Path Tracing is, sort of, to Ray Tracing, what Ray Tracing is to normal rastarization, which means it’s essentially a next level of Ray Tracing that brings even more realism and fidelity to in-game lighting. Though, there’s not a lot of games that use Path Tracing, not to mention the humongous amount of graphical horsepower it requires to run a game with this setting enabled, which even brings a lot of high-end GPUs to their knees.
Developer IO Interactive’s latest third person action title, 007 First Light had received full Path Tracing alongside Ray Reconstruction via DLSS 4.5 earlier this month, which results in even more photorealistic and lifelike lighting, provided you got the right hardware.
But obviously, running the game with Path Tracing enabled is extremely taxing, unless you have the absolute best graphics card that money can buy, and so you’ll be glad to know that IO Interactive has released the new patch 1.2.2 which claims to improve path-tracing performance and visual fidelity in multiple chapters, especially on the RTX 5070 where sections in both Chapter 6 and Chapter 8 would drop in-game performance down to 5 to 10 FPS on the GPU.
The latest patch also adds an option to enable recommended default settings for Path Tracing which can provide 60 FPS on RTX 5070 at 1080p and around 60 FPS on RTX 5080 at 1440p, depending on in-game chapters. Besides, the new patch also fixes multiple visual glitches and inconsistencies in 007 First Light, when playing with Path Tracing on.
Check out the full patch notes:
007 First Light Patch 1.2.2 Release Notes
PERFORMANCE & STABILITY
Chapter 03 – All the Time in the World
Improved performance during the opening drive, inside the hotel and during the car chase with Path Tracing enabled on high-end GPUs.
Chapter 06 – Uninvited
Fixed an issue where performance dropped to 5–10 FPS when entering the Gala area and looking towards the crowd with Path Tracing enabled on RTX 5070 GPUs.
Chapter 08 – Time to Die
Fixed an issue where performance dropped to 5–10 FPS during a camera zoom in the “Smoking Gun” cutscene with Path Tracing enabled on RTX 5070 GPUs.
Online & Tactical Simulations
Fixed an issue that caused heavy stuttering when starting online Escalations with Path Tracing enabled.
GAMEPLAY & ENVIRONMENT
Chapter 00 – Against the Odds
Fixed an issue where rain appeared too bright and flickered during the cliff sliding tutorial with Path Tracing enabled.
Chapter 02 – A Night Out
Fixed an issue where an overly bright reflection appeared under a bench in the Universal Exports foyer with Path Tracing enabled.
Fixed an issue where the elevator’s glass door reflected areas outside the level during the ride with Monroe with Path Tracing enabled.
Chapter 04 – The Past Never Dies
Fixed an issue where a shadow suddenly appeared and disappeared on the left wall of the tunnel before the auction guards with Path Tracing enabled.
Fixed an issue where light shone through a wall near the entrance to the Infiltration area with Path Tracing enabled.
Fixed an issue where light shone through the wall above the barred entrance to the restricted room in the Bitcoin Opportunity area with Path Tracing enabled.
Fixed an issue where a seated character’s shadow was visible through other characters in the Black Market with Path Tracing enabled.
Chapter 05 – Beyond the Grave
Fixed an issue where a missing bridge shadow made enemy shadows appear to float during cutscenes with Path Tracing enabled.
Chapter 06 – Uninvited
Fixed an issue where the Null Space appeared too dark despite the ceiling lights being switched on with Path Tracing enabled.
Chapter 07 – Knightfall
Fixed an issue where books on and below Ponsonby’s desk wobbled when loading the M’s Office checkpoint.
Fixed an issue where distorted patterns appeared on the glass enclosures around trees on Executive Floor 3 with Path Tracing enabled.
Fixed an issue where a shadow in the 35th-floor corridor near Volta’s office appeared and disappeared depending on the camera angle.
Fixed an issue where certain camera angles caused the screen to turn dark in the Diamond Lounge corridor with Path Tracing enabled.
Fixed an issue where part of a door frame flickered in bathroom mirror reflections on Executive Floor 2 with Path Tracing enabled.
Chapter 08 – Time to Die
Fixed an issue where distorted patterns appeared on rocks near the hotel pool and reception area with Path Tracing enabled.
Fixed an issue where unwanted patterns appeared on Bond’s white tuxedo during the bowtie interaction with Path Tracing enabled.
Fixed an issue where light shone through a surface near the laptop in Tranquility Cave’s yoga storage room with Path Tracing enabled.
Fixed an issue where an incorrect leaf shadow appeared on the upper exterior wall of Emperor Villa with Path Tracing enabled.
Fixed an issue where surfaces flickered and overly bright reflections showed areas outside the level near the stairs in Hung Villa and Bond’s villa with Path Tracing enabled.
Fixed an issue where shadows from palm trees and other plants suddenly appeared and disappeared when moving the camera with Path Tracing enabled.
Fixed an issue where the lighting became overly bright or briefly went dark during the elevator ride after taking Isola’s call with Path Tracing enabled.
Fixed an issue where distorted patterns appeared on the floor behind Moneypenny in the THEIA core chamber with Path Tracing enabled.
Fixed an issue where Murto’s apron flickered during the wine cellar cutscenes with Path Tracing enabled.
Fixed an issue where a dark stripe flickered across the ceiling near the end of the corridor at the “In Position” checkpoint with Path Tracing enabled.
Chapter 09 – Wave of the Future
Fixed an issue where the cable car cables had overly bright reflections when arriving at the Arrival Station with Path Tracing enabled.
Fixed an issue where uneven shadows made small stones near the Command Center stairs appear to be missing with Path Tracing enabled.
Chapter 10 – For England
Fixed an issue where the Valhalla’s shadows disappeared while it was stationary and reappeared after explosions with Path Tracing enabled.
007 – Epilogue
Fixed an issue where unnatural shadow patterns appeared on Bond’s suit during the epilogue cutscene with Path Tracing enabled.
