What is dxr?

Right then, let's break it down for you. DXR is short for DirectX Raytracing.

It's a feature built into Microsoft's DirectX 12 API. Think of DirectX as the middleman. It lets games communicate properly with your graphics hardware. DXR is a specific set of instructions within that, focused entirely on a technique called ray tracing.

So, what is ray tracing? It’s a pretty advanced way of rendering graphics. It works by simulating the actual physical behaviour of light. The system traces the path of individual light rays as they travel from a source, bounce off objects, and eventually reach your "eye" in the game.

This process creates incredibly realistic shadows, reflections, and global illumination. It’s the tech behind those perfect, mirror-like puddles you see in modern games. Or the way light filters realistically through a window.

The main catch is the hardware, of course. You need a graphics card with dedicated cores for this job. We're talking NVIDIA's RTX series or AMD's RX 6000-series and newer. It's a demanding feature, but fair dinkum, the visual payoff is absolutely massive when you see it in action.