Nvidia Release NV40 effects videos

[WaltC]

I find it interesting that in many of those movies they keep talking about how much better FP16 is compared to INT16, yet they never mention FP32.

Well, that's at least a lot better than they did in late '02 after the nV30 vaporware launch, when *all they talked about* was fp32... I think they've finally realized that talking up "marchitecture" features you don't plan to actually support in your hardware in 3d games is a losing proposition, so I find that a refreshing change. I think nVidia will do much better from a PR standpoint if it constrains itself to the architecture it plans to support in 3d games instead going the marchitecture route.

Here's text I grabbed from the nVidia site:

Please note that the video clips were captured from live demos via a digital-to-analog scan converter and then recompressed. Although the voice-over explains the concepts behind each technique, colors and frame rates are not represented accurately and the effective resolution is reduced significantly. Any choppiness in the videos is caused by the capturing and encoding process that was used.

OK, color me unimpressed... This is the same as to say: "Hey, these 2d movie clips aren't really representational of our products, but we thought you'd like to see them anyway." Left unspoken is whether their products perform better and produce superior IQ to that displayed in the 2d clips.

I wasn't impressed with the 2D ATi clips released recently, either. Nor was I impressed with all of the 2D HL2 clips valve released last year. When you go to 2d clips like this, any amount of post-processing between the capture and the final "movie" is possible--and I'd add, likely, since these are PR-motivational movies designed to promote something (although nVidia's disclaimer as reprinted above verbatim does very little to explain what it is, precisely, nVidia's trying to promote.)

Also, I'm a bit puzzled as to why people might ever call these "demos"--they are not "demos"--they are 2-D movie clips. A "demo" is something that runs on hardware and performs on that hardware in real time. Movie clips like this are 2d representations of demos, which is quite a bit different.

Yawn...wake me when the hardware gets shipped to review sites (same goes for ATi hardware, or anything else...)

 

[Guden Oden]

OK, color me unimpressed... This is the same as to say: "Hey, these 2d movie clips aren't really representational of our products, but we thought you'd like to see them anyway."

Yes? What's wrong with that?

Don't tell me you think no movies are better than movies that aren't exactly 100% accurate.

Left unspoken is whether their products perform better and produce superior IQ to that displayed in the 2d clips.

So, you seriously believe there's even a shadow of a doubt the real NV40 renderings might actually look even worse than those sh--y videos? Jesus, that has to be the nuttiest thing I've heard all week at least!

When you go to 2d clips like this, any amount of post-processing between the capture and the final "movie" is possible--and I'd add, likely

Uh, LIKELY? Why?

It's not like people will be able to check for themselves what the software really looks like, so what point would there be in doctoring the video??? It'd just create another "quack"-like backlash on the internet! Besides, how could you possibly doctor a video that contains less than a tenth of the original information so that it looks BETTER than the original? You must be out of your MIND!

Also, I'm a bit puzzled as to why people might ever call these "demos"--they are not "demos"--they are 2-D movie clips.

Jesus, why are you quibbling over semantics like this? The clips are clips of 3D demos, what more is there to say about it??? When people speak of demos, it's obvious they mean the demos shown in the video clips. If you gotta complain, at least find something valid to complain about...

Stop eating magic mushrooms before you post is probably the best tip I can offer right now.

 

[Sxotty]

Walt's job is to say how nvidia screwed up give him a break.

 

[Mindriot]

yeah, plus the nurse might have changed his meds today. You know, as a joke.

But I am with Walt on this one. At this point in the game, I dont believe anything. So much PR you could cut it with a spoon.

 

[KimB]

I felt I had to add one more thing.

The water simulation is just awful, in terms of the physics:
1. The dispersion relation is way off.
2. The perturbation of the water by the boat is just flat wrong.

For a decent first approximation of water waves, the phase velocity of water waves is twice the group velocity. This means that within a disturbance, you will see individual ripples travel from the rear of the disturbance to the front of the disturbance. The dispersion relation is dependent upon depth and wavelength, though, so this is only a first approximation.

Secondly, if you have ever ridden in a boat, you should know that there is never a large bulge in the water behind a boat. Boats typically smooth out the water directly behind them, with a wake coming off at a specific angle from the prow of the boat. If you've ever gone water skiing you should know this.