This new OpenGL ES 2.0 benchmark has been designed and uses fixed off-screen rendering 720p resolution. It then scales the output to fit the display native resolution. Ice Storm is also equipped to stress GPU performance and uses a physics test to stress the CPU.

Ice Storm Extreme, on the other hand, puts the rendering resolution at 1080p and utilizes high quality textures and post processing effects. Currently, the OUYA ranks at #71 among Android devices for performance in Ice Storm Extreme.

3DMark is cross-platform, so it can also be used to test the capability of graphics in iOS and Windows/Windows RT devices as well (which are to be released soon). Pick up the app at the Google Play Store here.

However, it still looks good due to the amount of lighting and just random things you see on screen. Futuremark has created a lot of benchmarking tools for the PC and this demo could end up as one too. It’s not available for download now and this video just shows a fighting scene where two alien type things are attacking each other with sharp objects, and the bigger one winning.

The main thing to take from the video is the lighting effects and the general smoke and other bells and whistles that are enabled. As a game, this can’t do too well because it looks completely generic.

Tell us what you think in the comments section below.

“In the trade town of Scarport, buildings cling to canyon walls above canals of lava and provide shelter from the toxic volcanic atmosphere. Gaudy neon signs flicker as steam rises from the molten rivers running beneath the town. A trader walks along ledges carved from the volcanic rock, smoke swirling around her flowing cloak. Her robotic sentinels keep watch, but what dangers lie hidden in the shadows?”

Our 3DMark DirectX 11 tech demo brings this scene to life with intelligent tessellation and advanced volumetric lighting using real-time light scattering. The visible particles and clouds of smoke in the scene react to other objects using fluid dynamics simulation. Post processing, ambient occlusion and various lens effects complete the look. The music and audio design is by Pedro Macedo Camacho, who also created the soundtrack for 3DMark 11.

Tell us what you think in the comments section below.

In our recent interview with lkka Koho, 3DMark 11 Product Manager and Jaakko Haapasalo, Director of Futuremark Games Studio on their upcoming software engine, 3DMark 11, the studio said it though that “PC gaming is dying” is but an “absurd generalization.”

We asked Futurmark Studios what their take on the perceptions that Pc gaming was dying was as a studio whose work revolved around the PC. They said, ““PC gaming is dying” is one of those absurd generalizations that does not make any sense when applied to a platform as broad as the PC.”

“While it is fair to say that flagship core-gamer titles are in a slump right now due to the reasons we mentioned earlier, other parts of PC gaming are showing explosive growth,” they carried on. “The PC platform is huge in terms of install base, there are several genres that are specific to the platform, and the effects of new digital channels are just beginning to be felt. The PC is more flexible on pricing and distribution and more accommodating to innovative and experimental game types.”

They didn’t stop their. They went on- “The PC does a better job of closing the gap between players and developers and you could argue that it is better at fostering communities too. All those advantages and we haven’t even talked about MMOs, casual games, free-to-play and social network games.”

They agreed on the fact that piracy is a huge problem, but they also said that there are ways to counter it. “Piracy continues to be a huge problem, but digital distribution, web games and the idea of games as a service are helping to counter it.”

Check out the full interview here.

GB: So, just for those of our readers who might be unfamiliar with 3DMark, Exactly what would you say 3DMark 11 is, and how would you say does it affect gaming?

FM: 3DMark 11 is a type of program called a benchmark. It is the latest version in the 3DMark series we have been making for over 10 years. The purpose of a benchmark is to provide a set of performance tests that can be repeated with a high degree of accuracy on a wide range of computer hardware. In 3DMark 11 the tests focus on gaming performance by rendering complex game worlds in real-time and by calculating large amounts of physics interactions between game objects.

After running the tests 3DMark gives your system a score with larger numbers indicating better performance. By comparing your score to those from other users you can see how your PC compares or check for configuration problems. If you are planning to upgrade your PC comparing 3DMark scores between different systems is easier than trying to compare the technical specs of individual components. 3DMark.com has an online database containing over 35 million results that you can use for performance comparisons.

