Ray Tracing and Hybrid Rendering

In this chapter, we venture into the fascinating world of ray tracing and hybrid rendering. Ray tracing, to put it simply, is a special technique used in computer graphics that simulates how light interacts with objects. This results in images that are so lifelike, they can be mistaken for reality. However, pure ray tracing is computationally intensive and requires significant hardware resources, which makes it unfeasible for real-time applications with the current generation of hardware. On the other hand, there’s hybrid rendering, which is a mix of conventional rasterization techniques and the realism of ray tracing. This blend offers both good performance and stunning visuals. This chapter will take you through how these techniques can be implemented using Vulkan. We’ll show you how to set up a ray tracing pipeline and guide you on how to integrate hybrid rendering into your work. By the end of this chapter, you will have a deeper understanding...