最近在vLan上面鏖戰BF2142，著實被這個游戲深深地吸引住，所以就開始關注起BF系列的引擎起來，只知道Script部分是Python完成的。在國外的一個站點上發現了這個小小的訪談，翻譯給大家僅供了解。

Continuing our series of occasional interviews with game developers about current and upcoming hardware and game graphics engines, we chat with Marko Kylmamaa, senior graphics programmer for Digital Illusion' Canadian studio.

　　本期的采訪對象是來自DICE的高級圖像程序員Marko Kylmamaa先生。

??? FiringSquad: First, Intel and AMD are pushing dual core processors and within the next year four core processors are due to be released. How will DICE support this kind of tech in the Battlefield 2/2142 engine and will there be any need for special programming to fully support multi core CPUs in PCs?

　　提問：目前Intel與AMD力推雙核CPU，目前明年都準備推出４核心的CPU。DICE準備如何在BF2引擎中加入對這種技術的支持，如果這樣做需要什么特殊的編程技術么？

??? Marko Kylmamaa: While a program geared towards a single-core machine may run fine, with some exceptions, and perhaps even somewhat faster on a multi-core machine, in order to realize the real performance benefits a careful attention has to be paid into structuring the code for the correct granularity in mind, to make it suitable for multi-core execution. With the introduction of the next generation consoles and the PC hardware, the whole industry is in a learning phase for understanding the differences between the traditional multi-threading approaches, and multi-threading for multiple cores. DICE is working closely with hardware vendors in making sure that all of the future titles make the maximum use of the available multi-core architecture.

　　回答：本來單核心的機器就可以運行得很好，有些時候甚至要快于多核機器。其實問題主要是在多核心的處理比單核心復雜（類似于痛苦的多線程），需要正確的處理代碼的結構與處理同步。隨著下一代硬件的普及，整個領域開始學習多線程編程技術。DICE也在不斷和硬件廠商深入合作發揮多核架構的性能。

??? FiringSquad: The 64-bit CPU has taken longer to really appear in mainstream PCs than some people expected. Do you think 64-bit CPUs will become more popular and how does DICE support it in their Battlefield 2/2142 engine ?

　　提問：64位CPU的普及速度超過人們的預計到來得如此之快，您認為６４位cpu會流行起來么？DICE在BF2引擎中如何支持它呢？

??? Marko Kylmamaa: One of the problems with harnessing the full power of 64-bit CPU抯 is the lack of adoption of 64-bit operating systems. Due to this it抯 difficult for the game developers to make full use of the 64-bit execution potential without providing a separate set of executables compiled for the different operating systems. The current Battlefield 2 technology has been thoroughly tested on the 64-bit architecture for guaranteeing a solid performance, and optimizations have been made where possible with such architectures in mind.

　　回答：由于現在64bit操作系統對64位ＣＰＵ的支持不是非常好，所以還無法完全發揮６４位ＣＰＵ的性能。如果不分別的為不同平臺編寫程序就無法發揮６４位的性能，這是個難點。BF2已經在６４位平臺上經過測試與優化過。

??? FiringSquad: Game physics are getting more and more attention as well with more attention being put into destructible objects and better collisions. Where does DICE stand on this kind of support for its engine and what solution is best; having a dedicated card (AGEIA) using a graphics card (ATI/Havok) or using a CPU to handle it?

　　提問：游戲的物理特性越來越受到重視。DICE如何看待它？您認為哪種方案最好呢？是獨立的AGEIA物理卡，還是NV/Havok的圖形卡，還是用CPU處理？

??? Marko Kylmamaa: Especially with multiplayer games in mind, it is difficult to make use of scaleable physics, since especially from the gameplay perspective all of the players must experience the same end result in simulation regardless of their hardware. This leads to a lot of the scalability of the physics being used for visual effects such as richer particle effects or fluid simulation. The GPU can of course be used for offloading the physics simulation from the CPU, but this will compete with the remaining processing time for graphics. Therefore in most cases it is necessary to strike the right balance between the CPU and GPU usage with the needs of the particular game in mind. The next generation technology at DICE is being built on the bleeding edge and will make use of very comprehensive physical modeling.

　　回答：在多人游戲中使用物理特性是相當難做的，從玩家的視角來說，所有的交互角色必須體驗到相同的物理特性而不關系他們說使用的是何種硬件。已經使用的物理特性有比如流體模擬粒子系統等等。ＧＰＵ可以分擔一些ＣＰＵ的物理模擬計算工作，但是這樣就和圖形計算爭搶了寶貴的資源。雖然如此，我們依舊需要平衡ＣＰＵ和ＧＰＵ之間的負載。DICE將會充分的利用下一代技術為玩家構建最優秀的物理體驗。

??? FiringSquad: HDR lighting is also getting a lot of attention in more PC games. How does the Battlefield 2/2142 engine support those features and how will that help the graphics in games that use it?

