AMD's TressFX Hair gives game characters lovely locks
« Back to Article
Reading over the ruins of an old map, TressFX Hair allows every movement of Lara’s head to be reflected in thousands of strands of hair – all in real time
AMD worked closely with Tomb Raider developer Crystal Dynamics to implement TressFX in a playable game
With TressFX Hair, each one of Lara's thousands of individualized strands of hair are constantly changing with the windspeed
Stranded on a beach in driving rain, Lara’s hair hangs heavy and matted with TressFX Hair; the real-time physics calculations account for both moisture and wind
Realistically-rendered hair promised by AMD's TressFX technology will change the look of video game characters (such as Lara Croft) in coming years
Collision detection is performed to ensure that strands do not pass through one another, or other solid surfaces such as Lara’s head, clothing and body
Hair styles are simulated by gradually pulling the strands back towards their original shape after they have moved in response to an external force
Close-ups show the limitations of the technology, but it is still a major improvement over traditional methods
AMD's TressFX hair runs on DirectX 11
This before-and-after comparison demonstrates the impact TressFX will have on real-time graphics
Article Summary
The problems associated with rendering realistic hair has held video games back for years. When Nintendo first created the sprite for Mario in the original Donkey Kong, it gave him a hat because it was too difficult to animate his hair. When video games made the leap into the world of real-time 3D graphics, things didn't get much better. Today AMD is officially unveiling its solution, TressFX Hair, that will significantly improve the look of virtual hair beginning with the new Tomb Raider.
« Back to AMD's TressFX Hair gives game characters lovely locks
Other Images from this Gallery
Related Articles
-
Glasses made from human hair look to make a fashion statement
4th July, 2011
-
Air Hair: Virtual Reality haircut simulator
30th June, 2010
-
Green bleach is good for hair
29th March, 2009
-
Yale researchers discover source of signals that trigger hair growth
5th September, 2011
-
Researchers restore hearing in mammals by regenerating auditory hair cells
10th January, 2013
-
Dyson answers dog hair problem with the Groom tool
5th November, 2010
