NVIDIA introduces new tools for game developers

After announcing the new NVIDIA Omniverse platform for game developers this week, comes the news of a series of new tools for game development. The purpose of the technologies is to help save time, more easily integrate NVIDIA RTX and streamline the creation of virtual worlds. Understand more about the news announced at GDC (Game Developers Conference) 2022, which include NVIDIA Streamline, NVIDIA Kickstart RT, GeForce NOW Cloud Playtest and much more!

Streamline:copen source for super resolution technologies

The first big novelty among NVIDIA's tools is the Streamline, an open source framework and cross-IHV which will serve to simplify the integration of various super-resolution technologies and other graphics effects, both for games and applications. Thus, developers can code once and add multiple super-resolution technologies to their games.

O Streamline offers unique integration with a framework plug-and-play. It sits between the game and the rendering API and abstracts SDK-specific API calls into an easy-to-use flow line. Instead of manually integrating each SDK, developers simply identify which features – such as motion vectors, depth, and so on – are needed by the plug-ins of the target Streamline and then define where they want the plug-ins run in the graphics pipeline.

It is available today with support for NVIDIA Deep Learning Super Sampling (DLSS) e Deep Learning Anti-Aliasing (DLAA), soon to NVIDIA Image Scaling (NIS). It will also work with DirectX 11 and DirectX 12, and is currently in beta for Vulkan, available for developers to test.

The framework is also extensible beyond super-resolution SDKs, with developers able to add NVIDIA Real-time Denoiser (NRD) to games via Streamline Also.

What does this mean for game developers?

A NVIDIA recognizes the burden placed on developers to support multiple SDKs, often with varying points of integration and compatibility.

John Spitzer, vice president of development and performance technology at NVIDIA, explains that game developers do additional work to support post-processing effects from each hardware vendor with different APIs. Then, it will be the role of Streamline remove this redundancy and accelerate the adoption of new features in games, improving the user experience. This is good for gamers and the gaming ecosystem.

A Intel, one of NVIDIA's direct competitors, has declared public support for the project and has already created a plugin for the Streamline. So, it is likely that an expansion of technology-compatible games will appear when Arc Alchemist GPUs reach the market. Check out the note from Intel's Game Engineering Director:

“Intel strongly believes in the power of open interfaces. We're excited to support Streamline, an open and cross IHV framework for new graphical effects. This will simplify game developers' onboarding efforts and accelerate the adoption of new technologies.”

Andre Bremer, Vice President of AXG and Director of Gaming Engineering at Intel

Kickstart RT – A Starter Kit to Add Ray Tracing

The second among the developer tools is the Kickstart RT, which will make it easier to integrate the Ray Tracing In real time. Previously, all graphics engines had to link dynamic objects in the scene. With the novelty, it will be possible to have an SDK that allows playing with reflections, shadows, environment inclusion and realistic global lighting in real time.

Kickstart RT provides a convenient starting point that allows developers to quickly and easily add realistic dynamic lighting of complex scenes to their game engines in a much shorter amount of time than traditional methods. It is also useful for developers who may find it difficult to update their engine to DirectX12 API. It is a multi-API and cross-platform solution that can run on Windows or Linux.

O Kickstart RT is now available and you can learn more about its applicability in website from NVIDIA.

Cloud Playtest: Cloud Play Test

A game test is the process by which a game designer tests a new title for bugs and glitches before releasing it to the market. Developers need innovative ways to do this vital part of game development safely. All this is possible with the third new tool, the Cloud Playtest on the developer platform GeForce NOW.

With a network of more than 30 data centers and 80 countries, the GeForce NOW uses the power of the cloud to bring the GeForce PC gaming experience to any device. This extended infrastructure provides a developer platform for studios and publishers to conduct their game development virtually, starting with game testing.

With GeForce NOW Cloud Playtest, players and spectators can be anywhere in the world. Game developers can upload a version to the cloud and schedule a game test where they manage their testing schedule.

NVIDIA has also announced updates to the SDKs for NVIDIA RTX Global Illumination, RTX Direct Illumination, Reflex, and Real-time Denoisers. Key game development tools including NVIDIA Insight and NVIDIA Virtual Reality Capture and Reply have also received updates.

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Sources: NVIDIA