What is the top image processing chip supports which latest 3D image processing? Can these 3D image effects bring to us what kind of visual impact? When can we see these 3D image effects on the game? Can you bring us what the latest graphics card give us? 3D image processing is undoubtedly the fastest growing area in modern computer technology, and 3D image processing technology makes us more and closer to 3D game scenes that generate movie picture quality on the computer. In the past, the scenes that required high-end 3D graphics processing workstations took several hours to complete, and currently be generated in real time on mainstream personal computers. Below, let us know some of the latest 3D image processing techniques by the latest image processing engines in the NVIDIA new-generation image processor GeForce 6800 and the game Unreal introduced in mid-April this year. In addition, we will also use the scene images generated by the GeForce 6800 to show the actual effects of the latest 3D image processing technology. Cinefx 3.0 engine CINEFX 3.0 is a new generation of image processing engines applied to the GeForce 6800, Cinefx 3.0 brought us advanced image processing techniques such as bit moving drawings, secondary surface scattering, soft shadow and global lighting. A touch map "The textured vertex processing" can bring more convenience to the programmer, and its application can bring higher depth and authenticity for each scene in the scene and dynamic role. By using the texture to transfer instructions, the texture information can be mapped to the vertices in real time, which is a displacing mapping technology, and the application of the bit shift map can avoid the surface of the image. Smooth.
The lower left corner is a model that does not use the bit moving drawing technology. The upper large picture is the model after the application of bit moving drawing technology. By comparison, it can be seen that the application of bit moving drawing technology makes the dinosaur head model with a higher real degree.
On the visual effect, the bit moving drawing technology allows the 3D scene generated by the computer to be closer to the real scene in the movie. Through the synergistic effect of various lights on each vertex through 3D scenes, the microscopic changes in the scene can generate visual effects that can be identified. Previously, on the issue of excessive smoothness of the image, the programmer either use complex pixel shader technology, or simply retains those untrustably smooth surfaces in the 3D scene, and the displacement map technology allows the above image processing The problem is more convenient and the effect is better. The vertex parameter setting Cinefx 3.0 allows the programmer to set flexible parameters (such as animation and displacement parameters) for various vertices, allowing the same type of effect to be efficiently applied to multiple roles or objects. For example, when building a scenario containing a military, the application of Cinefx 3.0 technology allows each soldier in the army to run on the battlefield in a different action. In this example, different motion parameters can be applied to each soldier alone, making the actions of each soldier look different. More visual effects Cinefx 3.0 also has some new features that make programmers to create different scene effects with past. These new features include: Subsurface Scattering: The application of this technique can make the effect of the light varies with the depth, and the result is a deep sense of the skin of the person's skin and object. Soft Shadows: This technique can make the edge lines of the shadow composed of light and objects in the scene, avoiding a glacial shadow in the scene, thereby more accurately showing a real scene. Environment and Ground Shadows: This technique enables the shadow effect to be accurately applied to complex surfaces such as grass or other plants, and the application of this shadow effect does not significantly affect the scene generated by the scene. speed. Application environment and ground shadow technology can also generate an effect of accurately move with the change of the perspective. Global Illumination: The most important difference between pre-rendering and real-time rendering is that the lighting effect is different. In the movie field booth, in order to produce as realistic image effects, rendering tools typically take hours to determine the case where the light reflects between the objects in the object, and this is unrealistic in the game. Since Cinefx 3.0 supports almost no programs, a pixel shader based on floating-point format and a mix of floating-point formats, Cinefx 3.0 technology can generate more complex scene effects in real time, which is likely to be in real time. A scenario effect that is closer to photo quality is generated in the application. The new architecture image processor GeForce 6800 image processing chip applies a superclapping architecture that allows the image processor to process more operational instructions within a run cycle. NVIDIA EXR (Extended High Dynamic Range Technology) is another new technology owned by GeForce 6800, and NVIDIA EXR technology makes dynamic scene reproduction more smooth, and the performance of texture details is more refined. The superbatch architecture GeForce 6800 introduces a new architecture shader - superboot architecture shader, which can be completed in each of the clock cycles, which is twice that of its previous generation. In a new architecture shader, each pixel flow wire has two coloring processing units, so that the performance of the pixel operation processing is twice in the operating cycle of the image processor. This performance improvement makes many complex image effects be feasible in practical applications. NVIDIA EXR Technology NVIDIA EXR is an image processing technology that extends high dynamic range. High dynamic range rendering can generate a more realistic scene, for example, under high-intensity sun rays, the real restore of the shadow in the scene in the scene. Restore.