GB: Given the recent comments from premier PC developer Crytek that consoles are holding the PC back from achieving maximum performance, would you say that there is really any PC game today that is demanding enough graphically to actually warrant usage of all the intricacies that DirectX 11 brings to the table?

FM: This is a complex question as there are a number of ways of interpreting the comments made by Crytek CEO Cevat Yerli. The latest PCs are much more powerful than the consoles so it would be wrong to say that consoles have held the PC back from a technical standpoint.

Our view is that it is the Catch-22 situation in the market that is holding the PC back. The PC market isn’t big enough (compared to consoles) to justify the extra investment needed to take advantage of the latest hardware, but the market won’t grow unless there are enough titles to tempt gamers to drop Windows XP and DirectX 9. As long as publishers and developers feel that there is more money to be made on the current consoles than on DirectX 10 / 11 PCs then PC gaming will suffer.

It will take a brave developer and publisher to show that investing in a PC version that takes advantage of the latest hardware can be financially worthwhile. We tried it at the end of 2009 with Shattered Horizon, which was DirectX 10 only. Likewise for Just Cause 2 which released last March. It could be that a highly anticipated title like Battlefield 3, which uses an engine optimized for DirectX 11, will kick start growth in the high-end PC market and finally break the dreadful cycle of DX9 console ports the PC has been treated to in recent years.

GB: 3DMark 11 was recently delayed. Could you shed some light on the last minute decision to delay the launch of the product?

FM: A benchmark needs to deliver accurate and consistent results right from the start. With that goal in mind, even though we had announced a release date, we decided to take some extra time to fix a couple of difficult bugs rather than patching the benchmark immediately after launch.

GB:  As someone whose product is designed around PC gaming parameters, what is your take on the commonly held perception that PC gaming is dying?

FM: “PC gaming is dying” is one of those absurd generalizations that does not make any sense when applied to a platform as broad as the PC. While it is fair to say that flagship core-gamer titles are in a slump right now due to the reasons we mentioned earlier, other parts of PC gaming are showing explosive growth. The PC platform is huge in terms of install base, there are several genres that are specific to the platform, and the effects of new digital channels are just beginning to be felt. The PC is more flexible on pricing and distribution and more accommodating to innovative and experimental game types. The PC does a better job of closing the gap between players and developers and you could argue that it is better at fostering communities too. All those advantages and we haven’t even talked about MMOs, casual games, free-to-play and social network games. Piracy continues to be a huge problem, but digital distribution, web games and the idea of games as a service are helping to counter it.

GB:  Given the shift of development resources to the HD consoles, and the rise of social and flash gaming on the PC, do you believe that a viable number of graphically intensive games will continue to be released for the PC?

FM: This is a tough question without resorting to crystal ball gazing. In order for it to be viable to create graphically intensive games on the PC there needs to be a large enough market and the graphical improvements over the console versions needs to be significant enough to justify the extra cost.

In the near term, the install base is going to be there for high-end graphics and should be large enough for developers to justify investing in graphically intensive games. There is already a significant performance gap between PCs and consoles in terms of no-compromise high-definition resolutions of 1080p and up, hardware tessellation, advanced lighting and the use of multithreading and compute shaders. The gap is large enough that games designed for modern PCs will look obviously superior to the console version.

In the near term then, we do believe that graphically intensive games will continue to be released for the PC. Whether the PC will retain its role as the driver of GPU development beyond DirectX 11 is a bit less certain. Over the next few years we could see more focus on mobile graphics by the hardware manufacturers, for example, and this might divert resources away from the high-end desktop side.

GB:  Who would you say is your favorite PC developer? And which publisher do you think could do a better job of taking PC gaming seriously?

FM: We have lots of favourites, but Valve would have to be one of the first we mention. Half-Life and Half-Life 2 were formative experiences for a lot of us in the studio in terms of how we see the FPS genre, and Portal was pure inspiration. I think Valve have a design approach that really lets the gameplay shine.

