NXt Rendering Modes

The Path Tracer is a new, alternate rendering engine for IRender nXt.

You can render with either nXt Packet Mode or nXt Path Tracer mode.

Packet Mode vs Path Tracer

nXt Packet Mode processes packets of rays, while nXt Path Tracer processes individual light paths.

Slower Convergence

Because of some shortcuts, such as Daylight Portals , and other aspects of the rendering process, nXt Packet Mode create a usable image in fewer passes. nXt Path Tracer often requires more passes before the image gets smooth. In many cases individual passes in nXt Path Tracer are faster, however the overall rendering process may take longer to complete.

Here are two renderings of a scene after just two passes. nXt Packet Mode produces a smooth image after just tow passes, while nXt Path Tracer has quite a bit of graininess which will converge during later passes.


nXt Packet Mode after 10 passes. Features such as Daylight Portals process light from the sky very quickly in the early passes.
nXt Path Tracer after 50 passes. This graininess is a result of selecting random paths to trace for each pixel during each pass. The image will converge after enough passes are allowed to sample random paths in more directions.
nXt Path Tracer after 450 passes. The graniness is starting to converge, but it will take additional passes to process the random rays of light form the ground and sky.




Both of these renderings took several hours. You can see differences between the renderings - such as the reflected light from the ceiling lights on the ceiling which is smoother in the Path Tracer rendering.

Packet Mode after 68 passes
Path Tracer after 1500 passes


See also