Quake turns 30 as RTX mods bring path tracing to id Software classics
© ID Software Quake is 30 years old today. The original id Software shooter launched on June 22, 1996. The game arrived before consumer 3D accelerators became common. It later became closely associated with PC graphics upgrades through GLQuake, OpenGL rendering, online multiplayer and hardware-accelerated FPS gaming.
- Quake , 1996 ⬅️
- Quake Mission Pack No. 1: Scourge of Armagon , 1997
- Quake Mission Pack No. 2: Dissolution of Eternity , 1997
- Quake II , 1997
- Quake II Mission Pack: The Reckoning , 1998
- Quake II Mission Pack: Ground Zero , 1998
- Quake III Arena , 1999
- Quake III: Team Arena , 2000
- Quake 4 , 2005
- Enemy Territory: Quake Wars , 2007
- Quake Live , 2010
- Quake Champions , 2017
- Quake Enhanced , 2021
- Quake II Enhanced , 2023
From software rendering to path tracing
The game has been updated several times since then. In 2021, Quake returned as an enhanced re-release handled by id Software, Nightdive Studios and MachineGames.
There have also been attempts to update Quake with modern RTX features. The unofficial “Quake: Ray Traced” project adds a path tracing renderer to id Software’s Quake and is based on vkQuake, a Vulkan port of QuakeSpasm. The project requires a GPU with ray tracing support.
NVIDIA has also used the Quake series for RTX Remix demonstrations. Earlier this year, the company released an RTX Remix Advanced Particle VFX update and used WoodBoy’s Quake III Arena RTX demo to show path-traced visuals. Earlier NVIDIA presented Quake II RTX.
Source: Quake (Steam)
