Square Enix today announced “WITCH CHAPTER 0 [cry],” a real-time tech demo that utilizes DirectX 12, a Windows10 based new generation API, at the Microsoft Build Developer Conference.
Square Enix conducted extensive research on real-time CG technology utilizing DirectX 12 in collaboration with Microsoft and NVIDIA. As the press release reads, the results of this research will be incorporated into Square Enix’s LUMINOUS STUDIO engine, and is intended for use in future game development.
WITCH CHAPTER 0 [cry] has achieved some of the world’s highest-level quality of real-time CG. It portrays the human emotion of crying– one of the most difficult representations for existing real-time CG technology. The emotion is displayed in a level of quality which has never been seen before with a real-time CG animated character teemed with life.
WITCH CHAPTER 0 [cry] was created mainly by the developers of AGNI’S PHILOSOPHY – FINAL FANTASY REALTIME TECH DEMO, a tech demo for LUMINOUS STUDIO revealed in June 2012. Square Enix research enabled the real-time CG to feature even more refined graphics and improved processing capabilities in WITCH CHAPTER 0 [cry].
Hajime Tabata, head of the next-generation technology research project and Division Executive of Business Division II of Square Enix, said:
“Our team has always pursued cutting-edge pre-rendered and real-time CG. As a part of the technical development, we created this demo using world-class, real-time CG technology with generous support from leading-edge software and hardware providers – Microsoft’s Windows10/DirectX 12 and NVIDIA’s GeForce GTX. The efforts from this project will power future game development as well as FINAL FANTASY XV, currently a work in progress.”
Yosuke Matsuda, president and representative director of Square Enix, added:
“Square Enix is working on this next-generation research project as a showcase for our technology and creativity which will lead the future of Square Enix. The results will be used to further advance the quality and technical expertise of our games. We will continue to pursue this research on cutting-edge technologies including high-end real-time graphics using the innovative DirectX 12.”
Furthermore, this tech demo was made possible by using NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN X-4-way SLI PC. Yeap, you read that right. The monstrous rig that was used was equipped with 4 Titan X.
Steven Guggenheimer, corporate vice president and chief evangelist at Microsoft, also said:
“We’ve designed DirectX 12 to deliver industry-leading performance across the widest range of form factors and graphic cards. The work Square Enix is doing plays a valuable role in exhibiting the potential of DirectX 12 to enable even greater innovation and optimized game performance.”
Jen-Hsun Huang, president and CEO at NVIDIA, concluded:
“WITCH CHAPTER 0 [cry] features the most ambitious real-time, cinematic-quality graphics ever undertaken. Square Enix’s achievement is nothing short of breathtaking. I am delighted that their amazing team turned to the NVIDIA GAMEWORKS EFFECTS STUDIO to help bring WITCH CHAPTER 0 [cry] to life. This is a preview of the beauty and artistry of video games to come.”
Enjoy!
![WITCH CHAPTER 0 [cry] Luminous Engine demo](https://www.dsogaming.com/wp-content/plugins/wp-youtube-lyte/lyteCache.php?origThumbUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fi.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2FuP_l19eFqRQ%2F0.jpg)
John is the founder and Editor in Chief at DSOGaming. He is a PC gaming fan and highly supports the modding and indie communities. Before creating DSOGaming, John worked on numerous gaming websites. While he is a die-hard PC gamer, his gaming roots can be found on consoles. John loved – and still does – the 16-bit consoles, and considers SNES to be one of the best consoles. Still, the PC platform won him over consoles. That was mainly due to 3DFX and its iconic dedicated 3D accelerator graphics card, Voodoo 2. John has also written a higher degree thesis on the “The Evolution of PC graphics cards.”
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All I need is $4000 in graphics cards? Sign me up!
8K resolution justifies it
8k textures, not resolution
They don’t say resolution but 8K Textures… That’s insane. 63 Million polygons… Woah… 8K by 8K textures…
If you can get 1000 dollar titan performance with less than half of the money just 2 years later then this stuff isn’t that far in the future.
It’s 4k, scaled down to 1080p.
I remember this demo. Was amazing. If they achieved that quality on an 4 way sli is a very good sign. Pc gaming cannot be ignored anymore… sorry consoles. We are moving forward
Comeback in 5 generations please
Final Fantasy XV for PC confirmed?
Could be 🙂 . They are working with Nvidia
=O
fingers f’ing crossed !
If they are using nvidia cards and work with them then I would assume so. Consoles are AMD too.
since their aim is to keep JRPG gaming alive on consoles doubt they announce PC version anytime soon even if they are going to make it. then again their FF13 release on PC surprised me and publishers probably have the final word on that not the developers.
funny enough FF15 is far from being a JRPG as far as i seen.
