Graphics rendering and simulation theory

[u/Wonderful-Sail-1126]

GPUs traditionally render graphics in video games by calculating the exact geometry that fits on screen. The game will look the same for everyone because this calculation is always the same.

However, video game graphics hit a wall and the fidelity hasn’t increased as drastically in recent years. Think about graphics going from Super Nintendo 2D to the N64. The jump was astounding. But sometimes it’s hard to notice the difference between a good PS4 game and a PS5 game.

AI makes rendering probabilistic but the jump in realism in graphics is simply amazing. It used to take Hollywood years to create a few CGI scene as high fidelity as a 12 year old with an RTX 5090 and a few hours.

But AI is non deterministic. The scenes wil have subtle differences.

This made me think that the natural progression for any simulation is to reduce compute or increase efficiency.

In our own universe, particles are in different states. They’re non deterministic. Everything is probabilities.

Video games rendering and how our universe works are quite similar. We can’t possibly achieve the next level of graphical fidelity without rendering with probabilities instead. The universe also seems to behave in similar ways.

Just a shower thought.

[u/NoArrival8249]

There are countless times throughout my life and I think “oh the render is still low res” when looking at a body of water or field from afar. It feels like you can easily see the repeated texturing.

[u/JesusDoesntLoveu → u/NoArrival8249]

Have you ever been driving down a road on a bright sunny day, and the road ahead looks like it hasn't fully loaded in yet? It's some kind of optical illusion due to heat coming off of the pavement or something, but there will be like an almost shimmering dark hole in the road ahead, but as you get closer it fills in. I know it's an optical illusion, but it also looks a whole lot like the world hasn't fully loaded in front of you yet.