List of Minecraft RTX ray tracing known bugs and launch issues
The full list of issues impacting Minecraft’s first RTX ray tracing beta test, available for Windows 10 PCs.
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Minecraft’s RTX beta is now underway, providing the first hands-on opportunity with its official ray tracing solution, welcoming advanced lighting throughout the blocky sandbox. Microsoft has introduced ray tracing with the aid of NVIDIA, leveraging its RTX platform to deliver a graphical leap to its latest family of GPUs as a free update to all Windows 10 PC users.
How to play Minecraft RTX ray tracing beta
WhileMinecraft’s new RTX betafeatures a title-wide ray tracing implementation, the work-in-progress nature of the project comes with a sizeable list of documented launch issues. Future updates will assumedly iron out the majority of bugs, as development continues.
We’ve rounded up the full list of known bugs and launch issues impacting the Minecraft RTX beta during the early stages of testing.
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Microsoft is bringing ray tracing exclusively to Minecraft for Windows 10, first available via the RTX beta test. This version features the full modern Minecraft experience, including cross-platform multiplayer and purchases with Xbox One, PlayStation 4, mobile, and more.
Common Minecraft RTX beta bugs and issues
Using the Minecraft RTX beta comes with some hiccups over the well-optimized vanilla game. While a vast majority of issues center around visual inconsistencies, Mojang has also introduced several limitations to keep the game running smoothly when ray tracing is enabled.
Can’t turn on ray tracing in Minecraft RTX beta
With Mojang warning of instability when playing the Minecraft RTX beta, its initial implementation is locked down to a small subset of Minecraft. Enabling ray tracing requires the use of “RTX enabled” worlds, obtainable as free downloads via the Minecraft Marketplace. Six community-built maps are among the first custom RTX worlds designed to highlight ray tracing across different scenarios and block types.
Minecraft RTX ray tracing can be toggled while in-game via
or using the semicolon on your keyboard
as a hotkey to fast switching. When attempting to use ray tracing with an incompatible world, players will receive a notice stating, “This feature is only available in a ray tracing capable world. Find one in the Marketplace, or create your own tracing capable resource pack.”
To use ray tracing with the Minecraft RTX beta, use a compatible Minecraft Marketplace map, or a custom compatible resource pack.
Minecraft locked to 1080p resolution
When ray tracing is enabled, the Minecraft RTX beta locks to 1080p resolution. It ensures the game runs smoothly, due to the additional horsepower required for ray tracing. Players can bypass this lock using the upscaling option, at a performance cost.
Nether update features not available
With Minecraft soon expected to receive the Nether Update, opting into the RTX beta will remove access to any features associated with the current Nether beta. With the RTX beta available as a standalone branch, the revamped dimension and other changes are excluded from the build. For access to features on track for the Nether Update, such as new mobs, biomes, and blocks, use the non-RTX variant of the Minecraft for Windows 10 beta.
Nether and End ray tracing issues
The Nether and End, two alternative dimensions available within Minecraft, aren’t optimized for ray tracing during the early RTX beta build. While ray tracing will function, Mojang warns of potential issues when straying from the overworld.
List of Minecraft RTX beta bugs and issues (so far)
Mojang has also outlined a variety of known issues viaMinecraft.net, ahead of the RTX beta launch.
Top ten known issues for the RTX beta when ray tracing is enabled
Physically Based Materials and Texture Pack Authoring
Nether Dimension
End Dimension
Overworld Entities
Potions and Status Effects
Items
Multiplayer, Skins, and Character Creator
Maps
Other known issues:
Matt Brown was formerly a Windows Central’s Senior Editor, Xbox & PC, at Future. Following over seven years of professional consumer technology and gaming coverage, he’s focused on the world of Microsoft’s gaming efforts. You can follow him on Twitter@mattjbrown.
