Razed NaturalVision Enhanced Update Adds Ray Tracing and Moon Phases to GTA V

Grand Theft Auto V celebrates its 13th anniversary with a significant visual upgrade that improves how players experience the game world. Modder Razed released NaturalVision Enhanced, a major update that brings modern lighting standards to the long-running title. This update significantly improves the game's visual quality without requiring players to purchase new hardware. The update focuses on realistic lighting, weather effects, and high dynamic range support to make the open world look sharper and more immersive.

Modder Razed releases major visual update for GTA V Enhanced Edition

NaturalVision Enhanced is a graphics modification designed specifically for the GTA V Enhanced Edition. The mod modifies the game's rendering to incorporate advanced shading and lighting techniques. Players running the older Legacy version cannot use this update directly, as the mod relies on the Enhanced Edition's specific engine features. Razed continues to support the Legacy version through a separate project called NaturalVision Evolved, ensuring both player bases receive updates.

The update introduces upgraded ray tracing for lighting, shadows, and sky effects. It adds real moon phases that cast light rays onto foliage, vehicles, and surfaces. Water shaders now feature greater depth, contact shadows, and subsurface scattering for more natural waves. Rain can form ripples on the ocean surface, and underwater scenes include new post-processing effects for better depth perception.

Razed added full HDR support to NaturalVision Enhanced, allowing compatible displays to show a wider range of colors and brightness levels. The mod improves vehicle paint and lighting to reflect the new ray-traced environment more accurately. Contact shadows and screen-space ambient occlusion (SSAO) add depth to objects and characters. These modifications result in a more visually detailed experience for users of the Enhanced Edition.

Razed committed to supporting both NaturalVision Enhanced and NaturalVision Evolved throughout 2026. This ensures that players on both the Enhanced and Legacy versions of GTA V will continue to receive visual improvements. The update is currently available for owners of the Enhanced Edition who wish to enhance the game's visuals. Players can download the mod to apply these lighting and rendering improvements to their game.