GDC 06: Next-gen physics in full force

Ageia, Havok, Nvidia, and Epic Games bring physics to the forefront at GDC.

SAN JOSE, Calif.--Game Developers Conference 06 is the first open skirmish between competing physics middleware companies and hardware manufacturers as they battle to get the attention of game developers tasked with adding next-gen physics to their games.

Dramatically improved physics has been one of the major promises of the next-generation game experience. The Xbox 360 CPU has three processing cores, and the PlayStation 3 Cell processor's seven synergistic processing elements provide a tremendous amount of horsepower for physics calculations.

Physics companies Ageia and Havok are both at GDC to show off new technologies that promise to lift the PC platform up to the same physics processing level as the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

Ageia announced this week at GDC that it is shipping its PhysX processor, a physics processing unit designed for add-on physics cards. PC manufacturers Dell, Alienware, and Falcon Northwest will offer PhysX cards for their gaming systems, and discrete add-on PhysX boards will be available in May from Asus and BFG.

Physics middleware developer Havok is also in the mix at GDC announcing Havok 4.0, the newest update to its middleware suite, and running new hardware-accelerated Havok FX physics demonstrations with GPU manufacturer Nvidia.

Improvements in Havok 4.0 allow the physics simulator software to better exploit the multicore processors in today's PCs and next-generation console systems, and Havok's FX technology lets game developers access the processing power of the video card GPU to accelerate physics effects.

Closed-door and open-door sessions at GDC are understandably replete with physics demonstrations. Ageia's demos are currently the most polished, since the company is now shipping product.

Interested conference goers were able to get their hands on a playable Cell Factor multiplayer shooter demo in the Ageia booth. Developed by Artificial Studios, the Cell Factor demo featured a multilevel fuel station map filled with boxes, pipes, cloth, shipping containers, and a handful of vehicles. Players could use "psi" powers, Star Wars Force-like effects, to toss around objects and even each other.

Ageia plans to bundle the demo with its PhysX cards with a full collection of mod tools to let players explore and modify the code behind the physics.

Over at the Havok booth, the company is demonstrating a wide range of rigid body, fluid, and particle effects running on Nvidia GeForce 7900 GPUs in its exposition suite.

One demo shows a bowl filled with thousands of gumballs that collide and interact with each other realistically in real time. Changing the attraction characteristics while adding transparency and blur effects transforms the gumballs into fluid droplets that pool and scatter like water.

Development partners are also on hand demonstrating Ageia- and Havok-powered physics effects.

Epic Games demonstrated physics effects currently in development for Unreal Tournament 2007 on a PlayStation 3 development kit. The physics effects built on Ageia software include boulders that cascade down the mountainside and collide realistically with a player-controlled vehicle and a gravity ball that can attract a very large number of rigid body objects together and move around the screen without a hitch. The demo is running on PS3 hardware, but Ageia promises that a PC can run the same effects if it has an Ageia physics add-on card installed in the system.

Nvidia sponsored tutorial sessions on using the GPU to accelerate Havok-enabled physics. And judging by the standing-room crowd for Nvidia's Thursday-evening "Physics Simulation on Nvidia GPUs" conference session, game developers are definitely taking notice of physics.

