Forum Staff

[DINAMO788]

who just wonderin, who are the head honcho's( not sure if i spelled it right but who runs/controls in this forum)

[PeanutButterMunky]

That's a good PS3-related question

Um, I don't know all of them. The only ones I've come to know so far are:

rebonuk
Morpheus
(and)
Blake

Other than that I have no idea...

[DINAMO788]

i didn't really see a real forum for this so i jsut posted it here, i'lll delete it after i nkow who

[PeanutButterMunky]

"General Chit-Chat" would have been the place for this topic

[Seb]

Mmm I agree. Topic Moved.

In addition, just to clarify the above names Munky described are the current active Forum staff.

However, you may have noticed the small size of the team and therefore I would just like to take this opportunity to mention that we are looking for new staff, in this case, a new Moderator to join the team.

If you want the Job, you need to demonstrate the following:

> A good understanding of the English language (Grammar, Spelling etc.)
> A good, but not necessarily extensive knowledge of the gaming industry.
> A mature and responsible attitude to all members of the forum.

It is also important that you post regularly if you want the Job.

These are just the guide lines that we are providing in case anyone is interested.

Remember, please don’t contact us about the Job. As the saying goes “don't call us, we'll call you”.

[PeanutButterMunky]

So, you're browing for a new Mod, eh? I hope you choose the right individual, Morpheus And you KEEP SPELLING MY NAME WRONG!! Not that I particularly care, as I have a rather strange name in the first place

[Seb]

Yes we are and sorry Munky.

[PeanutButterMunky]

No hard feelings, Morpheus =)

[Evolution]

No hard feelings, Morpheus =)

HAHA, Butt kisser.

Just Joking.

[Cody]

Damn, I have to have good grammer well I guess I am not getting the job

[Evolution]

Damn, I have to have good grammer well I guess I am not getting the job

Arent you forgetting your fullstops 'bloodywar'.

HEHE!!!

[FmanFORPS3]

i know a great person for the job *cough* me* cough* lol....ahhh, just forget this post

[knowitman]

I'm sorry, but that kinda seems immature to me which goes against requirement number 3. :P

[FmanFORPS3]

is that directed at me? if it is then my response is that i might aswell be immature once in a while.

if its not directed at me then i've got nothin to say...

[mgs_solidsnake911]

r they the creator of this forum's web ?

[Cody]

what do you mean by fullstops? I am so confused

[luxurys]

PS3Land.com Interviews Pixelux Entertainment
By: Justin Pinter

Pixelux Entertainment, founded in October 2003, and run by about 10 or so staffers is now providing one of the newest innovative technologies to gaming today.

Pixelux's mission is to help game developers with the high rising costs in next gen developments and provide them with a new unique real-time physical simulation technology called Digital Molecular Matter (DMM).

PS3Land.com has been keeping in constant contact lately with Pixelux and had a chance to interview Vik Sohal and get a few answers on what DMM will provide.

PS3Land: About how many staffers make up Pixelux?

Vik: Pixelux consists of 10 people and several consultants.

PS3Land: What would you include in Pixelux’s portfolio other
than DMM technology?

Vik: DMM is our main focus. We have products like the plug-in and run-time system built around DMM. We also consult and license our
technology.

PS3Land: Digital Molecular Matter or DMM, what features
separates it from anything else?

Vik: DMM is a true material physics system, it deals with
volumetrically deformable bodies with all the qualities that objects
would possess in the real world. Things like Poisson’s ratio,
Young’s modulus and Creep (among many others) are all utilized
within DMM to determine how a material will react to forces. If any
part of a DMM object is subjected to stress higher than its material
strength, it will break just as its real-life analog might.

The way DMM operates is in stark contrast with other game physics
systems which treat objects as completely solid, rigid unbreakable
bodies.

PS3Land: How long has Pixelux been working on DMM?

Vik: DMM has been in development for over 3 years.

PS3Land: Recently it seems you have licensed DMM exclusively to
LucasArts and are working the middleware technology into the upcoming Indiana Jones game for Xbox 360 and PS3. How is that all working out?

Vik: Our relationship with LucasArts is excellent. We have been
working closely with both the Star Wars and Indiana Jones teams to
integrate DMM into their games. I can say that the games that they
will be coming out with that utilize DMM technology will be like
nothing you have ever seen.

PS3Land: So does this mean that we will only see DMM technology
in LucasArts games, or, on your website, it says that you are part of PS3,
Xbox360, and PC middlewares and that all developers have access to some form of DMM?

Vik: Our exclusivity deal with LucasArts applies to their games being
released in 2007. The period of exclusivity will extend to October
2008. This exclusivity does not apply to games that utilize our DMM
plug-in product in Maya or Max to produce in-game “canned”
animations. I expect that you will see some games coming out next
year that will utilize our plug-in product to greatly augment the
degree of destructibility animations they can show.

PS3Land: Even though you guys probably answer this question every day, why should developers use DMM?

Vik: Because DMM will make their game environment come alive. With DMM, you can add a completely new level of realism and interactivity to a game while actually lowering the cost of production.

