RefinedPT - Path Tracing Performance Overhaul (Remastered)

BUILT FOR BETTER PATH TRACING PERFORMANCE

For The Witcher 3 Remastered (DX12)

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WHAT IS REFINEDPT?

RefinedPT is my attempt at making Path Tracing in The Witcher 3 Remastered easier to actually use without simply turning it off.

Path Tracing looks fantastic, but it is also extremely demanding. RefinedPT reduces some of that cost by giving the game's path tracer different bounce configurations and a few carefully tested controls, while keeping the actual Path Tracing renderer active.

You can keep things simple and choose one of the ready-made modes, or use Custom if you want to tune the path tracer yourself.

Everything is controlled from the normal in-game Graphics menu.

No external configuration tool is needed.

THE FIVE MODES

Performance

The main performance-focused profile and the default for a fresh RefinedPT install.

• []Geometry Path Tracing: 1 bounce[/]

  []Hair Path Tracing: 1 bounce[/]

  []Indirect-Light Compensation: 1. 30x[/]

  This is the mode I use when the priority is getting the largest proven performance improvement while keeping Path Tracing enabled.

  Balanced

  Keeps the cheaper 1-bounce geometry path while retaining the higher hair PT bounce count.

  • []Geometry Path Tracing: 1 bounce[/]

    []Hair Path Tracing: 4 bounces[/]

    []Indirect-Light Compensation: 1. 10x[/]

    A good middle ground if you want most of the geometry-side performance saving without reducing the hair PT workload as far as Performance does.

    Vanilla

    The original Path Tracing bounce configuration.

    • []Geometry Path Tracing: 2 bounces[/]

      []Hair Path Tracing: 4 bounces[/]

      []Indirect-Light Compensation: 1. 00x[/]

      Useful if you want the normal Path Tracing workload while still having RefinedPT installed and available from the menu.

      Vanilla Enhanced

      For people who have GPU headroom and want to push the geometry path beyond the normal game configuration.

      • []Geometry Path Tracing: 4 bounces[/]

        []Hair Path Tracing: 4 bounces[/]

        []Indirect-Light Compensation: 1. 00x[/]

        This is intentionally the heaviest of the fixed profiles.

        Custom

        Custom is there if you don't want me choosing the balance for you.

        It exposes the PT settings that I currently consider useful and reliable enough to put in the public menu.

        You can change them directly while the game is running and see the result without having to edit configuration files by hand.

        CUSTOM MODE CONTROLS

        Geometry Path Tracing

        1–6 bounces.

        This is one of the biggest controls over the actual PT workload. More bounces allow additional light transport, but also increase the amount of work the path tracer has to do.

        Hair Path Tracing

        1–6 bounces.

        Controls the separate hair Path Tracing bounce count.

        Indirect-Light Compensation

        0. 01x–2. 55x.

        This adjusts the indirect contribution generated by the geometry path.

        RefinedPT applies the compensation to each new non-hair indirect bounce contribution rather than repeatedly multiplying already accumulated lighting.

        That means the control works across Geometry 1–6 while avoiding the runaway compounding you would get from simply multiplying the full accumulated result every bounce.

        Sun Impact

        0. 00–3. 00.

        Adjusts the contribution of the Sun to the Path Traced lighting.

        Sky Impact

        0. 00–3. 00.

        Adjusts the contribution of the Sky to the Path Traced lighting.

        PT Ambient Occlusion

        Late Specular Screen-Space Trace

        Late Specular Checkerboard