A great number of classic PC games are kept alive by the efforts of the modding community. The latest Nvidia toolset, Nvidia RTX Remix, aims to make modding easier and let older games take advantage of modern technology such as frame generation.

Games like The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and the original version of Final Fantasy VII are kept alive by the work of the modding community. The dedicated fans regularly provide upgrades, improvements, and even new content for classic titles. Nvidia RTX Remix is a platform designed to make upgrading older games easier using modern tech.

To demonstrate the capabilities of RTX Remix, a free demo of Half-Life 2 RTX is being made available on Steam. A video has already been posted showing some of the upgrades possible using RTX Remix. The video shows off parts of Ravenholm and Nova Prospekt, featuring new upgrades courtesy of RTX Remix tools.

In addition to that, Jacob F from the GeForce team demonstrated a decent chunk of the fan-favorite Ravenholm chapter. You can check out the live stream VOD on Twitch (we’ve skipped ahead to when gameplay starts). He opens by saying, “Trust me, it’s hard to come across on a 1080p live stream, but it looks incredible, especially when you compare it to the original Half-Life 2”. As someone who has played a ton of HL2 and its mods, it looks like a massive graphical upgrade, no doubt.

Half-Life 2 RTX has been Remixed

The Half-Life 2 mod was created by community mod team Orbifold Studios. The goal was to rebuilt every asset in Half-Life 2 with what they describe as “AAA-fidelity.”. Using RTX Remix, modders can capture, categorise and reassemble all manner of game asses. This includes textures, models, lighting, and effects. Modders can then add modern tech, such as fully ray-traced lighting, upscaled textures, and DLSS.

RTX Remix runs using the OpenUSD file format, enabling users to create new or improved content using a range of tools. Compatible applications include Blender, Adobe Substance 3D Painter and Autodesk Maya.

Any users wanting to test out the new modes won't need to download a new version of the game. They will just need a copy of the mod and then just launch the original version of the game. RTX Remix then gets involved to replace the original renderer with one based on the modern Vulkan standard.

RTX Remix is officially releasing today, with the free Half-Life 2 RTX demo available on Steam from March 18.

About the Author

Rebecca Hills-Duty

Writing and journalism experience at VRFocus, UploadVR, The Escapist, HTC, PC Gamer, Tech Radar+ and Dexerto. Can sometimes be found playing with retro tech.