VizWorld.com

Autodesk has added a new case study to their website about Mythic Entertainment’s use of 3ds Max in the new Warhammer MMO.  They talk a bit about their process, and a new Autodesk tool called Kynapse, a pathfinding tool

“When it comes to MMO’s, social needs are just as important as those of combat. Autodesk products have been a big help in creating the realistic worlds and characters that our players interact with on a daily basis. Autodesk 3ds Max scripting with MAXScript has been very useful to us. It has really opened the door to help customizing our workflow, data mining, exporting paths, and more artistic productivity tools. If we didn’t have MAXScript, things would have been a lot more difficult.”

Having used MAXScript, I don’t have quite as high opinion as the Mythic guys.

via Autodesk – Games – Mythic Entertainment.

Graphics 3dsmax, autodesk, mythic

Tom’s Hardware has stumbled upon a new 40nm Radeon card available from a German Distributor named Schottenland.de  (link). From their site, the spec:

According to the listing, the ATI Radeon HD 4750 uses the RV740 GPU, clocking in at 650 MHz with 640 stream processors and using shader version 4.1. On the memory side, the card sports 512 MB of GDDR5 clocking in at 3200 MHz, and utilizes a 128-memory interface. In addition, the card shows that it features not only two DVI outputs, but an S-video output jack. The specs also indicate that it does support CrossFire and CrossFireX configurations, and is HDCP ready. The card consumes 78 watts of juice and connects via a PCI-E 2.0 slot, and will possibly work without an external power connector.

via AMD May Unveil 40nm Radeon HD 4750 Soon – Tom’s Hardware.

Hardware amd, ati

Engadget reports that Vuzix is at GDC talking about a new Augmented Reality headset that combines video capture with video overlay and a special wireless “augmented reality input controller”.

The bundle will include the CamAR — a clip-on USB camera that is designed to accurately track objects and the user’s position in three-dimensional space — along with the PhasAR wireless augmented reality input controller. When these are used in unison, users are able to simultaneously see what’s going on in the Matrix and in the display. For instance, imagine reading a book that’s tied into a program on the VR920; as you read along, images can pop up and complement the text.

The full press release is inside..

Read more…

Hardware augmented reality, vuzix

CGSociety has some great closeup shots of the new Wacom Intuos4, and some information about the new features.

Other innovative product modifications include a refined and intelligent industrial design that provides real advancements in looks, comfort and control. Specific workflow and productivity tools to savor include the shortcut and modifier keys with multiple customisable and application-specific profiles as well as the OLED (organic light emitting diode) displays beside the keys for quick reference.

CGSociety – Wacom Intuos4 Graphics Tablet.

Hardware wacom

OnLive is back again today, this time on GizModo with a live demonstration of Crysis running on a lowly Dell Studio 15 with integrated graphics.

They’ve got the video at their site.

OnLive Demos Streaming Games: Yes, That’s Crysis on Integrated Graphics.

Hardware gdc, onlive

ExPreview has news that NVidia is currently redesigning the GTX295 to a single-PCB design.

The current GTX295 features dual-PCB design codenamed P656 with one GPU on each. New GTX295 will adopt single PCB design known as P658, which means NVIDIA need to cram two G200 chips onto one PCB board. Therefore, the wiring and power supply parts as well as sandwich cooler need to be rearranged.

The main reason for such a change? Cost.  Single-PCB cards are significantly easier to manufacture and assemble, reducing manufacturing costs.

via NVIDIA’s Scheme of Single-PCB Reference GTX295 Outlined – Expreview.com.

Hardware nvidia

Infosthetics is showing the “Did You Know 3.0″ video from Karl Fisch.  He previously created a 1.0 and 2.0 version, and all of them are a fantastic collection of infographic animations showing a wide variety of statistical data like population, computer power, broadband penetration, newpapers, and more.

Video after the break.

Did You Know 3.0 (Video) – information aesthetics.

Read more…

Science

Toms Hardware has the scoop on AMD/ATI’s latest GDC talk:

“Hear the latest on game computing featuring open standards-based physics with OpenCL and ATI Stream and increasing content scalability through server-side rendering powered by AMD s Fusion Render Cloud ” reads the session detail over on the official GDC site (link). According to AMD Software Manager Terry Makedon Havok is indeed the partner of choice and the company plans to demonstrate ATI hardware-accelerated physics during the presentation (Twitter). “Go check out the session if you are around should be educational ” he said.

Sounds like AMD & ATI got fed up about hearing NVidia putting PhysX on everything, so they’ve decided to team up with one of the biggies (Havok) and optimize it for GPGPU acceleration on ATI cards.

via AMD Showcases Havok Physics… Again? – Tom’s Hardware.

Hardware amd, ati, gdc, gpgpu, havok

If you’re a student in computer graphics or digital arts, you might want to consider entering the SIGGRAPH SpaceTime 2009 competition:

The exhibition captures the state of creative computer-based student work and acts as an annual slice of the computer graphics continuum. Primary, secondary, and college or university students are encouraged to apply and the submissions will be handled separately.

Accepted art and projects will be on exhibit at the annual SIGGRAPH conference, and will also tour nationally and internationally for approximately one year with the SpaceTime Traveling Student Exhibition conducted by the ACM SIGGRAPH Education Committee.

Deadline for entries is May 8th, and they’re accepting entries in Print, Animation, and Interactive works.

via Call for Submissions: SpaceTime 2009 — ACM SIGGRAPH Education Committee Online.

Graphics siggraph

Ubisoft CEO Yannis Mallat is at GDC this week, and spent some time talking to some developers about the differences between video games and movies, and how they can embrace those differences.

Ubisoft which acquired visual effects studio Hybride Technologies 300 Sin City in July is helping with previsualization of movie scenes while soaking in “tools and processes to help us make better games … and crafting storytelling ” Mallat says. But rather than the game developers serving as secondary citizens in the relationship they are “embracing all the content to see how we could contribute on the worlds and characters in Avatar ” Mallat says.

It seems a logical step to start developing pre-vis tools for movies, since so many movies these days eventually migrate to consoles as video-game tie-ins, and a collaboration to share assets would reduce time and cost on both sides.  Plus, they’ve (Ubisoft) obviously got the expertise and skillsets to build interactive real-time tools.

via Ubisoft’s cinematic dance – Game Hunters: In search of video games and interactive awesomeness – USATODAY.com.

Graphics ubisoft