Portal RTX is Shaping Up to be a Disaster.

NVIDIA revealed Portal in RTX a few days ago. I really, really dislike it in it's current state, watch the video to see my concerns about it and what I believe to be wrong with it. Normal people beware, a Portal superfan is talking.
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[@OssyFlawol]

EDIT: shit, the (Unrelated Footage) text gag over Black Mesa footage didn’t end up rendering into the video and I’ve only just noticed, oh well portal fans when the game about the soulless corporation is remastered by a soulless corporation (suddenly they don't like it) Hey, liked this video? Be sure to join my Discord! discord.gg/BkppBd7 >:)

[@Nicholas_Steel]

at 10:08 there's no visible vortex that's conveying you across the liquid pit.

[@FroxyProxy]

who cares it makes money

[@mrtnptrs]

Well, saying this while also saying no "blind hatred", while also saying it's "garbage" and "disgusting" doesn't really convey this being remotely objective right? Nothing wrong with an opinion piece, but this sounds more like a hate-filled-piece fed by endlessly reading other people's unfiltered reactions on KZbin and Twitter. Not fully disagreeing with you (the portals look weird for example haha), but just too much of an opinion piece in my opinion instead of an analysis-piece. Also, just because there are some points that MIGHT point to the "upgrade" being DX8-version based (Though I think they really mean bumps in geometry instead of actual bumpmapping and the portal texture could just be an artistic direction) doesn't mean it IS DX8-based. You're making a huge assumption there and presenting it as fact..... Also, could be that they used the DX8-image on purpose to make it look like a huger leap in graphical quality... or you're right indeed and it is DX8-based. But still: we don't know yet for sure, while you're assuming it is as a fact... Also your suggestion at 10:14 about the difference in opinion between normal players and superfans.... Haha, you don't need to be a "superfan" or "normal fan" to like or dislike Portal with RTX's art direction....

[@farawaygaming_]

Don't worry people will end up modding the original textures and models back in. So yu shouldn't cry

[@OssyFlawol]

@@farawaygaming_ If the response to a remastered version of the game is “don’t worry people will mod (X) back into it”, then the remaster has failed at it’s job. Yes, people will mod things back in - I am a modder myself, I do that kind of stuff constantly, but it’s less that others will do it, and more that modders *shouldn’t need to do it.*

[@AMD2600]

The thing that bothered me the most was actually how there is no more animation for the portal opening. Looks really weird

[@Padgriffin]

Yeah that’s just gone now. Wtf?

[@nailotsot]

I’m guessing it’s because they could’t make the animation compatible with the new dynamic lighting, so they just gave up entirely.

[@_v1nce130]

@@nailotsot or they arnt done

[@GameIdiots69]

@@_v1nce130 or lazy

[@_v1nce130]

@@GameIdiots69 sir its a tech demo and also they are making the new 40 series

[@Odisher7]

I think this is a completly fine technical demo. It's not an upgrade at all, but it's a cool thing to toy with for a bit

[@Left4Cake]

Exactly. Its cool to see and old.location in old ways but the original os still the definitive way to experience it.

[@grizzle2015]

Yeah I think criticizing the art is missing the point that anyone can use this new tech to redo old games with ray tracing. The tech is honestly really cool for modders and if someone wants to make portal with more true to original textures and ray tracing they can.

[@Left4Cake]

​ @Grizzle I do blame Nvidia for that still cuse they market like a portal remaster still but yeah, if you assume this is only to show off what ray tracing can do, but also assume it's not really ment to be a portal replacement then yeah it is really cool.

[@Kholaslittlespot1]

Yup. It's free ffs. People are weird and will complain about anything

[@grizzle2015]

@@Left4Cake it's to show off the software they include with the new 4000 series cards where anyone can add ray tracing to games. It's not to show off ray tracing at all. When these cards come out if you bought one you could do a new ray traced portal your self and then put it out on the internet for everyone to enjoy. Or you could take borderlands and remove the cell shading and make it with realistic graphics or you could do a cell shaded ray traced portal. It's just showing off a tool.

[@jpsalis]

I've never noticed that the portals have a vertical gradient honestly, that would've been incredibly useful lol

[@gplanck4645]

To me the biggest problem with what we've seen of Portal RTX so far is the way the new lighting and textures affect the mood/ambiance of the game. It affects it so much that it actually might change the unspoken narrative that Portal originally conveyed very successfully through its environment design alone. This "narrative through environment" concept was a key component of what made Portal's story actually work, and now it's lost. The original design of Portal put you in a world that appeared to be carefully built to make the "subject" feel like they were safe, and that the apparent dangers of the test facility were all under control. This redesign makes the world feel very sinister, and suspect. A very important part of Portal's plot is the player's growing suspicion that this experiment isn't as benign as it appears. With this redesign, it appears like a player might not be so naive initially. It feels like you might have an unsettled impression of the situation from the beginning.

[@sileudies]

What I hate is that it looks polished. The theme of aperture science is that you are alone, in some weird place you don’t know and the slightly dirty textures make everything feel eerie as you go through these strange experiments guided by a voice you have never heard before. This just makes it feel like there are cleaners constantly wiping down every surface.

[@DuneJumper]

Yeah that's a great point and I think it's actually the biggest issue of all. It fundamentally changes the atmosphere of the entire game.

[@0Bennyman]

It's a MOD, Skyrim isn't supposed to have guns or Thomas the tank engine flying around, don't usr it if you don't like it...

[@sileudies]

@@0Bennyman sure, but the fact that nvidia calls it an "upgrade" is the issue. This whole video, if you actually noticed, talks about why it is in fact a downgrade and not an upgrade

[@0Bennyman]

@@sileudies it IS an upgrade visually, if you dislike whatever art style you think the game has going then sure but it's absolutely insane visual upgrade. But it's a MOD, it doesn't destroy the original game nor does it aim to replace it, so complaining about the difference is absurd.. Just don't mod it??

[@sileudies]

@@0Bennyman portal could look AMAZING with rtx. However, they went with the worst possible method of doing so by putting no thought into the atmosphere and only calling it an upgrade because it will look shiny and fancy on the 2 nasa computers that can run it. It would be a great mod, but our complaint is that they could have put effort into the concept for it more than they did.

[@krisstasko]

Okay I wasn't the only one who thought the RTX graphics look wrong. It feels like those packs that put portal 2 assets in portal 1 and it looks bad cuz it's too clean.

[@ariral536]

Same bro

[@skeleton819]

good graphics = bad in your eyes i guess

[@krisstasko]

@@skeleton819 when the graphics don't fit the original artstyle and the lighting has no moodiness or variance it's just "bright"? Yeah it's bad

[@skeleton819]

@@krisstasko well just dont get rtx portal its pretty ez

[@_v1nce130]

@@krisstasko the original art style is realism and minimalism and modern shit, and it looks amazing

[@DasMxD]

How can a demo be a disaster? It's literally a tech demo which shows how easily you "could" bring over old games to new technical graphical standarts. At least that's how I undetstood it. They definetely "upgraded" the textures, lights and golbal illumination. Their decision to make everything out of metal was questionable, but still, it's basically just a showcase of the new technology and not a real remake or remaster or portal.

[@fqqwd9816]

Don’t really understand why this guy is so offended over this either. This is literally just a demo to show off RTX ray tracing in older games and is just using portal to show it off. Bit of an overreaction for an entirely free experience that doesn’t affect the portal franchise in any way but whatever.

[@xx_amongus_xx6987]

It essentially is a remaster though. Now we will never get a true remaster of Portal because the worse but passable RTX version exists.

