Torc Interactive Unleashes Dreadnought, a 64-bit Proof-Point Powered by AMD64 Technology

Torc Interactive, following its collaboration with AMD, today released Dreadnought – a 64-bit technology demo utilising the Instinct Engine which is designed to showcase the power of AMD64 technology-based systems.

“At first glance Dreadnought would appear to be a graphics intensive game and therefore a slave to the video hardware running it. The fact is that Dreadnought demands just as much if not more out of the processor as video hardware”, said Dermot Gallagher, CTO of Torc Interactive. “Key performance-heavy components such as physics, animations, light and shadow determination all execute on the processor, and due to the detail of the Dreadnought environment provided by the Instinct Engine, require a powerful processor like the AMD Athlon™ 64 FX to enable playable frame rates.”

“Gamers know that the AMD Athlon 64 FX processor is specifically designed for high-performance games and demos like Dreadnought, which demonstrates the power of the AMD64 technology platform,” said Bob Brewer, corporate vice president, Desktop Division, AMD (NYSE:AMD). “The powerful and compelling Dreadnought demo highlights the fact that the AMD Athlon 64 FX processor continues to be a very smart investment for gamers who take their fun seriously.”

The world’s ultimate PC processor for 3D gaming, the AMD Athlon 64 FX processor, enables gamers to experience realistic physics, artificial intelligence (A.I.), character and world animations, and the advanced shadow and lighting determinations that take immersive gaming to the next level.

While Dreadnought can be played in both 32-bit and 64-bit modes, it is really in 64-bit enhanced mode that it comes into its own – taking advantage of the performance benefits of AMD64 technology by greatly extending the richness of game content and effects, including:

* uncompressed normal maps allowing for higher texture quality and greater detail
* significantly increased number of particle effects (e.g. more flames, steam, smoke, etc.)
* persistent decals (e.g. bullet holes stay on walls and don’t fade away over time as in 32-bit mode)
* post-processing effects (e.g. screen glows & specular blooms)
* more pixel shader instructions (the adrenaline vision mode is built upon and replaces the base lighting shader to produce the effect)

Torc Interactive’s Dreadnought demo allows gamers and enthusiasts to further evaluate 64-bit gaming through a series of structured benchmarks that demonstrates the capability of Torc Interactive’s Instinct Engine and AMD64 technology-based systems.

To download the demo visit: http://www.amd.com/dreadnought/

For more info visit http://www.torcinteractive.com

About Torc Interactive
Torc Interactive are a games and middleware developer situated in the north west of Ireland, and the developers of the forthcoming middleware suite – Instinct Engine. Their most recent title is Dreadnought – the world’s first native 64-bit game developed in conjunction with AMD

AMD, the AMD Arrow logo, AMD Athlon, and combinations thereof, are trademarks of Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.