Nvidia gives Quake II RTX graphics upgrade

Nvidia has released an update to its Quake II remaster with ray tracing support. Version 1.2 includes improved textures, underwater lighting effects and improved glass rendering. In-game monitors are now also rendered using ray tracing.

Nvidia outlines the changes to Quake II RTX in a comprehensive announcement, including interactive comparisons to version 1.1. According to the GPU maker, 400 textures have been updated and water has been made more realistic by depicting sunbeams underwater and reflections in the waves.

The game has also received new graphics options. For example, you can now opt for a dynamic resolution. The game tries to maintain a certain frame rate and the resolution is adjusted based on the information in the image. Users can set the minimum and maximum resolution.

Quake II RTX version 1.2 is available via Steam or via the Nvidia website. The 1997 remaster of the classic shooter was released in June this year. The free version contains three levels from the shareware version. By purchasing the full game, all levels are playable with ray tracing.

From left to right: version 1.2 (ray tracing), version 1.1 (ray tracing), version 1.1 (opengl, without ray tracing)