[@xx_amongus_xx6987]

@@fqqwd9816 "It's free and doesn't affect much so you can't criticize it"

[@rexor8527]

@@fqqwd9816 I largely agree, but then, why the changes? like switching the button to portal 2's version? why go out of their way to add details that didn't exist, like the vents on the fizzler? or redo/retexture some things entirely like the portals and different surfaces? wouldn't you want to show of variety, other textures that handle the light and reflections differently? most of all, why in the world, for just an example of how easy it is to do this for other games, would they use a simplified version of the game that only existed to turn off a bunch of details, like bump maps, just to re-create and re-implement them from scratch? its not that I don't think this is a tech demo, clearly it is, but it doesn't seem like that's all it was meant to be.

[@DasMxD]

@@xx_amongus_xx6987 "Now we will never get a true remaster of Portal because the worse but passable RTX version exists." Source: Trust me Bro. I don't even want a Portal remaster. Just give me Portal 3.

[@crimehole]

Hopefully some fan does something about the textures, cuz ray tracing in portal is actually a really cool idea.

[@NotWendy3]

Something tells me it was never meant to be a direct upgrade to the original. But it sure is marketed as one. In reality it's just a tech demo which focuses more on showing off specific lighting features than anything else. I feel like they'd have more success in promoting these features if they showed how those can be used to create something that's actually visually appealing and functionally useful, in terms of how it supports the gameplay.

[@isaacwren7700]

@Not Wendy you nailed it. I'm pretty hyped for Portal RTX actually, because I belive in the technology and Portal is one of the greatest games ever made. Describing it as an upgrade, however? Those visuals are super jaring and definetly neither a good showcase of RTX's potential nor an improvement on the Portal aesthetic. Such a weird world when projects are created as marketing instead of the other way around. Sadly this could have been an actual upgrade if priorities had been different.

[@vmannn4259]

you do realize that it isn't just portal rtx, its a tool that nvidia is giving to modders which will allow them to shape and render the world as how they fit it to be. kzbin.info/www/bejne/mIa7ZKhnnqljoK8

[@mikeg2491]

It’s not really about showing off raytracing specifically as that is nothing new, but to show how an old game can have its textures and assets changed easily with rtx remix. If the textures look different, well that is the point, to show how a game can be modified.

[@NotWendy3]

@@mikeg2491 This also makes sense.

[@gametechish]

If you wanna see a game that takes advantage of rtx REALLY well, play cyberpunk 2077. The game does some really visually appealing things with rtx and really blew me away after upgrading to a gpu capable of doing ray tracing. Even things that I thought was a hud elements was actually ray tracing trickery.

[@theluca907]

The problem with white walls looking like metal, it's that they're supposed to be built from lunar rocks... and this fact is really, really important in the lore.

[@Meg_A_Byte]

Not built from lunar rocks, painted by the crushed up rocks. That's why I think the RTX version makes more sense, it's painted metal, not concrete.

[@ora2j251]

I was about to say that, what makes the walls look matte is the lunar rock paint on the surface. They singlehandedly messed up a big part of the lore in one texture change.

[@rcollosi]

@@Meg_A_Byte once you paint over metal it ceases to be shiny tho

[@Meg_A_Byte]

@@rcollosi Yes exactly. The white tiles in RTX version aren't shiny or are you making stuff up?

[@narkit7849]

@@Meg_A_Byte if you look into portal 2 bonus content I shows a little animation showing the panels being poured like concrete so yes it is concrete not metal you are confusing this with the gel

[@FoxyGuyHere]

I think this looks amazing. Can't wait to play it. I am Portal superfan too

[@Tofuey]

Yea this guy is absolutely overreacting

[@JustMaxior]

@@Tofuey hes just crying for no reason, free graphical upgrade that imo gonna make people forget that this game looked like a dinosaur in 2007

[@docCCCCC]

absolutely agreed

[@JustMaxior]

@Dev typical furry whining

[@cannonbyrd1755]

@@JustMaxior is the video author a furry? Even if tho I doubt that effected his reaction

[@norgeek]

The whole DX8 thing and P2 plans explain a lot of what's going on, but not *why* it ended up like that.. Would be cool hearing from someone involved

[@ghgh-gh1xq]

There's no way they used DX8. Video creator is confused (seems to misunderstand for instance that a normal mapped wall is still essentially flat)

[@1sdani]

@@ghgh-gh1xq Portal RTX literally only supports Portal DX8. It's literally a tech demo for a program designed to add RTX to DX8 games.

[@ghgh-gh1xq]

@@1sdani My apologies then, thanks for the information

[@Neurotoxin_Detected]

One thing I really dislike about RTX in general is that it tends to make _everything_ shiny and reflective. It drives me crazy when I see a texture that should obviously be matte be turned into a freshly polished mirror. Edit: The reply section has taught me that the shininess problem isn't due to RTX on it's own, but due to devs badly implementing it.

[@tamoozbr]

That's bad implementation, look at some cycles renders

[@VcSaJen]

It's not RTX itself, it's how devs they use it.

[@lessylessy]

I've been working with ray tracing (not real time ray tracing, I use it in digital art and vfx) for about a decade now, developers just use it to show off crazy reflections and not use it to show off the artistic capabilities. This has been a trend in the gaming scene for a long time now for marketing, even before RTX. I honestly believe that RTX wouldn't be a thing if it wasn't for current graphics based marketing strategies. Artstyle and artistic intent is shoved to the side to show off graphic capabilities, it is cool but hardware should not be the selling point of software.

[@PlexusDuMenton]

@@lessylessy It more or less the same with almost every technology that first hit video game industry : Bloom Motion blur Depth of Field They all were super badly used when they first arrived, but they slowly get better used over time as it's less of a "GIMICK" and more of a tool that art director are using. RTX has incredible potential for game, from better lighting to faster Developement time (trust me, working with baked light or real-time rastered lighting is a fucking pain)

[@lessylessy]

@@PlexusDuMenton I 100% agree. I think it will take time, too.

[@mathieu525]

I do have something to say about this: Portal RTX is supposed to be a showcase of a project called RTX Remix. RTX Remix is gonna be a software that's gonna let you basically slap full raytracing on any game you want. They have also showed in a video that this has alot of customizability, which means you will be able to make the games you turn to raytracing look however you want. Therefore, I think the community could just make it look more accurate to the original portal style themselves.

[@bone0]

It does more than inject ray tracing, it's a full graphics modding toolkit which is releasing for free with a beloved game being "upgraded" for free too yet people still find ways to be upset.

[@unreal_injun4179]

@@bone0 well, yeah those people base their identity around a consumer product, their spirits are dead so this is all they have, so....

[@mikeg2491]

@@unreal_injun4179 I suspect they are the same kind of people who put Funko pops of themselves on their wedding cake.

[@BxPanda7]

Not every game you want, specifically games running on DirectX 8, which is most likely why they decided to do this showcase on Portal, being one of the more recent and popular titles supported by RTX remix, but yeah, it's just a tech demo, not an actual remaster, not sure why people are upset about this, it's not like this is a wasted opportunity at a true remaster, if anything it's just a graphics mod.

[@Vysair]

@@unreal_injun4179 Gatekeeping but then again, they are needed to maintain the game original aesthetics so it does not run too far off

[@ChromeGodCharisk]

No matter If you like portal with rtx or not, always remember that it is an optional downloadeable dlc that you can activate or deactivate whenever you want and currently we only have beta footage .