Regarding publishers, they would not be acting responsibly if they didn’t go where the money is, so we see no point in naming names. When the piracy-resistant business and content models of the future have been hashed out, they’ll be back. In the meanwhile, a multitude of indie, semi-indie and niche games thrive, alongside with the occasional mega-hits.

GB: Futuremark itself has had a stint with PC game development, having developed the rather excellent Shattered Horizons. What is the future for games from the Futuremark Games Studio stable?

FM: Shattered Horizon was our first game which we released at the end of 2009. We’ve enjoyed listening to our community, finding out what people like and what they’d like to change. We made a number of big updates to the game last year and even now, we are working on an expansion that will add bots to the game. That update is in open beta testing right now.

For 2011 and beyond we will take what we have learned and create even better gaming experiences. No matter where that takes us, our focus as a studio is to find innovation in gameplay. Introducing zero gravity and complete freedom of movement to an FPS game is an example of that and our feeling is that there are plenty of other popular genres with real opportunities for change. We certainly hope we haven’t seen the last of the Shattered Horizon universe either.

GB:  This one is specifically for Mac gamers- but is there any chance of there being a special Mac edition of the 3DMark suite? One specifically configured for Mac APIs, I mean?

FM: There is no technical reason that would prevent a 3DMark for Mac though 3DMark has always been a benchmark for the DirectX API, whereas Macs use OpenGL. From a user perspective, however, it is much less common for Apple users to build their own systems or upgrade individual components and overclocking is almost unheard of. Without these variances, you don’t need a benchmark to tell you that the performance of your off-the-shelf Mac is the same as everyone else’s off-the-shelf Mac. It’s also worth noting that 3DMark is designed to measure gaming performance and, at least for now, gaming is not as popular on Mac as it is on PC.

GB:  The onset of OnLive threatens the existence of dedicated gaming PCs. Your thoughts about OnLive?

FM: Cloud gaming is obviously at a very early stage right now. With proper execution cloud gaming could seriously lower the barrier for entry into high-end gaming. It will not lower the amount of expensive entertainment gadgetry around our gaming sofas though. There will always a better monitor, better audio system or a better cloud-gaming-resolution-booster-lag-reducer to buy. The loss of control or ownership over parts of the platform and content may prove too much for some though. Time will tell: the beauty of all these new technologies is that none of them are going to make it harder to develop and distribute great games.

GB: Finally, when do you think can we look forward to the next ‘generation’ of PC gaming? One that will inevitably entail new graphics cards, new APIs, possibly a new OS, and a new version of 3D Mark as well…?

FM: Over the last 10 years new versions of 3DMark have always arrived shortly after the introduction of a new version of DirectX. In general though, we think the concept of generations is much more fluid with PCs than with consoles.

According to the Steam hardware survey, roughly 6 percent of gamers were running DirectX 11 in December and 56 percent were running DirectX 10. Even though the DirectX 11 number looks low, Windows 7 was being used by close to 50 percent of gamers. With those numbers in mind, what generation would you say we were in? Does it even matter?

Our view is that the technology for the “next generation” of PC gaming is already here. DirectX 11 hardware offers not only the performance but also the new features such as hardware tessellation, multi-threading and DirectCompute to make really impressive gaming graphics. One of the benefits of 3DMark 11 is that you can see those graphics today rather than having to wait for the games to catch up. To see for yourself, download 3DMark 11 for free from http://www.3dmark.com/

3dmark11_ss8

Check out the high definition video below.

Futuremark have announced that 3DMark 11, the latest version of the industry standard benchmark for real-time 3D graphics, will be released on November 30. 3DMark 11 Advanced Edition priced at $19.95 can be pre-ordered today from http://www.3dmark.com/. Futuremark has updated the 3DMark website to highlight the exclusive features in the Advanced Edition and has released a new pre-order preview trailer showing graphical improvements in the Deep Sea and High Temple scenes. A selection of new before and after screenshots demonstrate tessellation, volumetric lighting and other effects created with DirectX 11.
The new 3DMark 11 Pre-order Preview trailer shows off a number of improvements from the previously released work-in-progress tech demo videos. The Deep Sea scene now includes particle effects in the water as submersibles explore the sea bed and discover a sunken World War II submarine. In the High Temple scene the foliage is now animated and there are changes in the lighting conditions as the sun sets on the mysterious temple.
3DMARK 11 BASIC EDITION – Free, available from November 30

