Crystal Dynamics and AMD have created the first ever real-time hair rendering system called TressFX. Even video game characters have bad hair days.
Working with hair in any 3D video game has always been a difficult process. For years, developers have drawn thousands of tiny individual strands of computerized hair that each casts a different shadow and moves in its own way. Thanks to Crystal Dynamics, the company bringing us Tomb Raider, and AMD. We no longer have to worry about our main ladies hair being out of place.
Tomb Raider is the first huge game that is receiving the TressFX update and Lara Croft is the perfect character to try out the new hair styling kit. Crystal Dynamics and AMD say that TressFX not only gives them the opportunity to render hair on a higher level but it also allows them to advance the realism in PC gaming.
“AMD Graphics and Crystal Dynamics have partnered to revitalize one of video gaming’s most iconic characters, Lara Croft of the Tomb Raider franchise,” said Matt Skynner, corporate vice president and general manager, AMD Graphics. “Developers at AMD and Crystal Dynamics collaborated tirelessly to leverage the power of AMD Radeon™ to develop the world’s first real-time hair physics system in a PC game. TressFX Hair combines advanced lighting, per-strand physics, and collision detection to bring unprecedented realism to this final frontier of image quality in PC gaming.”
TressFX Hair is the first official game to feature the full hair rendering technology. The games physics system allows each strand of hair to act as it does in the real world. All the forces of nature that act upon Lara’s hair will force the strands to move realistically. Collision detection makes sure that her hair will no longer run through inanimate objects or her head while she is running around fighting enemies. When she has time to recover from a bout her hair will return to their original shape and fall back to her ponytail.
Gone are the days of wacky hair in gaming. No longer shall we endure the oddly drawn pixel hair that follows no specific pattern. Though, I will miss you. Technology has found a new product to keep our main characters hair looking good while they kick butt and save worlds.