[@socialguarantee]

It's weird how increasing the fidelity turned Portal, which had a unique and easily identifiable art style, into looking like any run of the mill Unreal 4 game

[@Mega-Brick]

I personally disagree. The first Portal had a really drab style (and most of the Portal clones, like QUBE, try to copy this to no success). Portal 2 did a far better job by making rooms comprised of nothing but black-and-white tiles interesting and unique. Portal RTX takes a few steps toward that Portal 2 style.

[@cbj4sc1]

@@Mega-Brick that's PART of why portal is so good. The whole point is to unsettle the user, make it be like a lab cold, calculated, and drab. This isn't a "oh its okay because it's meant to be like that" because it actually adds to the experience of the game and honestly enhances the effect of Portal 2's more vibrant art style.

[@Mega-Brick]

@@cbj4sc1 Maybe that was the intention of the original Portal at the time, but Valve moved away from that for a reason. If you ask me, Portal's style is more a holdover of Source and Half-Life 2's setting, not a strictly-artistic decision.

[@cbj4sc1]

@@Mega-Brick limitations breed creativity, and even if it wasn't their intention to have the game be more drab an cold it still doesn't matter because that (whether purposeful or not) added to the original experience of portal

[@Mega-Brick]

@@cbj4sc1 Then how wonderful will it be to have a new experience, new memories alongside the old? I think that is worth something.

[@critfish7545]

I think another big issue is that they took too many liberties with the art direction for the sake of showing off RTX, rather than letting the original setting speak for itself. Portal 1 features tons of opportunities to show off the visual effects offered by RTX as-is, without the need to add extra glowing lights to things, or overbrightening/darkening rooms. Fully dynamic, realtime lighting can be demonstrated through the minimal glow effects on cubes, a red glow from turret lasers, energy balls emitting a subtle orange haze, portals emitting a subtle blue/orange glow, and the mere fact that light can pass through portals, which itself is huge. Reflections can be shown off on the toxic goo, and on the numerous metal wall textures, which can be made shiny without looking tacky if done correctly. Refraction can be shown on the glass textures, both the ribbed/frosted texture on the observation rooms, and the flat one with painted stripes seen in the test chambers. Even subtle things like indicator lights changing from blue to orange, or altering cubes, buttons and energy ball receivers to have their blue components turn orange like in Portal 2 would produce a great effect. Certain choices, like making the red part of the buttons out of glass, aren't necessarily a bad idea, but here they're done pretty poorly. I would've gone for a foggy, translucent plastic look, which would not only improve visibility, but also show off refraction with a unique material. Adding extra lights to the cubes isn't a bad idea, but here it's simply overdone. I would've just gone with the inner ring, or just making the Aperture logo glow like what Entropy : Zero 2 does, but instead they've done both, with the Aperture logo being pure white, which overbrightens the cube to the point where it often becomes the brightest thing in the room. Then there are decisions which just baffle me. The texture on the light rail seems to have had its opacity changed, so it sticks out like a sore thumb. The fact that it's a re-used HL2 combine forcefield texture is blatantly obvious now, and it looks horrible here. The ceiling lamp in Test Chamber 00's relaxation vault is turned off, which is an utterly baffling decision as it makes the central room really dark for no reason, and takes away a perfect opportunity to show off RTX's dynamic lighting, as objects can be thrown at the lamp to make it move and swing around. I don't think Portal RTX itself is a bad idea, there is some good here. The shot in the momentum chamber showing the orange glow from the floor reflecting on the metal walls looks really good, for example. But right now, the execution of this is very hit-or-miss. I'm hoping to see modders have a go at refining this into a more pleasing state in the future.

[@Gulliblepikmin]

The glass portal 2 button thing is really weird when you consider that you can see small glowing orange tech stuff inside the buttons in portal 1, and when a button is pushed down, the center emits an orange light (again in portal 1). Those are both things that can show off raytracing.

[@jardex2275]

Exactly. This is like those 3D movies that try to be 3D MOVIES, rather than good movies that have a 3D effect on top of it.

[@blaperturemesa]

the whole point is to show off the rtx, this is a tech demo really

[@CocoTheMii]

@@blaperturemesa Did... did you even read the comment?

[@Carlium]

Personally I'd say it makes more sense to make the button more metal, it's a "super button" after all, so it should be able to support heavy objects, glass doesn't really make sense at all.

[@purringc5552]

If Nvidia did in fact use the 'lower' version of Portal, then it was deliberate. Makes sense really. The whole idea of this technology is to inject it into really old games.

[@zzxxxc6708]

RTX REMIX only works with DX8 and DX9 games with fixed pipeline graphics.

[@weakamna]

Was this highlighted at all in the promotion material? If not that's pretty disingenuous of them, because the implication is that they are remaking the current version of Portal 1, not a deliberately poor graphics one...

[@irishRocker1]

@@weakamna The point is the software can remaster a game for RTX with minimal development effort. why you all having a tantrum over it lol

[@weakamna]

@@irishRocker1 Cause they did it poorly. I think the technology is great, but I would expect NVidia of all people to know that you can do too much. This is just like many other games with RTX support where a lot of things looks off or bad cause the developers over used the tech. Also as I said, this doesn't feel like a loving remaster of Portal (or an "upgrade" as they keep harping on), it feels like a marketing stunt, that's the thing I'm most annoyed at. The fact that they didn't (to my knowledge) state that the comparison footage was from a deliberately downgraded version of the game, the fact that they kept harping on "upgraded" etc.

[@PunxTV123]

i want gta san andreas remastered

[@Hayreddin]

Here's the good news: you will be able to do your own version once Remix comes out, you'll still probably need to start from the DX8 version, but everything else you don't like you can fix.

[@flintfrommother3gaming]

You should remake or do something about this video because literally everything that's shown here is either better or got fixed but I forgot you are literally just rating the remaster with the voices in your head (aka biased opinion)

[@AstraParfait]

yo kzbin.info/www/bejne/bIKlcmR5jZmcadk

[@1sdani]

All opinions are, by definition, biased.

[@smlgd]

The reason they based it off the DX8 version is because they used RTX Remix to do it, because that only works with that use the fixed-function pipeline to actually be able to pull the assets from the game. It doesn't change anything in the game at all, it just mocks the DirectX API and implements a standalone renderer behind the D3D fixed-function pipeline, kind of like a compatibility layer works. Remix works with DX8 and DX9 but I assume the DX9 version of Portal uses the programmable pipeline instead of the fixed-function one (DX9 supports both) while the DX8 version uses the fixed-function pipeline (even though DX8 supports programmable pipeline, it only supports pixel shader 1.0 so many games didn't use it).

[@AVX512]

I think it's just the classic nVidia trope of "compare the new generation to a few gens back instead of the most recent one so we look better"

[@solaris5303]

​@@AVX512 DX10 onward don't have any built-in concept of lights, object transforms, material information, etc. There's no possible way that they could get accurate (wouldn't put it past them to guess with AI) scene information without hooking into the old fixed-function method calls.

[@SerBallister]

@@solaris5303 I can't imagine DX8 working that straight forward either, how does it deal with CPU based culling ?

[@fatboyinasandpit3434]

I like your funny words, magic man!

[@rars0n]

@@AVX512 It's both. Using the older version is far easier for them to implement, while also exaggerating the differences. Although honestly I think the old game looks better than the RTX version.

[@explosivenecklace8516]

To me personally it feels much too clean. In Portal 1 the environment seemed sterile at first but if you stopped and stared various stains and rust marks would reveal themselves, adding to the underlying themes of the game. In RTX all of that is gone

[@Ay-xq7mj]

I read this unpaused video and saw prints and stains.

