GamePhys

Some Cool UDK PhysX/Physics Videos 2/4/2012

Mark — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 00:53:17 +0000

These are some cool UDK vidoes showing off Apex PhysX and fracture meshes I want to post about We have UDK Fracture Mesh Core – Part 1 by JoshWinkler3D, Physx/udk test by MrTricks47, and Journeyman Research – Nvidia Apex Destruction Test in UDK 2011 by StripySniper. Check them out below.

UDK Fracture Mesh Core – Part 1:

Physx/udk test:

Journeyman Research – Nvidia Apex Destruction Test in UDK 2011:

Physics Engine Primer by Havok Physics

Mark — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 04:09:17 +0000

The HavokEnthusiast YouTube channel has uploaded a series of videos that describes how to get started using Havok’s free PcXs SDK which includes Animation and Physics. One of the videos titled Dynamics Basics I – Physics Primer is a game physics engine overview that goes over what a game physics engine is, the services it provides to a game and how a game physics engine works. The video goes pretty in depth on things like the collision detection algorithms. After watching this video you should have a good basic understanding of what exactly physics engines do for games. Check it out below. And check out the other videos here.

Dynamics Basics I – Physics Primer:

Source [HavokEnthusiast YouTube Channel]

Alan Wake PC: Better Graphics and a Dedicated Thread for Havok Physics Processing

Mark — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 01:10:43 +0000

PC Games Hardware has done a nice technical interview with Markus Mäki, Chief Technical Officer at Remedy about the upcoming PC version of Alan Wake. The interview covers the details about the Alan Wake engine and how a lot of the settings can be turned up for the PC version. What is interesting to us is when Markus is asked about the physics used in the game. Alan Wake will be using a dedicated Thread for Havok Physics and had some very interesting things to say about GPU Accelerated physics such as PhysX. According to Markus “GPU accelerated physics can be great for special effects, but it’s harder to make these physics objects have an impact to the game world – it’s mainly a visual benefit.” Read the rest of the interview here.

From Alan Wake PC: Better graphics compared to 360, looks great at 60 fps:

PCGH: The Physics in the games is based on the popular Havok middleware, is that correct? Does Havok use a dedicated CPU core or is physics calculation done via multithreading? What is your personal option about GPU accelerated physics effects like Nvidias PhysX in case e.g. Batman Arkham City or even accelerated gameplay physics via GPU?

Markus Mäki, Remedy: Yes, Alan Wake uses Havok Physics and Animation to great effect. Havok uses dedicated thread fort he physics processing.

I think GPU accelerated physics can be great for special effects, but it’s harder to make these physics objects have an impact to the game world – it’s mainly a visual benefit. Whereas the CPU physics are integral part of the players’ interaction in the world.

Source [PC Games Hardware]

NVIDIA PhysX System Software Version 9.11.1111 Now Available

Mark — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 00:39:13 +0000

NVIDIA has released PhysX System Software Version 9.11.1111 that includes a few bug fixes like a “bug that caused cloth(paper) to jitter in Batman Arkham City” and Updated SDKs for Alice 2 and other 2.8.4 applications. You can download it here.

From the NVIDIA PhysX System Software Download Page:

Release Highlights:

Includes the latest PhysX runtime builds to support all released PhysX content.

Changes & fixed issues in this release

Fixed a bug that caused cloth(paper) to jitter in Batman Arkham City.

Updated SDKs for Alice 2 and other 2.8.4 applications.

Supports NVIDIA PhysX acceleration on all GeForce 8-series, 9-series, 100-series, 200-series, 300-series, 400-series, 500-series, and 600-series GPUs with a minimum of 256MB dedicated graphics memory.
Note: Some applications may have higher minimum requirements.

Experience GPU PhysX acceleration in many games and demos, some of which are highlighted in PowerPack downloads here.

Supports NVIDIA PhysX acceleration on GeForce for SDK versions 2.7.1, 2.7.3, 2.7.4, 2.7.5, 2.7.6, 2.8.0, 2.8.1 and 2.8.3 (requires graphics driver v196.21 or later).

Supports control of your GPU PhysX configuration from the NVIDIA display driver control panel. (Requires graphics driver v196.21 or later).

AGEIA PhysX processors users should use and install older PhysX system software such as version 8.09.04. Note – AGEIA PPU acceleration support for 2.8.1 SDK or earlier, and Windows Vista and Windows XP only.

