When Microsoft showcased the so called power of the cloud at the recent Microsoft Build event, many were taken aback by the potential of this technology. After all Microsoft has claimed that the cloud could make the Xbox One 32 times more powerful than it already is. But is that really the case? GamingBolt spoke to Persistant Studios’ CEO Camille Mirey to find out.
Persistant are working on PopcornFX, a middleware tool that focuses on 3D real time particles in video games. The middleware is being used AAA titles like Black Desert and is currently available for PC, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One and PS3. PopcornFX is mostly dependent on the CPU for compute power and since the cloud promises more compute power, this should ideally enhance particle effects. But Camille believes that the technology is still a few good years away to realize its full potential.
“This question is a bit hard to answer! Probably in the future, if connections really allow for computation offloading to servers or if full streaming becomes a widespread solution (unlikely in the upcoming years due to latency of current infrastructures). Even with ever-increasing compute power, our challenge is to get the best of any hardware with tailored optimizations!,” Camille explained to GamingBolt.
Given that Microsoft has been pushing the cloud on the Xbox One for some time, it’s high time that they show us a practical demonstration of the power of cloud running in real time on the Xbox One. May be the upcoming E3 will have some answers.
This is just a snippet of our interview with Persistant Studios and we will have more in the coming days.