[@frostyodran5893]

@@Ay-xq7mj well that is different all the walls are shiny and some specific are stained. they are all supposed to be stained

[@doommustard8818]

I'm not a superfan of portal, but I am (trying to become) a game developer, and when I first saw portal rtx, I instantly knew "those textures weren't made by a game dev". There's a ton of visual noise and as you pointed out minor indicative details are outright missing like the slight gradient of the portals and the checkerboard texturing. portal rtx is a tech demo for rtx first and a good game second, which is a weird thing to say about a remake of a game as good as portal.

[@Wylie288]

They were though. Those textures are literally imported from Portal 2.

[@shinoku250_gaming]

@@Wylie288 Now that's just lazy

[@3htthexy]

@@shinoku250_gaming not at all, updating portal 1's textures to match portal 2's textures just brings coherency to the visuals across the two games. it didnt make much sense that portal 1 facilities look so different from portal 2's anyway. im glad theyre using the newer textures, old portal 1 textures are pretty bland (but tbf the game has a v diff atmosphere from portal 2, so it was more fitting for 1). but if you want the old visuals, play the original lol

[@shinoku250_gaming]

@@3htthexy not exactly, especially if you watched the video itself and know why it's a bad thing

[@ianmitchell5979]

I don't mind this much, since it's just a free mod, and it doesn't replace the original. Basically harmless. It's just there for people who want it. Like the controversial Cinematic mod for HL2. Could it be better? Absolutely. There should be a ray-traced version that enhances what made the original so good. Not completely change the original's art direction/atmosphere.

[@Two49]

Came here to say this.

[@keilafleischbein59]

Harmless, but it's still lazy and a missed opportunity.

[@Khunkurisu]

@@keilafleischbein59 it’s literally made with tools that will be public to use. If you think it’s lazy make your own? I usually don’t go for the “do it yourself then” comments but seriously it’s just showing off the tech, and is a free mod. Someone will make a mod of it, or you can. Just chill.

[@ianmitchell5979]

@@keilafleischbein59 Indeed. That's why I already mentioned how it should be better. I just personally don't feel like making a big fuss over it. I think there has been fan mods made that give us the kind of remaster we're looking for in terms of lighting, textures, and effects.

[@keilafleischbein59]

@@Khunkurisu so just release the tools. Don't tout around an upgrade for portal when it's really just a highly technical downgrade beta test. That's insulting to gamers with sense.

[@smileyface8884]

It's so reflective it reminds me of half life source. Anyway the main problem is just how dark everything is to show of the funny light rays so for a first time player they may struggle to find where key elements are.

[@Damian-cilr2]

daily reminder that half life source wasnt utter garbage until the 2013 steampipe updates which made everything overly shiny and the game was made a fuckton more buggy,and also there was some patches pre 2013 that fixed some issues but then that happened

[@Anomaliayt]

You’re mostly making an issue out of nothing.

[@KaneMODS]

every youtuber in 2022

[@Grafii2198]

These portals are really similar to the design of portals in beta. I don't know much about the history of this game, but when the game looked very similar to what we got, portals were a lot simpler in design and it reminds me of this.

[@nicodawisp]

yea, and the only reason the design changed is cuz the xbox couldnt handle the beta one

[@idoblenderstuffs]

the main difference with the walls is that portalable ones are white. the reflectivity does nothing to convey that from my perspective at least. the one thing i can 100% agree with in this is that the portals look horrible tbh.

[@arabellahrabarchuk6715]

I was super confused when he went on about reflectivity as an indicator, I've never considered that once in my life honestly.

[@OssyFlawol]

Ultimately colour matters the most in the end, the main point I wanted to make was that there was a level of care that Valve had put into making the surfaces distinct beyond a simple colour, but I couldn’t work it well into the script

[@precuncaraili]

Honestly I really like the new portals

[@hallohallo926]

Come on they aren’t game Designers they just make AI and Cards

[@wolfcl0ck]

@@hallohallo926 If they're not game designers, they shouldn't have been doing it to begin with, they should have given it to an actual team of game designers. This is a collaboration between one of the most power Triple A game studios on the planet and one of the most powerful Hardware companies on the planet, not some college kids doing a for-fun project.

[@Geekoman1256]

Goes to show you how masterful Valve's art style really is. They made the most of what they had, and that's why all their games look really good even to this day.

[@ADreamingTraveler]

Yeah Team Fortress 2 and Portal still look great in 2022

[@NovidProkteps]

@@ADreamingTraveler not even gonna mention HL2?

[@keilafleischbein59]

@@NovidProkteps half life 2 doesn't look as good as TF2 or portal

[@keilafleischbein59]

@@NovidProkteps half life 2s brilliance is more the ambience and attention to detail. At the time it's graphics were FANTASTIC. But it was still their first source game, and it taught them lessons they applied to TF2, portal, and CSGO.

[@NovidProkteps]

@@keilafleischbein59 I would strongly disagree

[@mission3479]

This is why these changes are called "remixes" and not remasters, it's Nvidia interpretation(mod) of an old classic not a faithful recreation by the original developer

[@YamiBaddy]

Totally on board with Portal RTX. It's a great demonstration for RTX; it retrofits an older game with new models, textures and lighting, showing potential for other older titles receiving similiar treatment. The potential this has for modding communities of countless old titles is insane. So even if you don't like the art-direction Portal RTX has taken, it doesn't stop you from modifying it, now with all new tech!

[@slushiestelm1832]

I definitely had a hard time myself figuring out why I didn’t like Portal RTX’s graphics, but you showing that DirectX Portal gameplay finally made it all click. Such a bizarre decision on Nvidia’s part to base a high fidelity “upgrade” of Portal on… a lower fidelity version of Portal. All that aside, great video like always Ossy, can’t wait to see what your next video project is.

[@pie75]

It's not Bizarre at all - most people watching nVidia's press releases have never and will never play Portal. In order for them to maximise the value of the product they're selling, using Portal as an ad - they need to maximise the difference between the old version and the new verison. Thus, they use the DX8 version of the game, because it looks worse, which makes the RTX version look better.

[@desconsertando1]

The "worse version X better version" strategy does make sense, but I would give you an answer a little more technical. I guess its because this was done with their new AI that automatically "improves" assets and lights, which they showcased on the same presentation as this game, and this AI, AFAIK only works(or works best) with some Direct Xs pipeline, 8 and 9 I believe(and maybe it worked best in this case with the 8 one)

[@defaulted9485]

@@pie75 We get your point but the issue is that people might've been inclined to buy the usual Portal than RTX Portal. Even more seriously, RTX screws the visual language of portal-able walls from usual walls. That's a serious design flaw. Also, imagine a new customer requesting reviews before buying RTX Portal - which first reviews will be written by a veteran Portal Addicted person who are not happy.

[@Artician]

@@defaulted9485 You do know it's gonna be a free dlc, right?

