"At Unigine we've always prided ourselves on implementing and showcasing the latest in PC graphics technology. DirectX 11 introduces new elaborated design and raises gaming performance to amazing levels while providing great backward compatibility with DirectX 10 and even DirectX 9 hardware. With DirectX 11 we are able to include support of DirectCompute 11 into Unigine that can be used for faster physics simulation, cinematic special effects of dramatic impact and breathtaking water simulation. HW tessellation empowers developers to create ultra-realistic scenes complete in every detail based on Unigine technologies. It's like DirectX 11 is a rocket that just hit escape velocity!" -- Alexander Zaprjagaev, CTO of Unigine Corp.
FAQ&A: Unigine™ Engine + DirectX® 11 Support
What DX11 features does Unigine engine make use of?
The Unigine™ engine has enthusiastically made the grade of incorporating the groundbreaking DirectX® 11 capabilities, including the following core features:
- Hardware tessellation
- DirectCompute 11
- Shader Model 5.0
Now it has become possible for the engine to deliver unprecedentedly detailed image, while maintaining extremely efficient performance.
What are the key technical advantages of DirectX 11?
The first to name is hardware tessellation, a scalable technology aimed for automatic subdivision of polygons into smaller and finer pieces, so that developers can gain a more detailed look of their games almost free of charge in terms of performance. With the well-designed DirectX 11 API and extensible architecture of the Unigine engine, support of this feature was added in less than a month.
Then there is DirectCompute, a crunch numbers technology designed to deal with tasks without a hitch. Some of Unigine’s post-processes (including glow, HDR and SSAO) have been migrated to DirectCompute with a pleasing gain in performance.
And, last but not least, the extended set of instructions in Shader Model 5.0 that leverages easy creation of complex shader effects for all Unigine-based projects. All of the six types of shaders are now supported: vertex, hull, domain, geometry, pixel and compute. SM 5.0 is positively a spring-board for strikingly realistic VFXs reinforcing the feeling of immersion.
What about the “Heaven” benchmark?
The Unigine-based “Heaven” benchmark excels at providing the following key features:
- Native support of OpenGL, DirectX 9, DirectX 10 and DirectX 11
- Comprehensive use of tessellation technology
- Advanced SSAO (screen-space ambient occlusion)
- Volumetric cumulonimbus clouds generated by a physically accurate algorithm
- Dynamic simulation of changing environment with high physical fidelity
- Interactive experience with fly/walk-through modes
- ATI Eyefinity support
The company has already made a name among the overclockers and gaming enthusiasts for uncovering the realm of true GPU capabilities with previously released “Sanctuary” and “Tropics” demos. Their benchmarking capabilities are coupled with striking visual integrity of the refined graphic art. And now the turn is for the next benchmark to be brought before the audience.
Where is the Unigine engine used?
Our engine is targeted to meet the many-sided project requirements; and has feature-rich functionality that allows it to be successfully used as a middleware in VR projects of different types:
- Serious games (education, healthcare, military)
- Software and hardware interactive simulators
- Architectural visualization
- Machinima movies production
as well as in modern games of different genres:
- FPS
- Action
- RPG
- Adventure
- MMORPG
The variety of both VR and entertainment applications proves flexibility of the technology.
What is so special about Unigine?
Unigine has the superb 3D render with all the hottest features included:
- Multiple API (DirectX 9 / DirectX 10 / DirectX 11 / OpenGL) support
- Advanced lighting algorithms (including usage of spherical harmonics and physically-correct light scattering)
- Extended set of post-processing effects
- Unique materials system with parameter hierarchy support
- Special effects of cinematic quality
- Support of Stereo 3D devices
In addition to this, the engine is rigged with a powerful module of physics simulation, object-oriented scripting system with a rich and well-documented library, fully capable GUI module (which can be used even for implementation of 3D interfaces), sound subsystem, and a comprehensive set of tools. Moreover, efficient content streaming allows creating almost limitless virtual worlds on its base.
Developers especially appreciate the clear and well-designed codebase, underlining that Unigine provides solid ground for their projects.
Who develops Unigine?
Unigine engine is developed by Unigine Corp., an international company focused on top-notch real-time 3D solutions. The development studio is located in Tomsk, Russia. Since the project started in 2004, it has attracted the attention of different companies and groups of independent developers, because Unigine is always on the cutting edge of real-time 3D visualization and physics simulation technologies. Our developers work closely with AMD to get the most of their hardware.