　　提問：HDR光照效果也被越來越多的提及。BF2/2142引擎是如何支持這種特效，而且它將如何提升游戲畫面呢？

??? Marko Kylmamaa: HDR lighting can add significantly to the perceived realism in the modern graphics engines. It is becoming an increasingly common feature as the new hardware supports full floating point surfaces and has the required processing power for supporting a multitude of such high end features.
??? Some aspects of the HDR lighting were simulated especially in the Battlefield 2?? Expansion Pack: Special Forces, for adding a degree of realism to the night-time look. The effect is fairly settle and was used mainly for fine tuning the overall look. Battlefield 2142 does not have night-time levels, so the same technology was not applicable to it, however there are a great number of special lighting effects for enhancing the desired futuristic look of the game.

　　回答：HDR光照可以作為現代圖形引擎的一個特性。在新硬件完全支持浮點計算的方式下，它可以提高畫面質量讓它看起來更真實，同時也需要相當的計算量。ｈｄｒ在ｂｆ２特別武力　中被使用，用于夜視效果。BF2142沒有夜市場景，所以也就沒有使用這種技術（應該是HDR），不過我們使用其他的光照效果提高畫面的真實感。

??? FiringSquad: More and more games are using extensive pixel and vertex shading for visual and art effects. How does the Battlefield 2/2142 engine support these features currently and how will pixel and vertex shaders be used in the future, particularly with Windows Vista and DirectX10 support?

　　提問：越來越過的游戲廣泛使用PS及VS技術提高畫面質量。BF2/2142的引擎如何支持這些特色，未來PS VS將被如何使用，特別是VISTA和DX10的來臨？

??? Marko Kylmamaa: The Battlefield 2 engine has been built on the DirectX9 architecture and is a fully shader based model. This allowed for a great flexibility during the development, and not supporting the older fixed function pipeline model allowed us to concentrate solely on the high end features. Battlefield 2142 is based on the improved Battlefield 2 technology and will be released later this year, so considering that the DirectX10 hardware won抰 be widely available just yet, it hasn抰 been beneficial to re-architect the engine into a DirectX10 based model for this release. This allowed the available time to be used for adding a number of new special effects and polishing the overall look of the existing engine.

　　回答：目前BF2引擎完全構建于DX9架構，這是個完全基于Shader的模型。這提高了開發的可伸縮性，擺脫了FF管線模型讓我們得以實現最高級的特效。BF2142基于改進的BF2引擎技術，不久將發布于世，所以考慮到DX10硬件不會那么快的普及，我們將引擎重新構建以適應DX10的模型。這樣我們就有時間在以后的日子里繼續加入新的效果，拓展現有的引擎。

??? FiringSquad: What other advanced hardware and graphical features do you think will be supported in upcoming Battlefield 2/2142 engine games and in future graphics engine?

　　提問：您認為BF2/2142引擎將會支持哪些高級的硬件及其圖形技術，未來的引擎呢？

??? Marko Kylmamaa: Battlefield 2142 will support a large range of high end special effects geared towards creating the desired futuristic look. These involve for example new atmospheric effects for creating a unique look that is quite different from Battlefield 2.

　　回答：BF2142支持許多特效用來構建絢麗真實的圖像。比如，球體光照技術（Atomospheric Effect）技術就和BF2中的不同。

??? FiringSquad: Finally, Mark Rein from Epic has said that Intel is hurting the PC gaming industry through its use of intergrated graphics in PCs. Is this a real threat and if so what can be done about this from the game developer's side?

　　提問：最后，Epic（不要告訴我不知道，即將發布的UT2007）的Mark Rein說，Intel正在通過集成圖形硬件損害PC游戲工業。從游戲開發者的角度來說您如何看待這個問題？

??? Marko Kylmamaa: Intel produces what you could call the ultra-low end graphics cards for a market segment that typically doesn抰 wish to invest the money into a higher end, gaming geared hardware. Clearly there is a demand for this type of hardware as Intel抯 graphics cards boast a large user base. However, this does impose challenges for the games industry in our attempts at reaching especially for the casual gamer market. Hardware requirements for the next generation games keep growing faster than what is needed for running general applications, which increases the rift between the casual and hardcore hardware markets. I believe that we as an industry will also have to recognize the different requirements these markets impose.
??? From the perspective of a developer, it can be difficult or in some cases practically impossible to make the high-end game run on the ultra-low end hardware. Supporting such scalability range in performance could be prohibitive with the required development time and cost in mind. It is ultimately up to each developer to find the correct range of hardware which allows for the desired market penetration.

　　回答：買Intel的顯卡的人，就是那些你稱之為買低端貨的那些人，他們其實都不會花錢構建一個游戲平臺。雖然事實如此，由于這個原因的影響，我們還是不太容易開拓這樣的一個市場。游戲對硬件的需求總是要遠高于商用軟件，其實這也擴大了硬件市場的層次差距。我相信整個工業會對看清楚這個問題。從一個游戲開發者的角度來說，讓高端游戲運行在低端平臺上著實困難。因為要支持這些性能不一的硬件需要提高開發的時間和花費。更本上還是要開發者根據他們所要開發的市場這一角度進行硬件的平臺的選擇。