Press Release
- Archives 2000
ATI's Radeon® family of products delivers the most comprehensive support for the advanced graphics features of DirectX 8.0™
DirectX
8.0 delivers next level of realism for games slated to be
released over the next 6 months
Owners of the Radeon family of graphics cards will be able
to upgrade their drivers to take advantage of the amazing
features of DirectX 8.0
November
9, 2000
Toronto, Ontario, Canada - ATI Technologies Inc. (TSE: ATY, NASDAQ: ATYT) today announced that its Radeon® family of products offers the most comprehensive support for the new 3D graphics features of DirectX 8.0. DirectX 8.0 is Microsoft's latest set of APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) that provide developers with improved access to the advanced features of high-performance hardware, including 3D graphics accelerators. The latest version of DirectX introduces support for a host of advanced graphical techniques, including volume textures, pixel & vertex shaders, higher order surfaces, and more.
The Charisma Engine™ and Pixel Tapestry™ technologies found in ATI's Radeon graphics processors were designed from the ground up with DirectX 8.0 features in mind.
ATI's upcoming DirectX 8.0 display drivers will unleash the full potential of these revolutionary technologies. Some of the new features being enabled through DirectX 8.0 and found only on Radeon include:
- 3D Volume Textures - allow complex lighting effects, realistic fog and clouds, and deformable environments
- Advanced multitexturing (up to 3 textures in a single pass) - permit greater detail and enhanced realism for objects and surfaces
- Keyframe Interpolation - enables advanced character animations, morphing, life-like facial expressions and lip-synching
- 4-matrix Skinning - allows 3D characters that bend and flex naturally
"We placed a strong emphasis on DirectX 8.0 features very early on in the Radeon design process," said Jewelle Schiedel-Webb, Director of Desktop Product Marketing at ATI Technologies Inc. "The result is that ATI's products are the first on the market to support these compelling new features, and they provide a great platform for developers to design the next generation of 3D games."
ATI has been working closely with the game developer community, providing them with the tools necessary to take advantage of the advanced features of DirectX 8.0. By utilizing Radeon, with its industry-leading feature set, developers have the freedom to take their games to the next level of realism.
"With the release of DirectX 8.0, Microsoft re-affirms Windows as the platform of innovation for gaming applications ," said Channing Verbeck, director of graphics and multimedia at Microsoft Corporation. "Working with graphics vendors such as ATI and leading game developers has allowed us to produce the most advanced DirectX API yet. DirectX 8.0 gives game developers direct access to advanced 3-D hardware technologies like volume texturing and keyframe interpolation, which will enable a more realistic gaming experience."
Top game titles utilize the incredible features of DirectX 8.0
The top titles expected to be released in 2001 will take advantage of the incredible features of DirectX 8.0. Having Radeon, with its advanced DirectX 8.0 feature set will help ensure that you can get the most out of these exciting new games.
Paul Sheppard: Technical Evaluation Manager External Development, Eidos Interactive
"ATI's Radeon allows our developers to create some cool morphing effects for more detailed animation thus enhancing the visual realism of our titles. It truly is the most complete DirectX 8.0 technology on the market."
John Heap: Chief Technology Officer, Rage Games
"ATI's Radeon technology has allowed Rage the first opportunity to test DirectX 8.0's impressive features. DirectX 8.0 will massively increase the creative scope available for our next line of titles by bringing the user that much closer to photo-realistic graphics."
Markus Maki: General Manager, Remedy Entertainment
"ATI's DirectX 8.0 technology allowed us to test cool new effects such as vertex shaders that we are planning to use in our Max Payne Engine. We look forward to supporting Radeon and future ATI products in order to help us create visually stunning games."
Mark Randel: President, Terminal Reality
"ATI's Radeon technology will more than keep up with our next wave of DirectX 8.0 ready titles. Its 3D texturing capabilities will deliver truly stunning lighting and photo-realism in our upcoming DirectX 8.0 titles."
Fred Gill: Chief Technology Officer, Kaboom Studios (incorporating developers Silicon Dreams, Attention To Detail and Pivotal Games)
"Radeon has offered us the first glimpse of what DirectX 8.0 has to offer. We will fully support it and future ATI enhancements in new titles ranging from UEFA Champions League, Sydney 2000 and Dogs Of War to Lego Island 2 and Ducati World. DirectX 8.0 improves realism and gives developers much more creative flexibility."
Copyright 2000 ATI Technologies Inc. All rights reserved. ATI, Radeon, Charisma Engine and Pixel Tapestry are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of ATI Technologies Inc. All other products are trademarks and / or registered trademarks of their respective owners. Features, pricing, availability and specifications are subject to change without notice.
Corporate Profile
ATI Technologies Inc., the world's largest
supplier of 3D graphics and multimedia technology, designs,
manufactures and markets innovative and award-winning multimedia
solutions and graphics components for the personal computer,
set-top box and consumer electronics appliance markets. An
ISO 9002 company, ATI is the world's leading supplier of video
and 2D/3D graphics accelerators to OEM and retail customers.
Founded in 1985, ATI employs more than 1,700 people at headquarters
in Thornhill, Ontario, and in offices in the United States,
Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Barbados, Malaysia,
Japan and Hong Kong. ATI is a public company whose shares
trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange and NASDAQ.
Contact Information
For other ATI news releases visit our web site
at www.ati.com
