Neutron Engine

Some people (myself included) did not know that it’s possible to use DirectX 11 on DirectX 10 hardware. Looks like Microsoft finally got something right Anyway, after making this discovery it was quite tempting to test those new features so here we are - Neutron engine now runs on DirectX 11 API! The transition from DirectX 10 to DirectX 11 was quite easy, again I have to praise Microsoft for not changing the API completely. The only downside is lack of debugging tools for new API, NVidia has none and Microsoft’s Pix has very limited functionality. Despite this ‘little’ obstacle the upgrade was successful and now we have the new and improved ocean rendering using compute shader. The new approach provides better control over wave amplitude, choppiness, wind influence etc. Transition from deep to shallow water is now based on water depth so it gives more realistic look. Finally, here is a short video showing new ocean at sunrise with some volumetric clouds in distance.