BattleField 2142引擎图形程序员小访谈
最近在vLan上面鏖战BF2142，着实被这个游戏深深地吸引住，所以就开始关注起BF系列的引擎起来，只知道Script部分是Python完成的。在国外的一个站点上发现了这个小小的访谈，翻译给大家仅供了解。
Continuing our series of occasional interviews with game developers about current and upcoming hardware and game graphics engines, we chat with Marko Kylmamaa, senior graphics programmer for Digital Illusion' Canadian studio.
本期的采访对象是来自DICE的高级图像程序员Marko Kylmamaa先生。
FiringSquad: First, Intel and AMD are pushing dual core processors and within the next year four core processors are due to be released. How will DICE support this kind of tech in the Battlefield 2/2142 engine and will there be any need for special programming to fully support multi core CPUs in PCs?
提问：目前Intel与AMD力推双核CPU，目前明年都准备推出４核心的CPU。DICE准备如何在BF2引擎中加入对这种技术的支持，如果这样做需要什么特殊的编程技术么？
Marko Kylmamaa: While a program geared towards a single-core machine may run fine, with some exceptions, and perhaps even somewhat faster on a multi-core machine, in order to realize the real performance benefits a careful attention has to be paid into structuring the code for the correct granularity in mind, to make it suitable for multi-core execution. With the introduction of the next generation consoles and the PC hardware, the whole industry is in a learning phase for understanding the differences between the traditional multi-threading approaches, and multi-threading for multiple cores. DICE is working closely with hardware vendors in making sure that all of the future titles make the maximum use of the available multi-core architecture.
回答：本来单核心的机器就可以运行得很好，有些时候甚至要快于多核机器。其实问题主要是在多核心的处理比单核心复杂（类似于痛苦的多线程），需要正确的处理代码的结构与处理同步。随着下一代硬件的普及，整个领域开始学习多线程编程技术。DICE也在不断和硬件厂商深入合作发挥多核架构的性能。
FiringSquad: The 64-bit CPU has taken longer to really appear in mainstream PCs than some people expected. Do you think 64-bit CPUs will become more popular and how does DICE support it in their Battlefield 2/2142 engine ?
提问：64位CPU的普及速度超过人们的预计到来得如此之快，您认为６４位cpu会流行起来么？DICE在BF2引擎中如何支持它呢？
Marko Kylmamaa: One of the problems with harnessing the full power of 64-bit CPU抯 is the lack of adoption of 64-bit operating systems. Due to this it抯 difficult for the game developers to make full use of the 64-bit execution potential without providing a separate set of executables compiled for the different operating systems. The current Battlefield 2 technology has been thoroughly tested on the 64-bit architecture for guaranteeing a solid performance, and optimizations have been made where possible with such architectures in mind.
回答：由于现在64bit操作系统对64位ＣＰＵ的支持不是非常好，所以还无法完全发挥６４位ＣＰＵ的性能。如果不分别的为不同平台编写程序就无法发挥６４位的性能，这是个难点。BF2已经在６４位平台上经过测试与优化过。
FiringSquad: Game physics are getting more and more attention as well with more attention being put into destructible objects and better collisions. Where does DICE stand on this kind of support for its engine and what solution is best; having a dedicated card (AGEIA) using a graphics card (ATI/Havok) or using a CPU to handle it?
提问：游戏的物理特性越来越受到重视。DICE如何看待它？您认为哪种方案最好呢？是独立的AGEIA物理卡，还是NV/Havok的图形卡，还是用CPU处理？
Marko Kylmamaa: Especially with multiplayer games in mind, it is difficult to make use of scaleable physics, since especially from the gameplay perspective all of the players must experience the same end result in simulation regardless of their hardware. This leads to a lot of the scalability of the physics being used for visual effects such as richer particle effects or fluid simulation. The GPU can of course be used for offloading the physics simulation from the CPU, but this will compete with the remaining processing time for graphics. Therefore in most cases it is necessary to strike the right balance between the CPU and GPU usage with the needs of the particular game in mind. The next generation technology at DICE is being built on the bleeding edge and will make use of very comprehensive physical modeling.
回答：在多人游戏中使用物理特性是相当难做的，从玩家的视角来说，所有的交互角色必须体验到相同的物理特性而不关系他们说使用的是何种硬件。已经使用的物理特性有比如流体模拟粒子系统等等。ＧＰＵ可以分担一些ＣＰＵ的物理模拟计算工作，但是这样就和图形计算争抢了宝贵的资源。虽然如此，我们依旧需要平衡ＣＰＵ和ＧＰＵ之间的负载。DICE将会充分的利用下一代技术为玩家构建最优秀的物理体验。
FiringSquad: HDR lighting is also getting a lot of attention in more PC games. How does the Battlefield 2/2142 engine support those features and how will that help the graphics in games that use it?
