Unlike native hardware ray tracing (RTX) which is integrated into a game's engine, RTGI 0.33 uses a technique called Screen Space Ray Tracing
RTGI solves this by calculating how light bounces around a scene in real-time. It simulates how light behaves in the real world: colors bleed onto nearby surfaces (color bleeding), shadows become softer and more realistic the further they get from the object (contact hardening shadows), and ambient light feels natural rather than flat.
Once the shader is active, you can customize the parameters in the lower panel of the ReShade menu:
RTGI 0.3.3 is designed to be compatible with ReShade, a popular tool for enhancing game graphics. This compatibility ensures that users can easily integrate the shader into their existing ReShade setup. reshade ray tracing shader rtgi 033
Because it operates in screen space, RTGI 0.33 offers distinct advantages and unique limitations:
: As a ray tracing solution, it is demanding. Users often report a significant frame rate drop, especially at 4K resolutions or when high ray counts are used. Performance vs. Visual Quality
Version 0.33 introduced critical stability fixes, mathematical optimizations, and UI enhancements over its predecessors. The core features that define this version include: 1. True Global Illumination (GI) Unlike native hardware ray tracing (RTX) which is
ReShade is a generic post-processing injector for games and video software. It intercepts data at the compiler level and allows users to apply custom effects like color correction, ambient occlusion, and depth of field.
works on the screen space colour and depth buffers only. It cannot “see” objects that are currently off‑screen, nor can it cast rays behind the camera. Because it relies on depth information, it is technically a form of screen‑space global illumination (SSGI), not full scene ray tracing.
Launch the installer and select your game’s executable file (.exe). Select the appropriate rendering API (usually DirectX 11, DirectX 12, or Vulkan). This compatibility ensures that users can easily integrate
Compared to the industry standard Nvidia RTXGI SDK—which leverages dedicated hardware—RTGI 0.33 offers a democratized solution. It brings a similar conceptual lighting improvement to a massive library of DirectX 9-12 and OpenGL games that will never receive official RTX support. However, an alternative shader, , is often cited by enthusiasts as being more performance-friendly while delivering comparable or even superior quality. While RTGI 0.33 was a trailblazer, Complete RT has been described as running "perceivably smoother," making it suitable for gameplay in intense action scenarios where RTGI 0.33 might introduce stutter.
Go back to the tab and toggle the DisplayDepth.fx shader to verify that your depth map is displaying properly (black to white gradient). Disable DisplayDepth.fx once confirmed.
While ReShade has existed for years, the release of RTGI version 0.33 marked a significant maturation point for the technology. It moved beyond being a mere technical proof of concept to become a stable, configurable tool accessible to a wide user base. This version introduced critical quality-of-life and performance-related adjustments that made it reliable enough for daily gameplay in various genres, from open-world RPGs to flight simulators. As one RTGI preset page notes, the improved configuration of 0.33 worked seamlessly with the latest versions of ReShade (up to 5.4.2), making installation less error-prone than earlier releases. Due to its improved stability and compatibility, 0.33 quickly became the standard version required for most high-end ReShade presets.
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