As a consumer? It depends on the implementation. But I do enjoy the path-tracing modes of older games. I think they add value. "Ray-tracing" in newer games isn't the most noticeable effect, but that is mostly because its scope is often limited to things that were already pretty decently baked from the 8th generation forward.
From a development perspective, as somebody who has tinkered with UE5 (and other engines) to build out some large (16 x 120 sq.km) 3D high-density voxel landscapes from heightmaps, but who isn't a game artist, I very much like having the options of essentially automatic lighting systems (whether hybrid systems like lumen, or more "pure" ray-tracing.) Being able to have a decent lighting system right away is nice for these sort of experiments that likely will never amount to anything more than getting knowledge and seeing something beautiful.
It is best to think of ray-tracing as a set of technologies each having different qualities. It isn't only one thing.
The biggest gains, currently, are probably from a development perspective though.
Last edited by sc94597 - on 21 May 2025