Its nice, but pointless, as long as console hardware is weak as it is, we will not see this in games. Consoles can’t even handle 1080p/60 fps.
it’s pointless for consoles.. But not for PC’s dealing with DX12. For all we know FFXV on PC could very well use DX12. Kinda funny that it’s dealing with Nvidia and S/E I always thought S/E was only into making games under AMD’s Gaming Evolved program.
that’s not his point. as long as developers make games for console first then they won’t use PC’s power to it’s full potential. games like Star Citizen that do that are rare and most PC exclusives afraid to go that far since they want to cover as many customers as possible. just a simple DX12 ain’t gonna make miracles if developers don’t want to.
can’t blame publishers and developers though business-wise it is/was the right choice. it is cheaper and faster to go for lower graphics but personally i find a business atmosphere like this an opportunity. i mean a solid game with solid graphics can use the chance and shine among the lesser ones.
“as long as developers make games for console first then they won’t use PC’s power to it’s full potential. games like Star Citizen”
Sad thing is games like Star Citizen areless then 5% of the gaming community.
You won’t see it in consoles, that’s for sure.
“We made a really gorgeous next-gen CG that requires 4-way Titan SLI and we uploaded it on youtube” — GREAT —__—
It’s not CG… it’s all real time game engine.. And the four Titan’s are just for show… I bet that demo is only using two if it even has a SLI profile…
Uhhh … riiiight …………..
yeah if you watch the larger version of the video you will see the guy says it’s just for fun and digital storm sent them that machine… since they were showing it off two gpu’s before they showed it off later on the digital storm PC with four titan x cards..
The point of my comment was SE made a really high quality CG but they uploaded it on youtube which is shi* quality
Well it’s not what I would call a CG since it’s in real time and it’s all game engine. Besides not everything can be on gamersyde…
CG just means Computer Graphics. There is pre-rendered and in-engine CG (amongst other kinds, like CG paintings)
aaah yes it’s late I keep thinking CGI eh eh
It doesn’t have to be on gamersyde. They have their own website, don’t they ?
The compression and artifacting makes it more cinematic.
wow, 4 titans to run that? hardly looks better than what can be acheived today. graphics limitations have been met already.
I doubt it takes 4 titans to render that, unless the artists are totally inept or are simply going out of their way to render that extra 5% of fidelity.
Think of computer graphics like how a car needs horse power – it only takes 200 horse power to reach 150mph, but another 800hp to reach 200mph (due to wind resistance, essentially).
With this demo they could (should) use rendering tricks to optimize the image, but have instead cranked up the hair polygons and shadowing to ungodly amounts, and likely increased the fidelity of subsurface scattering and post-processing in order to render that final 5% of image quality any observer wouldn’t notice, anyway.
This is pretty impressive. Real time 8K by 8K textures.. Using 4 Titan X cards… That’s Nvidia for you they could of Got away with using 1 or 2 but Nvidia always has to have four in just to show off expensive rigs… Kinda like when Xbox1 demo’s were shown with four Titan’s eh eh
They’d sell more if they showed it running on a single one, not sure how you’re thinking there.
If you watch the longer ver of the video the guy says it can be ran off two gpu’s but just for fun he goes to the computer digital storm sent them with 4 titan X’s
It is good to see Square Enix Japan testing DX12.
I am worried that potato box and plebstation again gonna held back such innovation
“plebstation”. i loled
Where is FFXV PC?
8k textures wow !
But how they are planning to run that on Xbox or Playstation?
With playstation 8 maybe
Whatever console comes out in 15 years. Maybe.
Looks GCI like, I’m waiting for 😀
Do You remember difference Commodore c64 and AMIGA? Then new consoles like Nintendo 64 and Atari Jaguar CD? then VooDooo with Quake 2?
Now its time for shock us again -> Kudos for AMD/MS DX12_3/Khronos OGL Vulcan/nV
This is DL + Crysis 3
==========
Meh, this is just the first mod for fallout 4.
This is what i call PC graphic 🙂
What a downer tech demo. Could’ve gone with a no sound tech demo and it would still be all right.
1.) Make Tech Demo on High End PC
2.) Release Downgraded Console version
3.) Release further downgraded PC version
4.) ???????
5.) LESS PROFITS!
6.) Blame Piracy.
Am I right? 😉
DX12 intend to increase game performance by “not stressing” GPU. But why are they always use high end GPUs in every demo? I bet this demo wouldn’t stress a single Titan even in DX11. Why they are using 4 Titan just to run this demo?! How the f’ we would know how far DX12 will help a game performance by using mid or low end GPUs in real life gaming performance?!