PCG136.cover_nv_cover 13/4/2004 7:05 AM Page 1 Issue 04 THE WAY It’s Meant To Be Played Ultimate PC gaming with GeForce Silent and deadly Choose your weapons with Hitman: Contracts and Thief: Deadly Shadows PCG136.cover_nv_2_3 14/4/2004 1:39 AM Page 2 Contents 04 06 06 07 07 08 09 10 11 12 15 What’s new in hardware 04. Thief: Deadly Shadows 08. Hitman: Contracts 09. Far Cry 13. The Future Network plc is a public company. Produced by Printed in the UK © Future Publishing 2004 All images and materials are property of their respective owners. Future Plus 30 Monmouth Street, Bath, BA1 2BW All Rights Reserved. Printed by GeForce FX GPU pictures © NVIDIA Cover pictures © Thief: Deadly Shadows and Hitman: Precision Colour Print, Telford Contracts, Copyright 2004 Eidos. All rights reserved. ➔ 2 PCG136.cover_nv_2_3 14/4/2004 1:39 AM Page 3 In this issue The way it’s meant to be played Great technology, 100% compatibility. NVIDIA answers some questions about the TWIMTBP concept… What is ‘The way it’s meant in the first place. The games are How many games are in the Q to be played’’? developed on PCs using NVIDIA-based Q campaign so far? ‘NVIDIA®: The way it's meant GPUs, with NVIDIA’s technical developer Worldwide, around 250 games A to be played™ (TWIMTBP)’, relations engineers on hand to offer A carrying the TWIMTBP seal of delivers the ultimate “install-and-play” support and performance testing, approval have been published and are experience for PC gamers. The goal of assistance in creating advanced special on sale. There are also around 60 more the campaign is to ensure that the effects, and also to resolve technical games currently in development, which greatest PC games play and perform issues if needed. have already signed up for the campaign. stably on NVIDIA hardware with NVIDIA is talking constantly to publishers complete compatibility, so that gamers What difference does it make and developers across Europe, the US can enjoy the game exactly, “the way it’s Q for the consumer? and in Asia, with new games being meant to be played”. If you have an NVIDIA-based signed to TWIMTBP every week. A graphics card in your PC, such as Isn’t this just another paid-for a GeForce FX, then buying games with ■ Published every three months, this Q marketing campaign? the TWIMTBP logo will help ensure magazine aims to showcase the very Not at all – publishers don’t pay compatibility, stability and reliability – best TWIMTBP titles. In these pages, A NVIDIA to join the programme, NVIDIA’s watchwords. Your game will you’ll read how the latest and most and developers and publishers don’t get install straight out of the box and, technologically advanced PC games are paid to be in the programme. First and because it has been developed on and using the power of NVIDIA to give you foremost, for a title to be in the optimised for NVIDIA GPUs, you’ll get the most exhilarating gaming programme, the developer and the ultimate playing experience. experiences possible. publisher have to believe that the customer will have the best overall experience if their game is played on NVIDIA Graphics. ‘The way it’s meant to be played’ is a seal that the developer, NVIDIA and the publisher have worked together to provide a great gaming experience for the consumer. Secondly, NVIDIA promotes our software partners’ products to our consumers so they know what games will best show off the latest GeForce graphics. It’s about bringing a console-like experience to the PC. What sort of support can Q programmers expect? Programmers receive world-class A support from NVIDIA whether or not they’re in the programme; that’s what brings them into the programme ➔ Visit NVIDIA online. UK: www.nvidia.co.uk US: www.nvidia.com 3 PCG136.cover_nv_4_5 14/4/04 12:28 pm Page 4 The way it’s meant to be played Introducing The GeForce 6800 GPUs Immerse your mind with NVIDIA’s new wave of graphics processing units… orget what you think you know F about 3D graphics. With the introduction of the NVIDIA® GeForce™ 6800 graphics processing units (GPUs), everything changes. Offering much more than an exponential leap in performance, this new generation of GPUs brings a dazzling array of new technologies and visual game artists to go beyond bump- effects to PC gaming for the very first mapping, instead using full vertex time – setting new standards for image ■ The GeForce processing to add unprecedented depth 6800 Ultra. Set quality, realism and video functionality. to re-invent PC and realism to any surface in a scene gaming graphics. At the heart of the GeForce 6800 without the large computational GPUs is an innovative 0.13 micron chip, programs, full support overhead that would be required when composed of 222 million transistors yet for the new Microsoft® creating a similar level of detail using measuring just 40x40mm. NVIDIA has DirectX® 9.0 Shader Model 3.0, and