提问：HDR光照效果也被越来越多的提及。BF2/2142引擎是如何支持这种特效，而且它将如何提升游戏画面呢？
Marko Kylmamaa: HDR lighting can add significantly to the perceived realism in the modern graphics engines. It is becoming an increasingly common feature as the new hardware supports full floating point surfaces and has the required processing power for supporting a multitude of such high end features.
Some aspects of the HDR lighting were simulated especially in the Battlefield 2 Expansion Pack: Special Forces, for adding a degree of realism to the night-time look. The effect is fairly settle and was used mainly for fine tuning the overall look. Battlefield 2142 does not have night-time levels, so the same technology was not applicable to it, however there are a great number of special lighting effects for enhancing the desired futuristic look of the game.
回答：HDR光照可以作为现代图形引擎的一个特性。在新硬件完全支持浮点计算的方式下，它可以提高画面质量让它看起来更真实，同时也需要相当的计算量。ｈｄｒ在ｂｆ２特别武力 中被使用，用于夜视效果。BF2142没有夜市场景，所以也就没有使用这种技术（应该是HDR），不过我们使用其他的光照效果提高画面的真实感。
FiringSquad: More and more games are using extensive pixel and vertex shading for visual and art effects. How does the Battlefield 2/2142 engine support these features currently and how will pixel and vertex shaders be used in the future, particularly with Windows Vista and DirectX10 support?
提问：越来越过的游戏广泛使用PS及VS技术提高画面质量。BF2/2142的引擎如何支持这些特色，未来PS VS将被如何使用，特别是VISTA和DX10的来临？
Marko Kylmamaa: The Battlefield 2 engine has been built on the DirectX9 architecture and is a fully shader based model. This allowed for a great flexibility during the development, and not supporting the older fixed function pipeline model allowed us to concentrate solely on the high end features. Battlefield 2142 is based on the improved Battlefield 2 technology and will be released later this year, so considering that the DirectX10 hardware won抰 be widely available just yet, it hasn抰 been beneficial to re-architect the engine into a DirectX10 based model for this release. This allowed the available time to be used for adding a number of new special effects and polishing the overall look of the existing engine.
回答：目前BF2引擎完全构建于DX9架构，这是个完全基于Shader的模型。这提高了开发的可伸缩性，摆脱了FF管线模型让我们得以实现最高级的特效。BF2142基于改进的BF2引擎技术，不久将发布于世，所以考虑到DX10硬件不会那么快的普及，我们将引擎重新构建以适应DX10的模型。这样我们就有时间在以后的日子里继续加入新的效果，拓展现有的引擎。
FiringSquad: What other advanced hardware and graphical features do you think will be supported in upcoming Battlefield 2/2142 engine games and in future graphics engine?
提问：您认为BF2/2142引擎将会支持哪些高级的硬件及其图形技术，未来的引擎呢？
Marko Kylmamaa: Battlefield 2142 will support a large range of high end special effects geared towards creating the desired futuristic look. These involve for example new atmospheric effects for creating a unique look that is quite different from Battlefield 2.
回答：BF2142支持许多特效用来构建绚丽真实的图像。比如，球体光照技术（Atomospheric Effect）技术就和BF2中的不同。
FiringSquad: Finally, Mark Rein from Epic has said that Intel is hurting the PC gaming industry through its use of intergrated graphics in PCs. Is this a real threat and if so what can be done about this from the game developer's side?
提问：最后，Epic（不要告诉我不知道，即将发布的UT2007）的Mark Rein说，Intel正在通过集成图形硬件损害PC游戏工业。从游戏开发者的角度来说您如何看待这个问题？
Marko Kylmamaa: Intel produces what you could call the ultra-low end graphics cards for a market segment that typically doesn抰 wish to invest the money into a higher end, gaming geared hardware. Clearly there is a demand for this type of hardware as Intel抯 graphics cards boast a large user base. However, this does impose challenges for the games industry in our attempts at reaching especially for the casual gamer market. Hardware requirements for the next generation games keep growing faster than what is needed for running general applications, which increases the rift between the casual and hardcore hardware markets. I believe that we as an industry will also have to recognize the different requirements these markets impose.
From the perspective of a developer, it can be difficult or in some cases practically impossible to make the high-end game run on the ultra-low end hardware. Supporting such scalability range in performance could be prohibitive with the required development time and cost in mind. It is ultimately up to each developer to find the correct range of hardware which allows for the desired market penetration.
回答：买Intel的显卡的人，就是那些你称之为买低端货的那些人，他们其实都不会花钱构建一个游戏平台。虽然事实如此，由于这个原因的影响，我们还是不太容易开拓这样的一个市场。游戏对硬件的需求总是要远高于商用软件，其实这也扩大了硬件市场的层次差距。我相信整个工业会对看清楚这个问题。从一个游戏开发者的角度来说，让高端游戏运行在低端平台上着实困难。因为要支持这些性能不一的硬件需要提高开发的时间和花费。更本上还是要开发者根据他们所要开发的市场这一角度进行硬件的平台的选择。
