Nfs shift uses hardware acceleration !!!

[Hell Hound]

I did some testing with the PhysX performance monitor http://developer.nvidia.com/object/agperfmon_home.html





I'm using PhysX driver 9.09.0814


http://downloads.guru3d.com/nVIDIA-P...load-2354.html



NOTE: NFS SHIFT INSTALLS 9.09.072 driver that doesn't work w/ AGEIA CARDS PERIOD.



AGEIA PPU is only in use when @ the TRACK

Blue light indicate cards is in use



This pic shows HARDWARE DIRECT MEMORY ACCESS





This pic shows HARDWARE ULTILIZATION




This pic shows EVENT COUNT(Calls to ppu)




FPS didn't change but the driving is totally different.Tire's and damage are accelerated w/ the AGEIA ppu.

[thephenom]

Can you define "driving is totally different"? Like the driving physics is different or just when you crash, it's different?

[Hell Hound]

I feel the tire grip as if they were connected to me,when cornering this is crucial.

[570091D]

I feel the tire grip as if they were connected to me,when cornering this is crucial.

whoa, that is awesome! i don't usually like driving games on the pc, but i might have to give this one a try now...

[Rock&Roll]

So, they cant do this on multicore CPUs?

[Russian]

So, they cant do this on multicore CPUs?

I don't think that this has to do with the cores but rather the calculations needed for this effect to occur.

[Hell Hound]

I believe Cpu is not fast enough for dynamic physx,static yes but predetermined effects are not realistic.Medal of honor airborne shows this to be true,look @ how the rigid body effects look horrible in software mode.Bodies flying 30ft in the air and such.With hardware you can see the character arm and weapon bob in a more realistic manner and the bodies fall more naturally.

[Bobsama]

Hmm. Might just need to steal back that 8800GT-256 from my sister, to use as a PPU when I upgrade my graphics setup. That sounds really cool to have non-eye-candy physics.

[thephenom]

I feel the tire grip as if they were connected to me,when cornering this is crucial.

How does that actually work though? Physics, whether it's GPU or AGEIA, I thought they focus on effect physics. How would it actually affect the driving physics? I've played that game for about 20 hours with a G25, it felt pretty good. And if this was true, wouldn't having a PPU give you a big advantage racing online?

[munim]

I feel the tire grip as if they were connected to me,when cornering this is crucial.

I don't understand.

[Hell Hound]

Software only for multiplayer is your answer.If you can try it out and tell me what do you feel,that would be nice.One run w/ dedicated ppu,one run w/out it shouldn't take long.

@munim I can tell how much pressure is needed for GAS/BRAKES much better.

[Caparroz]

I feel the tire grip as if they were connected to me,when cornering this is crucial.

My friend, I'm sorry to burst your bubble, but no PhysX gimmicks will transform the game physics (I mean how the car handles, to put it shortly) into something more "realistic" or something. It all boils down to engine coding, tyre behaviour moddeling, etc.

If you want acceptable, fun physics in Shift all you'll have to do is go to www.nogripracing.com and download a simple mod since this game is heavely based on ISI's gMotor2 engine (rFactor, GTR2, Race, GTL) and made by the guys who left SimBin.

[Hell Hound]

The PhysX api has Soft Bodies, Self-collision and damping support

[Caparroz]

The PhysX api has Soft Bodies, Self-collision and damping support

It may have all that but it doesn't work like this.

An engine may be very powerful and allow a lot of things but you have to input a lot of data to it for the cars and tracks to behave accordingly. Depending on the data you feed it the game or mod can be very accurate or very arcadey.

Take gMotor2 for example. It's a very powerful, flexible and moddable engine despite it's age. There are, literally, hundreds if not thousands of mods for all the games based on it. Some are astounding, very accurate and better than the game itself. A lot are just good and even more are just plainly bad. There are even a few mods that aim deliberately for an arcade feel like the one that transforms rFactor in Looney Toons Racing! Again, it all depends on the data you feed the engine.

Try the Sharp Mod made for Shift available on nogripracing and you'll see what I mean.

[Hell Hound]

Those are still static software accelerated vs dynamic hardware accelerated = in software every possible situation is not calculated,only predetermined.

[Hell Hound]

Video of soft body effects @ 0:20 sec is what were talking about here. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMQDP...ext=1&index=19

[thephenom]

Video of soft body effects @ 0:20 sec is what were talking about here. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMQDP...ext=1&index=19

Carparroz is saying, PhysX is more for eye candies (ie dust, more movement on the trees, etc), and not for actual driving physics.

And from your replies, it's very vague to really conclude that PhysX modifies the driving physics (ie the game engine itself), sounds more like a placebo effect more than anything. I just don't see how PhysX can modify game engine itself, all the demos I see with PhysX or even the ATI physics demo, they are mainly collision detection, fluid, soft body effects, etc. From my understanding of it, this will change how things LOOK rather than how they actually behave to put in simplified terms.

[Hell Hound]

The calculations of tire wear or suspension damage and engine damage are not seen but felt.

This is Damping

[Hell Hound]

Quote from ShadowMyth on Guru3D.com nfs shift thread

Maybe I'm wrong, the increase in fps could be from Hybrid SLI. My second gpu that's dedicated to Physx is defenitly being used. When playing the game its temperature goes up 12c & cools off once the game has been closed.

[Coldon]

if the game engine features a modular design then it is possible that the physics library gets swapped out depending on whether there is any hardware support available. Just because physx has mainly been used for effects so far doesnt mean it cant be used for more, its a full physics API with all the tools necessary to do what the OP claims, whether it does so is another question.

Having played the game, i'm actually wondering what effects physx is being used for, there arent any real destructibles, explosions, cloth effects, etc... Maybe physx really kicks in once you have dedicated hardware for it? Its all conjecture on my part.

[STEvil]

Soft bodies in racing/driving sims is nothing new, CPU's have been doing it since the guys who made 1nsane made their first game, which I forget the name of, at least that long anyways.

[sutyi]

Only objects around the track are handled by PhysX. Under all the sugar coating and modifications the game it's still gMotor based, so driving physics are computed on your CPU.

If any one wants more sim like handling get this - NFS: Shift - Sharp Tires Mod 5.0

[sutyi]

Soft bodies in racing/driving sims is nothing new, CPU's have been doing it since the guys who made 1nsane made their first game, which I forget the name of, at least that long anyways.

Hungarian developers, Invictus.

[Hell Hound]

Just because physx has mainly been used for effects so far doesnt mean it cant be used for more, its a full physics API with all the tools necessary to do what the OP claims,

Scalable terrain fedelity

Delivers physical landscape accuracy and genuine surface reaction for true environmental experiences

http://www.bfgtech.com/physx/bfgphysx.html (under features & benefits tab)

If your tires are not warmed up you may loose a second or two or If a piece of rubber is on the track and you drive over it you will feel it in your tire's.PhysX has potential.

[mak1skav]

If your tires are not warmed up you may loose a second or two or If a piece of rubber is on the track and you drive over it you will feel it in your tire's.PhysX has potential.

I don't understand how you can feel things like these with your eyes through a PhysX enabled graphics card.

If you want to feel the tires you need to be in a car or on a seat with steering wheel with force feedback vibration system and you need of course the game to have support for all these things in the game engine.