The PhysX - a gamer relevation for the uninitiated

[koolbluez]

Continued from Physics card to come from the Rejuvenated Mod, Sourabh

For the still uninitiated... PhysX is the proprietary realtime physics (ragdoll physics) engine middleware SDK developed by AGEIA. Middleware physics engines allow game developers to avoid writing their own code to handle the complex physics interactions possible in modern games. Sony has licensed the PhysX SDK for their PlayStation 3 video game console.

Well, now AGEIA has gone a step ahead and created a PPU expansion card designed to accelerate that SDK. A PPU, or physics processing unit, is a processor specially designed to alleviate calculations from a computer's CPU, specifically calculations involving physics. Well... the GPU is used to accelerate vector graphics, and, by extension, 3D graphics. A PPU to acclerate game physics.

The AGEIA PhysX processor is a specialized accelerator dedicated solely to delivering rich immersive physical gaming environments with features such as:
* Explosions that cause dust and collateral debris
* Characters with complex, jointed geometries for more life-like motion and interaction
* Spectacular new weapons with incredible effects
* Cloth that drapes and tears the way you would expect it to
* Dense smoke & fog that billow around objects in motion

Watch out for the crushing metal & flowing liquid effects in the next Unreal Tourney. Some gameplay videos to watch... (well it didn't work in my FF, better use IE here)

The major competitor to the AGEIA PhysX SDK is the Havok SDK, which is used in more than 150 games, including major titles like Half-Life 2 and Dead Rising.

So, the closest u come to realism right now is to play a PhysX based game on a PPU-driven rig.

A GPU helps the CPU... a PPU helps the GPU :O

The AGEIA PhysX processor is the critical hardware element required for optimized game physics and is the third engine of the Gaming Power Triangle which will drive a new era in exciting and immersive gaming.

Side-by-side examples

And one sour point... Only games that use the PhysX SDK can benefit from the presence of a PhysX card.

Some games based on PhysX..
CellFactor: Combat Training; Dark Physics; City of Heroes/City of Villains (patch); Red Steel; Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter; Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas; Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Double Agent (multiplayer mode); upcomin... Unreal Tournament 3 (pun watch... the UnReal will start lookin real ); Rise of Nations: Rise of Legends (Patch); CellFactor: Revolution; Alpha Prime; Hellgate: London; Gears of War.

Well.. a whole new experience for the gamer.. and a lot of money to spend on... hmmm.. time to change my rig, whatsay?

[AGEIA's PhysX link]

[Pathik]

old news man..

[tarey_g]

AGEIA will not make big , but the other solution by ATI can. They are using the second graphic card as a physics card on a system , this model seems more realistic , as users can make use of their old card if they upgrade for a new card . Buying a seperate physx card for games has not made big yet and its already 1 year since it launched .

[tarey_g]

Yes time has all the answers.