In the past, the application of high dynamic range rendering was limited, such as computer frame caches only saved different color intensities in linear ways, and standard frame caches can only be used to represent color ranges, etc. In order to overcome the above constraints, the R & D personnel use a variety of different solutions to create screens involving high dynamic range rendering, including: filtering operations, dynamic light, high-precision texture, etc. in pixel shader programs, but These methods have shortcomings where the image processor must occupy a large amount of operational resources and low compatibility. The GEFORCE 6800 uses NVIDIA EXR technology to achieve high dynamic range scene rendering needs. In the rendering of dynamic range scenes, NVIDIA EXR provides high dynamic range rendering by providing higher precision data for coloring rendering, hybrid rendering, and filtering operations, which avoids a large amount of occupation of image processor operation resources and Problems in compatibility have ensured that high dynamic range rendering can be implemented efficiently. Ultrashadow II accelerates shadow calculation
GeForce 6800 introduces Ultrashadow II technology, and Ultrashadow II allows game developers to create more complex illumination.
Left: Scene in the game Doom III. Middle Picture: These lines are shadow projections that produce an object contour after shadowing and illumination without using the UltraShadow II technology. Right Figure: After applying Ultrashadow II technology, the same scene only needs to use fewer contoured projections.
Accelerated shadow calculation
Accurate shadows are the key to reproduce realistic scenes. In the game scene, the interaction between the multi-light source and the large number of characters must be implemented by multi-pass. To generate a scene of each frame in a game, you must analyze and calculate each of the light sources and each role, which takes up a lot of operational resources for image processors. With NVIDIA's Ultrashadow II technology, programmers do not need to write special procedures, they can obtain four times the computational performance of the previous generation of products in the shadow process - Shadow Volume.
The Ultrashadow II also achieves a more high-speed shadow calculation by eliminating invalid operations involving non-optical change regions. Combined with the Ultrashadow II technology, the programmer can define the boundary area in the scene (commonly referred to as "depth boundary"), which can limit the calculation limit in the area affected by the light source, thereby greatly reduces the image processor operational resources. Waste. By limiting the light source calculation to the area that is only affected by the change of light, the overall speed of the shadow effect is significantly improved.
From the figure below. We can see that the application of the Ultrashadow II technology effectively reduces the number of shaded areas that need to be operated. UltraShadow II allows the image processor to ignore the shadow pixels that are not displayed in the final picture, and realize performance improvements. The mutual cooperation of the UltraShadow II technology and NVIDIA new version of the intelligent sampling (3.0) can also be achieved in the shaded edge anti-aliasing effect, prevent plaques or serrations in the shadow edge.
Top game developers are good at creating a realistic scene with complex light sources and shadows.
Pursuit of true effects
Several groups of images ("Clear Sailing", "Nahu" and "Timbury" in this page and 35 ("Clear Sailing", "Nahu" and "Timbury") show the game scene generated by GeForce 6800, through these pictures, we can understand the new image processing of GeForce 6800 Technique in practical applications. Nahu picture analysis
The protagonist of the game Nahu (the daughter of the sea) is traveling from the deep sea to the water. The picture shows: During 3D image processing, the image effect of the GeForce 6800 image processor can be displayed during the rendering of the gentle shadows generated by Nahu's long hair and her skin.