Source [NVIDIA]

OpenCL GPU rigid body Simulation 110k bodies in real-time on a Radeon 7970

Mark — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 01:45:45 +0000

Now this is pretty cool, YouTube user erwincoumans is working on a OpenCL based GPU rigid body pipeline simulation that runs on the new AMD Radeon 7970. This simulation uses the massive GPU power of the new AMD Radeon 7970 to simulate 110K rigid bodies in real-time. Pretty impressive stuff. Check out below and be sure to check out the YouTube page for this project with more information and links to download the Windows 7 executable here.

From OpenCL gpu rigidbody pipeline, 110k bodies in real-time on a Radeon 7970:

This is our work-in-progress GPU rigid body pipeline. The simulation runs between 15 and 30 FPS on a AMD 7970 GPU. You can download a Windows 7 executable from https://github.com/erwincoumans/experiments/downloads

The simulation is fully running on GPU and with the use of OpenCL/OpenGL interop, the data is never copied back to main memory.

The constraint solver by Takahito Harada is described here: http://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=2077378.2077406

The Windows executable also runs on NVIDIA GPUs, when using the very latest 290.53 beta drivers (tested on a GTX 470).

Source [erwincoumans]

The Return of the King: Why PC Gaming is Making a Comeback

Mark — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 23:32:55 +0000

We have been waiting for the next-generation consoles to see physics in games implemented more and not just the simple eye candy we have been seeing. With rumors that the next-generation consoles are still a long ways off this could be a long wait. But maybe not, Maximum PC has run an interesting article titled The Return of the King: Why PC Gaming is Making a Comeback, where it talks about how over the past few years PC gaming sales and the number of players has increased significantly along with the GPU and CPU power of PC’s. If this is the case maybe we will start to see some developers leaving consoles behind and make games with physics that take advantage of the current power of PC’s.

From The Return of the King: Why PC Gaming is Making a Comeback:

Wasn’t it just four years ago that the pundits and game media gathered in wake, made a few pithy quips about graphics and soundcard drivers, and poured their 40‑ouncers over the grave of PC gaming? Well guess what, baby—PC gaming ain’t dead by a long shot. In fact, there’s a strong argument that PC gaming is not only alive and well, it’s thriving and poised to dominate consoles.

Don’t believe us? Battlefield 3, one of the most anticipated launches of the year, only offers 64-player goodness to those on the PC, and tweaks the frak out of PC-only graphics that make game consoles look like peddlers of VGA output in a 1080p world. Smash a window in Batman: Arkham City on a PC with PhysX support, and you’re rewarded with glass particles flying everywhere—just as if you threw a thug through a plate glass window in real life. Do that on a console, and you’re rewarded with a pathetic tinkle.

Source [Maximum PC]

HD 6970 + Dedicated GT 430 Hybrid Physx Mini Review

Mark — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 22:33:16 +0000

If you have been thinking about getting a cheap NVIDIA card as a dedicated PhysX card to go along with your AMD video card you may want to check out this HD 6970 + Dedicated GT 430 Hybrid Physx Mini Review thread over at hardforums. Hardforum member N1GHTRA1N has done a very in-depth review and benchmarking of his AMD HD 6970 with both a NVIDIA GT 430 and GTX 460 as dedicated PhysX card using the Hybrid 1.04ff patch. Several other forum members have added benchmarks from their hybrid PhysX setups and added more information. If you are using an AMD GPU and thinking about getting a cheap NVIDIA card for PhysX then i suggest you read through this entire thread, it has some great information.

From N1GHTRA1N’s HD 6970 + Dedicated GT 430 Hybrid Physx Mini Review:

Overall the GT 430 matches up well and does allow you to enable Physx in Physx titles when playing with an AMD graphics card. There is a pretty big performance hit compared to having Physx disabled but in all cases frame rates were still playable. There is a pretty substantial upgrade when comparing Physx On with the GT 430 added, it made the difference of being playable or not. The GTX 460 does show it’s extra power compared to the GT 430, you will get a few extra FPS using the GTX 460, I noticed between 2-5 FPS increase in most games tested after “upgrading” to the GTX 460. It is also worth noting that the EVGA GTX 460 1GB FTW edition is heavily overclocked out of the box, I ran this card at the factory defaults of 850/1000 which may account for the additional FPS scored, as well as some of the additional power usage. I can only guess, but I would think using a stock clock speed GTX 460 would result in slightly low FPS and slightly lower power draw. There is potential that the FPS performance of a stock clocked GTX 460 could be identical to the GT 430, however the power usage will always be lower on the GT 430. Remember the stock speeds for a GTX 460 is 675/900 and the GT 430 I used is 700/800 which the GTX 460 I used is 850/1000.

