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GAMETOOLS - Advanced Tools for Developing Highly Realistic Computer Games
The GameTools project aimed at creating next generation real time 3D libraries for Geometry, Visibility and Global Illumination for the PC platform, with an extension to consoles PS2, Xbox, PS3, Xbox 360 planned.
Impact
The computer games market is growing in size and has surpassed the movie industry in terms of revenue. It is therefore tremendously important for Europe to ensure that it maintains state of the art expertise in this area in order to compete effectively with the USA and Japan. GameTools worked on problems of central importance to the production of high quality 3D graphics, one of the central aspects of modern computer games. A Special Interest Group has been created so that European game companies would have preliminary access to the technology developed by the project.
Main innovation
GameTools worked on providing games and virtual reality applications with new tools addressed to improve three key areas: geometry, visibility and illumination. Besides, it looked to establish a steady communication channel between universities and game related companies.
Geometry
The GTP GeometryLib supplies a Multiresolution LOD (Level of Detail) Solution which addresses the shortcomings of previous approaches by giving developers access to a complete package of solid technology which supplies
- A fast image based simplification algorithm to efficiently create high quality MLODs without human intervention.
- Multiresolution triangle strip generation taking into account topology and texture of the base model.
- A memory & runtime efficient compressed multiresolution mesh format that contains triangle strip information, avoiding the need for costly on-the-fly tristrip generation.
- A new multiresolution model specially fitted for plants allowing for an incredible amount of close up detail for e.g. leaves, while at the same time supplying simplified representations for the fast rendering of objects which are further away.
Visibility
In computer graphics, Visibility deals with the problem of rendering faster by rendering only the objects of the scene that can be seen.
Existing solutions along that line employed in modern day 3D/game-engines are mostly based either on Portals or on Quake style PVS (potentially visible set). While these approaches have been successfully employed in commercial products for years, they nonetheless have considerable drawbacks.
The GTP VisibilityLib overcomes these problems with a 2-phase strategy:
- A solution which supplies precalculated visibility based on modern visibility research, also suited for outdoor scenes.
- A solution which efficiently employs modern day graphic hardware to deliver on-the-fly visibility with minimal overhead.
Illumination
Global Illumination is the field of computer graphics that deals with physically correct illumination. Usually this is associated with stochastic raytracing solutions taking hours to calculate a single picture.
The GTP IlluminationLib brings physically correct rendering to the domain of realtime graphics.
Effects that will be possible include:
- Soft Shadow/Lighteffects
- Dynamic Lightsources
- Indirect Illumination
- Reflections
- Realtime Radiosity
- High-Quality Materials (Metal,...)
- Cloud Rendering
allowing for previously unseen levels of realism in 3D/game applications.
GameTools final results
The university teams, with the specifications and feedback provided by the companies, have substantially improved various graphical algorithms, providing games and virtual reality applications with a higher realism. These improvements include for example, a better simplification of complex objects, optimized calculation of realistic illumination, global illumination, and rain and fog simulation. More than 20 new algorithms have been developed.
These algorithms have been integrated into a game engine, adapting it to the requirements of the participating companies from the consortium and also from the Special Interest Group which have used the GTP libraries.
Furthermore GTP industry members have implemented the scientific outputs and demonstrate them in the following way:
- Digital Legends Entertainment (DLE) represents the videogames industry. Therefore the purpose of demonstrator has been focussed on proving to developer's community that:
- GameTools libraries can be integrated into a real game and this even when using proprietary technology.
- GameTools libraries bring a competitive advantage as they increase visual quality and/or improve performances.
- Infowerk develops multimedia based learning products. The aim of Infowerk Xplain is the development and marketing of edutainment products for end- consumers. Infowerk demonstrator application is a realistic simulation program to get the needed experience in standard and distress situations at open sea and in coastal waters. The application will be commercialised under the name Seamulator.
- T-Systems Iberia is an IT company with a strong relationship with Industry partners and public administration. In that context the purpose of the demonstrator has been focused on proving two aspects:
- A Virtual Reality viewer can integrate all the plugins and libraries developed during the Gametools Project.
- A Virtual Reality viewer with all this libraries has a better visual quality.