[@T1MAGEDDON]

@@pie75 The RTX version is based off DX8 too, but with RTX Remix ontop of it, it supports both DX8 and DX9 which is why it was compared to the DX8 version, to show how much of a change RTX Remix does

[@SuperGamersgames]

Personally, I don't have too many issues with the RTX remaster. Obviously, there are a few things I would say need changing like lowering how reflective the concrete surfaces are as well as even the metallic surfaces, but pretty much anything else you were describing seem like rather small fixes that need to be made. However, the two exceptions to this are the Portal Gradients and Glass Buttons. I actually didn't even notice how important the Portal Gradients was until you mentioned it, which now stands out a little more. In regards to Glass Buttons, I think they were built this way specifically to have another cool RTX effect. I will note that the goal of this is to ultimately showcase RTX Remix, which will mean they will exaggerate the lighting for showcasing purposes (and turn buttons into glass of course). What I'm mostly expecting to happen here is that there will be slight updates and tweaks to this (as well as fixing obvious visual issues like the missing portal animations or the missing light decal). Now, here is my main complaint that almost none of you will likely give a damn about, but here it is: Will the RTX reflections on the starting glass box get in the way of the portals' first big reveal. This is kind of a crucial moment at the start as it distinctly shows the player walk through a portal. If you can't see that happening then you ultimately end up missing the game's first lesson it teaches you. Okay, I'm done now. P.S. While I'm not a superfan, I can totally understand where you are coming from. Part of the tricky bit of doing something like this is improving the graphics style while keeping the intent that was conveyed from the original. Another thing is that this is a graphics remaster, which means they aren't really upgrading anything past that (like the absurdly slow portal rotation that got fixed in the sequel). But who knows, after all, since this is a showcase for RTX Remix, it may be possible for us to our own community version of this that plays more faithful to the original intent and less exaggerated lighting. :)

[@GoatOfTheWoods]

Lemme retitle this stupid video: "Portal RTX is Shaping Up to be Awesome, despite all the youtubers baiting views with corny video titles"

[@Jentovice]

how the fuck can you be mad at this? It's free it doesn't replace the old game And it objectively looks better than the old game

[@Jupiter9999]

BuT tHe WaLLs ArE tOo sHinEy

[@orangegouice]

did you watch the start of the video or are you just stupid

[@Jentovice]

@@orangegouice I sadly watched all of hoping he would say at least 1 intelligent thing, I was disappointed

[@RaptorMocha]

legit lol

[@DerFinder]

I'm not concerned. Mods will fix it ... I hope. I just hope one can make the portals emit brighter light

[@DerFinder]

@@crazyduplicate I've played Portal so many times, why not change it up once in a while

[@Teryte]

I hope nvidea will just add glowing portals to it

[@Teryte]

@@crazyduplicate the rtx looks really cool

[@skeleton819]

just dont use this one..?

[@peterlewis2178]

@@crazyduplicate Because the original has 2007 graphics. It's not "bad" per se, but if it's possible to take that amazing game, and make it look super high res and have realistic lighting, then why the heck not? I think it's a bit ridiculous to claim that lower graphics are somehow superior just because they were the original. The emphasis that should be made here is that the concept of portal RTX is not "a turd". The part that makes it not so great is literally just the textures and their properties. Ray tracing itself is incredible, it literally simulates real time light rays and how they bounce off of surfaces. if the surfaces are configured properly, the visual outcome is vastly superior to any other form of light rendering.

[@asocksual4910]

To be honest, I was half expecting this video to just argue that the RTX Portal sucks because it tries to make Portal 1 look like Portal 2 and was inclined to disgaree- but I'm very glad that my misconception is wrong! I totally agree that making EVERYTHING super shiny and glowy and reflective really screws up the visual language of what surfaces are portal-able and what aren't, even if crazy dramatic lighting does kinda make my monkey brain go hehe hoohoo. I must say that I love all of the little touches that you also mentioned liking (especially the little glowy blue lines in the circle border thingy!), but overall I'm with ya on this being just really poorly thought out. Ngl I am curious about trying it for myself when it comes out, but I think it would make my laptop melt. Also hey, I never realized that Portal was actually using a really subtle color correction effect! You learn something new every day.

[@surviver5738]

Looks pretty easy to figure out which surfaces can support portals...

[@futvnyc]

Yoy are incorrect. Everything isn't shiny and everything isn't clean. They still have dirty surfaces. Rtx makes the world feel more alive and makes the surfaces more true to life unlike before where everything looked the same and the lighting was flat and dull.

[@Wertyhappy27]

​@@futvnyc the white panels dont even look that shiny though

[@paulbunyangonewild7596]

I know right. But me personally. It honestly looks like the old trailers. So mesmerizing.

[@reptiliannoizezz.413]

Nah Portal 1 looking like Portal 2 would be great, I still haven't gotten over how GLaDOS' design changes inbetween games

[@Flapjack624]

Literally 11 mins of you “reaching” about the smallest stuff

[@TheMagicPOPO]

I came into this video with an open mind but left with disappointment. Thanks, removal of dislikes.

[@WwZa7]

> Portal RTX is disgusting > adds to wishlist anyways

[@how2shrek]

Another thing that's different in the trailer is that there's no animation for the portals forming anymore; they just sort of lazily pop into existence, already full-size. I'm really hoping this is just a classic case of the trailer footage being of an unfinished build, but even then, isn't the trailer supposed to show off *good* visuals to get people to want to try it?

[@foxbuthigh5764]

I didn't even see that, I hate it.

[@RiceWitch-dingus-400]

You clearly see an animation? What are you talking about lol.

[@ZachHixsonTutorials]

Portal RTX reminds me of when someone first discovers subsurface scattering or chromatic aberration. When people first find out about them they slap them on everything and turn up the effect to 100 until they can really obviously see it, even though both of these effects are best used subtly to the point where you should barely notice them. It feels like that's what they did here. Ray tracing really shines when it comes to high contrast reflections and lights that cast obvious shadows. Instead of just slapping RTX on Portal and calling it a day, they felt like they needed to make it as obvious as possible that this was a raytraced game so they made everything dark, contrasty, and super reflective.

[@Appoxo]

The marketing is probably aimed at the average Joe and not for the actual artists. We are (in practice) elites regarding visual styles and our circlejerking makes us forget that there are loads more people that just want to have a good time looking at the companion cube thinking "What a nice looking cube"

[@DinJerr]

I entirely agree with your statement. Because I remember there were games that used raytracing subtly, but doofuses would be like "Duh, nothing different except it's darker in some parts.", thus tech demos are forced to show all these wildly reflective environments to get the message across.

[@TurdFurgeson275]

@@Appoxo "we are elites". You are so cringe.

[@clareski]

the only thing i hate about this is how dark eachroom looks

[@jikkybytt]

You're very correct actually, it feels like a fanmod that just enhances the graphic without understanding what made original work

[@Tenchy]

I think the good thing that comes from this is that with RTX remix, people will be able to make their own RTX remasters of this game and keep the original art direction in mind. I believe Nvidia probably did this while testing the RTX Remix tools and decided to release it. So maybe their main focus was the RTX implementation rather than art direction, so I’m looking forward to what fans can do with this tool when it releases.

[@Appoxo]

Finally someone with a brain. This is a technical demonstration and not an technical _and_ artistic demonstration. It's just a "Ey bro, look what I made" on a corporate scale rather than just nexus mods.

[@ScarfmonsterWR]

@@Appoxo The problem is that Nvidia got on a high horse and claims it's the obviously better upgraded version that everyone should play going forward. All while just lying about how the original looked like. Personally, I am tired of Nividia being rude about any game that came before RTX as if all of them looked like garbage and we players need Nvidia to save us from awful graphics. Nevermind that Nvidia did a lot of harm to games over they years while claiming to "support" the dev studios. And it's only a coincidence that older games on highest settings look great, while modern games on medium settings use 10x more resources and yet look much worse.

[@xx_amongus_xx6987]

@@Appoxo "It's a technical demonstration" not according to Nvidia lol

[@yungmetr0135]

@@ScarfmonsterWR you guys are malding over the term "upgrade" as if any sane person wouldn't just forget their little description in 5 minutes, and most people would actually consider it an upgrade anyway

[@xweert711]

@@ScarfmonsterWR They didn't say anything of the sort, it was never advertised to be a better, upgraded version of the game itself. It advertised itself as a product created with RTX Remix and that it upgrades the rendering pipeline. They also didn't lie about the original game. I wish people saw my comment because I explained all of this but it got buried. Ossy outright lied and put words in Nvidia's mouth in this video and it really bothered me.