54 Comments

  • bob7k

    Posted Aug 8, 2006 12:05 am PT

    wrong, the PC is better,in my opinion only if you look at costs, of course a ps3 is going to be better, per dollar, but at what other costs? no mod communities, limited player counts, high chance of cheaters and not a form of police to stop it, no neat look-at-what-simple-modding-can-dos, and the big one, limited keys, Ive seen some functions trimmed from the PC version to fit the ps2 key set, and no one likes losing that little nifty feature, also, computers are computers because they are customizable, if you could fit this card in a ps2, just an example, don't go all hyper, then it would be, well, a computer. i could see maby an expansion cartridge being released later in a products life to bring it back, but nothing can do that like mods, I've made one and it feels great, the fact that you have a community to look after, its like cookies and icecream, in one little happy cube. I'm not saying that consoles suck, they can be very useful, only i see everything from a console available for the PC, like ps2 to USB adapters so i don't have to play mouse and kb on San Andreas for PC, i think when consoles came out, they planned it for portability, pop the controllers and cables in a shopping bag, and off to grandmas, not something you can do with a computer, well, unless you have a laptop, ant a few grand for a good gaming one, its like a market, some people are console people, i personally am a computer person, i like having to fix the blue screen of death, and i get much satisfaction out if it, also i like to just press one or two buttons to get in a game, not something i can do on a computer, unless i have a hot key, its all how much effort you want to put into playing, a little effort for consoles, and a lot for PCs. but another thing consoles have angst PCs is the ability to round up all the online players, similar to the Xfire service, which is a very neet thing to have.
    i own a 360 and there are ups and downs to both PC and consoles, consoles have cost, and PCs have power and versatility.
    i think new egg sells those physics cards, cant wait for 3ds max 9 to support them, if they ever do.

  • Dups79

    Posted May 31, 2006 1:49 am PT

    This is the type of stuff that gets me excited about gaming. Yeah graphics are nice and all but if you are cruising along in a georgous car and hit a tree going 100mph and the tree doesn't even move and your car just bends it's fender a bit then it doesn't do much for me!

  • Darc1n

    Posted May 29, 2006 11:11 am PT

    It is goes PCI port? I heard its goes to PCI-E!
    400$ is a good price! If u have a GF7800 and the UT2007 is running at 30 FPS, with that PPU it goes up to 80 FPS!

  • BmB23

    Posted May 15, 2006 3:53 am PT

    I agree that It's the developer that makes the great looking (and hopefully great playing) games, not the hardware... Look at Lionhead with "The Room" and Crytek with Crysis... They do all these crazy effects without any of this werd hardware.

    But don't say "PS3 Pwnzzzz Jo00!!" Because it doesn't. Okay, it has a superior CPU and a slightly punchier GPU, but for example 360's ati card is more streamlined and does things faster... that kinda weighs it out. Also keep in mind it has been said by the dev's of these "awesome" ps3 games that both the x-box 360 and a decent PC would be able to handle these effects just fine... they just chose the ps3, thats all.

  • dd99

    Posted May 4, 2006 1:49 pm PT

    this is acualy prity old news, i do know the phisics card is going to cost 400$ at release, its comming to the UK first, and it goes in a PCI port. Nvidea is also making cards that use unused prosessing power from the card to prosess phisics, there are many new things for the computer. All at once too

  • --doomduck--

    Posted Mar 29, 2006 11:13 am PT

    Whether you prefer PCs or consoles is an opinion, so you can't just say "ps3s are better." However, PCs will always be stronger hardware wise, and I prefer them for other reasons too.

    I read in a John Carmack interview (creator of Doom) that they are finding it very hard to utilise the extra cores on the PS3, Xbox 360 and some PC processors.

    Also, is all that power really necessary? Notice most new games are VGA limited.

    Also, you must remember that graphics and physics aren't everything, the gameplay is the most important part.

    Just so you know: the PS3 is supposed to cost around £400. Around $600-700?

  • buildar

    Posted Mar 28, 2006 3:02 pm PT

    good point decebal, I will be happy with my purchase, when i make it november, i'm hoping i'll have enough left over for my TV. haha. and Lukey405 i agree that its all about the lighting and the physics! Graphics can only go so far, but high resolution textures sure help.

  • lukey405

    Posted Mar 28, 2006 1:11 pm PT

    Who gives a crap about Console wars, all Consoles are different so neither is better than any other, just different.

    I reckon that graphics have almost reached their peak, it's lighting and physics and stuff that they need to perfect now....

  • jsratm

    Posted Mar 27, 2006 7:13 pm PT

    this is all very exciting. what people are doing with computers right now is absolutely amazing. the boundaries are disappearing which seems to be what this world might need at the moment.

    as for consol wars..rubbish. whatever consol whatever game whatever technology whatever company if it rocks it rocks. biodiversity my friends.

