Ageia's PhysX Needs a Killer App @ [H] Enthusiast

FrgMstr

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Ageia's PhysX Needs a Killer App - Editorial - Ageia and their diligent team of press relations folks have been working overtime to make us believe in the PhysX game physics engine, but it is just going to take more than talk to win over the enthusiast.

BUT, if you are a build-it-your-own-damn-self kind of guy, what is it going to take to get you to spend $250 on a PhysX card? I don’t know about you, but it is going to take more than some flying barrels full of eye candy to pry $250 out of my hand.

Please read and discuss, thanks.
 
I agree, and I think they know that too. In fact, I think they are being quite responsible by waiting until May to make the cards generally available. By then there will at least be games out that support it so people aren’t just buying it on blind faith. They seem to be doing a great job getting developers onboard. From what I’ve been told there is a lot more possible when a game is built from the ground up using the engine than when it is simply thrown in as a kind of afterthought. That would seem to me to mean that we will see increasing utilization of the card as time progresses. Cellfactor and UT2007 are definitely the ones I’m waiting for.
 
I agree. Without a killer game, Ageia's going to have a hard time.

The challenge is, I think it's going to be a chicken and egg problem. No game is going to be produced that completely depends on a card that currently has about zero market acceptance. If a game hasn't been designed to depend on a PhysX card, then I'm not sure we're really going to see effects that are worth the cost of the card.

I really hope Ageia lasts, and PPU's become as standard as sound cards.
 
Here is a good example of a game with and without the PhysX card. It's actually quite impressive, but I'd love to see a LOT more examples of this.

I agree that the card needs more killer apps, and it's sad that the list so far is not really that huge. Either way, it looks to be very impressive, and hopefully things will actually speed up now that NVIDIA and ATI are hoping to get in on things.
 
pj-schmidt said:
No game is going to be produced that completely depends on a card that currently has about zero market acceptance. If a game hasn't been designed to depend on a PhysX card, then I'm not sure we're really going to see effects that are worth the cost of the card.

Bingo. A great game with no install base will never fly in today's climate unless Ageia bankrolls the entire project. And if we see PhysX as just an "add on" on I mostly think we will, it will never get the traction the product needs. That CellFactor video truly has shown what I have been talking about inside the industry for months now. The PhysX engine was truly a part of the gameplay as it made the gameplay what it was. I think this is what will be needed largely to give PhysX the chance to survive that it needs.
 
Chix4mat said:
Here is a good example of a game with and without the PhysX card. It's actually quite impressive, but I'd love to see a LOT more examples of this.

I agree that the card needs more killer apps, and it's sad that the list so far is not really that huge. Either way, it looks to be very impressive, and hopefully things will actually speed up now that NVIDIA and ATI are hoping to get in on things.


I linked that video last week. But the fact is, that while it does make it look better and more realistic, there is a lot of those effects that can be pulled off with GPU tricks. The PhysX engine there does not truly make the gameplay, but just helps out with the eye candy.
 
I think this could be expanded to say that we need the killer game or app in general that shows what physics acceleration is all about.

We have two competing methods going on here, using GPUs to aid in or do dedicated physics processing and we have Ageias hardware for dedicated processing. With that we have two competing APIs, Havok FX and PhysX. Right now if you want to benefit with the Ageia PPU you'll need games to use the PhysX engine, if you want to benefit with a SM 3.0 GPU you'll need Havok FX.

We need a killer app or game that shows both methods off and shows us which one is better. We need a reason to want these technologies and spend money on them. We need that killer app, we need it for both Havok FX and SM 3.0 GPUs and we need it for Ageias PPU, and we need to see which one is going to give us the better gameplay experience overall.

In the end one will dominate, we all know how it turned out between Glide, OpenGL and Direct3D. It will be a journey of exploration and trial and error to find out how this one is going to turn out. Maybe we need a "DirectX" for physics ;)
 
GotNoRice said:
I agree, and I think they know that too. In fact, I think they are being quite responsible by waiting until May to make the cards generally available. By then there will at least be games out that support it so people aren’t just buying it on blind faith. They seem to be doing a great job getting developers onboard. From what I’ve been told there is a lot more possible when a game is built from the ground up using the engine than when it is simply thrown in as a kind of afterthought. That would seem to me to mean that we will see increasing utilization of the card as time progresses. Cellfactor and UT2007 are definitely the ones I’m waiting for.

