Supporto PhysX anche per Mirror's Edge

La versione PC di Mirror's Edge, sviluppato da DICE, implementerà al proprio interno pieno supporto alla tecnologia PhysX, grazie alla quale verrà incrementato il livello di realismo dell'esperienza di gioco con una migliore gestione della fisica. La tecnologia PhysX potrà venir sfruttata in questo titolo utilizzando una scheda video NVIDIA dotata di architettura a shader unificati, quindi una GPU compatibile con le API DirectX 10 dalla famiglia GeForce 8 in poi.

Il nuovo set di driver Forceware 180.48, del quale abbiamo dato notizia a questo indirizzo, permette di utilizzare una scheda video NVIDIA della serie GeForce in modo dedicato per la sola gestione della tecnologia PhysX, affiancata da una o due schede GeForce dedicate alle tradizionali operazioni per la generazione delle scene 3D.

NVIDIA descrive in questo modo il funzionamento della tecnologia PhysX all'interno di Mirror's Edge

With the NVIDIA PhysX physics engine, the world of Mirror's Edge comes to life with real affects of wind, weapons impact, and in-game movements. Every-day objects within the game become part of the overall experience. Cloth, flags, and banners can now impact weapons and players; ground fog interacts with the player's footsteps; explosions fill the air with smoke and debris; and weapon impacts are enhanced with interactive particles. 

Per chi volesse vedere il trailer originale, in formato Quicktime a 720p, è disponibile un download a questo indirizzo.

Abbiamo inserito un breve filmato dimostrativo che mostra gli effetti legati alla fisica implementati in Mirror's Edge fornito da NVIDIA; si nota chiaramente come l'implementazione della tecnologia PhysX abbia permesso di rendere molto più realistico il modo con il quale i vestiti si muovono naturalmente nel corso di un'azione, o di come viene gestita la nebbia volumetrica in modo interattivo.

Di seguito un estratto dal comunicato stampa rilasciato da NVIDIA:

SANTA CLARA, CA—NOVEMBER 19, 2008— In the award-winning videogame Mirror’s Edge™, DICE, an Electronic Arts Inc. studio, introduces players to a new heroine named Faith. Faith belongs to a network of couriers called ‘runners’ who use acrobatic moves to transport confidential information across the cityscape of rooftops and aerial skyways to avoid being detected. To deliver this never-before-seen sense of movement and perspective, DICE has turned to NVIDIA® PhysX™ technology to give gamers an eye-popping experience on the PC.

“Faith’s world in Mirror’s Edge is visceral, immediate, and very dangerous; it is imperative that the gameplay reflect this level of urgency,” said Owen O’Brien, Senior Producer at DICE. “NVIDIA PhysX technology affords us the ability to bring a totally new level of immersion to the game, and by doing so, gamers can truly become part of the world.”

With the NVIDIA PhysX physics engine, the world of Mirror’s Edge comes to life with real affects of wind, weapons impact, and in-game movements. Every-day objects within the game become part of the overall experience. Cloth, flags, and banners can now impact weapons and players; ground fog interacts with the player’s footsteps; explosions fill the air with smoke and debris; and weapon impacts are enhanced with interactive particles.

On the PC, PhysX technology harnesses the power of CUDA™, NVIDIA’s general-purpose, parallel-computing architecture, to handle 10-20 times more visual complexity than what’s possible without a GeForce® CUDA-enabled GPU. And unlike competitors’ solutions, which do not offer hardware-scaling capabilities, only PhysX technology leverages the best of both CPU and GPU architectures to deliver the ultimate, immersive, user experience. With over 100 million CUDA-compatible GeForce 8 Series and higher GPUs shipped to date, PhysX technology has the largest installed base of general-purpose, parallel-computing processors to run on.

“If you love intense combat scenes, fast-paced chases, and sky-high adventures then Mirror’s Edge is the game for you,” said Ujesh Desai, vice president of GeForce desktop business at NVIDIA. “Gamers will appreciate the greater freedom of movement, including sliding under barriers, tumbling, wall-running, and shimmying across ledges—all within an environment that is dynamic and immersive, delivered in part by our PhysX technology”.

Consisting of a robust physics engine, API, and middleware software, NVIDIA PhysX technology is interactive entertainment’s most pervasive physics engine and is already included in more than 140 shipping titles for PLAYSTATION 3 computer entertainment system, Xbox 360® computer and video game system from Microsoft, Wii, and the PC.