• Performance PC benchmark preset
• Audio visual demo, fixed at 720p
• Browse, search and compare results online
• Store one result online

3DMARK 11 ADVANCED EDITION – $19.95 – PRE-ORDER NOW

• Entry level PC benchmark preset
• Performance PC benchmark preset
• Extreme PC benchmark preset
• Custom benchmark settings
• Audio visual demo, custom resolutions
• Benchmark looping for stability testing
• Browse, search and compare results online
• Unlimited online results storage
• Hide results from public view
• Offline result management
• Advert-free online service

3DMark 11 will be released on November 30, 2010.

Shattered Horizon takes place 40 years in the future. A mining accident on the moon nearly destroys it sending tons of rock into earth’s orbit that becomes known as the Arc. Survivors of the accident as well as members of the International Space Station are trapped in the Arc and must fight surviving miners for survival as the miners attempt to take what they can from the wreckage. This interesting back-story is wasted by the fact that there is no single player and therefore, no way to experience it in a plot driven fashion. It is used simply to set up the multiplayer factions.

Just one of the excellently built multiplayer maps available.

Luckily the multiplayer is very good and once you jump in you’ll be too concerned with playing that to worry about a single player campaign. The game runs entirely on dedicated servers, all of which were lag free. Once you select your faction (the only difference between factions is color) you begin play. There are four maps in total with more to come through free downloadable content. The four maps are all very well designed to embrace the gameplay and look great and accommodate up to 32 players. Maps range from the Arc itself to the remains of the International Space Station, to mining facilities on chunks of the moon. Across these maps you can play one of three modes.

• Battle: Classic Conquest mode. Your team tries to capture points while preventing the other team from taking them back. The first team to control all three points wins.

• Assault: Classic Attack & Defend. One team tries to defend three points while the other team tries to take them over. Once the attacking team takes a point, the defending team cannot take it back.

• Skirmish: Classic Team Deathmatch. Teams compete for the most kills, the team with the most kills at the end of the game wins.

While all of these modes are familiar, Shattered Horizon’s gameplay makes them feel new again. All of the environments are entirely Zero-G. That’s right, no gravity. At first it may feel wired to have no solid ground under your feet, but after a game or two you’ll be accustomed to the games easy controls. It controls like most FPS games, however instead of jumping, space allows you to float higher while in stead of crouch, shift allows you to float lower and even land on surfaces. The ability to land on surfaces is especially useful when you want to set up ambushes around a control point. Matches are tons of fun and the gameplay serves to keep the game feeling different from all of the other FPS games out there and will keep people coming back for the unique experience.

Shattered Horizon looks fantastic.

The games only true flaw is the requirements. There is no DirectX 9 compatibility and therefore Windows XP. You’ll need a DX10 compatible card as well as either Windows Vista or Windows 7. The exchange is worth it as Shattered Horizon looks amazing. The lighting is fantastic and textures are spot on. It adds to the immersion of the experience bringing you that much closer to truly fighting in space. Just trust me when I say you’ll want to meet the suggested requirements. A card that meets the minimum will let you play the game, but it won’t guarantee a good experience. Lower end cards will be met with a lower frame-rate, which for obvious reasons is no good for First Person Shooters, and on a lesser note won’t be able to enjoy all of the graphical detail. If you must run it on an older card, do yourself a favor and make sure it’s one the developers recommend. Trust them; they know what they are talking about.

Shattered Horizon succeeds at bringing new life to a genre flooded with the same old shooters. It’s unique gameplay and amazing visuals make for an experience that will most definitely keep players coming back for more. At the price point of $20, many will see it as a steal and will be hard pressed to find a game of better quality and value. Everyone else, either unable or unwilling to upgrade their hardware, will be force to watch from the sideline.

This game was reviewed on the PC.