I'm starting too think you work for Ageia. Where'd you get that Ageia card in your sig?
 
Brent_Justice said:
I think this could be expanded to say that we need the killer game or app in general that shows what physics acceleration is all about.

We have two competing methods going on here, using GPUs to aid in or do dedicated physics processing and we have Ageias hardware for dedicated processing. With that we have two competing APIs, Havok FX and PhysX. Right now if you want to benefit with the Ageia PPU you'll need games to use the PhysX engine, if you want to benefit with a SM 3.0 GPU you'll need Havok FX.

We need a killer app or game that shows both methods off and shows us which one is better. We need a reason to want these technologies and spend money on them. We need that killer app, we need it for both Havok FX and SM 3.0 GPUs and we need it for Ageias PPU, and we need to see which one is going to give us the better gameplay experience overall.

In the end one will dominate, we all know how it turned out between Glide, OpenGL and Direct3D. It will be a journey of exploration and trial and error to find out how this one is going to turn out. Maybe we need a "DirectX" for physics ;)

Oh young Jedi, it is going to take more than ONE. The days of that are over. ;) Unless of course you could get a title with such online multiplayer value that it would have long legs. But I just dont see a succesful online engine incorporating PhysX being a reality yet. On this I could be wrong, but don't think I am.

There are going to have to be multiple killer app titles across a number of genre to give Ageia traction in the marketplace, and I am not sure that will spell success for them either. They have a hell of an uphill battle. That is the one thing that I know is a fact.
 
The problem with a game like Cell Factor is its LAN-only, and won't work as an online game.(according to FiringSquad)
..The folks at AGEIA indeed showed off a LAN version of Cell Factor at their GDC booth as promised. The first-person shooter showcases the effects of the hardware physics chip and we got to see lots of new content that was not in the official press conference on Tuesday, including working vehicles in the environment that ran over objects realistically and a Capture the Flag mode that with the physics engine allows the flag carrier to use the flag as a weapon to stab objects and enemies. It's still up in the air when and if Cell Factor will be released (they are still searching for a publisher).

One thing we did learn is that the demo we saw was LAN-only; because of the limitations of Internet bandwidth with all of the physics Cell Factor would not work as an online game.
The games will need to be built from the ground up to take full advantage of the PPU. While UT2007 will use PhysX, I think will see mods from UE3 that really go nuts with physics before we see many games that do.
 
Don't quote me on this, but I'm pretty sure that part of the core Cryengine2 is built around the PhysX processor, no? If it's that integrated, than will the game even run without it (as in, "minimum system requirements: Agei PhysX processor")? Same goes for the Unreal3 engine I think. Those two titles right there are enough to make me buy a PPU from Ageia.
 
I think there will be enough early adopters to sustain ageia, they aren’t going to fade out any time soon. That coupled with the relative longevity of the hardware should at least get it to the level of adoption that we see with creative's EAX. The novodex api adding zero cost to developers budgets will definitely tip the scales further in their favor, even if its just for bolt on physics for the latest EA sequels. (I wouldn’t be surprised if the next Need for Speed used the ppu in addition to their licensed first person shooters)

After this level of adoption becomes apparent I'm sure the AAA titles will follow suit, but maybe I'm just a wild-eyed optimist.
 
Lord of Shadows said:
The novodex api adding zero cost to developers budgets will definitely tip the scales further in their favor
This one of Ageia's biggest advantages. They are literally giving away PhysX/Novodex licenses to devs to make games with, as long as they support Ageia's PhysX hardware.

Havok has to try to compete with free, and that can be tough. Ageia has over 60 devs and 100 games in the works that will make use of their PhysX hardware to some degree.

Another potential thing Ageia has going for it is the PS3. Shacknews has an interview up with Epic's Mark Rein and he touched on this a bit.
Shack: What are your thoughts on AGEIA's PPU hardware? Any thoughts about how that's going to take off?

Mark Rein: One thing AGEIA's done that's really smart is that--well, if you've seen our PS3 demo, and this is really version .1, really not a finished performance at all, but we've got some really great cool physics things going on PS3. They've done a really good job of optimizing their library to work well with the SPUs in the Cell processor, which means we're going to be able to get a lot of physics performance out of PlayStation 3. Also on Xbox 360 to some extent, but definitely on PS3 we're going to be able to get a lot of physics capabilities out of that. Which means that, to bring [games using those methods] to a PC, you're probably going to need the hardware. Or you could maybe scale it up even further on the PC, I believe, with their hardware. I think that bodes really well for them if developers go nuts and do really cool physics on PlayStation 3, then if people want to play it to that level on PC, they'll buy the card. So it's a matter of them coming out with great applications, great games that use it. I know Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter will be using the hardware, and Unreal Tournament 2007 will be using the hardware. Not today, but eventually. So I think that's pretty exciting for them, and I think it's going to be pretty cool.
 