[@Despacitoian]

The worst part about this is the portals, like they are your main way of completing levels and you are gonna spend a lot of time staring at and placing portals, so of course they were the most butchered thing in the entire game, hell they don’t even have an open and close animation they just appear

[@MrPezsgess]

Nvidia doesn't care. They only care about cheap and old games to implement RTX .Quake RTX etc. THis way they can manipulate easyer the FPS to look better with their 4000 series.

[@tbuk8350]

I thought this was gonna be a video on some problem with the mod that meant it didn't work properly, or had horrible development issues that meant it wasn't going to release, not that it's not lore-friendly. If I wanna play lore-friendly Portal, I'll just play Portal. The point of this is to basically serve as a tech demo, similar to Quake RTX.

[@digitalhouse6969]

some people will always keep bitching about whatever

[@canadianlucifer8446]

I'm not a big fan of how the portals look, but everything else looks pretty good! I actually like the glass button too. I don't really like how some stuff is shiny when it's supposed to be matte tho

[@ADreamingTraveler]

Yeah it feels like they just decided to make it shiny to have a reason to show off raytracing

[@Appoxo]

@@ADreamingTraveler I think soas well. Matte surfaces dont have the shine to show off the glow/reflections and more of an ambient light.

[@Friddle]

Completely agree with the top comment

[@coleeckerman1390]

And it cleans things that are supposed to be dirty and abandoned looking

[@burnttoast3925]

Something im surprised wasnt mentioned was how clean almost everything is in portal RTX, in portal pretty much everything is kinda unclean, the elevator has stains on the inner walls, all the portalable walls are dirty in some way, even the cubes and buttons are pretty unclean (im guessing) since GLaDOS killed all the employees so no one could do regular maintenance and cleaning, but in the RTX version everything is shiny and clean minus the walls by the danger water, it just doesnt feel right for portal 1 in my opinion

[@GagePurple]

I agree but I'm also willing to let it slide because in my mind portal 1 is the clean one when compared to portal 2, however the dirt on the walls of portal 1 did tell a bit of story showing that underneath the clean and clinical facade, the inner workings of aperture science aren't as clean as they initially seem, if you look close enough. But hey, we'll always have the original game and I'm just happy that anything portal related is getting a significant update! Also it does look like eyecandy to me regardless haha

[@Padgriffin]

It feels like someone went in and powerwashed everything.

[@yurab1834]

I agree. The atmosphere of the original Portal conveys an extremely plain and sterile testing environment, yet one that's been visibly desolate for a long time. The concrete and metal are a little scratched and discolored, the walls that the energy pellets bounced into have developed large cracks over time, the standing goo has stained the walls that surround it, and so on. And while the RTX Remix version preserves some of the decals and materials that contributed to it, it still feels uncannily perfect. It's like a fan wanted to make a 3D render of what a more "realistic" Portal would look like, but that render was then expanded to be the entire game.

[@burnttoast3925]

@@yurab1834 you have put my thoughts into words way better than i could!

[@WROB3L]

Imagine being pissy that a 15 year old game is getting a graphical update.

[@DrAlexandrius]

Literally this lol

[@djdjdijon]

Sounds like someone can’t afford a 4090

[@mehdi2804]

I'm curious to hear your opinion on the newly released video by IGN

[@mehdi2804]

Also, your opinion matters since it's because of people like you many things get fixed in games

[@krampus1571]

This seems more like "I don't really personally like how it looks" But it doesn't really seem like it needed such a rash title as for an opinion as simple as "This game is gonna be a disaster because I don't like how it looks!" Yet again its an alright review of.. stuff we haven't got to personally experience yet. But we're just gonna see how it ends up being.

[@alina_rosa]

On the Nvidia webpage they mention RTX Remix as a tool for remastering DX9 and DX8 games, so I imagine that may be why they chose the DX8 version specifically. As for the art direction, it's anyone's guess. I kinda like how it looks except for the portals. I imagine when RTX remix becomes popular we might see a better version of portal with ray tracing.

[@HL09]

Same, I think it's cool that they went all out on changing the looks. I like portal 1s look on it's own so having a completely different looking game would be neat and new

[@turinggirl6432]

Basing your identity on a game made by a company will lead you into this situation

[@ImNoah_btw]

Please, what is the song of minute ~9-10? I had It saved long ago

[@TKFTGuillotine]

I find it incredibly funny that all you had to say was "DX8 Mode" and I immediately knew what you were talking about. I had no idea that was what caused the game to look like that - I always assumed it was some sort of graphical bug - but that aesthetic is so burned into my mind that it clicked before you even showed the image. Honestly it makes perfect sense.

[@Gulliblepikmin]

I remember the simpler portals because of a let's play, but I just assumed you got those portals either via turning down your graphics settings or it was just in an older version. Only a week or two bit before this video released I found out that you can't get the simpler portals via turning down your settings. (at least, not in that way)

[@XeZrunner]

Same with me too, everything suddenly clicked, all the regressions in particles and stuff suddenly made perfect sense. It's so funny :D

[@lily_borb]

I'm not all mad about it, its got a lot of bad art choices but the fact we can mod with this definitely outweighs it's faults. I mean were the portal modding community. I look at this mod and think "I can change him" (Also never noticed the elevator footsteps ewww but good detail)

[@Chorismos]

Nice to see you here, and yes I totally agree.

[@lily_borb]

@@Chorismos portal community swag moment

[@invidious07]

Jeez this is exhausting. It's free content. It's not replacing the game we love and they aren't charging us for it. It will give lots of us a reason to replay the game and will bring in new people who never played the classic. There is nothing to complain about at this point other than that you wish the FREE thing was even better, but it's free, and you haven't even played it yet. Play or it not, like it or not whatever, but don't try to boost yourself by hating on, especially not before you have even played it based on pre-release promotional footage.

[@Selloca]

this and the comments just look like a bunch on people trying their best to complain about anything they can lol

[@NebulaGhost21]

Kinda unprofessional showcase that is way too emotional than objective, even using swear words that probably led to the video having 20% dislikes. Good points were made but are overshadowed by the anger behind the words. Some remarks are also really missing the mark like the dark textured walls that can't open portals compared to the white ones that can open portals. Even in the RTX version there is a clear distinction from the two types of walls, I don't see people confusing these two types of walls.

[@xweert711]

