NVIDIA PhysX and Flow SDKs Now Fully Open Source
In a ruling that will thrill game devs and modders alike, NVIDIA just announced that their PhysX and Flow SDKs are now completely open source. That is – completely open source.
What "Fully Open Source" Really Implies
You might remember that the PhysX SDK itself went open source a while back. But the big news is that NVIDIA has now open-sourced the GPU simulation kernel source code. This is the heart of PhysX. It is the part that leverages the power of NVIDIA GPUs through CUDA for simulating real-world physics. Along with this, they've also open-sourced the complete GPU compute shader implementation of Flow, their fluid simulation library.
In other words, everything is out in the open now. This is huge because it means that the entire PhysX ecosystem, along with how it uses NVIDIA's GPUs to accelerate, is now open for anyone to play with, learn from, and improve upon.
Why This is a Big Deal
For years, PhysX has been a household name for delivering those wow physics effects in games. But more recently, there have been whispers of trouble, specifically with NVIDIA's latest RTX 50 series GPUs struggling with certain older titles that make extensive use of PhysX. Some gamers even resorted to bizarre setups, like dedicating an older RTX 3050 card just to perform PhysX processing.
Now, in open-sourcing the GPU kernel, NVIDIA isn't just fixing a problem. They are handing over the keys to the community. This has several cool implications:
Modders to the Rescue
Remember the older games like Batman: Arkham Asylum and Mirror's Edge that were afflicted with PhysX issues on newer cards. Modders can now get into the source code and potentially create fixes themselves.
Greater Developer Insight
Game developers can now have a much greater understanding of the inner workings of PhysX, especially its GPU acceleration. This can lead to more efficient utilization of physics in future games.
Reviving Old Games with Remix and More
NVIDIA's own Remix project, aimed at remastering old games, has a lot to gain from this. Open-sourcing PhysX makes it easier to implement these old games to run flawlessly with new and future hardware.
Learning and Experimentation
For physics simulation and computer graphics students and researchers, this is a gold mine. The PhysX GPU kernel is a fantastic example of state-of-the-art real-time simulation using CUDA and GPU programming.
The Future is Open
While it might have been ideal if NVIDIA had directly fixed the RTX 50 series PhysX issues themselves, this open-source release is arguably even better in the long run. It empowers the entire gaming community. We will be eagerly watching to see what modders and developers create with this newfound access to the full power of PhysX and Flow. This could be the start of a new chapter for physics in gaming.