Brent_Justice said:
Not just Ageia but physics acceleration in general.

We need multiple games/apps to win us over and sell us on physics acceleration period, whether that be from the GPU or another dedicated processor.

We need real gameplay benefit, they have to make us want to spend money on it.


Well the topic at hand here is Ageia and PhysX. :) But you are correct. I think Red and Green are going to walk away with the win on all this before it is over and likely one of them will own PhysX when it is said and done.
 
Brent_Justice said:
Not just Ageia but physics acceleration in general.

We need multiple games/apps to win us over and sell us on physics acceleration period, whether that be from the GPU or another dedicated processor.

We need real gameplay benefit, they have to make us want to spend money on it.

A standardized physics API will help... A LOT. If the next DirectX does indeed have the physics API, that may cause problems. Havok FX atleast uses SM3.0, it's a hack, but atleast it follows the DX standard somewhat. PPU is all proprietary, it isn't guaranteed that all it's features will come through intact, at most it'll probably need somesort of wrapper.

If this happens, you won't need a killer app. It'll be mandatory. ;)

I saw an ad posted here about MS hiring physics knowledgeable programmers, where else are they gonna be used for? :)
 
Lord of Shadows said:
I think there will be enough early adopters to sustain ageia, they aren’t going to fade out any time soon. That coupled with the relative longevity of the hardware should at least get it to the level of adoption that we see with creative's EAX. The novodex api adding zero cost to developers budgets will definitely tip the scales further in their favor, even if its just for bolt on physics for the latest EA sequels. (I wouldn’t be surprised if the next Need for Speed used the ppu in addition to their licensed first person shooters)

After this level of adoption becomes apparent I'm sure the AAA titles will follow suit, but maybe I'm just a wild-eyed optimist.

I am not sure you are correct on enough to sustain them. I think them making it for the long run is going to depend also on cash investment.

As for "zero cost" to developers, don't buy that story. Someone still have to grind out the content spepcifically for PhysX. They may not pay to license it, but it is far from free when you look at the big picture.
 
I totally agree that there needs to be a killer app for the PPU...however, I think there might already be one available. That game? Half-Life 2 and it's modifications Couter-Strike Source and DoD Source.

I know that a good portion of the gaming community plays those 3 games and that there is a physics system designed around all of them. The problem is that in the current state games like CSS only use a limited physics system and not a full implimentation of what the single player game (HL2) uses. If it would be possible to upgrade CSS to use the PPU to the point where there is a significant boost to FPS or other enhancements, that would be enough for me to consider buying a PPU now, and hopefully give the momemtum Ageia needs to get started until the Unreal 3 engine based games start coming out with full need of this device.

Just my 2 cents.
 
why are people so hell bent on there being a large library of games before they purchase the PPU? honestly, how many games do you guys play?

Myself.. I play COD2 and Civ3...thats it
 
Half Life 2 uses the Havok physics API though, which is what nVidia is targeting for their physics implementation. And they're targeting the new HavokFX, not the one HL2 uses. The point is i guess that Valve isn't just going to casually swap in a new physics engine. Perhaps they'll use it in another game, but i don't see them doing it for HL2. They've invested too much in Havok.
 
The video for that game Cell Factor that was linked in the article blew my mind. Very cool stuff imo.
 
EternityZX9 said:
I totally agree that there needs to be a killer app for the PPU...however, I think there might already be one available. That game? Half-Life 2 and it's modifications Couter-Strike Source and DoD Source.

I know that a good portion of the gaming community plays those 3 games and that there is a physics system designed around all of them. The problem is that in the current state games like CSS only use a limited physics system and not a full implimentation of what the single player game (HL2) uses. If it would be possible to upgrade CSS to use the PPU to the point where there is a significant boost to FPS or other enhancements, that would be enough for me to consider buying a PPU now, and hopefully give the momemtum Ageia needs to get started until the Unreal 3 engine based games start coming out with full need of this device.

Just my 2 cents.