I seriously feel like you severely misinterpreted what they meant by 'Upgrade'. People like Tyler McVicker calling this a Remaster (when it seriously is not) doesn't help, but when they refer to upgrade, it's not talking about the game being better, or the game itself being improved in some way. It's referring to the shader pipeline and new rendering features that they've added to it, seamlessly. The full paragraphs in the video expressly make that clear, but you're like, conveniently only showing the word "Upgrade" or "Upgrading" and then not talking about the entire rest of the paragraph, and then insisting that they're saying something that they aren't. I don't know why you're doing that, but it's kinda leaving a bad taste in my mouth, there. The only place where it's a little fishy is when they refer to people having the tools to make their own ambitious remasters if they want with the press of a button, but that's honestly how most casual users are gonna want to use it, so it makes sense to say that, and since that was such an obvious thing for you to latch on to with your narrative, I'm really surprised you didn't grab onto that. Also, them saying Point Lights isn't misinformation, it's just poor terminology. By Point Lights they mean that Portal only supports lights being projected from a singular point, whether it be a spotlight or a point light, which is what i'm assuming you're referring to, which is *true*. Of course, if you use a light_environment, this is different, but that goes almost entirely unused in Portal, so that doesn't really count. That's why they mention things like box lights and different shapes of light; Portal only supports lights from singular points, whereas RTX supports shape lights. They also didn't imply that Source Engine doesn't have support for Bump mapping (I'm also not at all sure why you thought they said that). They were referring to flatness in regards to the PBR pipeline and how many textures didn't fully utilize normal maps and such. To say that most games in 2007 didn't have Bump Mapping would be absurd, so it's good that it isn't what they were saying. In some of the comparison screenshots on the website, they literally show off the normal maps IN retail Portal; i'm really, really confused as to why you said this part, it's just blatantly incorrect. The game is intended to show off RTX Remix, a program that Nvidia is developing which allows anyone to create a fully ray-traced and upgraded shader pipeline toolset for any game on the market. Portal is just one example of that being the case. As a result, it's not saying it's upgrading the game itself, it's saying it's upgrading the visual pipeline of Portal and adding things like RTX Ray Tracing and various other techniques to show off their RTX Remix technology. That's why every stylistic change they did involves the RTX lighting in some way; it's only purpose is to show off the technology, not to actually be some sort of remake to Portal in some way or another. I get that you're unhappy with how it looks, but keep in mind that your criticism is a little misguided, because you're treating it like it's something that it isn't trying to be. I don't really like the way it looks either, but it's the same as their Quake 2 and Minecraft RTX demos; it isn't intended to be a remake or remaster or anything like that. It's literally just there to show off the technology, Portal just so happened to be the one that they picked this time. They also did one for Morrowind and a couple of other games, too. I love your videos and I love learning more about Portal because it's very near and dear to my heart, but I feel like you're taking this RTX thing way more personally than you should be, and are treating it like something that it just seriously isn't meant to be, y'know?

[@vanilla4064]

8:05 What you are referring to is Direct3D, Microsoft's graphics API. DirectX is Microsoft's multimedia suite (primarily game programming).

[@Cilvathorne]

Counterpoint: it’s free and not forced upon you

[@TheRealJochen]

Correct, nothing bad is forced upon you so theres no point in reviewing anything unless its a perfect 10/10

[@KingKrouch]

Really hoping these issues are addressed before release. It’s actually disappointing when I see a remaster or a PC port of a game based on a hilariously inferior release which completely muddies public opinion on said game, because that’s the only one that’s legally available. Granted, the original game is still there, but it’s disappointing. I dislike the glass buttons and noticed how odd the portals looked. That said, I’m looking forward to the RTX Remix tools to release. I’d love to see what a remastered Sonic Adventure, Doom 3, or Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay would look like with raytracing. Hopefully modders take a look at this version of the game to fix the issues if NVIDIA isn’t gonna.

[@aarondovaston]

Reminds of halo cea

[@HoodedSpidey]

It’s using Remix so you’ll actually be able to tweak it yourself

[@Brawltendo]

It pretty much _has_ to be based on DX8 Portal because they used RTX Remix to make it, which only works with a fixed-function graphics pipeline (at least as of now) which I'm assuming that version of Portal uses. The regular DX9 version uses a programmable pipeline which would make it incompatible with RTX Remix.

[@halo_008]

whats the music at about 8:03? it sounds familiar and i cant put my finger on it

[@ceptemzorpus]

Self Esteem Fund - Portal

[@charmychar390]

man this video aged well.. they really complained about a DEMO WIP when it wasn't even 100% ready.

[@Gulliblepikmin]

Stuff I have to say about portal RTX: The portal gun's muzzle flash effect is now gone. The light blue colour of the portalable floor tiles is now replaced with white. The dirtyness of the concrete surfaces is now gone, making the enrichment center feel less aging and abandoned. One of the best examples of the visual style change is test chamber 11. The floor lights seem to have been removed. Any light sources that are still left give off barely any light compared to portal 1, these last two things are most noticeable in chamber 16. The aperture logo glowing on the cubes seems to have been copied from the half-life 2 mod, entropy zero 2. The mod's popular enough to get articles written about it, so it isn't the most far fetched idea. The portals are WAY too saturated and are an insult to my eyes. The non-portalable floor tiles don't stand out as much as they did in portal 1. The escape section is gonna be the ugliest part I bet. I have a bad feeling that GLaDOS will be some ungodly fusion between her p1 and p2 designs.

[@skeleton819]

nitpicking whiner

[@nailotsot]

Actually at 10:11 the muzzle flash doesn’t appear, but then the next time the portal gun is fired it does? So, it’s not missing but just broken

[@Gulliblepikmin]

@@nailotsot Well that's even worse!

[@nailotsot]

@@Gulliblepikmin yeah, like how do you mess it up that badly?

[@Gulliblepikmin]

@@nailotsot The muzzleflash effect seems to have been changed slightly, so it's probably broke because of that.

[@Roverfan24]

I mean I agree that it looks off, but Valve seems to be doing a lot more with the Portal IP recently. That gets me somewhat excited for a new game in the universe.

[@suza3199]

This remaster or however you want to call it wasn't made by Valve. It was made entirely by Nvidia, or rather a studio that they outsourced it to, the same ones that made the Quake RTX version

[@Roverfan24]

@@suza3199 Ik that but they allowed it to happen, the point is that the IP is getting way more attention than it has in years.

[@suza3199]

@@Roverfan24 The thing is that I think it was done through Omniverse, which doesn't require any input from the actual developers of the game. Then, if they did ask Valve if they could show it off and make it for legal reasons, that's another thing, which would be nice.

[@CubieJudy]

Considering Valve worked with Nvidia to do the Nintendo Switch ports, this is DEFINITELY done with Valve's permission, and I'm excited to see what this could mean for Portal

[@Duckbusinessman]

@@CubieJudy it means more money and less counting to 3.

[@eagle_rb_mmoomin_418]

I've played it, it's fucking awesome.

[@JavierSegura]

If overreaction was a video: This.

[@eceldarkstar]

You're digging way to deep into this. It's just a dlc that doesn't change the main game and is just for looking fancy.

[@NicoTheCinderace]

No, he's not. You didn't even look into the video.

[@eceldarkstar]

@@NicoTheCinderace huh, I watched the entire thing

[@Damian-vc8zi]

I cannot disagree more. I just love Portal. I played so many Portal mods too. And this rtx mod is just awesome. It blew my mind when they announced it.

[@talonhackbarth7652]

I agree. I think this video is an overreaction, and something that you can fix yourself since it is a tech demo for a modding tool

[@ADreamingTraveler]

@@talonhackbarth7652 I thought it was an overreaction too at first but they bring up some good points. Parts of it just look weird while other parts look great

[@dudeguy8553]

@@ADreamingTraveler Yea my main problem honestly is just the cartoony looking portals but I don't hate it otherwise.

[@Khunkurisu]

@@ADreamingTraveler they make good points for why they dislike the look. It’s still an overreaction though. A normal reaction would be to dislike the look, realize it’s a free mod and a tech demo not a remaster, shrug, and move on. Not to write a whole video essay explaining why it’s super bad and definitely signs of nefarious corporatization.

[@tartipouss]

"I cannot disagree more" *proceed to not explain with argument other than "Personally, I think it’s good"* Not even " *I* like it", straight up "it *is* awesome, basically saying it is objectively "awesome" despite the entire video using multiple evidence and argument to why it is not the case while saying it’s just their opinion Yeah, you are very convincing and you completely changed my mind, I will now love the RTX because... because someone said it was awesome Do you see why it doesn’t work ? You can’t just claim your own opinion is absolutely right and don’t even explain why when facing a different opinion I didn’t write this (entirety) to mock you, just, pleas next time you do such claim explain why or else there’s just no conversation. Have a nice day.