the polygons. It’s a technique already harnessed the power of this hardware power to implement a slew of industry- regularly used in film effects. Now it’s set using the new NVIDIA® CineFX 3.0™ leading features – all of which enable to change the face of PC gaming. engine; its third-generation technology game developers to craft the most Another industry first is the implementation of NVIDIA High- This new generation of GPUs brings a Precision Dynamic-Range (HPDR) technology. Based on techniques dazzling array of new technologies developed by none other than Industrial Light & Magic, this introduces a new era and visual effects to PC gaming… of high clarity through the rendering of extended lighting values, with frame delivers eight times the floating point complex and immersive digital worlds buffer blending for explosion and shader power and twice the vertex yet seen on the PC. motion blur effects. Then there’s support processing power of previous generation Displacement mapping is for multiple render targets, an advanced GPUs. Furthermore, CineFX 3.0 engine undoubtedly one of the most exciting technique that opens up a whole new boasts 32-bit shading power throughout new technologies delivered by the range of custom effects, including the pipeline, infinite length shader GeForce 6800 GPUs. This enables complex lighting and shading goodies ➔ 4 PCG136.cover_nv_4_5 14/4/04 12:28 pm Page 5 What’s new in hardware The NVIDIA GeForce 6800 GPUs offer the most powerful graphics solution ever created for the home user… such as glow effects. Equally jaw- quality and rock solid performance. Full dropping are the results offered by 32-bit colour precision is offered without subsurface scattering. This technique performance compromise; NVIDIA® mimics the effects of light on translucent Intellisample™ 3.0 technology delivers output, NVIDIA® surfaces such as skin. the industry’s fastest antialiasing for nView™ multi-display Global illumination is another jagged edge removal, and 128-bit Technology, and NVIDIA® Digital technique widely used in the world of studio-precision computation throughout Vibrance Control™ 3.0 technology and THE GEFORCE 6800 pre-rendered visual effects now made the processing pipeline prevents defects you’ve got the ultimate multimedia AT A GLANCE ADVANCED CHIP TECHNOLOGY available to game developers via CineFX and ensures maximum image quality. solution. And of course, it’s all delivered ■ 0.13 micron, 40mm x 40mm chip, composed of 222 million transistors 3.0. Furthermore, with support for soft The GeForce 6800 GPUs also offer via NVIDIA® ForceWare™ Unified Driver ■ 400Mhz RAMDACs ■ The world’s fastest DDR3 memory shadows and the ability to cast onto unmatched video capabilities. With the Architecture (UDA), NVIDIA’s unique ■ 256-bit memory interface ■ Support for both AGP 8X and the environmentally generated surface detail industry’s first on-chip video processor, single software driver solution. latest PCI Express X16 bus for up to Delivering movie quality effects in 4GB/sec transfer in both directions such as grass or vegetation, a new, more it provides full MPEG support, an ■ Advanced thermal management photorealistic representation of light and integrated TV encoder for display up to real-time, uncompromised performance and monitoring ■ Windows XP, ME, 2000 and 9X shade is at last possible. 1024x768 pixels, video scaling and and unmatched multimedia functionality, compatible ■ NVIDIA ForceWare Unified Driver Beyond the many breakthroughs in filtering, plus advanced adaptive de- the NVIDIA GeForce 6800 GPUs offer Architecture real-time rendering, the GeForce 6800 interlacing for smooth playback on the most powerful graphics solution ever CINEFX 3.0 FEATURES ■ created for the gaming enthusiast. DirectX 9.0 and OpenGL® 1.5 GPUs also set new standards for image progressive displays. Add DVI flat panel Optimisations and support ■ Infinite length vertex and pixel shader programs ■ Multiple render targets ■ Up to 16 textures per rendering pass ■ Support of sRGB texturing for gamma Meet Nalu textures ■ Full 128-bit studio quality floating point precision through the entire pipeline for improved image motion, his is NVIDIA’s new poster girl, ■ NVIDIA has a new, aquatic poster clarity and detail T girl to show off the fluid animation the star of a technology demo ■ Floating point frame buffer rendering offered by GeForce 6800 GPUs. that demonstrates the fluid animation for explosions, motion blur. made possible by the GeForce 6800 SUPPORT FOR ADVANCED GPUs. Through the power of the GRAPHICAL TECHNIQUES ■ ® ™ CineFX 3.0 engine, Nalu offers a NVIDIA UltraShadow II technology delivers four times the shadow tantalising look at what the next processing power of previous GPUs ■ generation of shading realism has to Displacement mapping enables the unique creation and animation of 3D offer.