A new paper from the folks at Crytek and the Universidad de Zaragoza showcases a new antialiasing technique they call SMAA, or Subpixel Morphological Antialiasing. The results are promising, as shown above.
We present a new image-based, post-processing antialiasing technique, that offers practical solutions to all the common problems of existing filter-based antialiasing algorithms. It yields better pattern detection to handle sharp geometric features and diagonal shapes. Our edge detection scheme exploits local contrast features, along with accelerated and more precise distance searches, which allows to better recognize the patterns to antialias. Our method is capable of reconstructing subpixel features, comparable to 4x multisampling, and is fully customizable, so that every feature can be turned on or off, adjusting to particular needs. We propose four different presets, from the basic level to adding spatial multisampling and temporal supersampling. Even this full-fledged version achieves performances that are on-par with the fastest approaches available, while yielding superior quality.
You can download a high-resolution video at the site below showcasing the effects of their new algorithm. It’s impressive work, showing some beautiful results in their examples.
MTBS3D.com has posted an interview with Jens Schöbel, Technical Designer for Crytek on the new Crysis 2 game. This is only part 1 of a 3 part series, so there will be more to read later. The good news is that Crysis 2 will be able to run in stereoscopic 3-D. The bad news is that this game has just been delayed until early 2011. It was slated for a November 23, 2010 release date.
5. When and how did Crytek first take an interest in stereoscopic 3D gaming? What was your first experience with it?
My personal experience with S-3D differs a little bit from Crytek’s experience with 3D. Before I joined Crytek I received my Master of Science in Mathematics and used to work as a scientist in the 3D graphics laboratory at the University of Heidelberg, Germany. Back then I made my first experiences with S-3D. This is about 9 years ago. My task was to visualize data in stereo 3D like jet streams around a car or biological cells. The results that we achieved at those times were absolutely amazing from a graphical point of view but not comparable with the current developments at all.
When I joined Crytek in 2008 the idea of developing videogame content in S-3D was relatively new. At that time only one programmer at Crytek researched this technology. He implemented the first version of our S-3D tech in CryENGINE for Siggraph 2009 in less than a handful of days. After the tech was implemented we started working on the content. An internal research project lifted our knowledge bar of stereo gaming step by step over the following years. Today, S-3D is one of the most important parts of my job as Technical Designer. I have a very deep understanding of the S-3D theory itself, the programming side of things but also about the design idea behind. I’d call myself the interface between programming, art and design. Besides programming I also try finding the right values for how much left shift a shader effect needs for example, or how deep a pillar needs to be placed considering the specific arrangement of objects in the game.
CryTek has published the details of the new CryENGINE 3.1 SDK, and it’s a massive live of new features and tools. They’ve added some of what they showed at GDC2010 like the Shader Editor and new profiling tools, but also added new features like procedural deformation, irradiance volumes, physics simulations, light propagation volumes, HDR support, and more.
CryENGINE 3.1’s Blend Shader eradicates tiling of identical materials throughout games, without the need for large texture sets. A new Visual Budget System lets developers maximize performance and quality in their games, in real-time. Upgrades to the incorporated CryENGINE 3 Asset Browser ensure increased development speed for all designers and artists using CryENGINE Sandbox. Work has also been done to give directors and animators more control over their creations. The cut-scene and cinematic tool, TrackView, has been given a major overhaul, while the introduction of AnimGraph 1.5 not only facilitates access to parameters and blending values, but also features new tools that smoothly integrate animations with audio, particles, game events and effects.
Crytek has published a new paper & presentation on their website of some new technology they are working on for CryEngine3: Real time computation of indirect illumination. From the description:
This I3D 2010 paper is a result of collaborative research with Carsten Dachsbacher. The LPV technique was extended to support secondary occlusion and multiple bounces. The propagation scheme is improved and compared to similar Discrete Ordinate Methods. Also this paper describes many additional application and implementation details.
They’ve published the Paper & Powerpoint slides online:
For researchers and educators looking to bring real-time rendering and gaming technology into the classroom, Crytek is now offering free educational licenses to certain individuals.
CryENGINE® 3 Educational SDK is for internal, non-commercial use; and is available only to educational institutions. We do not license individual student or group projects. Course leaders will have access to all available CryENGINE® 3 support materials – and students can access a specialist educational community area of www.crymod.com, to share experiences, showcase projects and help each other achieve amazing results with the CryENGINE® 3.
Eligibility requires special registration and legal documentation, full details on their site.
Crytek, creators of the CryEngine gaming engine used in Crysis, have just announced CryEngine3 which brings the spectacular graphics familiar on the PC to the XBox360 and PS3. To help get the word out, they’ve stood up a dedicated portal for all things CryEngine called “MyCryENGINE” where you can read up on the technology and licensing, and see examples of how to use it in games, simulations, and visualization.
Cevat Yerli, co-founder of Crytek, spoke at the GDC Europe conference yesterday and dropped the ominous bomb that “there may not be a next-gen console), and points the finger of blame squarely at Nintendo.
Despite the criticisms the company has received over the years, Yerli said that Crytek will still focus on making its engines highly scalable–meaning that games of today will look even better two or three years from now while allowing older PCs to run the game admirably as well. He said this is partly due to the uncertainty of when next-gen consoles will be available. Although Crytek estimates 2012 or 2013, he also said that there’s a big debate on whether there will be a next generation at all thanks to the “relatively horsepower-light” Nintendo Wii.
Even after having said that, he went on to praise the power of GPU computing and recommended OpenCL.
CryTek, makers of the CryEngine, have posted the powerpoint slides & video of their SIGGRAPH2009 presentation in the Advanced Real-Time Rendering Course.
This is a SIGGRAPH 2009 talk from “Advanced Real-time Rendering Course” about new ligting technique in CryEngine 3. The new technique called “Light Propagation Volumes” is used for Global Illumination and Massive Lighting, which significantly improves the lighting quality. The concept and its implementation are explained in the paper. Slides from the talk with talk notes as well as the video are provided.
And if that’s not enough for you, they also have information on multi-core programming, deferred lighting, and next generation effects.
A new paper from the folks at Crytek and the Universidad de Zaragoza showcases a new antialiasing technique they call SMAA, or Subpixel Morphological Antialiasing. The results are promising, as shown above.
CryTek has published the details of the new CryENGINE 3.1 SDK, and it’s a massive live of new features and tools. They’ve added some of what they showed at GDC2010 like the Shader Editor and new profiling tools, but also added new features like procedural deformation, irradiance volumes, physics simulations, light propagation volumes, HDR support, and more.
Crytek has published a new paper & presentation on their website of some new technology they are working on for CryEngine3: Real time computation of indirect illumination. From the description:
Here’s today’s pixels:
For researchers and educators looking to bring real-time rendering and gaming technology into the classroom, Crytek is now offering free educational licenses to certain individuals.
Crytek, creators of the CryEngine gaming engine used in Crysis, have just announced CryEngine3 which brings the spectacular graphics familiar on the PC to the XBox360 and PS3. To help get the word out, they’ve stood up a dedicated portal for all things CryEngine called “MyCryENGINE” where you can read up on the technology and licensing, and see examples of how to use it in games, simulations, and visualization.
Cevat Yerli, co-founder of Crytek, spoke at the GDC Europe conference yesterday and dropped the ominous bomb that “there may not be a next-gen console), and points the finger of blame squarely at Nintendo.
CryTek, makers of the CryEngine, have posted the powerpoint slides & video of their SIGGRAPH2009 presentation in the Advanced Real-Time Rendering Course.
VizWorld.com 
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