This would be really difficult as Source uses Havoc's Physics Engine. I just dont't see Valve completly removing Havoc and then implementing Ageia's Engine just so they can use the PhysX PPU. The best I would expect would be the addition of Havoc FX, but this would require Valve to pay extra as the normal Havoc engine will not (does not) include Havoc FX.

Also, the implementation of a PPU in an online games bring a lot of problems that will need to be ironed out before we're going to see significant advances in online physics.
 
I agree that it's going to need some killer games in order for it to catch on. Personally, I'll skip buying a card that makes stuff fall down "better" and get a few more games instead. Unless it actually adds something to the gameplay beyond making bodies fall to the floor and barrels fly in an unrealistic Hollywood-eque style, I'll be passing.

I figured that there would be a lot of bandwidth involved in something such as CellFactor, and seeing those statements that it will only be playable over LAN basically seals the deal for me - I'll pass. While I enjoy singleplayer games (Oblivion, for example) I primarily enjoy multiplayer games. I don't LAN very much so the amount I would be able to play such a game in a multiplayer setting would be minimal.

Also, I think if there are to be fully destroyable environment you are going to need one hell of a video card to render everything as it starts piling up. With next gen games pushing video cards as much as possible, I don't see that being a possibility unless the graphics are scaled back.
 
osalcido said:
why are people so hell bent on there being a large library of games before they purchase the PPU? honestly, how many games do you guys play?

Myself.. I play COD2 and Civ3...thats it

Hypothetically speaking. Say, 10% of the games released supports the PPU, then 9 out of 10, the game you want that's coming out wouldn't be using it. Would you pay a quarter of a thousand dollars on something you can only use in 1 out of 10 games?
 
well, you kind of made my point.....yes, we do already have video cards......that we pay $300+ for, many times $500+

so i dont think $250 is too much if the game titles deliver, as long as content is there, i'll have one, it would be one of the cheapest items in my case to be honest
 
nobody_here said:
well, you kind of made my point.....yes, we do already have video cards......that we pay $300+ for, many times $500+

so i dont think $250 is too much if the game titles deliver, as long as content is there, i'll have one, it would be one of the cheapest items in my case to be honest

I agree as well, but probably woudn't jump on it till next year when I build my next rig, as I'm mostly just going to be playing Oblivion/Neverwinter Nights 2 this year.
 
I think Havok has too much of a developer-base that Ageia will not take off especially with the price. $200 is too much for not enough. I could see $300 for a soundcard (X-Fi Fat), but it is something that effects every game you play, not just specific ones (even though specific games benefit more). Same with a video card. If the Ageia card did Havok and PhysX this would all be a different story, but it doesn't.

They are shooting with too high of a price point without any userbase. There is little to no incentive to add this additional cost with a system build as of now.
 
kcthebrewer said:
I think Havok has too much of a developer-base that Ageia will not take off especially with the price. $200 is too much for not enough. I could see $300 for a soundcard (X-Fi Fat), but it is something that effects every game you play, not just specific ones (even though specific games benefit more). Same with a video card. If the Ageia card did Havok and PhysX this would all be a different story, but it doesn't.

They are shooting with too high of a price point without any userbase. There is little to no incentive to add this additional cost with a system build as of now.


you must be mad!! you can justify $300 for a sound card, but not $250 for a PPU...!!???

wtf am i missing here? i mean, ever since the original Audigy came out, then Audigy2, now this new fangled X-Fi thing thats outrageously overpriced.....to be honest, i have good hearing, and i cannot differentiate the difference between the three.....and i bet blind-folded in a room by yourself you couldn't tell the difference either
 
kcthebrewer said:
I think Havok has too much of a developer-base that Ageia will not take off especially with the price. $200 is too much for not enough. I could see $300 for a soundcard (X-Fi Fat), but it is something that effects every game you play, not just specific ones (even though specific games benefit more). Same with a video card. If the Ageia card did Havok and PhysX this would all be a different story, but it doesn't.

They are shooting with too high of a price point without any userbase. There is little to no incentive to add this additional cost with a system build as of now.

Hmm...

The price will come down with time, I wouldn't be supprised if they would be down to $150 or so in a year. Time will tell, but computer technology always starts expensive and drops with time.

I'm not convinved Havoc is too big for Ageia to take on. The list of developers that have signed on with Ageia looks pretty good. Also, please note that Ageia's Physics Engine works in more than one mode. It can operate as a CPU physics engine just like Havoc. It can also operate with a PPU when one is added. Just because a developer uses Ageia, doesn't mean that their title will be forced to only work with a PPU.
 
