Final week at Gamescom, NVIDIA introduced the winners of the NVIDIA and ModDB RTX Remix Mod Contest, a $50,000 competitors celebrating community-made initiatives that reimagine traditional video games with fashionable constancy.
The entries confirmed how far online game modding has come, with particular person modders and small groups pulling off overhauls of comparable high quality to these created by whole studios.
On the coronary heart of those initiatives was NVIDIA RTX Remix, a platform that lets creators seize belongings from traditional titles and rebuild them with fashionable lighting, geometry and supplies. Paired with generative AI instruments like PBRFusion and ComfyUI, modders can now upscale or generate 1000’s of textures and automate repetitive duties to allow them to give attention to their artistry.
Plus, with NVIDIA RTX GPUs accelerating these AI-driven workflows, bold remasters that after took years can now come collectively in months.
There are presently 237 RTX Remix initiatives in improvement, constructing on over 100 completed mods and a couple of million downloads throughout fan favorites like Half-Life 2, Want for Pace: Underground, Portal and Deus Ex.
Remodeling Classics With Generative AI
The RTX Remix Mod Contest topped Merry Pencil Studios’ Painkiller RTX Remix with a number of awards, however it wasn’t the one mod value celebrating.
Right here’s a more in-depth have a look at the successful submission, together with different standout initiatives that showcase how RTX Remix and AI-powered instruments are redefining what’s attainable with modding on PCs.
‘Painkiller’ RTX Remix: Winner in Finest Total, Finest Use of RTX and Most Full Classes
The mod staff Merry Pencil Studios rebuilt greater than 35 ranges of the gothic shooter Painkiller utilizing AI-assisted workflows and handcrafted artistry. The staff batch-processed 1000’s of low-resolution textures and generated high-resolution bodily based mostly rendering (PBR) supplies that robotically received imported into RTX Remix.
The staff’s AI mannequin of selection was PBRFusion, a mannequin skilled by the RTX Remix group that may upscale textures by 4x and generate high-quality regular, roughness and peak maps.
This workflow supplied a constant basis for the sport’s advanced environments, liberating up time for artistic polish. From there, the staff used instruments like Blender and InstaMAT to craft belongings like lanterns and different gothic particulars that outline the sport’s ambiance.
“Generative AI has utterly expanded what feels attainable in modding. Past texture upscaling, we’re now seeing it generate 3D fashions, refine advanced multi-material surfaces and help with coding duties like constructing workflow instruments, writing documentation and catching errors.” — Merry Pencil Studios
“PBRFusion and different AI instruments made it attainable for a small staff to transform a complete recreation into PBR. It set the baseline look, whereas we centered our guide efforts on the belongings gamers discover most.” — Merry Pencil Studios
With RTX Remix, gothic church buildings now glow with volumetric gentle pouring by means of stained glass, marble statues scatter coloured gentle and fight scenes erupt with particle results that solid real looking shadows. NVIDIA GeForce RTX GPUs powered the workflow from begin to end, with real-time path tracing and NVIDIA DLSS know-how guaranteeing clean iteration whereas enhancing even on large scenes.
“The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 GPU was a dream for our workflow: pace, fluidity, the whole lot felt seamless. DLSS Body Technology doubled and even tripled body charges, making the sport look unimaginable on high-refresh shows.” — Merry Pencil Studios
What makes the Painkiller RTX Remix notable is its scope, that includes over 35 remastered ranges. This quantity of labor couldn’t have been accomplished in such a short while with out RTX Remix and the generative AI instruments the staff used.
By combining generative AI automation with cautious craftsmanship, Merry Pencil Studios delivered a venture that feels each bold and polished.
‘Unreal’ RTX Remix: An Bold AI Texture Rebuild
“I wouldn’t have been capable of create PBR textures with out AI. I might have possibly created emissive maps and peak maps, however I wouldn’t have been capable of do the roughness or regular maps myself.” — mstewart401
UnrealRTX demonstrates the dimensions of generative AI’s influence in modding. Modder mstewart401 got down to rebuild practically each texture throughout 14 ranges of the 1998 traditional — a activity that will have taken years by hand.
With RTX Remix’s built-in AI texture instruments, plus experimental strategies like producing animations from AI video instruments and hand-editing gentle maps, entire environments have been reimagined with new element and ambiance.