  • decebal

    Posted Mar 27, 2006 4:46 pm PT

    But see, buildar... nobody tells you not to buy a PS3. It will be a great machine. No matter what console you stick with... you will be happy. They are all powerful and good.

    But if you want to go by specs, the pc currently smokes any of them. I got a 360 and a PC and, all my games look better on the pc.

    And well the PS3 is not out to compare it yet... but I'm sure it's not far off. When PS3 will come out, my PC will have enough upgrades that PS3 will be no match for it.

    So kaziechameleon is right. If you just want to go in terms of processing power, nothing matches a pc. If you just want to play games, and are on a limited budget... you should buy a console.

  • buildar

    Posted Mar 27, 2006 1:25 pm PT

    It all comes down to money versus performance and games. For me to get a pc that would play unreal 2k7 would set me back a boatload. Regardless of how much the ps3 sells for the PC would cost more. And i'm an old school console rpg gamer so i have no place in the pc world except for RTS games.

  • kaziechameleon

    Posted Mar 27, 2006 11:40 am PT

    so many people keep saying the ps3 is better than a computer, considering the ps3 doesn't exist that is kinda funny, and also considering that currently there are pc's available that eat bothe the ps3 and xbox alive, look a ridiculously rich person could buy a dual core double processor pc, with each core at 64 bits, and a running speed of 4.2 gigs, and four gpu's in quad sli, and 4 or more gigs of ram/active memory. so basically if you are a tech hog with money the pc will always win, and at that the standard gaming pc is what many of the ps3 and xbox launch titles were first developed on, gears of war began developement on pcs because the xbox wasn't available, and look at the original screens it didn't look too sabby either. ut 2007 started as a pc game and is being ported to the ps3. common people evidently pc's aren't behind the consoles any wayze few developers even know how to take advantage of console hardware in the next gen yet so the games won't look any better than pc titles. with the PPU launching standard gaming pcs will officially be on par with the ps3, and it isn't even out yet. that piece of cutting edge tech is only a little better than the 360, it has 7 processors, and the 360 has a theoretical 6, atleast people can develope for the 360.

  • decebal

    Posted Mar 27, 2006 10:32 am PT

    What they don't tell you is that PS3 and 360 both suck in terms of physics. The small level 2 cache is not great for lots of floating point calculations. PS3 is a little better but they both suck in comparison to Revolution. (2M)

    The 3 cores - 7 for ps3, will just provide us with nicer graphics.... and definetly better physics than the current gen. However, Revolution will be much more capable of processing nice physics than these 2.

    While Sony and MS might turn out looking prettier, Nintendo will get all the fun. (There are serious tech articles on this subject).

    P.S. I find it funny that both MS and Sony are advertising their new consoles as great for physics... To bad, consumers belive them.

  • masiisam

    Posted Mar 27, 2006 8:30 am PT

    I am with the ONE other poster that says it is not the hardware. It is the developer. Granted the capability in the hardware has to be there, but well see what the developers do with this. I am glad there is a “middle man” developing hardware so developers can just plug in the physics per say. On the bonus side there is more then one middle man. So it only benefits us the consumers with better games.

  • axia_777

    Posted Mar 26, 2006 11:16 pm PT

    concord9
    Whats so suprising??? PC's are and always will be superior in every way to consoles-----------

    yah except for the bare fact that the cell rolls over both intel and amd models of processors. Both have jack on the cell. so how is that superior?? it can act as a gpu by itself. can a p4 or an amd chip? nope, never gonna happen.....

  • pyth0n13

    Posted Mar 26, 2006 10:10 pm PT

    i love physics!

  • couse18

    Posted Mar 26, 2006 5:26 pm PT

    sweet

  • excap

    Posted Mar 26, 2006 1:02 pm PT

    i was just wondering why the ageia cell factor demo was called cell factor was it anything to do with the fact that they are working on the ps3`s cell processor?

