GTA IV RTX REMIX - (easy to install and kinda awesome)

[Adam Beckett]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RIjPSg4uj7M

I just installed it a few hours ago and am very impressed.

Usually, I am not a big fan of anything 'Real Time Ray Tracing' related. Cyberpunk or Control leave me cold. Visually, nothing impressed me more than Doom 3 (stencil shadows) and Assassin's Creed Unity (RTGI).

Here's a random YT video, showing off the differences btw regular and ray-traced GTA IV.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_80VKfRe3iY

The ONLY games, which manage to convince me of throwing 100s of Watts at a single frame are the Quake, Half-Life and alike community mods.

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The installation of this particular mod is super simple, bullet-proof easy and one-click quick:

Here's the official download site (github) incl. instructions:

https://github.com/xoxor4d/gta4-rtx

The download size is also very small (compared to Unreal RT. It's just below 500MB!

But the REALLY GOOD NEWS (to me) is: this RT mod runs smooth on a RTX 4060!

I use the default RTX Remix settings in 720p@30FPS capped, but then use "Lossless Scaling" to upscale and FG to run the game @ 60FPS. The RTX settings allow for DLSS and even Nvidia FG (Alt+X) and increase/decrease RT quality. You can also use the developer settings on top (F4).

My GPU stays below 40 deg Celsius. Uses only 100 Watts. Does not exceed 6GB VRAM. The CPU is in the 50's (air cooled - single fan). The mod adjusts how many CPU cores the game can use (limiting it - so it runs smoother) and uses the other CPU cores for Remix calculations on top of using the GPU.

I have not tested it enough, but have constant frametimes (30FPS@16.6ms). Even with lot's going on on the screen. Rarely do I get a second or two, when the framerate dips (random). Every 10 min or so. Once.

I turned off all in-game graphic settings before loading the game with the mod installed. But, apparently, the mod itself is turning all those graphic settings off anyway (you cannot 'activate' any of them in-game. Makes sense.

I am not using the fusion mod. But will try RTX Remix with it at a later date. You DO need to have a Nvidia card for this to work. If you are on a 4070/5070 and above, you can certainly increase the draw distance and resolution and RT settings.

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This is yet another mod that injects even more life into this game for the next 10+ years!

The RT effects remind me of Assassins Creed 3 Remastered, with their Global Illumination overhaul, allowing for more natural light and shadows. Otherwise, the real time reflections are just amazing, beyond the already impressive mods from the past. The city 'look' really feels more like bathed in natural light, on top of the bouncing neo light 'gimmicks'.

You drive around the most remote areas in the city and you will find NPCs sitting at the docks, smoking, or having an argument in a small group, or cleaning the floor - cuz, it's their job. Always reacting to you. Cops, headbanging to the car stereo, while stopping at red traffic lights...

Compare this to the brain dead NPCs in CP2077 and you wonder why people bought 35 million units of the latter.

[N0S3LFESTEEM]

I'm met with a black screen but I can see myself moving in the minimap... If I change resolution ingame it crashes instantly.

[LArc7thHeaven]

Not that impressive compared to icenhancer if you want to see the graphical improvement actually. Also the fps hit is big enough afaik and running it with subpar fps is a big no for me personally

[Low Trust]

Im surprised to see it wasnt locked behind a patreon paywall still. Im prolly going to check it out but it still has alot of bugs if you read the readme. I also would be happy to donate a few dollars, if I had a job :(. I would donate the last 12 weeks of counter strike drops (about 5$) if i could.

The author also mentions a special build of fusionfix that he created specifically for rtx remix, so I would use that one and not the original fusionfix.

https://github.com/xoxor4d/GTAIV.EFLC.FusionFix.RTXRemix/releases/tag/4

As always, a little disclaimer, these github repos are typically safe if from a known and trusted souce, but theres always a chance of something malicious.

Download at your own risk.

[Ratskull]

its way to demanding imo to justify the uplift in graphics im on a 4090 and the fan noise alone and the framerate is just too much

[Adam Beckett]

Originally posted by LArc7thHeaven:

Not that impressive compared to icenhancer if you want to see the graphical improvement actually ...

I agree with you.

I just re-installed Icenhancer 4 (latest 1.4) to directly compare it with the Remix mod version. The visual fidelity and overall 'look' of ENB + Icenhancer is way more pleasing.

(It also runs using a fraction of the power draw that is needed with ray-tracing)

What RT Remix does though, is technically different and in only that way - to me - 'impressive'. It does technically different things, in different ways. Different rendering method. With different visual results.

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To the people with performance or framerate or overheating issues:

you would never allow this game to run without a framerate limiter (of your choice)?

The GTA IV mod is running on my very old Zen+ Ryzen 7 2700 CPU. The RTX 4060 - while 'modern' in a technical sense - is a low end card on any benchmark chart (if it is there at all).

Again - my GPU never exceeds 40 deg Celsius/104 Fahrenheit. My CPU runs around 50 C/122 F. Because, I throttle both. "Lossless Scaling" (Tool on Steam) allows me to double the framerate with 'Frame Generation' enabled.

The RTX Remix mod comes with CPU cores and DLSS options (Performance vs Quality) and allows for gazillion mod tweaks ... if you are into squeezing out either fidelity or performance).

I use MSI Afterburner/RTSS for many years now. Either stop games at 30FPS, 60, 120, 160 (my ASUS 4K monitor can do up to 360Hz - never use it at max.)

The trick with any 'demanding' game or mod is to find the sweet spot of what your current hardware and drivers can deliver? CPU/GPU throttling/undervolting and MS 'Power Options' profiles - while despised by many - is the best way to run any game efficiently ... and smoothly.

[h_a_r_r_y]

are there any good mods to use along site it, some textures are low res still, but I was unsure if its possible to add texture mods on top of this

[asapas]

Why do you advertise this so much?? On a 4K tv there is a lot of stuttering fps drops and many horizontal lines from frame generation because without it the game cannot be played

[Dead Pixel]

Honestly, FusionFix creates far more impressive visuals. And it doesn't use any form of ray tracing at all.

Sure, the ray traced lighting may look more "realistic", but it also looks extremely bland and 'meh'. Like there's no artistic vision at all anymore. Reminds me of the Definitive Edition when it first released, before the "Classic Lighting" option was introduced.

Looks "real", but destroys the original artistic vision and atmosphere.

[asapas]

it's not awesome. Stuttering is intolerable

[Yujah]

Originally posted by asapas:

it's not awesome. Stuttering is intolerable

Raytracing in a nutshell. Completely useless once the compute cost is added in...

[hami]

Originally posted by asapas:

it's not awesome. Stuttering is intolerable

not only that, it does not even look that good nor realistic.