AMD Shows TressFX 2.0 hair technology

by Hilbert Hagedoorn on: 09/29/2014 08:12 AM | source: | 19 comment(s)

Lichdom: Battlemage will be the first game that uses TressFX 2.0, the latest iterartion AMDs hair rendering technology. TressFX 2.0 promises even better hair rendering with continuous levels of details (LODs), improved efficiency with many light sources, a new self-shadowing option and more.

WHAT’S NEXT FOR TRESSFX HAIR?
As Crystal Dynamics worked to bring TressFX to other platforms, we have been busy developing an even newer version of our award-winning hair tech.

In November we announced “TressFX 2.0,” an update to the effect that brings several notable changes:

New functionality to support for grass and fur
Continuous levels of details (LODs) are designed to improve performance by dynamically adjusting visual detail as TressFX-enabled objects move towards and away from the player’s POV
Improved efficiency with many light sources and shaders via deferred rendering
Superior self-shadowing for better depth and texture in the hair
Even more robust scalability across GPUs of varying performance envelopes (vs. TressFX 1.0)
Modular code and porting documentation
Stretchiness now respects the laws of physics

and numerous bug fixes!

Starting with grass and fur, implementing realistic physics for these objects is rather similar to hair: treat each strand as a chain, group chains together, and then apply an external force. There is obviously some voodoo at work to make grass and fur behave more like grass and fur, and rather less like long hair, but the principles are so similar that they’re a logical extension to TressFX’s capabilities.

In designing TressFX 2.0, we addressed a notable issue in our hair physics simulation: stretchiness. Extreme linear and angular acceleration of a fast-moving or fast-turning character could cause the hair sim to appear unnaturally stretchy. In very rare instances, the physics model could even prevent the hair from ever recovering its original length.

Full details over here.

BTW the open mud-fights with Nvidia thes edays, just wow: "In contrast, NVIDIA’s Hairworks technology is seven times slower on AMD hardware with no obvious route to achieve cross-vendor optimizations as enabled by open access to TressFX source. As the code for Hairworks cannot be downloaded, analyzed or modified, developers and enthusiasts alike must suffer through unacceptably poor performance on a significant chunk of the industry’s graphics hardware. With TressFX Hair, the value of openly-shared game code is clear."

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Darren Hodgson
Senior Member

Posts: 16007
Joined: 2004-08-18

#4925078 Posted on: 09/29/2014 08:34 AM

So can this be patched back into Tomb Raider on PC? Also, I thought the Definitive Editions of Tomb Raider on PS4 and Xbox One where using TressFX 2.0?

Mato87
Senior Member

Posts: 282
Joined: 2012-11-22

#4925121 Posted on: 09/29/2014 10:52 AM

So can this be patched back into Tomb Raider on PC? Also, I thought the Definitive Editions of Tomb Raider on PS4 and Xbox One where using TressFX 2.0?

I do hope so

The definite editions were using the tressfx 2.0 afaik look here
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-2014-tomb-raider-definitive-edition-next-gen-face-off
Also there were a couple of other different additions for tomb raider definitive edition compared to the pc version.

Tree Dude
Senior Member

Posts: 532
Joined: 2005-10-09

#4925253 Posted on: 09/29/2014 01:44 PM

Another example of AMD being open and Nvidia being closed. The business practices at Nvidia make me never want to buy one of their products.

Loophole35
Senior Member

Posts: 9788
Joined: 2011-09-21

#4925314 Posted on: 09/29/2014 02:59 PM

Another example of AMD being open and Nvidia being closed. The business practices at Nvidia make me never want to buy one of their products.

The bias is strong in this one.

AFAIK TressFX2.0 was in TR: DE.

xIcarus
Senior Member

Posts: 954
Joined: 2010-08-24

#4925323 Posted on: 09/29/2014 03:12 PM

Another example of AMD being open and Nvidia being closed. The business practices at Nvidia make me never want to buy one of their products.

And at the same time bashing nvidia's tech.

Don't get me wrong, I dislike the fact that nvidia keeps much of their similar tech proprietary, but by this

In contrast, NVIDIA’s Hairworks technology is seven times slower on AMD hardware with no obvious route to achieve cross-vendor optimizations as enabled by open access to TressFX source. As the code for Hairworks cannot be downloaded, analyzed or modified, developers and enthusiasts alike must suffer through unacceptably poor performance on a significant chunk of the industry’s graphics hardware. With TressFX Hair, the value of openly-shared game code is clear.

paragraph alone, I'm beginning to change my opinion on amd.

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