UltraShadow Technology
| An important aspect of films is the environment and the tone they set, drawing in the audience and making them feel as if they're part of the action. Often times, in a movie scene, a foreboding sense of danger can be communicated through low light and shadows: the fleeting shadow of a creature passing over a dark wall can be more frightening and compelling than any noise. It's just as important for games to have totally immersive environments that blur the line between fiction and reality and that make players feel as if they're truly a part of the world in which they're playing. NVIDIA technology continues to provide the tools developers need to create these immersive, cinematic-style worlds and effects. The NVIDIA® UltraShadow  technology-enabled in the NVIDIA® GeForce FX 5900 Ultra and GeForce FX 5900 graphics processing units (GPUs)-powers the next generation of complex shadow effects. Accurate shadows are key to realistic, believable scenes. The complex interactions between multiple light sources and numerous objects and characters involve multiple-pass programming. For every frame, every light source must be analyzed relative to every object. The patent-pending UltraShadow technology can be applied to today's games to introduce stunning visual effects that create distinctive looks and digital environments that can set a game apart from the competition. UltraShadow gives programmers the ability to calculate shadows much more quickly by eliminating unnecessary areas from consideration. With UltraShadow, programmers can define a bounded portion of the scene (often called depth bounds) that limits calculations of lighting source effects to objects within a specified area. By limiting calculations to the area most affected by a light source, the overall shadow generation process can be greatly accelerated. Programmers can fine-tune shadows within critical regions, create incredible visualizations that effectively mimic reality, and still achieve awesome performance for fast-action games. The accelerated shadow generation can also free up time that can be allocated to other sophisticated but time-consuming effects. With the power of advanced technologies like NVIDIA UltraShadow, developers can more easily and efficiently translate their artistic visions into compelling scenes that border on reality. Complex shadow effects that employ multiple light sources are now possible at high frame rates, without bogging down gameplay. For unparalleled, cinematic-style environments in your gaming, and stunning, heart-pounding experiences, equip yourself with a GeForce FX 5900 GPU and the power of UltraShadow. |
