R580 tech demos

[IbaneZ]

Apparently the demos are almost ready to rock, according to "chris ATI".

Will we see another Ruby demo? I hope so. :smile:

Two demos maybe?

1. Ruby's having a bad day again.
2. ?

 

[no-X]

Parthenon (executable version), possibly?

 

[SugarCoat]

kinda doubt they had another ruby demo made for them for this refresh, could be wrong, but just a hunch.

 

[neliz]

Ah yes, somewhere before cebit I reckon

 

[Reverend]

Will we see another Ruby demo? I hope so. :smile:

Personally, I've become bored with these IHV tech demos. I wish they'd pay some game developer to get a game demo out using a lot of next-gen DX features on their next-gen hardware. You know, all those TWIMTBP or GITG game developer partners.

 

[rwolf]

Personally, I've become bored with these IHV tech demos. I wish they'd pay some game developer to get a game demo out using a lot of next-gen DX features on their next-gen hardware. You know, all those TWIMTBP or GITG game developer partners.

So in two years you would be able to see what your card was really capable of. That is such a great marketing idea.

 

[neliz]

Personally, I've become bored with these IHV tech demos. I wish they'd pay some game developer to get a game demo out using a lot of next-gen DX features on their next-gen hardware. You know, all those TWIMTBP or GITG game developer partners.

something like this, but then playable?

 

[Reverend]

So in two years you would be able to see what your card was really capable of. That is such a great marketing idea.

That is such an illuminating post

 

[neliz]

That is such an illuminating post

Well, it's not far from the truth now is it? Tech-demo's pin themselves on some requirements, like CPU/GPU and RAM and the tech demo itself would become something like a console exclusive.

Gaming on high-end cards is held back by the fact that there needs to be support for low-end and midrange cards, you can't just abandon 95% of your potential market by building something $500+ exclusive.. even a tech-demo at that point would've costed millions, millions better spend on something else.

To truly reach that step, the pricing of hardware needs to HALVE from what we have now, so developers can realisticly expect good performance out of a $100 card.

 

[Andrew Lauritzen]

Gaming on high-end cards is held back by the fact that there needs to be support for low-end and midrange cards, you can't just abandon 95% of your potential market by building something $500+ exclusive.. even a tech-demo at that point would've costed millions, millions better spend on something else.

True, but let's not forget that a tech demo is *far* from an interactive game. It's much easier to pull off an impressive tech demo than an impressive game, and takes a *lot* less time.

 

[neliz]

True, but let's not forget that a tech demo is *far* from an interactive game. It's much easier to pull off an impressive tech demo than an impressive game, and takes a *lot* less time.

A tech demo is just a nice renderer for a 3ds/lightwave scene etc. and it gets done by what, 3, 5 man teams? (I know how they work)

but what was asked for was an interactive demonstration, in the form of a game

 

[Reverend]

Well, it's not far from the truth now is it?

What relevance has a tech demo by a IHV lent to developers making games?

 

[neliz]

What relevance has a tech demo by a IHV lent to developers making games?

lent? Sorry, but as a non native speaker, I'm confused by the construction of that sentence.
Do you mean that nV gives tech demos to developers?

Sometimes, demos get done in-house, or outsourced to a knowledgeable or adept entity, who is not yet known for implementing their technology in current entertainment software.
Sometimes the ihv asks a developer to create a demo for them, based on their current or future engine.

 

[Dave Baumann]

Many of the tech demos are used as centre peices to the presentations at things like GDC and SIGGRAPH, so to suppose that tech demos don't have any ultimate influence on games would be myopic at best, IMO.

 

[neliz]

So.. why don't they call DOV Myopic?

 

[ehart]

I think you guys are missing some of the ways tech demos are used. Yes, they are indeed intended to be a pretty show for a product announcement or a presentation at a show, but they can be a lot more as well.

Often the tech demo is a development platform and showcase for new techniques and algorithms. Think of the skin on Ruby or the parallax mapping in the Toy Shop. These are techniques that will be shown off and dsitributed in smaller samples, but often it takes a larger demo to demonstrate how it can be properly incorporated into a scene. In a way, this all goes into showcasing the feasibility of particular techniques. There are techniques that get used that turn out to be infeasible or unpractical in a real app, but that happens when you go out to push the limit. When done well, they can be great educational tools for developers and others.

For full disclosure, I am a former tech demo contributor.

-Evan

 

[Dave Baumann]

Parthenon (executable version), possibly?

It can't be released, apparently. The mesh and texture data is tied up with IP by the Greek authorities.

 

[Mariner]

It can't be released, apparently. The mesh and texture data is tied up with IP by the Greek authorities.

Architectural IP! :smile:

 

[neliz]

Architectural IP! :smile:

You should get out and read more
http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=29721

Btw, it's the same in holland, one of Rotterdam's notorious landmarks (the erasmus bridge) has been copyrighted and as such cannot be used in publications etc.

 

[Pete]

New buildings built and owned by corporations, I can understand, but you'd think the Parthenon would be a bit past its copyright limit. Like, by a few thousand years.

Still, it gives Disney something to shoot for!