Nvidia has been in some deep waters recently; whether it was due to false advertisement regarding the GTX 970, or the backlash against the removal of overclocking support (that was recently added back in by a driver update), it seems that ol' green team has been taking a pretty decent brow-beating regarding PR. Fortunately, today brings some good news regarding Nvidia, and more specifically their PhysX libraries! Starting this month the source code for the PhysX SDK for all platforms is now viewable - with any Nvidia registered developer able to view the source code whenever they wish. Regarding the limitations to this new intiative, Nvidia states this on the relevant page on their developer website;
The PhysX software development kit (SDK) is already free on Windows platforms. We’re now extending this to include PhysX Clothing and PhysX Destruction, enabling game developers to easily create a more interactive gaming environment. Starting this month, PhysX SDK is now available free with full source code for Windows, Linux, OSx and Android on https://github.com/NVIDIAGameWorks/PhysX.In other words; in order to actually view the source code, you're going to have to register to become an Nvidia GameWorks developer, and then after that you can request an invite to the PhysX SDK's github page. Also, according to the same piece of text - the SDK's source was already viewable for Windows, and this change only affects developers that plan on developing for OS X, Linux, or Android. Furthermore; Epic Games is claiming that the implementation being open-sourced is only one version of the CPU implementation for the feature.How to access PhysX Source on GitHub:
- If you don't have an account on developer.nvidia.com or are not a registered member of the NVIDIA GameWorks developer program click on the following link to register: http://developer.nvidia.com/registered-developer-programs
- If you are logged in, accept the EULA and enter your GitHub username at the bottom of the form: http://developer.nvidia.com/content/apply-access-nvidia-physx-source-code
- You should receive an invitation within an hour
Regardless of the fine text; having the CPU implementation more transparent might help with developers optimizing said implementation in the future, meaning better running games for everyone.
Do you think more developers might support PhysX in their games, now that part of it is open-sourced?
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