A few days ago, Sledgehammer Games updated Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 on PC to include Path Tracing. So, here are some comparison screenshots. These screenshots can give you an idea of the visual improvements that Path Tracing brings to the table. They also highlight its huge performance hit.
The screenshots with Path Tracing are on the left, whereas the screenshots without it are on the right. And, surprisingly enough, the non-PT screenshots are still good.
To be honest, I thought there would be a bigger visual gap between these two modes. Right now, Path Tracing doesn’t bring a massive improvement to MW3. Sure, there are some more realistic shadows and reflections. But the developers did such a great job with the rasterized version. In some cases, I actually like the non-PT version better. I mean, look at the hair in the second comparison. With Path Tracing, it looks like plastic.
As we mentioned, Path Tracing is limited to pre-game lobbies and the gunsmith. These are small restricted areas, and I think the devs made them look awesome even without any RT effects. And they did a great job at it.
It’s not just about the visuals; the performance hit of Path Tracing is so significant that turning it on doesn’t make much sense. I mean, who would want to use it just for the pre-game lobbies? What’s the point? To check out more realistic shadows and reflections before diving into a match?
Overall, I’m not impressed with the Path Tracing effects in MW3. Sure, there are some small changes, but it feels a bit like the early days of Ray Tracing. You know, when you had to zoom in to notice the visual upgrades. In theory, Path Tracing could make a bigger difference during actual gameplay. Sadly, you can’t make it work even in the single-player campaign.
Let’s hope that the devs will let PC players turn on Path Tracing for the single-player mode through an upcoming update!
Thanks Reddit
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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