COMPLETE RT - UPDATE 1.5 RELEASED

Release notes:

CompleteRT 1.5 update gives you a better experience with the shader. And more importantly, it is finally fully compatible with DirectX 9. As for new features, it allows you to modify ambient light using different features. Ambient light removal helps reduce game-ish-looking lights and replaces them with the shader's advanced lighting features. Combined with sky-lighting, introduced in CompleteRT 1.4, you can make the overall color of the lighting look more relevant to the ambient. Sky lighting also got better, faster, and smoother at detecting the sky color.

The new version of CompleteRT gives you a smoother UX. Now, instead of preprocessor definitions, you can use simple toggles to turn on/off each individual effect. This removes the loading times between changes, allowing for easier before/after comparisons and making the tweaking process more fun. In addition, the C_RT_LITE preprocessor is also gone for good. In simple UI mode, it is embedded into the quality preset; and in the advanced UI mode, it's named "denoiser quality" as a drop-down menu. It gives the same benefits, a smoother experience.

Version 1.5 also gives a huge quality boost. Specular reflections got a massive boost in both quality and performance. Less noise, higher precision, and better frame rates. ReSTIR GI got even better with CompleteRT's new update. No unintended visual changes as the implementation got much more accurate than before. For more detailed information about the changes, continue reading below.

1- DirectX 9 Compatibility:

CompleteRT 1.5 is now fully compatible with DirectX 9, nothing is cut in short. You can use both effects at the same time. And ReSTIR-GI works just fine. Performance is as close as possible to DX10+ APIs.

2- Ambient removal:

This new feature allows you to replace the in-game lighting with CompleteRT's lighting. It reduces the in-game exposure to then increase it again with diffuse illumination or sky lighting. This helps with situations where the in-game lighting is too flat for ambient occlusion to be helpful. Or when the ambient lighting color is not relevant to the weather, which usually happens in games with poor artistic quality.

3- Effect toggles:

Previously, you could have either reflections or diffuse illumination. Then with the introduction of the hybrid mode, you could change the preprocessor setting, and wait for the shader to reload, then use both effects at the same time. Now in 1.5, you don't need to wait. The 2 toggles enable and disable the main effects seamlessly.

4- Denoiser quality setting:

CompleteRT 1.4 introduced Lite mode, which you could activate using a preprocessor setting. It was served to adjust the denoiser so it was less performance intensive for when you need more fps. This option is now accessible more easily than before. Now, in simple UI mode, depending on the quality-performance target of each preset, it adjusts also the denosier quality. The advanced UI mode puts it in a drop-down menu called "Denoiser Quality" in the denoiser section.

5- Specular reflections:

In CompleteRT 1.4, I rewrote the diffuse ray tracer for a better estimation of surface thickness. Now in 1.5, the reflection ray tracer also got its rewrite. Now sample count is adjustable to reduce noise. And a much more accurate ray intersection for better mirror-like reflections without crazy step counts. Simply put, 20 steps with the new update, give more accurate results than 64+ steps in CompleteRT 1.4 with low roughness values. Aside from the ray tracer, the denoiser is now much more stable in motion.

6- ReSTIR-GI:

With its long way of development, ReSTIR-GI is still in the scope of our attention. I improved its accuracy, effectiveness, and performance. Now you don't have to readjust your exposure slider every time you change the ReSTIR-GI sample count. Biases are reduced noticeably.

6- Bug fixes and performance improvements:

As a program, CompleteRT is also a victim of bugs sometimes. And we are always taking care of them as much as we can. On the other hand, I always try my best to make sure you play your favorite games smoothly while enjoying CompleteRT. So optimizations are a consistent part of every update.