physX posts

While developer Funcom is still working on its next MMO game The Secret World it has not forgotten its previous fantasy MMO Age of Conan. Today Funcom announced that the game now has an updated engine that, among other things, has server-side game physics supplied by Nvidia's PhysX technology.

Age of Conan is the first PC game ever to have PhysX-powered server-side game physics. Funcom reports that the change results in "more than a doubling in the speed-of in-game physics processing" versus the normal method where PhysX is on the game's client software.

Funcom has also improved a number of other visual aspects of the Age of Conan graphics engine. You can see a narrated trailer showing off and explaining those new visual effects after the jump:

Developer Atomic Games' modern day first person shooter Breach has been in development for some time and today the company finally announced that the game has "gone gold", meaning that the main development has been completed. The PC version of the game is due out on January 26 and will be priced at $19.99. The PC version will be available via download and will also be found in retail stores.

The PC version will have support for Nvidia' PhysX tech which means folks with Nividia graphics cards will have "larger explosions, particle effects and more" compared to the Xbox 360 version. The PC port will also have an additional Hardcore game mode as well as dedicated server support.

\With PC gamers now buying notebooks more and more for their gaming needs, graphics processor makers are trying to catch up and offer the most powerful dedicated graphics chips for laptops. Today Nvidia announced the launch of its GeForce 400M series of mobile chips which represent the first laptop chips from Nvidia to support DirectX 11 graphics effects in games.

The family of chips, which include the GeForce GTX 470M and GTX 460M models for "enthusiasts" (i.e. hardcore gamers), all support Nvidia's proprietary tech including PhysX hardware game physics effects, 3D Vision, and the power saving Optimus features. The first notebooks that will have the new 400M chips are now available from Acer, Asus, Dell, Lenovo, Samsung and Toshiba with more in the works.

The developers at 2K Czech working on Mafia II want to make sure that players have a rich, almost cinematic, feeling when playing the game. To this end, they designed the game engine from the ground up to fully immerse players, which includes dynamic lighting, the use of Nvidia PhysX technology, and dramatic cut scenes to tell the story. Of course, the developers haven't forgotten that the main goal is to design gameplay for people to enjoy. Continue after the jump to watch a two minute preview video that showcases a variety of gameplay elements by walking and driving to different locations, taking in the sights, and shooting them up. Mafia II is scheduled to release on August 24th.

Download HD Mafia II 'The Technology' Behind-the-Scenes Video (156 MB)
Download HD Mafia II 'Preview' Gameplay Video (199 MB)
Check out all Mafia II downloads

2K Games has paid a little more attention to the PC port of Mafia 2 than most publishers with multiplatform games. Today the publisher of the upcoming open world crime action game revealed the minimal and recomended system requirements for the Mafia 2 PC port on the game's official community web site.

It also revealed what the system specs would be for the minimal, medium and high setting for the hardware accelerated PhysX support that was announced for the PC version a few months ago. You can see all of the system requirements for the game, which is due for release on August 24, after the jump:

Mafia II is shaping up to be a high-intensity action game, and the PC version will take explosive scenes and gunfights even further using Nvidia PhysX features. With PhysX, the game can support more particles like bullet casings and debris, which move around more naturally than scripted events. Players with Nvidia graphics cards will be able to see for themselves how much PhysX contributes to their life of crime when the game releases in August.

Download HD Mafia II PhysX Trailer (209 MB)
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We still have several months to go before the release of Mafia II in late August but today publisher 2K Games sent over word that the long awaited open world crime action game will be getting some Nvidia-based enhancements for its PC port. The game will support hardware game physics through PhysX as well as Nvidia's 3D Vision technology.

In addition, 2K Games says that the PC version of Mafia II will be the first PC game that will support Nvidia's APEX Clothing technology that will allow for more realistic clothing animation for the game's characters. In addition, Nvidia's APEX Particles technology will also be a part of the game. It will allow for more realistic in-game destruction. For example, shooting a Tommy Gun at a brick wall in the game will chip at the brick until it breaks into pieces.

On the evening of March 26th, NVIDIA's GeForce General Manager Drew Henry officially announced the launch of the cutting edge GeForce GTX 470 and 480 video cards in front of packed crowd at PAX East in Boston. The 400 series ushers in the next generation of PC gaming as the company's most powerful graphics cards to date. The GPU includes 3 billion transistors, which equals four Intel Quad Core i7 processors, which gives a clear indication of the kind of might this card packs. What it comes down to for gamers is a chance, in Drew Henry's words, to "blow some sh#t up." When summed up, gamers can expect the GTX 480 to double the performance output of the GTX 285, NVIDIA's previous top-of-the line GPU, for many games. According to the chart shown at the presentation, there will be at least a 50% boost in performance for most games, including recent ones like Battlefield Bad Company 2. In any case, players will be free to dial up to detail levels to their most extreme levels without worrying about a single particle effect or lighting and shadow feature to hinder performance. In addition to blowing stuff up, the 400 series motto invites you to "Crank that sh#t up!"

PC gamers using Nvidia video cards who are looking to make full use of their hardware features should look to picking up Just Cause 2 when it releases on March 23rd. Not only does the game make full use of the GPU for fantastic looking water effects and soft shadows, the game is designed to be completely 3D Vision ready. So, pulling off those stunts will be that much more impressive, giving PC gamers with the right hardware a unique experience.

Download HD Just Cause 2 'Nvidia Features' Developer Video (198 MB)
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Read All You Need to Know: Just Cause 2

This patch updates Dark Void with Nvidia PhysX graphical effects. Those that do not own the game but want to see how PhysX is used can download the benchmark, which will measure how well the game performs. Continue after the jump for a short gameplay video that shows of PhysX effects.

Dark Void is available in stores now. The official playable demo, which does not support PhysX, can be downloaded here.
Read the Dark Void Review
Download Dark Void PhysX Patch (329 MB)
Download Dark Void PhysX Benchmark (879 MB)
Download HD Dark Void PhsyX Gameplay Video (121 MB)
Download Dark Void Demo (1.01 GB)
Check out all Dark Void downloads