NURBs....?

[tony86]

so i'm reading oxm and see this: (in regards to Brute Force)

"Most of the geometry and buildings were created in maya using NURBs, a kind of curved surface quite unlike a polygon, and althogh the game is eventually turned into polys, the process of creating it with NURBs has a pleasingly organic effect on the final look and feel of the worlds."



i think this is great example of how the xbox gpu can really shine. i would think it's easier to clean up an, already smooth surface, than it would be to aa a sharp edge.

i don't know if this is possible on other platforms, but this seems really impressive to me.

i also think this could be a new start in the way games are made. of course, as a member of ms's 1st party stable, the deep pockets can't hurt development either.

either way, i'm excited to see this technology and can't wait to see the progression over the next few years.


am i alone......?

[Snoopy7548]

yea, that will be really cool. maybe microsoft can patent that technology, lol

[GRAVEDIGGER]

LoL NURBS..lol

Anyways, its gonna be tyte to see how great the XBOX develops, and thanxfully XBA will be here to Cover it!


BTW, Welcome to XBA Forums tony86

lol...Nurbs.....


Untill next time...

[Master Gracey]

Originally posted by Snoopy7548
yea, that will be really cool. maybe microsoft can patent that technology, lol

Um... nope. That technology has been around for years.

NURBs stands for "Non-Uniform Rational B-spline". Comparing a NURBs object to an object made of pure polygons is like comparing raster graphics to vector graphics. We've all seen objects in video games that are made of polygons and we all know about polygon count. NURBs objects are created with lines instead of polygons so you end up with a smooth surface, and the mathematical processing time for a NURBs object is much smaller than with a polygonal one. And even though the NURBs objects get turned into polygonal ones anyway, the fact that they're made of lines gives the objects a more smooth, rounded look ("organic" as they say in the first post.)

So...

NURBs objects take less processing power and you get a perfectly smooth surface... something you can't get from a polygonal object without a huge polygon count. And since NURBs objects are made of lines, deformations come out much smoother because you don't get any ackward polygon "crunches".

And if any of you are thinking I'm a royal dork for even caring about this, you have to know that I double majored in film and computer animation... it was all part of the curriculum.

[dougi3000]

They should leave them as NURBS intead of changing them back into polys. Polys can really waste polygon power. Instead use NURBS and reserve your Polys for the game.

I know NURBS take a lot of computation for collision detection and such, but if NURBS are used in non interactive backgrounds and such, we can really make a game shine.

[tony86]

"I know NURBS take a lot of computation for collision detection and such, but if NURBS are used in non interactive backgrounds and such, we can really make a game shine."



but i think this is where the xgpu handles all the graphics, and the physics engine, collision detection, AI, etc are handled by the cpu.

i don't think it has to be limited to pre-rendered backgrounds as brute force is about to prove.

either way, this would be awesome for deformations of autos in racing. ever notice how all the damage tends to be jagged?

plus in-game character deformations. oh, yeeeeahhhh......

ah...maybe someday.

thanks for the welcome. good boards.


no, Master i didn't think you were a dork. just lifting my jaw off the floor.

thanks for the insight.

[Snoopy7548]

i cant wait until they start using 100% of the xbox full power, and capabilities (like the harddrive and everything). then the games will really look awesome and stuff. halo only uses like 45%, so imagine what 100% would look like