jmke

Ageia once developed the Novodex physics engine and the appropriate PPU (Physics Processing Unit). The latter was supposed to revolutionize future games with unprecedented physics effects and should become the third main component in gaming PCs besides the graphics card and the processor. While the Novodex Engine is still used today, the PPU wasn't able to establish itself due to poor software support - and finally Ageia was bought by Nvidia. Novodex was renamed to Physx and due to the porting to Nvidia's Cuda it cannot just be run on the processor but also on modern Geforce GPUs.

http://www.pcgameshardware.com/aid,6..._Nvidia_Physx/

__________________

jmke

Mirrors Edge by Electronic Arts was released for PC on January 13th 2009 and is the first game with fully integrated PhysX designed to run on Nvidia GPU's. Some time back Nvidia purchased Ageia which invented PhysX and a Physics Processing Unit that can perform PhysX processing much faster than a CPU. With the acquisition of Ageia Nvidia push the technology to the forefront of graphics processing. Previously PhysX was a phenomenon and you purchased a separate PhysX card which just kind of hung around in your machine and didn't do much for you. Ageia just didn't have the Corporate resources to mainstream PhysX even though it's a great idea for effects in games that provide a more realistic user intractable environment.

Mirrors Edge is the first full result of a year long intensive push for PhysX technology incorporation into current title Video games.

http://www.bjorn3d.com/read.php?cID=1476

__________________

jmke

Mirror's Edge PC Game from Electronic Arts arrived Technic3D. Mirror's Edge introduces you to Faith, a "runner" in this world. When Faith's sister gets framed for a murder she did not commit, Faith finds herself on the edge of the city, on the wrong side of the law. Mirror's Edge delivers you straight into the shoes of this modern day heroine as she traverses the vertigo-inducing cityscape, engaging in intense combat, fast-paced chases and challenging puzzles. Better and faster with PhysX than the console version? See you in the following Review.

http://www.technic3d.com/article-804...rspektiven.htm

__________________