Computer Graphics World

JUNE 09

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8 June 2009 PRODUCT: RAYTRACING Newcomer Caustic Graphics introduced CausticRT, a massive- ly accelerated raytracing system for achieving breakthrough levels of quality in interactive, cinema-quality 3D computer graphics. The Caustic development platform, which includes a raytracing accelerator card and SDK, is now available to quali- fi ed developers. Raytracing duplicates the natural physics of light, creating stunning images by meticulously tracing the path of light to and throughout any given scene. Light rays naturally scatter in many different directions (incoherent rays), and tracing and shading them require memory access to many disparate parts of the scene, a previously impossible caching task. CausticRT, based on a new algorithm that addresses this issue, organizes incoherent rays into a data fl ow that takes advantage of the full computational power of CPUs and GPUs. CausticRT does not displace a GPU or CPU in a graphics system; rather, it acts as a co-processor that traces rays and schedules the results in a manner that allows GPUs or CPUs to shade them as effi ciently as they do with rasterization. Caustic Graphics is working with an emerging developer community, such as Splutterfi sh, to create new or to port existing renderers and applications to Caustic so artists and designers can take advantage of the photorealism and visual effects that make raytracing more compelling than rasterization. CausticRT includes the CausticOne raytracing accelerator card and the CausticGL programming API that's based on OpenGL. CausticOne, an optional co-processor that works with Caustic- GL, unlocks the ability of the GPU/CPU to shade effi ciently and allows it to render 3D imagery up to 20 times faster than it current- ly can. A supporting SDK includes documentation, access to the support portal, and a one-year subscription to hardware and soft- ware updates, as well as technical support. The CausticRT plat- form is priced at $4000 and includes CausticGL, a CausticOne card, and one year of fi rmware and software updates. PRODUCT: COMPOSITING In addition to announcing the 2010 releases of its Flame and Inferno visual effects systems, Autodesk presented Flare, the new creative software companion to those hardware offerings. The company also released a new version of Smoke, and 2009 Extension 1 releases of Lustre and Incinerator. Flare 2010's aim is to bring the productivity of the Flame artist to a new level without sacrifi cing any of the creative tools to which users are accustomed. Flare bridges the gap between 2D and 3D, enabling artists to handle some of the Inferno and Flame work via software while those systems are occupied—at a fraction of the price of the hardware. Featuring the core creative tool set of Flame and Inferno, the software is designed to boost creativity, expand capacity, and develop talent for Flame and Inferno customers. The product is intended for advanced creative tasks, such as compositing and interactive design, as well as support tasks, such as rotoscoping and keying. PRODUCT: TEXTURING PRODUCT: TEXTURING Allegorithmic recently rolled out Substance Air, a new texturing middleware for the development and distribution of online and downloadable games (MMOs, Free2Play, and XBLA/PSN). The offering enables game developers to dramatically reduce the size of downloadable applications, while providing a solution for advanced user-generated content. According to the company, Substance Air will improve the online game development and delivery process by creating new opportunities for artists in regard to user-generated content and in-game asset customization. Substance Air is part of Allegorithmic's new generation of middleware for authoring and generating textures that feature visual quality and graphical detail. It enables users to create detailed graphics that are only a few kilobytes in size, thus increasing the amount of high-quality content without over- weighting the game's client size. Substance Air also features a new run-time engine optimized for generating textures at high speed, even on low-spec devices, and a fl exible authoring tool to improve ease of use, with unique features designed to help artists optimize their production pipeline. Substance Air pricing models vary based on the type of game and gaming platform. Allegorithmic Releases Substance Air Caustic Graphics Readies New Raytracing System Autodesk Launches Flare

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