Havok Intros Havok FX Engine To Compute Physics Effects On GPUs

Havok announces plans to support GPU-accelerated physics through Havok FX™. This new product from Havok will utilize the native power of Shader Model 3 class graphics cards to deliver physics effects that integrate seamlessly with Havok’s industry-leading game-play physics technology found in Havok Complete™. Havok FX will be cross-platform and will take advantage of current and next-generation GPU technology to deliver eye-popping effects that visually enhance the gaming experience.

Havok FX will allow developers to leverage the growing installed base of cutting edge graphics cards and their powerful, standardized APIs - to offload floating-point operations that are necessary for simulating a broad-range of dynamic visual effects. What kinds of effects will Havok FX™ enable?

Havok FX will enable dynamic in-game effects that are based upon rigid-body collisions and constraints – including debris, smoke, fog, and ultimately simulated liquids - but on a scale that goes well beyond the magnitude and volume of objects normally simulated in CPU-based game-play physics. By performing simulation, collision detection and rendering directly on the GPU, Havok FX avoids the transfer of large amounts of data between the CPU and GPU, enabling a level of performance never seen before in physics simulation. Because physics effects generated by Havok FX demand less interaction with game-play physics and CPU-side AI interaction, a far greater number of objects– and resulting detail- can be achieved.