[@camjynx273]

"they didn't have to make the energy pellet a miniature sun" THAT'S WHAT THEY ARE THEY'RE PURE ENERGY THATS BASICALLY A MINI SUN

[@solidmaninbox]

I agree with the "too shiny" argument but to be fair as a superfan you yourself know they're not concrete, they're moon rocks, and we don't know what that would actually look like if ground up into a paste / paint

[@benfoley6472]

"i dont like it because it isnt literally the same as the old game"

[@eddyalienstudio7227]

Tell us you breath out of your mouth whilst eating mountians of Cheetos Whilst playing CSGO without telling us you breath out of your mouth whilst eating mountains of Cheetos whilst playing CSGO

[@lucasc5622]

Fr, man can’t even pronounce words properly

[@86themadhatter27]

Aside from the portals looking a little too cartoony or something, i'm pretty excited about the tech behind it and what it can do for other older games that have a bit more to them visually

[@sashimifr]

"my entire core identity revolves around this game". Might this not be the actual issue?

[@fabledorchid8410]

It's a testament to how good the art style truly is that adding things on top just makes it look wrong. Portal really was ahead of it's time.

[@Whitedudeabove]

I really don't see the problem. It seems clear that this isn't meant to substitute Portal. More to give a reason to replay it with high fidelity graphics.

[@jassykat]

There's none but these losers like to complain about everything. They take their button smashing hobby very seriously.

[@tech34756]

Some of the design choices Nvidia have made makes sense when you consider this ‘upgrade’ is more about ‘showing off’ e.g. the glass button and how ‘shiny’ allot of things are. Whilst I doubt it will be ‘broken’, in some ways it reminds me of HL: Source where it was (from what I’ve read) more about showing off something to devs than a game that was actually intended to be played.

[@Zgreed66]

It is easy to find a stick to beat a dog.

[@colororb4105]

Nvidia said that their modding tool works by intercepting DX 8 and DX 9 draw calls. Maybe Portal RTX was made using an older version that only supported DX 8?

[@ahmetdag5600]

All source engine games including Portal 1 supports dx 9 from the beginning. Portal 2 uses a more recent source engine branch released at 2007 with orange box.

[@Shadow_-]

@@ahmetdag5600 I think they might mean an older version of the modding tool?

[@travleefree]

I made some comments similar to yours on a forum I post on. Something seemed way off from a visual and lighting standpoint when I saw this trailer. I would never argue that raytracing in some capacity would not benefit this game, but the intention of the original art should be left intact at all costs. Thank you for putting this video together. Similar to you I will download and play this game at some point. Except I may not make it through the whole game due to the changes happening here. At least a modder can maybe go in at a later time and attempt to fix Nividias mistakes here. If not, perhaps a modder can use Nvidia Remix on the original Direct X 9 version of the game. There's always hope that someone from the community will get this right in the long run.

[@masononemine1702]

The only texture that really needed any upgrading was the Metal wall texture in my opinion, the rest if left intact would have still looked good. Really wished that they just put ray traced lighting and not changed anything and that would have been the definitive version of Portal but oh well

[@Zonical]

Portal RTX is gonna be perfectly fine. Such big drama over what is essentially nothing

[@OGCMayne]

Given that RTX remix in it's Nvidia only state is being used, my guess is that it was easier to carry over the portal 2 models for higher quality models and textures and then use the AI upscaler in the program to derive more from the more detailed textures explaining some of the exaggerated features in the design. That's also why they are probably using the DX8 version due to remixes issues with certain DirectX pipelines.

[@Ssecave]

the main problem is clearly the art direction that got changed. The good part is that everyone would be able to make an other version that respect the art direction at its release ;) (at the release of the tool).

[@dankmachine]

It’s something I’m really torn with On one hand, I’m impressed with how RTX can interact with portals On the other hand, everything else sucks

[@iplz]

its a free fucking tech demo

[@westpole]

my gosh Im so happy to find someone not ass kissing this dude in this cult like cess pool of a comment section lmao...

[@FellTheSky]

imagine being mad about free optional content

[@federicobinaghi8118]

While I agree that this version of portal may look odd, I think that it should not matter. In fact, this DLC has one purpose: to show the capabilities of the new RTX cards and the Nvidia Remix tool. They said "upgraded LIGHT", which is objectively true as the engine is way more efficient than the 2008 one, and I guess they made surfaces more shiny than needed and buttons glossy not for gameplay purposes, but to merely show their new technology. We should be excited as this will hopefully revolutionise modding in the future.

[@toasterenthusiast6188]

The whole point of this version is to demo a technology, not to be faithful to the original. The community has modded the game outside of the spirit of the original many times, I don't see how this is any different. So yeah, nothing is exempt from criticism, it's just your criticisms are extremely dumb and pointless.

[@jamesryder3387]

Exactly

[@jeyendeoso]

it falls into the same trap that RTX games fall on, which is make the game too dark and dim to show off the reflections. also oversaturated colours to make everything pop more, easy trick to make it "look better" without actually doing anything.

[@codaboi138]

This is why I dont like a lot of the visuals in modern games. They're too concerned with showing off stupid reflections and lighting stuff and it sacrifices visual clarity and art direction. I find it very distracting most of the time and I honestly prefer the early 2000's era of game aesthetics because of this. They look more realistic to me. Because yes, in real life, light sources move, reflections are clearer, and things dont get muddy looking if you get too close, but they look more realistic because they arent trying hard to impress me with visuals. Everything (particularly source engine games) is pretty mundane and normal looking, which is why you often see them used in liminal space images. Games with RTX feel like they're trying to impress me too much, like someone flexing uncomfortably hard in my face.

[@lukehb]

First…. Let me say, even though you were clearly “fired up” over this, you were intentional to slow down and speak clearly and I really appreciated that. I apologize if that comes across as patronizing, but it is meant to be genuine. Second, while I think some of your points are fair, and do contribute to a slightly “off” feel, I think you’re overblowing things a bit here too. On the word “upgrade”, I actually think it is… ray traced lighting is an “upgraded” lighting model than the simple one used in Source. The models are higher poly count, and the textures are unquestionably higher resolution. Whether these objective upgrades are subjective “improvements” is debatable, but they are upgrades. Next, if Valve pushed this as a replacement for the original version of portal, maybe these points would be more valuable, but it isn’t. It’s a separate release, that is, functionally, a tech demo. It doesn’t do anything to remove or replace the original. Also, I think there is still more than enough visual difference between portalable and non portalable services. They may scan a little differently initially, but aren’t going to be confused. I do think you make a lot of very good points here, no question, but these particular criricisms don’t really ring true to me, personally.

[@nicenoob12345]

Personally, I'm really excited for Portal RTX. To me it looks a lot cooler than the old one, going for a more futuristic look in a more futuristic game, however thats just my opinion.

[@KalebThomasisdead]

Yeah I agree man, The OG will still be around as well for the people who just cant stand the rtx version. Im happy P1 will be relevant again as well. This video is a bit knit picky to me lol

[@fa100da]

Portal RTX looks like one of those shitty unreal engine 4 remakes

[@KalebThomasisdead]

@@fa100da Bruh it looks gorgeous lol, like the style choices or not the graphics are beautiful

[@westpole]

Mate I used to laugh off the phrase "People would find anything to bitch and moan about" up until I saw this video and the fact that its a free DLC + you're gonna end up trying it anyway (albeit to apparently try and "see what's wrong with it yourself") is just the cherry on the sundae. Lol

[@phm6834]

Srsly, how the heck can one complain about tech demos. Get a grip.