The two big PC gaming hardware giants have been scrapping once again, calling one another out for optimisation issues. Recently, Watch Dogs was reported to have been optimised by Nvidia and AMD said there was not enough time to optimise it themselves, leading to issues with the game launch.
AMD claimed Nvidia has been hiding source and Direct3D code from AMD and that their tight GameWorks integration on Watch Dogs and other titles has lead to poorly optimised video games for AMD hardware, forcing them to patch the drivers late and not fully understand new features and engines.
Nvidia has hit back in another Forbes article, revealing some of the inaccuracies in AMD’s Robert Hallock statements a few days ago on integration with GameWorks and how it is crippling performance on AMD products. Nvidia’s Director of Engineering Cem Cebenoyan responded with follow up to the claims.
Nvidia’s Follow Up Statements
The main chunk of the article consists of Nvidia’s Director of Engineering denying the company has any role in hiding source or any code to AMD, claiming this is all done through the developer and Nvidia and AMD don’t need to contact one another.
When working with a developer on GameWorks, Nvidia tries to be as helpful as possible, holding meetings, going on-site at the game developer studio and checking out multiple builds of the game to get a sense of the different effects needed.
Still, Nvidia makes the case that the GameWorks code is available for AMD to check and they don’t lock anything away behind a closed door. Most of the code is available on their website, through a contact form or from the partnered developer.
Competition Playing Nicely
AMD and Nvidia have always had a heated rivalry, being two of the most well known PC hardware suppliers and working on optimisation and features for games has made them bitter rivals, as they look to grab contacts with game developers.
Both have been on the receiving end of troubled ports and features not being readily accessible and while both AMD and Nvidia like to play the good guy who has to put up with the bad guy, both have their bitter ways of dealing with the other.
It is hard to get AMD and Nvidia to play nicely, considering they both offer packages and work with game developers to make the game as polished and optimised as possible before release.
Integration or More Functionality
The GameWorks suite offers a lot of effects, including TXAA, WaveWorks, FaceWorks, PhysX, HBAO+ and many more. For game developers on PC, this suite is a pretty good offer, it allows them to focus on the core game while Nvidia shows off fancy effects and features that can be implemented.
Game developers do have a choice between integration with all drivers and platforms, possibly losing Nvidia or AMD’s interest in a partnership or making the partnership work for more functionality, at the curse of having some unsupported hardware at launch.
