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World's First Physics Processing Unit

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the bet-it-gets-better-grades-than-me dept.

Duane writes "Gamers Depot has an exclusive interview with the team behind Ageia - the maker of the world's first Physics Processing Unit (PPU) - which was just announced today. "Sure we've all heard about the CPU and GPU - that's old hat by now and as most hardware reviewers will tell you, it's about time we got something that's truly revolutionary. Yeah, Pixel shaders are cool, and can do a lot of really nice things; however, pale in comparison in scope to what the PhysX chip from Ageia has the potential to bring to gaming.""

19 of 494 comments (clear)

  1. Physics... in games? by stupidfoo · · Score: 5, Funny

    All I know is that I want to throw the dead hooker down the stairs and have her head split open... or whatever that anti-violent game ad says I can do.

  2. Virutal reality sex, now a possibility. by imstanny · · Score: 5, Funny

    Nerds around the world rejoice!

  3. Alternative to realistic, lifelike gaming by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Go outside.

    1. Re:Alternative to realistic, lifelike gaming by escher · · Score: 5, Funny

      Go outside.

      But with this new physics processing unit, I don't have to!

    2. Re:Alternative to realistic, lifelike gaming by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      Are you kidding? The physics are all wrong, like, totally unrealistic. And somebody screwed with the gamma, 'cos it's too damn bright and I get this awful lens flare when I look up. totally ghay. Whoever coded that engine should be crucified.

    3. Re:Alternative to realistic, lifelike gaming by peragrin · · Score: 4, Funny


      Maybe eventually games will become so realistic it will become different to tell the difference between them and RL! Then again... maybe that's already happened and I'm in one right now!

      Yea but you still can't get laid, without paying cash. This Game Sucks, I want a restart with cheats enabled for me.
      --
      i thought once I was found, but it was only a dream.
    4. Re:Alternative to realistic, lifelike gaming by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      Relax. This engine is still in beta

      WTF? Who does God think he is? Here I am, spending my entire life testing his creation, and (according to Mark 13) he can't even give me a firm release date for the 1.0?!

      Now I see where Microsoft get it from...

  4. More Proof... by eno2001 · · Score: 4, Funny

    ...that my suspcions were correct. All this 3D stuff with pixels and texels and blah blah blah is just test runs before we create physical augmentation with nanotech replacing pixels and texels. (Wow that was one sentence!) Holodeck anyone? ;P

    --
    -"...bad old ideas look confusingly fresh when they are packaged as technology" - Jaron Lanier (Digital Maoism on Edge.o
    1. Re:More Proof... by Chris+Mattern · · Score: 4, Funny

      > Does this mean that DNF will finally be released?

      No, but it does mean that its release will be flawlessly simulated.

      Chris Mattern

  5. Gives a whole new meaning to... by GillBates0 · · Score: 5, Funny

    PPU: Pr0n Processing Unit.

    --
    An Indian-American Hindu committed to non-violent thought/speech/action alarmed by the global explosion of radical Islam
    1. Re:Gives a whole new meaning to... by hobbesx · · Score: 4, Funny

      PPU: Pr0n Processing Unit

      Here!
      Wait? Is this not roll call? Uh...

      --
      This rating is Unfair ( ) ( ) Fair (*) Funny
      Sigh... If only. Modding would be so much more fun.
  6. Wow! by cavemanf16 · · Score: 4, Funny

    And I thought Slashdot "editors" had poor grammar skills! Damn. I guess they're starting to farm the technical report writing and gaming reviews to India now too!

  7. More than one use here... by TheNecromancer · · Score: 5, Funny

    This includes things such as Rigid Body Dynamics, Collision Detection, Fluid Simulation, Soft Bodies and Fracturing of objects.

    This will be useful for all those pr0n sites out there!

    --
    Attention all planets of the Solar Federation! We have assumed control! - Neil Peart
  8. What about homework? by markmcb · · Score: 5, Funny

    If this thing can do physics homework, I'm getting two.

    --
    Mark A. McBride -- OmniNerd.com
  9. Re:In won't be news until... by AviLazar · · Score: 5, Funny

    Actually, it won't be /. worthy news until it is posted, reposted, and reposted again - all in the same day.

    --

    I mod down so you can mod up. Your welcome.
  10. Major drawback by wcrowe · · Score: 5, Funny

    Considering that most games routinely defy the laws of physics, I would think that such a processor would actually make the games more dull.

    --
    Proverbs 21:19
  11. Re:Interesting idea by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny
    I just finished reading the article, and ...
    You must be new here.
  12. GUT by vivin · · Score: 4, Funny

    I can see it now:

    PPU Emulates Grand Unified Theory. Physicists surrender.

    --
    Vivin Suresh Paliath
    http://vivin.net

    I like
    1. Re:GUT by ultranova · · Score: 5, Funny

      PPU Emulates Grand Unified Theory. Physicists surrender.

      Never. We will never surrender. We will fight them at the CERN labs, we will fight them at the Black Mesa, we will fight them at the Gallium Neutrino Observatory, we will fight them and we will win !

      It's not over until the Higgs boson sings !

      --

      Forget magic. Any technology distinguishable from divine power is insufficiently advanced.