Picture Analysis: 1. The thick hair is generated in real time generated by an image processing technology called "deep shadow". The upper part of the hair is lit due to illumination, and the lower part of the hair is in a dark state. 2. The skin of Nahu is illuminated from the light transmitted from the water. Her body and hair have created soft shadows when she is swimming. 3. By applying the top-level "rendering to the texture" image processing technology, the gentle light transmitted from the water, and the shadows produced by the Nahu body can be performed well. 4. The high definition of Nahu is generated by high expression coloring techniques, and this high expression of coloring techniques can also be used to generate the soft shadows produced by the skin. Related coloring techniques make character images show more significant aggregation, rainbow, and luminous effects. 5. In the last step image processing, a soft light is also applied, which makes her hair and the skin exhibit sparkling effect on the screen. Timbury Picture Analysis The protagonist of the game Timbury is a biologist in order to study insects. The picture shows: The GeForce 6800 not only has strong vertices and pixel coloring processing performance, but also the floating point operation accuracy of its own itself makes it easy to handle 32-bit or 16-bit floating point data.
Picture Analysis: 1. The light effect is achieved through 16-bit floating point operations in NVIDIA EXR technology, which allows the generated scene with the light effects of the previous generation graphics card. TIMBURY is illuminated by the light of the surrounding environment, rather than being illuminated by rays with directional, directional or spotlights. 2. Scene is generated by the 16-bit floating-point renderer that can control scene definition, which can also be used to calculate the response of Timbury's eyes to the surrounding environment. Thus, the intensity of the light irradiated on the TimBury eye can vary depending on the size of the ambient light intensity. Through the later treatment of the scene, the performance of bright areas in the final scene is more realistic. 3. Timbury's facial features exaggerated through a thick glasses eyeglasses, exaggerated their excitement when they find new types of insects. 4. According to the player's perspective, Timbury's dynamic performance is displayed in a finer surface. Clear Sailing Picture Analysis
The bunch of the bunch of the game tried to escape from the Blue Royal Navy. The picture shows: the powerful vertex coloring and debris coloring performance of GeForce 6800.
Picture Analysis: 1. The ocean scene is generated by a vertex and a pixel wave effect calculation processing. 2. The shadow produced by the ship is generated by a pixel operation technology. 3. The foam produced by the waves is generated by the vertex coloring processor, which is controlled by the size of the waves, with dynamic performance effects. 4. Splashing spray is generated by an operation of an analog particles based on the sailing characteristics of the ship. 5. The boat is illuminated by the rays around, color map, concave-projection map and real-time shadow map are applied to the scene stand. UnReal image engine
The image processing engine of the game Unreal is often used as a representative of the game 3D image processing technology, which is well demonstrated the application of 3D image processing technology in the game. At this year's Global Game Developer Conference (Game Developers Conference 2004), EPIC introduced the development of the 3D image processing engine of the latest version of Unreal - Anunreal Engine 3.0 (UE3).
Below, let's take a look at the new image processing technology applied by the UE3. "One-piece pixel" light and light effect
The application of pixel light patterns means that each pixel point displayed on the screen must be independently calculated, which makes the game's picture very natural, and the lighting effect of the game scene is very smooth. The application of this technology not only makes the game's picture look more beautiful, but also allows the game's picture to always be in dynamic changes, so that the shadow of the characters in the game scene is more real. When the characters in the game scene move, this technology can also generate a shadow blurry effect.
A technique called "HDR Light" is also applied in the UE3. When the light in the game scene reaches a certain strength, "HDR light" can generate real light reflection and spot effects on the object, which is very fine. The effect, it can greatly improve the authenticity of the game scene picture. Details Performance Game DOM 3 and Half-Life has a high level in the image details, and the UE3 allows players to create the character of the characters in the two games. The character of the same image details. In the demo, EPIC first creates a complex model for a role (consisting of 6 million polygons), then create an simple model applied to the game (consisting of 6,500 polygons) for the same role. Through the UE3 tool, people can calculate and reproduce the details of simple models (such as wrinkles and irregularities, etc. according to complex models). The final result is that the generation speed of the role in the game is very fast, and the character's image performance is also very real. . Realization of new technologies in the game
We always use existing games to test the performance of the newly launched image processor, but it is worth noting that this method has a large limit. Even in the most advanced 3D game, most of the techniques applied on image processing can only be based on image processing technology existing at the initial stage of this game development. Due to the long period of the game development process, when a new architecture is introduced, we must usually have to wait for two to three years to find a game that can play all functions in the market.
Although we can't feel all wonderful from existing images, at least it can make existing games faster, and can make the 3D special effects in existing games. Maybe this is the power of the game player upgrade the graphics card.
