NVIDIA announced the arrival of a number of new tools for game developers to save time, integrate more easily NVIDIA RTX and simplify the creation of virtual worlds – these tools include NVIDIA Streamline, NVIDIA Kickstart RT, GeForce NOW Cloud Playtest, and more.
NVIDIA: here are the new tools dedicated to developers
At GDC 2022 NVIDIA unveiled Streamline, an open source and cross-IHV framework that aims to simplify the integration of multiple super-resolution technologies and other graphics effects into games and applications. With Streamline, developers can only code once and add multiple super-resolution technologies to their games.
This tool sits between the game and rendering API and abstracts the SDK-specific API calls into a framework Streamline easy to use. Instead of manually integrating each SDK, developers simply identify what resources are needed for the target Streamline plugins and then set where they want the plugins to run in the graphics pipeline.
The Streamline SDK is available starting today with support for NVIDIA Deep Learning Super Sampling (DLSS) e Deep Learning Anti-Aliasing (DLAA), with NVIDIA Image Scaling (NIS) support coming soon. Streamline supports DirectX 11 and DirectX 12. Vulkan support is currently in beta and available to developers.
The framework can be extended beyond super-resolution SDKs, with developers able to add NVIDIA Real-time Denoiser (NRD) to games via Streamline.
Kickstart RT
NVIDIA Kickstart RT is instead aimed at making it easier to add the ray-tracing in real time to games, producing extremely realistic reflections, shadows, ambient occlusion and global illumination.
Kickstart RT provides a convenient starting point for developers to quickly and easily include lighting realistic dynamics of complex scenes into their gaming systems in a much shorter time frame than traditional methods. It is also useful for developers who may find it difficult to update their engine to the DirectX12 API.
Please take a look at the Kickstart RT page on the NVIDIA developer website for more details on the subject.
GeForce NOW Cloud Playtest
A playtest is the process by which a game designer tests a new title for bugs and design flaws before releasing it to market. Developers need innovative ways to perform this vital part of game development, safely and securely. All this is possible with Cloud Playtest available on GeForce NOW Developer Platform.
With a network of over 30 data centers and 80 countries, GeForce NOW uses the power of the cloud to bring the GeForce PC gaming experience to any device. This extensive infrastructure provides a one-of-a-kind virtual game development platform.
With GeForce NOW Cloud Playtest, gamers destined to test the new title will be able to be anywhere in the world. Thanks to this tool, developers can upload a build to the cloud and schedule a playtest that players and other developers can manage directly from their system calendar.
During a playtest session, a user uses the GFN app to play games, while streaming with their camera and microphone. Watchers meanwhile watch the gameplay and webcam feeds from the cloud.