NVIDIA releases Optix 9 with RTX Mega Geometry and Neural Texture Compression SDKs

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NVIDIA updates two libraries for game developers

NVIDIA has just released two Software Development Kits for game developers, one of which is Optix and the other is RTXNTC.



NVIDIA NTC

Neural Texture Compression (NTC) is a way to pack multiple game textures into a smaller package while keeping them looking good. Normally, a game material (like wood, metal, or fabric) has a bunch of textures that describe its color, roughness, shininess, and shape details. NTC combines all of these textures into one compressed file, which saves memory and helps games run better.

Instead of storing textures the usual way, NTC uses a small AI model to rebuild them when needed. This AI model works fast enough to generate textures on the fly while the game runs. However, because it only gives sharp, raw details for one pixel at a time, it might need extra filtering to make textures look smoother.

If a game is running on weaker hardware (like older PCs or consoles), it might be better to decompress the textures when the game loads and store them in a more traditional compressed format (BCn). This makes them easier to use while playing.

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