While the jump from 0.17 to 0.17.0.2 is incremental, it focuses heavily on stability and accuracy:
Because different game engines render depth differently, RTGI requires slight adjustments depending on what you are playing:
RTGI (often called ReSTIR GI or Pascal Gilcher’s GI) remains the most advanced screen-space global illumination shader for ReShade. Version 0.17.0.2 is a minor but impactful patch following the major 0.17 update.
RTGI 0.17.0.2 is a stable, refined release. It doesn’t reinvent the wheel but fixes real-world annoyances. For most users, it’s the best balance of quality, stability, and performance among all RTGI versions to date.
Pro tip: Pair RTGI 0.17.0.2 with MXAO (ambient occlusion) for contact shadows and Bloom for light spread – the three together mimic a mini path tracer in older games. rtgi 0.17.0.2 release
The RTGI 0.17.0.2 release is a significant historical update for the ReShade Ray Traced Global Illumination shader, created by Pascal Gilcher (also known as Marty McFly).
As part of the qUINT shader suite, this version focused on refining the path-tracing logic used to simulate realistic light bounces and shadows in games that do not natively support hardware-accelerated ray tracing. Key Highlights & Features
Ray Traced Global Illumination (RTGI): Models both diffuse and specular lighting by simulating how light physically interacts with objects in a scene.
Hardware Independency: Unlike native RTX, this shader operates on depth buffer data, making it compatible with non-RTX GPUs. While the jump from 0
Flicker Reduction: Earlier versions often struggled with flickering in high-contrast areas; this release cycle introduced workarounds and patches to stabilize the lighting channel.
Temporal Stability: Improved the consistency of light over time to minimize the "wobbling" effect common in screen-space ray tracing solutions. ReShade RTGI | Ray Traced Global Illumination
If you’re updating from an earlier version, please note:
Installing RTGI 0.17.0.2 requires ReShade 5.9.2 or newer with depth buffer access enabled. The shader comes as a .fxh and .fx file. Add it to your ReShade Shaders/Shaders folder. RTGI (often called ReSTIR GI or Pascal Gilcher’s
Good news: Depth buffer auto-detection has improved. In Hogwarts Legacy, Resident Evil 4 Remake, and Starfield, RTGI found the correct depth buffer on first launch without manual COPY_DEPTH tinkering.
Bad news: It still fails in some UE5 titles (Remnant 2, Immortals of Aveum) because those engines use a custom, inverted, or pre-tonemapped depth buffer. You’ll need to manually edit the RTGI.fx constants or use a third-party depth buffer unlocker.
Also, RTGI 0.17.0.2 breaks on very old ReShade versions (pre-5.0). Update or stay on 0.16.
The shader now features architecture-specific code paths. RDNA 2/3 (AMD RX 6000/7000) and Intel Arc users report up to a 15% performance gain at equivalent quality settings. NVIDIA users also benefit from reduced register pressure, leading to lower VRAM overhead.
Should you upgrade to RTGI 0.17.0.2?