PS3Land: Why should developers switch from a known tool, such as Maya or Lightwave, to DMM?

Vik: There is no need to abandon known tools like Maya. DMM is
basically a powerful material physics simulation technology coupled
with a set of authoring tools. A plugin for Maya and Max will soon be
available that will allow you to utilize the powerful modeling tools
in those packages to create and adjust DMM objects interactively.

PS3Land: Certain developers report that the PlayStation 3 is getting
more and more costly to develop for. Will DMM significantly reduce
that cost?

Vik: We believe so. The biggest cost of making a game is asset
production, and it is our company’s mission is to utilize physical
simulation to automate production of art assets. Also, with all the
emphasis on interactively and destructibility in today’s games, the
costs would definitely be rising as developers would hire more
animators to create the required assets “by hand.”

PS3Land: Does Pixelux have any comments on the next-generation consoles? What's hot? What's not?

Vik: Both the PS3 and Xbox360 are extremely powerful systems,
however we have not seen anything that truly makes use of all that
power like we intend to. Our material physics system will not run on
anything less than a next-gen console like a PS3 or an Xbox360.

PS3Land: How is programming DMM for the PS3 working out? Any
difficulties?

Vik: No difficulties. Our team has worked with multiprocessing
architectures before and we expect that the PS3 will work extremely
well for DMM.

PS3Land: How does the PS3 differ from the Xbox360 in terms of
running DMM?

Vik: It is hard to say right now, as we don’t have both of them
running at the same degree of optimization. The Xbox360 version was
needed by LucasArts for their E3 demo, so work on it was accelerated.
We were very happy with the performance on that version, and there
are still plenty of optimizations to make. I expect that the PS3
version will run very well, especially as we begin using the SPUs and
GPU more.

PS3Land: What are some fun things that you can do with the DMM
technology in games…examples:

Vik: The big favorite has been throwing DMM soft-body characters into
wooden beams and watching the beams slowly splinter and crack as the
character’s weight bends the beam. Throwing things through brick
walls and wooden closet doors has also been lots of fun. I think that
the thing that gets people the most is the DMM forest, where we have
plants gently swaying and hitting other plants.

PS3Land: Any possibility on getting a new demo video or perhaps
some new screens with the DMM technology?

Vik: Definitely, we have some new screens we can send you of DMM in action. We are working on some new demos and will post videos of them soon.

PS3Land: Anything else you would like to add?

Vik: Once you play a game with DMM in it you will never want to play game without it!

[luxurys]

Thumb:


Feature Image:



Screenshots of DMM Provided by Pixelux w/explainations:

screenshot_1 - The test room before any fracture.
link: http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a177/ ... shot_1.jpg
screenshot_2 - A cannonball hitting a wooden beam
link: http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a177/ ... shot_2.jpg
screenshot_3 - The wooden beam splinters at the mortise joint, since
that is a weak part of the beam. The impulse also travels down the
beam to the other beam. Note that the point of impact of the
cannonball remains intact since the material properties of wood allow
it to flex and distribute the force.
link: http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a177/ ... shot_3.jpg
screenshot_4 - The crossbeam breaks and begins falling, while the
other beam behind also starts breaking
link: http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a177/ ... shot_4.jpg
screenshot_5 - The entire beam is falling now, having been broken at
both ends by the cannonball impact.
link: http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a177/ ... shot_5.jpg
screenshot_6 - The beam splinters and breaks as it falls, shattering
the glass shelf below.
link: http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a177/ ... shot_6.jpg
screenshot_15 - The test room after someone has gone to town with
some cannonballs!
link: http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a177/ ... hot_15.jpg
screenshot_23 - The wooden cabinet doors are in slots just like real
cabinet doors, when they are hit, the flex and break like real wooden
sheets. DMM can do glass, wood, and many other types of materials.
link: http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a177/ ... hot_23.jpg
screenshot_25 - A brick wall
link: http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a177/ ... hot_25.jpg
screenshot_26 - The brick wall breaks as a cannonball hits it
link: http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a177/ ... hot_26.jpg
screenshot_27 - More damage
link: http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a177/ ... hot_27.jpg
screenshot_30 - A view of the other room. DMM objects don't take
compute time when they are not being interacted with, so you can have
a whole room full of broken objects without incurring game overhead.
link: http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a177/ ... hot_30.jpg


VIDEO DEMOS:
Quicktime
Window Media Player

[ps3 Wanna be]

Could you make thumbs of those images?

(Sorry, it was all ready to go, but unfortunately Top Gear is on so I don't have time to make the thumbs myself lol!)

[luxurys]

yeah, here they are:

[ps3 Wanna be]

Excellent stuff Justin!

It's now live. I'm currently writing the html for the table of images. It's a bit complex, so bare with me.

[ps3 Wanna be]

Ok all done.

Remember to add a thank you at the bottom of future interviews. These guys have been particularly kind in answering so many questions.

[luxurys]

AWESOME!!!