An updated version of NVIDIA Direct3D SDK 10 has been released. It includes a new sample: the Stencil Routed K-Buffer. Check out the Direct3D samples page to get the whitepaper and code for the new sample, or download the updated SDK here.
The sample shows how to simulate and animate different kinds of lighting effects using DirectX10 features. The structure of a lightning beam is created by using fractal subdivision of line segments, efficiently implemented using geometry shaders and stream out. A geometry shader is then used to create camera facing billboards with a procedurally created color gradient. The atmospheric glow effect is implemented by downsampling and blurring the rendered bolts of lighting using a Gaussian filter kernel with separate extinction coefficients per color channel in order to fake atmospheric scattering.
Our GDC 2007 presentations are available for download:
NVIDIA FX Composer 2: A Comprehensive Shader Development Package [download] Slides (PDF) GPU Optimization with the Latest NVIDIA Performance Tools [download] Slides (PDF)
We are pleased to demonstrate the latest version of our NVIDIA Developer Toolkit at GDC 2007, complete with six all-new software products for developers:
FX Composer 2. Featuring DirectX and OpenGL support via HLSL, Cg, and COLLADA FX, as well as powerful pipeline integration features for real production environments.
GPU-Accelerated Texture Tools. Now more than 10x faster with GPU acceleration via CUDA, and support for DirectX 10 texture formats.
PerfHUD 5. Featuring powerful edit-and-continue for shaders and render states, customizable graphs, DirectX 10 and Vista support, and much more.
ShaderPerf 2. Support for vertex and pixel shader analysis as well as Release 100 drivers.
We are showing off all these tools at GDC in booth # 5134 and at our various sessions. The Shader Library, SDK 10, GPU-Accelerated Texture Tools, and ShaderPerf 2 are now available for download. Betas of FX Composer 2 and PerfKit 5 will be available soon after GDC.
CSAA produces antialiased images that rival the quality of 8x or 16x MSAA, while introducing only a minimal performance hit over standard (typically 4x) MSAA. It works by introducing the concept of a new sample type: a sample that represents coverage. This differs from previous AA techniques where coverage was always inherently tied to another sample type. In supersampling for example, each sample represents shaded color, stored color/z/stencil, and coverage, which essentially amounts to rendering to an oversized buffer and downfiltering. MSAA reduces the shader overhead of this operation by decoupling shaded samples from stored color and coverage; this allows applications using antialiasing to operate with fewer shaded samples while maintaining the same quality color/z/stencil and coverage sampling. CSAA further optimizes this process by decoupling coverage from color/z/stencil, thus reducing bandwidth and storage costs.
We are pleased to announce NVPerfKit 2.1, the latest version of our comprehensive suite of performance tools for debugging and profiling OpenGL and Direct3D software applications for Windows and, for the first time, Linux.
New in this release:
- Release 90 driver support - 32-bit and 64-bit Linux support (NVPerfSDK only) - 64-bit Windows support - Improved features in NVPerfHUD (including "take screenshot" [F10]) - Improved installer with automatic driver removal and installation
Also, don't forget to visit our brand-new NVPerfHUD screenshot gallery, which shows top game titles being analyzed by their developers using NVPerfHUD.
Learn about the global new features and improvements DirectX 10 will soon deliver. Plus find out about the latest DirectX 10 developments by NVIDIA and Microsoft. If DirectX 10 is in your roadmap, make sure you attend this event!
Agenda
Gloopy Effects with DX10 (NVIDIA)
Windows Performance Topics for Games (Microsoft)
Shadow of the Beast (NVIDIA)
Exploiting D3D 10 - Advanced Techniques Using D3D 10 (Microsoft)
The DX10 Cloning Factory (NVIDIA)
Physics on NVIDIA GPUs (NVIDIA/HAVOK)
Take advantage of the early registration price (ends on Sept 22) by registering now on the GDC London site.
Gamefest is a unique opportunity to get “one-to-one” face time with NVIDIA engineers to ensure that your application has world class compatibility with Windows Vista and NVIDIA Hardware.
If you are interested, please book an appointment with NVIDIA starting from Sunday, August 13th at 3pm at the registration desk. Our testing suite will welcome developers on Monday 14th and Tuesday 15th, from 10am to 6pm (45 minutes testing slots).
Real-time graphics is going to leap forward again. API are becoming more flexible than ever before allowing a new class of effects and improved developer tools increase performance and productivity on many platforms, including Linux. We invite you to attend the following tutorials:
• Next Generation Programmability in OpenGL • Physics on NVIDIA GPUs • State of the Art Cross Platform Shader Development • Next Generation Effects in DirectX10 • Optimize Your GPU with the Latest NVIDIA Performance Tools (including Linux Performance Tools)
At the end of each session a high-end NVIDIA graphics card will be given away. To participate, swipe your badge at the entrance and get a raffle ticket.
NVIDIA Engineers will demonstrate tools to improve shading quality and graphics performance on current projects. They will also talk about what you should absolutely know for your next Direct3D10 title. Do not miss these sessions at the Develop Conference held in Brighton, UK.
• Shaders: The Sky is the Limit. NVIDIA and Sony joint presentation (Thursday July 13th, from 11am - noon)
• Optimize Your GPU with the Latest NVIDIA Performance Tools (Thursday July 13th, from 1:30pm - 2:30pm)
• Next Generation Games with Direct3D10 (Thursday July 13th, from 3:00pm - 4:00pm)
We are proud to release NVPerfKit 2, a comprehensive suite of performance tools to help debug and profile OpenGL and Direct3D applications. NVPerfKit gives you access to low-level performance counters inside the driver and hardware counters inside the GPU itself. The counters can be used to determine exactly how your application is using the GPU, identify performance issues, and confirm that performance problems have been resolved.
A major new component in NVPerfKit 2 is NVPerfHUD 4. This latest version of our real-time performance analysis tool now features automated performance analysis, access to GPU performance counters, updated and improved performance graphs, and much more. In a recent survey, over 100 NVPerfHUD 4 users reported an average performance improvement of 34.8% by using NVPerfHUD 4 to tune their applications. These users also reported that NVPerfHUD 4 helped them find an average of 11 rendering bugs during development. (Results were obtained from individuals using a variety of system configurations and applications. Individual results may vary.)
NVPerfKit 2 consists of the following components:
Instrumented Driver
Interfaces with graphics API and GPU to provide performance counter data
Our GDC Presentations are now available in Acrobat and PowerPoint formats. Visit our GDC 2006 Presentations page and start improving your applications today.
Learn about the global new features and improvements DirectX 10 will soon deliver. Plus find out about the latest DirectX 10 developments by NVIDIA and Microsoft. If DirectX 10 is in your roadmap, make sure you attend this event! 
NVPerfSDK's Sample Application
