Remix runtime version it works with to get started with modding.

We'll be keeping an eye out for games that make use of RTX Remix, but it's an exciting time to be a gamer and to have an Nvidia graphics card!