AMD, a famous semiconductor company, is hosting multiple sessions at the Game Developers Conference 2023, and one of them is focused on its FidelityFX SDK.
The session will discuss new and existing technologies available in the SDK, and there will also be a sneak peek of upcoming tech. FidelityFX is a collection of technologies designed to improve visual quality and framerates in games while maintaining high image quality. FidelityFX is well-known for its Super Resolution technology, which enables games to run at higher resolutions without additional hardware. Many games support this technology, which works on AMD-powered game consoles and non-Radeon hardware. In addition to Super Resolution, FidelityFX includes other technologies like Contrast Adaptive Sharpening, Combined Adaptive Compute Ambient Occlusion, Variable Rate Shading, Stochastic Screen Space Reflections, and ray-traced shadow Denoiser, which all work to enhance the visuals of games.
Many of these technologies are currently used by game developers, but Super Resolution has become more popular. This is likely because Super Resolution offers a significant performance boost without compromising image quality, making it a highly sought-after feature among gamers. However, AMD hopes to change this by unveiling its new FidelityFX SDK, consolidating all the great FidelityFX technologies available on GPUOpen into a sleek, easy-to-use SDK.
Jason Lacroix, the FidelityFX SDK lead, will be presenting at the Game Developers Conference 2023, discussing the architecture and features of the SDK, as well as demonstrating how to implement FidelityFX technology into game engines. Attendees will also get a sneak peek at upcoming FidelityFX technologies, which have created excitement in the gaming community. While AMD has not revealed this new technology, it is speculated that FidelityFX Super Resolution 3 (FSR 3) will be a significant focus. FSR 3 is expected to launch in the first half of 2023 and promises to offer double the performance of FSR 2, which was recently demonstrated in a demo using Unreal Engine 5 at the RDNA 3 launch event. The release of the FSR 2.2 plugin for Unreal Engine 5 further adds to the speculation surrounding the upcoming FidelityFX session at GDC 2023.
Although FidelityFX is commonly linked with AMD, it is crucial to acknowledge that the technology is not restricted to Radeon graphics cards and can be utilized with other hardware.
FidelityFX can also work with NVIDIA hardware, making it an attractive option for game developers who want to ensure their games run smoothly on AMD and NVIDIA GPUs. This cross-compatibility is a crucial selling point for FidelityFX and has helped it gain widespread adoption in the gaming industry.
The recent release of AMD’s FSR 2.2 plugin for Unreal Engine has brought some specific improvements.
Adding support for Unreal Engine 5.1 is a noteworthy upgrade as it permits developers to leverage the latest features and capabilities the Engine offers.
The FSR 2.2 plugin also includes general improvements to address the issue of ghosting, which can occur when rendering images with fast-moving objects. Ghosting occurs when the current frame is blended with a previous frame, resulting in artifacts that can be distracting and reduce the overall quality of the image. The FSR 2.2 plugin includes improvements that help to reduce ghosting, resulting in a more precise and detailed image.
The FSR 2.2 plugin brings notable enhancements to tackle ghosting issues in in-game rendering. Improved handling of ghosting for objects with World Position Offsets (WPO) is among the significant upgrades. This feature enables more objects with WPO to render velocity by default, which results in the enhanced visual quality of vibrant foliage. However, it’s essential to note that developers must configure their settings accordingly to leverage this enhancement. In addition, the FSR 2.2 plugin comes with a slightly altered process to address ghosting on animated materials.
This improvement can reduce ghosting on animated materials, resulting in smoother and more seamless animation. While the FSR 2.2 plugin brings several improvements, there still needs to be the word on the specific modes or how Fluid Motion Frame technology will work.
AMD is expected to reveal more information about these features at the upcoming GDC event, where they will showcase their FidelityFX software suite.