I agree with Brent's comment about a "DirectX" for physics. Without having a common API, companies can't compete on a common ground. But I think that red and green's comments about doing physics work on GPUs with SLI/Crossfire is one of the most rediculous things I've heard with all this physics talk. Who in their right mind would pay 800+ for two graphics cards, just to give one up for physics processing. 250 for a PhysX card suddenly doesn't sound quite so bad.
 
nobody_here said:
you must be mad!! you can justify $300 for a sound card, but not $250 for a PPU...!!???

wtf am i missing here? i mean, ever since the original Audigy came out, then Audigy2, now this new fangled X-Fi thing thats outrageously overpriced.....to be honest, i have good hearing, and i cannot differentiate the difference between the three.....and i bet blind-folded in a room by yourself you couldn't tell the difference either

I bought a sound card to pump higher-framerates out when I figured out my CPU was the bottleneck of my system, but I only spent $45 on an audigy 4 OEM, not $300... Sound cards aren't just for better sound, but also better performance (vs. onboard sound, I benchmarked and BF2, F.E.A.R., JointOps, all saw 15%-23% framerate increases after installing the sound card)! The PhysX card, for $200, is going to make its way into the hands of alot of enthusiasts just as a way of offloading more work from the CPU, not simply for improving gameplay... HOWEVER, the more mediocre PC gamers are going to need a better reason to pay that sort of money for a PPU...

I read that the cards will be priced from $100 to $350, depending on the model and the performance/features it offers. Ageia has quite a ways to go, but their eventual success would mean benefits for all of us in terms of the performance available to game developers!

I'd buy one - probably the lower end model, if only to try it out and give ageia (and the game developers shouldering the costs/risk of implementing this new technology) my support.
 
rjblanke said:
But I think that red and green's comments about doing physics work on GPUs with SLI/Crossfire is one of the most rediculous things I've heard with all this physics talk. Who in their right mind would pay 800+ for two graphics cards, just to give one up for physics processing. 250 for a PhysX card suddenly doesn't sound quite so bad.

It isn't really up to ATI and NV to decide this though, it is up to the game content developer. ATI and NV are just announcing that the capability is there for the game developers to use it however they want.

As is the topic we are content limited, we need that killer game.
 
nobody_here said:
you must be mad!! you can justify $300 for a sound card, but not $250 for a PPU...!!???
I can justify spending a good amount of money on proven tech with benefits I can see and hear. When I put a new video card/sound card in my system, I gain benefits instantly. I am not going to throw money at something that should be good in the future and has no benefit now. I will purchase it in the future if all this hype turns out to be true.

Tech demos are cool but that is all they are.

As it looks now, pretty much everything will be decided with UT2k7.
 
rjblanke said:
I agree with Brent's comment about a "DirectX" for physics. Without having a common API, companies can't compete on a common ground. But I think that red and green's comments about doing physics work on GPUs with SLI/Crossfire is one of the most rediculous things I've heard with all this physics talk. Who in their right mind would pay 800+ for two graphics cards, just to give one up for physics processing. 250 for a PhysX card suddenly doesn't sound quite so bad.

Any physics that can be done on the GPU, if it can be done without sacrificing performance, sounds like a bonus to me. I mean most gamers, regardless of if they are planning to get a PPU are still going to upgrade their videocard eventually. Still, it doesn’t really seem like the GPU solutions are quite the same scope as what we are seeing from AGEIA. A lot of people are complaining that this will only end up helping with eye candy. While we are forced to speculate on that for the time being, we do know that the PPU will do game-play-physics and effects-physics while the GPU solutions will be effects-physics only. Isn’t “effects-physics” just another word for eye candy really? Also, if it ends up being something that requires SLI, we’ll end up having most people running the engine in software mode similar to how they might run a PhysX game without a PPU. Maybe this will end up being decided by how well each API runs in software mode? That would be interesting.

dotK said:
I figured that there would be a lot of bandwidth involved in something such as CellFactor, and seeing those statements that it will only be playable over LAN basically seals the deal for me - I'll pass. While I enjoy singleplayer games (Oblivion, for example) I primarily enjoy multiplayer games. I don't LAN very much so the amount I would be able to play such a game in a multiplayer setting would be minimal.