  • yanks26wsw

    Posted Mar 25, 2006 3:24 pm PT

    cool

  • swanlord

    Posted Mar 25, 2006 3:04 pm PT

    Sony has lost the next gen war.....they have tripped at the starting line

  • The_Fat_Zebra

    Posted Mar 25, 2006 12:24 pm PT

    They'd better make a mobile PhysX card too.

  • i_love_my_ds

    Posted Mar 25, 2006 11:18 am PT

    why cant consoles be modified like this?

  • Paul_TheGreat

    Posted Mar 25, 2006 10:43 am PT

    Physics is what the definition of next-gen should be.

  • KamaKase

    Posted Mar 25, 2006 8:26 am PT

    I just hope developers actually USE this power.....what's it been used for so far....ragdolls when a guy has died?

  • chrisdojo

    Posted Mar 25, 2006 7:08 am PT

    my pc is in serious upgrade needing....

  • ivoacfernandes

    Posted Mar 25, 2006 1:40 am PT

    Both ps3/360 are great, but I really don't think they will a match for a pc for long even in cost/performance, it won't be long before we have fully operational 64bit OS (not that winxp64 crap) powered by a fully operational dual core cpu and a dx10 gen video card.

  • ewjim

    Posted Mar 25, 2006 1:01 am PT

    Cooooooool, let's see what they got for us!

  • mikekare79

    Posted Mar 25, 2006 12:15 am PT

    Sweet. I want more games for my 360, even though Ghost Recon is consuming my life!

  • t_wilson

    Posted Mar 24, 2006 11:52 pm PT

    the pc will always be better because you'll always be able to add new hardware to it, but look at it this way: you'll need a pc with a top of the line cpu, plus a physics card just to be able to match what the cell cpu does all by itself. Also think about the fact that the first gen of ps3 gens will match the best the pc has to offer.

  • FaytOfId

    Posted Mar 24, 2006 11:48 pm PT

    The PS3 will be nice, but I have already set up a computer that is close to the specs of it, that will cost a good few grand. I probably won't buy it till after I got a ps3, but that's moreso due to other priority's that I have right now, and that I don't know if I really want that computer that bad, considering I have this perfectly fine laptop that definitely packs a punch, and is pretty good for gaming. I want the ps3 for it's games, XBOX doesn't have the games I like. I bought an XBOX, and I ended up selling it because there was only 1 game that I played for it: Ninja Gaiden. That game could piss me off at times, so I decided I'd rather get some other videogames that I would play more often, and I haven't missed that XBOX one bit
    All I'm expecting this next generation of games to bring is good physics, multiple independent moving objects seamlessly, full HD support, improvements on certain ps2 games, full ps1 compatability, some new controller that I may not enjoy so much, but will get used to it none the less, surround sound in game, and (I doubt, but would really hope) a memory card that's compatable with ps1, ps2 and ps3 games, and a pretty decent online service that starts reasonably soon after release of the ps3.

  • fxmldr999

    Posted Mar 24, 2006 10:45 pm PT

    Nice to know the PS3 can already run the real world physics. It just keeps getting better and better. Who knows maybe Sony will surprise us and undercut the 360 just for spite. If they save me more money on the console they should know I'll spend it on games.

  • Furbyballistik

    Posted Mar 24, 2006 9:44 pm PT

    i dont care how much tha ps3 is gonna cost....if it is running better than a computer physicx wise right now....then its totally worth every buck, expecually if it cost under 700 bucks!!! well thats wat im suggesting

  • NeoJedi

    Posted Mar 24, 2006 9:35 pm PT

    Would've been nice to see a video of the demos... but it all seems pretty nice.

  • jamil2nice

    Posted Mar 24, 2006 9:32 pm PT

    yeah, go Revolution!

