"The algorithm takes point cloud data and files it in a certain way so that it can be quickly sorted and accessed. When the algorithm searches for points, it doesn't do so indiscriminately. Instead of putting a trillion dots on screen and covering the ones you don't use, we only grab the atoms we need for each pixel", explains Dell.
In other words, the workload depends on screen resolution, not the underlying geometric detail of the scene being rendered. The UD guys claim the algorithm is so efficient it runs in real-time in a single thread on just one core of a conventional PC processor. Apparently, it will even scale down to simple CPUs in mobile devices.
A long way to the topThe claims are no doubt high and it is important to remember that the company has yet to even publicly present a live demo. Only a few graphics programmers, investors and industry analysts have actually seen this software in action and those who have are bound by tight non-disclosure agreements.
Chip makers such as Nvidia have already weighed in and concede that while graphics rendered using Voxel can run on modest system requirements, they are not as precise as polygon based graphics.
Even if Unlimited Detail delivers on its promises, it will face an uphill battle in getting software makers to adopt a new rendering method that will require significant changes to traditional workflow processes and legacy systems.
SDK and product demos to comeThe UD team, which also includes members from Australian game development company Auran, are currently hard at work developing the SDK for commercial release. While the team declined to provide a concrete release date, they did hope to appear again in a few months with the first demos.
"The technology is excellent, and we are continually surprised with how far we can stretch it, and in time we will be a bit more public", said Dell.
A GPU-less future?With alternative rendering technologies and cloud computing based services such as OnLive removing the need for beefy gaming rigs and overpowered graphics cards, will there even be a need for dedicated gaming PC's in the future? There is of course a long way to go for both of these technologies but there is no questioning the potential impact on the industry if either gain any traction.
Unlimited Detail and OnLive are two very different beasts entirely but both have the amazing potential to end the hideous cycle of yearly upgrades and effectively open up the PC gaming market to a wider audience, which can only be a good thing for the industry.
Issue: 137 | June, 2012