Experience No Mercy Campaign in Left 4 Dead 2 with RTX Remix by NTD

On the previous day, the Nostalgia Drive Team unveiled their initial work-in-progress build of Left 4 Dead RTX NTD. This ambitious project builds upon prior efforts by mod developer xoxor4d, which we discussed earlier this year.

Described by the Nostalgia Drive Team as a significant visual enhancement of Valve’s iconic 2009 co-op first-person shooter, Left 4 Dead RTX NTD has been developed using the latest updates of the NVIDIA RTX Remix platform. Recently revamped to allow mod creators to implement enhanced fire and smoke effects via a path-traced particle system, this fan-driven initiative specifically targets the No Mercy campaign. The aim is to reimagine its environments with high-resolution, physically based rendering (PBR) materials, upgraded lighting, and enhanced reflections, all to create a rich, cinematic atmosphere.

Key Technical Features

Comprehensive PBR material system
Scenes re-lit manually (RTX Remix lacks native light capture)
Improved shadows, reflections, and surface textures
Revamped materials for buildings, interiors, and props
4K texture enhancements along with advanced normal maps
Full compatibility with the RTX Remix runtime

The work-in-progress build of Left 4 Dead 2 RTX NTD is available for download on ModDB, with a file size of 7.15GB. However, the NTD team has issued several warnings and advisories:

This release is a preliminary remaster intended as a foundation for future RTX mods, aimed at improve compatibility and visuals. Due to the current limitations of the game engine and ongoing development, users might encounter assets that appear incomplete or exhibit darker qualities.

Users should expect issues such as missing or poorly rendered skyboxes, materials with a rubbery texture on certain models, unfinished lighting setups, and water surfaces that may not render correctly. Additionally, performance can be heavily affected by animated meshes due to the renderer currently operating on a single thread. Users should also note that alpha foliage can significantly impact performance, software skinning may lead to CPU bottlenecks, and certain effects might still be unoptimized or inaccurately rendered.

If you are interested in contributing to this project, the Nostalgia Drive Team is actively seeking assistance in areas such as materials, lighting, asset design, and testing. Those interested in joining the team are encouraged to reach out to the user “Entity” in the official RTX Remix Showcase Discord channel.

For further information and updates, please refer to the source.