  • Chedda925

    Posted Mar 24, 2006 9:09 pm PT

    It just getting closer and closer to real world physics it is almost crazy

  • GyRo567

    Posted Mar 24, 2006 9:02 pm PT

    The second core on a soon-to-be-mainstream-standard dual core CPU will make both the PPU and the SLI GPU dedicated physics obsolete before they ever take off. Why waste money on another processor when you have one just waiting for you to utilize it already? o_O

  • abdu4

    Posted Mar 24, 2006 8:51 pm PT

    good stuff cant wait for next-gen anymore

  • Kwiksilva

    Posted Mar 24, 2006 8:30 pm PT

    sounds good that means even better games for the pc

  • rodrigo_br

    Posted Mar 24, 2006 7:01 pm PT

    in the first gen, we had a creativity war by game developers side and a revolution by hardware makers(see:nintendoXsony)
    in the second, graphix war by the hardware people(seeboxXsony) and a war between those who used all the hardware had and those who haven't
    now, on the third gen, seems we will have a war between who better play with physics laws by the dev people and who lets developers add more coding to those laws by the hardware guys...
    that's really cool
    but, tell me, by US$500 you guys prefer a computer chip that depends on other chips and can't be used if u're stupid and open an unknow e-mail...
    or a PS3 that if shows any problem u can go and get it fixed were u bought it?

    Of course, there are the problem with space and a lot of stuff that u have in a computer but u don't in a videogame, plus, i'm sure those chips are gonna be expensive enough to don't worth if you can buy an videogame that costs almost the same...

    WHAT A BIG COMENT EH?

  • concord9

    Posted Mar 24, 2006 6:18 pm PT

    Whats so suprising??? PC's are and always will be superior in every way to consoles

  • Arkham

    Posted Mar 24, 2006 6:07 pm PT

    "The demo is running on PS3 hardware, but Ageia promises that a PC can run the same effects *if it has an Ageia physics add-on card installed*."________________________THAT is most interesting to hear. I wasn't expecting to hear that stated so bluntly, especially this early.

  • kkkknaruto

    Posted Mar 24, 2006 5:42 pm PT

    well i'll wait anotha year and save if i ave to for a ps3 because wen im buyin a system i want da best n sony's hardware always delivers da best.

  • akpc1

    Posted Mar 24, 2006 5:38 pm PT

    Great now we'll have to buy another card to play the latest games. Only thing is thier is like 2 games out right now that support PPUs (Physics Proccessing Units). I know that 3DMARK06 also takes advatage of PPUs. Soon we will have more games that can use PPUs, and thier for buying one will make more sense to help take some of the stress off of our precious Geforce 6 and 7 series cards (or ATI-based X8xx series and X18xx seriescards, if your a fan of the guys in Red). Lots of new stuff coming out in PC world this year into Q1 of 2007: Vista, DX10, PPUs, Conroe core, AM2 socket, DDR2-1066, Geforce 8 series, new Radeons, stupid HDCP crap, Blu-Ray drives, wow time to start saving up.

  • _solidsnake_2

    Posted Mar 24, 2006 5:37 pm PT

    pc will always be the best

  • Imavnas

    Posted Mar 24, 2006 5:25 pm PT

    No matter how good the physics are, economics makes it obvious that if the PS3 costs more than $500, it wont sell. But we also know Sony isnt stupid. IMO, expect the system to cost around that much come Novembers launch. Availability though, is a very different issue, -_- .

  • gibb1

    Posted Mar 24, 2006 5:03 pm PT

    hope you re wrong about the cost, i won't spend that much money for a ps3.

  • VFA-102

    Posted Mar 24, 2006 4:59 pm PT

    Physics is what should be the defining factor in a next-gen system. Graphics are nice, but, if I can't interact with the world more, blow pieces of wall away in a fps, then what really seperates the old systems from the new?

  • 0jiggy0

    Posted Mar 24, 2006 4:50 pm PT

    it costs as much as a computer

  • strahd01

    Posted Mar 24, 2006 4:49 pm PT

    awesome now if only sony made games easier to make we could have awesome games w00t

  • Led_poison

    Posted Mar 24, 2006 4:49 pm PT

    o god no, next gen physics war?

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