With all things considering I think the GT 430 is a very good solution if you must have Physx support with a AMD card. The results are playable frame rates with Physx enabled, something AMD can’t do on its own. If you decide to go with a higher GPU like the GTX 460 you may get some extra performance, it is a very small 2-5fps but there is some performance increase. It is difficult to say if this is due to the extra clock speeds, 256-bit memory bus (compared to 128-bit GT 430), or the extra CUDA cores (336 vs 96). The bottom line is that I cannot justify the cost of a GTX 460 when you consider the minimal increase in performance compared to the GT 430, especially if you value power consumption and case temperatures. The GTX 460 will most certainly require extra power and generate extra heat, this costs you extra money on your electrical bill. The GT 430 is also available in a large variety of single card solutions, the GTX 460 does have some single slot designs but they are expensive and add extra heat due to a poorer cooling solution.

Source [Hardforum.com]

New Torque 3D PhysX Video

Mark — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 08:13:40 +0000

YouTube user ThatsPie has made a pretty cool video showing off the PhysX in Torque 3D. This is a completely new video not from the Torque 3D demos we have seen before. Check it out below. If you are interested in the Torque 3D engine and its PhysX, be sure to check out our Torque 3D Pacific Physics (PhysX) Demo and Video from the Pacific Demo available on the Torque 3D website.

Torque 3D Pacific Physics (PhysX) Demo Video

Apex PhysX Voronoi Fracture and Destruction Demonstration

Mark — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 20:18:02 +0000

Zombiethatatehimself creator of the Awesome Apex PhysX Impact Damage Demonstration and Apex PhysX Impact Damage Demonstration With Stucco/plaster has made another cool Apex PhysX demonstration with the Unreal Development Kit. This time a Voronoi Fracture and destruction demonstration that has some very cool destruction and PhysX effects. Once again he has given me the files require to play it on my machine so I recorded a nice video showing it off. Check it out below.

Voronoi fracture from zombiethatatehimself:

System Specs used in this video:

Windows 7 PRO 64 bit
Intel Core i7-920 (stock speeds)
ASUS P6T Deluxe V2 LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard
G.SKILL 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 Memory
EVGA GeForce GTX 460 (Fermi) Superclocked EE
Nvidia GeForce 285.38 BF3 Drivers
OCZ Vertex II SSD
Samsung 245BW

Shadowgun Flexes Tegra 3 Quad-Core Muscles with Physics

Mark — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 03:07:14 +0000

Ever since we saw the Glowball PhysX demo and the Floating Castle Physics Demo running on Tegra 3 powered tablets we have been pretty excited about physics on Tegra powered devices. Back in November NVIDIA announced the released of their new Quad-Core mobile Tegra 3 chip that uses “four CPU cores and its new GeForce GPU to render an interactive environment with real-time dynamic lighting, real-time physics, fluid gameplay and more.” Now instead of another demo, MADFINGER Games, the developer of Shadowgun has made a Tegra 3-optimized version of Shadowgun with some cool physics/PhysX effects that can take advantage of the quad core Tegra chip and it’s GPU. Check out the video below. As you can see from the video, the Tegra 3-optimized version of Shadowgun has some cool cloth, water/fluid, ragdoll and destruction physics effects that really add to the game and its environment.

From Shadowgun Flexes Tegra 3 Quad-Core Muscles:

The popular Android game Shadowgun has been enhanced to take advantage of the Tegra 3 quad-core mobile processor. This demo shows Shadowgun’s graphics performance when played on Tegra 3 devices.

The Tegra 3-optimized version of Shadowgun features console-quality water, enhanced rag-doll physics, particle effects, enhanced shaders and dynamic textures. These are only possible using Tegra 3’s multi-core capabilities, and they make for a truly immersive and realistic gaming experience.

Source [NVIDIA BLOG]