NVidia updates development tools

NVidia has updated its suite of tools designed to aid in the process of developing visual effects and performance tuning.

FX Composer has been upgraded to version 2, adding wizards for quick shader generation, ShaderLibrary integration and support for the COLLADA open format and Microsoft’s XNA, amongst other improvements. It also bundles mental mill Artist Edition to provide a visual node-based interface for designing shaders.

“FX Composer 2 facilitates and simplifies ‘look development’ for my team as we explore next-generation rendering techniques,” said George Borshukov, a CG supervisor at Electronic Arts.

“The tool allows us to prototype complex rendering techniques with stunning results. Nothing else out there provides the capability, scriptability, and ease of use that FX Composer gives us.”

Also updated is NVidia’s performance toolset PerfKit 5, which adds support for DX10 and Vista and the ability to edit shaders on-the-fly.

“We used PerfHUD 5 extensively for optimising Unreal Tournament 3,” said Daniel Wright, engine programmer at Epic Games.

“The frame debugger quickly finds rendering issues and the frame profiler is an excellent tool for rapidly identifying performance problems. PerfHUD 5’s ability to interact with our engine in real-time allows us to have short iteration times which are crucial.”

Full details of the updates and the tools themselves are available at NVidia’s developer website.