Hmmm. I would love to know exactly what those bandwidth requirements are. I mean when they say that an internet connection doesn’t have enough bandwidth, are they talking about bargain bin 384/128 DSL or 30Mb/5Mb fiber? What about something mainstream but reasonably fast like Gold Tier Comcast (8800/768)?

JAW said:
I'm starting too think you work for Ageia. Where'd you get that Ageia card in your sig?

I don’t work for them but I did have the chance to drive down to their offices, try out a demo system, and talk with some of them. It is also where I got the card. Does that make me biased? Probably. It has certainly gotten me excited about the possibilities it has to offer. :)
 
the thing with the ppu, is that is advertises itself as changing the whole way that we play games, which is very cool... i.e. everything moves with everything else and it all feels more realisitc. I mean hell, at the start of half life 2 I spent about half an hour just throwing boxes and stuff at other boxes and marvelling at how realisitc it all looked. But this physics app had an impact on the way that you played the game.

Now, the aegia ppu cannot do this, it can merely add eye candy, because no games developer will ever change the way the whole gameplay works banking on people having this ppu.... it shall remain for a while at least just that... eye candy, or a way for people to up other settings in the game as the ppu will be taking pressure of the cpu....

Essentially i do not see any point in buying the card for at least a year or so to see how it all pans out. Conversely I would love one, but this would almost certainly be more to do with having it in my sig than any other worthwhile wish... yet if there are massive eye candy and perfomance boost in ue3, then I i will get one.

Also, ASUS is releasing a 256mb card as opposed to a 128 mb card, performance differences? also, will one be able to overclock ones ppu?

also, will it move to the pcie 1x/4x interface, or stay with pci which could have bandwidth proplmens no?
f
 
freddiepm61 said:
will it move to the pcie 1x/4x interface, or stay with pci which could have bandwidth proplmens no?

There will be a PCI-Express version in the future, however current cards won't be held back by the regular PCI bus. The PPU doesn't have to deal with stuff like textures which end up being a huge part of why Videocards have such high bandwidth demands.
 
U know what it would take for me to be interested? A full 20 page spread on why I should buy this beautiful piece of hardware done by [H]. If the whole team at [H] reviewing is totally convinced that without that card you can basically say good bye to good gaming in the future, that would make me want to buy one.

~Adam
 
just another power hungry card... wonder if i'll have to get a better powersupply if i was to get this... maybe buy it in 2nd-3rd gen if it makes it thatt far but not till they get all the bugs outta their card. comps are getting too expensive these days.
 
Yes, large number of applications over various genres are must but we all know it will not happen right away. What I believe is Ageia to go after the most wide spread game titles for their next generation games and have the developers support it well. I also think that single player focus games should really take advantage of this PPU. Once again, most widely known single player games would be best to attract more user base.

Problem is... we all know single player games won't last long enough from our PC to attract more and more users. Multiplayer games will attact more and more users over greater time period.


Now for my main question...
Will PhysicX card be like a soundcard in a way where we don't have to upgrade every x# of years? If so, I am likely to purchase one providing that whatever game released at the time of PhysicX card takes a major advantage of the PPU to enhance new game experience. On the other hand... if applications make us upgrade this $250 card every year or so like videocard make us do. I will likely not support Ageia PhysicX.
It better not be a card that we need to upgrade often. Maybe 2~3+ year life would be acceptable.

This is just as of a big of a concern to me as a killer apps are.


Hmmm 5:43AM... not sure what i've typed. Goodnight.
 
the two things that physics acceleration (PPU or GPU solution) would have to do for me before i bite are:

1. offer something that affects gameplay in a way that wouldn't otherwise be possible, like puzzles or something.

2. more realistic physics. the CellFactor trailer certainly looked cool, but there's a part toward the beginning where one of the players runs through a huge pile of busted up wood, and it all flys around like it's made of styrofoam. i want objects that interact realistically, not more of the same.

i also agree with rjblanke on the whole SLI/crossfire thing. i'd rather pay 250 for a PhysX card than 400+ for a 2nd video card that would only be used for physics. if there's enough idle power in a video cards that SLI/crossfire physics would give me better physics and better IQ/fps than a single card, then i might be convinced.
 
JAW said:
I'm starting too think you work for Ageia. Where'd you get that Ageia card in your sig?


He bought it for $299, just like anyone can. It's an Asus card ageia has made available for the last three weeks.

I got the email to buy it myself.
 
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