Demos
The GameTools Demos are available for download:
- Jungle Rumble showcases GameTools Depth Imposters and Raytrace Effects.
- Penta G showcases three core technologies: Coherent Hierarchical Culling, Depth Impostors and Raytrace Refractions/Reflections while featuring other state-of-the-art graphical effects such as omnidirectional shadowmapping, parallax mapping, bloom/glow, deferred lighting, various postprocessing effects, etc. The game is a first person shooter set in a sci-fi environment, offering a short campaign with a few levels and an end boss.
More details
- Video capture of the car driving game winning the third prize at Graphics Meets Games Competition in EG06. The demo demonstrates ray-traced reflections, refractions and caustics with depth impostors; diffuse indirect illumination; spherical billboards and glow. A large number of Images and Videos (including this one) is available online.
- Annual Report 2007 (PDF - 3.166KB), Annual Report 2006 (PDF - 477KB), Annual Report 2005 (PDF - 318KB)
- eStrategies article: Realism and Virtual Quality for Games (5 May 2007) (PDF - 241KB)
- CORDIS Wire: About GameTools Project (8 September 2006)
- Newsletter 3 – June 2007 (PDF - 238KB), Newsletter 2 – March 2007 (PDF - 555KB) and Newsletter 1 – October 2006 (PDF - 274KB)
- Presentation (PDF - 466KB)
- Report on visibility algorithms (PDF - 1.134KB), Report on the multiresolution models (PDF - 3.416KB), Report on illumination algorithms (PDF - 7.630KB)
- GameTools website
Administrative Details
- GameTools (IST-2-004363) is a STREP project of the European Union's 6th Framework Programme Thematic Priority 2 (Information Society Technologies). It was submitted on the second call and addresses the strategic objective "cross-media content for leisure and entertainment".
- GameTools started on 1 September 2004 and finished on 31 May 2007.
- The overall budget is roughly 1.6 million Euros.
- 10 partners from 4 countries were involved in the project in different roles.
List of Participants
- Academia
- University of Girona (UdG), Spain
- University Jaume I (UJI), Spain
- Vienna Institute of Technology (VUT), Austria
- Budapest University of Technology and Economics (BUTE), Hungary
- Technical University of Valencia (UPV), Spain
- Universitée de Limoges (Unilim), France
- Non Profit
- Asociación de investigación de la industria del juguete, conexas y afines (AIJU), Spain
- Companies (SMEs)
- Digital Legends Entertainment, Spain
- Infowerk Softwareentwicklungs, Austria
- T-Systems Iberia, Spain
Contact Persons
- Project Coordinator: Mateu Sbert
- UdG
- Email: Mateu Sbert
- Project Manager: Denisa Gibovic
- UdG
- Email: Denisa Gibovic
Events in connection with GameTools
- IBC 2007 - The World of Content Creation Management and Delivery, 6-11 September 2007, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. GameTools exhibited the computer graphics libraries that play a key role in providing computer games and other high-end 3D applications with the visual quality crucial for commercial success.
- KATT2006 - Creative Designer's Meeting, 10 December 2006, Budapest, Hungary. This event gathers game companies, movie makers (e.g. Terminator III) as well as all the other representatives of the creative industry and makes their results accessible for the interested investor and general public. The GameTools presented: GameTools - Global Illumination in Games.
- RESTFEST 10 - GameTools was presented at this festival on 29 November – 1 December 2006, Vienna, Austria. RESFEST is one of the most important festivals worldwide for digitally produced short movies, documentations and animations. This year the festival takes place in 45 cities on all six continents and shows thereby outstanding international and local productions.
- EG06 – GameTools had its own stand at Eurographics on 4-8 September 2006, Vienna, Austria. The GameTools technology was demonstrated to an interested audience by the GTP Community Manager, Markus Giegl together with GTP volunteers Johannes Scharl and Matthias Maschek:
- Tutorial T4: Efficient Sorting and Searching in Rendering Algorithms, presented GameTools research and Technology (PDF - 3.936KB)
- Tutorial T12: GPUGI: Global Illumination Effects on the GPU (PDF - 6.043KB)