Nvidia released today the GeForce Power Pack a free compilation of games, demos, and mod packs for PC that takes advantage of CUDA and PhysX on GeForce 8 and higher Nvidia graphics cards.
On the PC, PhysX technology harnesses the power of any CUDA-enabled general-purpose parallel computing processor, including any NVIDIA GeForce 8 Series or higher GPU, to handle 10-20 times more visual complexity than what's possible on today's traditional PC platforms. All of the 80 million plus GeForce 8 Series and higher GPUs in the field are CUDA-enabled, the largest installed base of general-purpose, parallel-computing processors ever created.
PhysX technology can leverage the best of both CPU and GPU architectures to deliver the best end user experience possible. Upcoming PC titles that incorporate PhysX technology include Cryostasis, Backbreaker, Aliens: Colonial Marines, with close to 20 more PC titles expected before the year-end holiday seasons.
"Game physics is essential in enabling deeper interactivity and real-world effects in any game. Epic is pleased to offer PhysX as a standard feature within Unreal Engine 3 to enable such effects," said Mark Rein, Vice President of Epic Games. "The introduction of GPU acceleration for PhysX promises both additional potential effects and faster performance. You can get a glimpse of the possibilities of what PhysX is able to do with the special levels for Unreal Tournament 3 where damage effects greatly enhance the gameplay."
The GeForce Power Pack released today is the first of many planned GeForce Power Packs and it includes:
* Warmonger-Full free game! Destroy walls, floors, and whole buildings to open up new paths or close existing ones. Destructive power is more than eye candy here-it's a tactical weapon in this ground-breaking action game.
* Unreal Tournament 3 PhysX Mod Pack-includes three maps with amazing effects that fundamentally change the gameplay (requires full version of Unreal Tournament 3)
* A sneak peek at the upcoming Nurien social networking service, based on the Unreal Engine 3 (with built-in benchmark)
* A sneak peek at the upcoming game Metal Knight Zero (with built-in benchmark)
* All new NVIDIA "The Great Kulu" tech demo that showcases the use of PhysX soft bodies in a real game play environment
* All new NVIDIA "Fluid" tech demo-a simulation of realistic fluid effects with a variety of liquids
In conjunction with the release of the GeForce Power Pack, NVIDIA has also released new WHQL-certified drivers that enable PhysX acceleration for all GeForce 8, 9, and GTX 200 Series GPUs. This new driver also adds support for PhysX-accelerated features in the commercially available Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 game.
"The use of physics in games is highly effective in enabling new levels of interactivity and gameplay options. Gearbox is excited about these developments and we are rapidly finding new ways to use NVIDIA PhysX to improve the game's immersive feel and overall excitement factor," said Randy Pitchford, CEO of Gearbox Software. "The addition of GPU acceleration allows us to add even more effects whilst maintaining great performance. Gearbox titles, including Borderlands and others, will feature increased use of PhysX and we look forward to developing more with the support of NVIDIA."
"Seeing really is believing and is the reason why we compiled all of this great PhysX content into a free download for our end users," said Ujesh Desai, general manager for GeForce GPUs at NVIDIA. "We want GeForce owners to experience for themselves these amazing effects to get an idea how PhysX will make games much more lifelike in the years to come. Physics-accelerated content is already here, and there are a ton more titles on the way. We can't wait for our customers to jump in, get wet, and tell us what they think!"