The outcomes are placing: glowing crystals pulse with emissive gentle, alien landscapes shimmer with fashionable supplies and the sport’s otherworldly maps really feel richer and extra alive. By leaning on AI for the majority of the feel work, mstewart401 might give attention to artistic sharpening — delivering an overhaul that feels bold even by skilled requirements.
“If somebody like me could make a mod like this, anybody can. I solely get an hour right here and an hour there, however with generative AI and RTX, I’ve been capable of push ‘Unreal’ additional than I ever thought attainable.” — mstewart401
‘Want for Pace: Underground’ RTX Remix: Mixing AI and 3D Artistry
Within the Want for Pace: Underground RTX Remix, modder Alessandro893 used AI and 3D artistry to remaster each race course within the recreation with new textures, supplies and lighting.
“In racing video games, generative AI opens up new potentialities for creating real looking and immersive environments. In a racing recreation like ‘Want for Pace: Underground,’ the visible setting is essential for participant immersion, however it additionally must really feel responsive and diverse.” — Alessandro893
Utilizing ComfyUI, Alessandro893 generated greater than 500 new textures, then refined them in Adobe Photoshop for consistency and realism. As well as, the modder constructed over 30 new high-poly automotive and setting fashions in Blender, upgrading older belongings with smoother, extra lifelike element.
“Generative AI was primarily used for texture technology. The unique look was preserved by utilizing the unique textures as enter for AI. It’s unattainable to create such numerous textures in such a brief time period alone with out AI.” — Alessandro893
With RTX GPUs driving AI texture conversion, path-traced reflections and DLSS acceleration, the staff might reimagine racing environments with sooner iteration and better constancy than ever. However because the modder emphasised, AI didn’t exchange artistry. It created room for it.
The overhaul is most placing on the Chinatown observe, which was rebuilt with new buildings, vegetation and totally path-traced lighting that makes neon reflections pop in opposition to moist pavement.
By leaning on AI to deal with the repetitive work of texture technology, the modder might give attention to artistic refinements — giving Olympic Metropolis a contemporary, cinematic twist whereas preserving its nostalgic really feel.
‘Portal 2’ RTX Remix: An Revolutionary AI-Powered Workflow
“AI opened up new alternatives and drastically accelerated my workflow, permitting me to give attention to extra bold artistic duties.” — Skurtyyskirts
Skurtyyskirts, the modder behind Portal 2 RTX Remix, used a singular workflow — tapping a giant language mannequin to construct a customized plug-in referred to as Substance2Remix, bridging Adobe Substance Painter on to RTX Remix.
This circulation allowed the modder to tug in an asset, apply AI-assisted supplies, hand-paint particulars and push it straight again into the sport, multi function speedy loop. What would usually take days of exporting and importing was finished in minutes.
“As soon as I noticed the potential of Remix’s REST utility programming interface, I spotted I might create a extra built-in workflow between instruments like Substance Painter and RTX Remix. I didn’t need to take care of a guide, tedious export-import course of for my handmade textures, so I developed a easy plug-and-play plug-in. This utterly shifted the position of AI from a easy upscaling instrument to a core element of my artistic pipeline, enabling me to give attention to creating detailed, high-quality textures by hand.” — Skurtyyskirts
Early on, the venture leaned on AI upscalers like PBRFusion, however over time the workflow developed into a mixture of AI and guide artistry. The result’s a sharper, extra atmospheric recreation setting — enhanced additional by RTX Remix’s volumetrics and fog techniques, which make the decaying take a look at chambers really feel extra alive.
By creating a brand new pipeline, the venture opens the door for different modders to experiment with sooner, AI-powered workflows of their very own.
Press Begin: Remaster With RTX Remix
To get began creating RTX Remix mods, obtain NVIDIA RTX Remix from the house display screen of the NVIDIA App and take a look at our tutorials and documentation. PBRFusion on Hugging Face additionally affords a plug-and-play setup with ComfyUI, letting modders batch-process textures into high-quality, PBR maps in just some clicks.
Try all the mods submitted to the RTX Remix Modding Contest, in addition to 100 extra Remix mods, accessible to obtain from ModDB. Learn the RTX Remix article to be taught extra concerning the contest and winners. For a sneak peek at RTX Remix initiatives underneath lively improvement, be part of the group over on the RTX Remix Showcase Discord server — it’s an excellent place to get a serving to hand.
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