Granite SDK V2.0 Now Available, Reduces PS4, PC & Xbox One Memory Usage by 75% For Texture Streaming

Graphine's premier texture streaming solution gets even better.

[XiSasukeUchiha]

Nice, like a Boss go Sony, and Microsoft

[Eonjay]

I predict that this comment section will become a console flame war.

In all seriousness. Okay we know that texture streaming allows you to save on memory. And with PCs and the new consoles (save Wii U), you can install the resources to a HDD and stream from there which is much faster than disk.

The faster it is and the less memory it uses, you can allocate memory for other tasks. and increase frame-rates and an increase in texture quality and resolution.

[XiSasukeUchiha]

Let it be then i will be amused

[dcj0524]

Spot on.

[aCasualGamer]

I'm more of a casualgamer in the sense that i play hardcore games, but i don't understand specs and how they're built from a technical standpoint (atleast not aswell as some hardcore gamers). Can someone explain to me what this will do to games coming out for PS4/Xbox One in the coming year or two?

[AaronMK]

@aCasualGamer

http://en.wikipedia.org/wik...

Basically, this allows developers to create a single big texture, like that of a terrain, and instead of having to keep all that entire texture resident in memory, (or split the asset before shipping and write additional code) have an automated process that loads and unloads subsections of that texture as needed.

[mewhy32]

Already starting to see new software tech. This is a great time to be a gamer. I would really like to see this tech on the ps3 and 360 too.

[P0werVR]

They've stated "next-gen consoles", but if anything we all know who is full force with this technology and has the architectural designed specifically for this. I'd expect future titles with bigger worlds and and with so much details. Where Carmack failed with RAGE future titles will pick it up and run with it this time since there is actual hardware implementation...FINALLY!

Textures have ALWAYS been a developers nightmare to manage, simply because it used too much memory and took up too much space. Space and memory that would have been used for better gaming overall and make it truly next gen.

@mewhy32

Actually the 360 had a very limited "version" of it in it's eDRAM on the GPU.

[mikeslemonade]

They need update the contents of the store. They're just holding back the free games because they know everyone is using there month free trial still.

[Volkama]

And sure enough this is apparently the hottest article on N4G. A platform agnostic improvement to some middleware is fanboy warfare.

Can anyone even name any games or devs that use Granite SDK (without going to their website)?

[Smelly1sam]

This was not made by Sony or Microsoft

[Eonjay]

Its a tool that can be licensed for use in a game engine the same way Epic or Unity licences its engine to developers to use. It the

[SkullBlade169]

You don't say?

[brich233]

I guess the WII U was left out :(

Too Bad lol

[Mister_Dawg]

Awesome if this is true and can be used on consoles and pc.

[TheKayle1]

ookay better texture and 1080p for everyone
when this resolution shits will be gone i hope ppl will focus more on games and exclusives than other things

[NatureOfLogic]

You do realize that PS4 is still more powerful than Xbone due to hardware right? A shortcut for both don't reduce the difference in performance between the two. Plus we all know PS4 will have more "games" over Xbox One, and before you ask, yes I have seenTitanfall. I think It's extremely overhyped. I'm still giving it a try on my PC though.

[Sven Benoit]

Yeah and the original xbox was more powerful than the ps2. Again, how did that work out for Microsoft?

[C-H-E-F]

Yeah, I think these Xboxers are thinking somehow this gives the xbox one an advantage. In some mediums one would say yes because now they can finally conquer 1080p and ehh ehh yeah it look cute graphics. But the PS4 will now be able to knock on the door of the highest end medium range/ PC with ease. Instead of it being 3/4 years out it will happen in 1/2 (if devs start to use this asap). So in 3/4 years it'd be ridiculous.

[hellvaguy]

U do realize my gaming pc makes your ps4 hardware a joke right? And in 3-4 years with 4k resolution inpc gaming that gap is gunna be enormous. Theres more to gaming than pixel counting is my point here.

Having fun should top the list, not feeling the urge to constantly brag about pixel fairies.

[TheKayle1]

@nature ok war fanboy come back in ur cave

@chef from what i seen in KZ SF and Ryse..this gap need to be still showed by first party devs....still waiting naughty dog ..but if it end to be in the hand of naughty dog and ssm to show this differences well 2 devs are like the 5% of the games...so here we go

[GTgamer]

@sven
"Yeah and the original xbox was more powerful than the ps2. Again, how did that work out for Microsoft?"

You act like the PS2 and Xbox launched the same year :/ the Ps2 may have been weaker but it had all the games and a bigger install base so do you see the difference so stop with that BS argument.

[mhunterjr]

I read his comment, it didn't mention anything about the xb1 reducing the distance between it and the ps4... He just expressed excitement that games will now be judged by something other than raw graphical performance numbers that mean nothing without context.

[angelsx]

Hallvagay you must sale your house to play 4k games.Ha ha ha . . .

[360ICE]

You think it's extremely overhyped but are still giving a try on PC?

That's weird.

"I think Gears of War sucks, but I'll probably check it out on PC when it comes out five years later. See? I can have everything."

Anyway, Titanfall is extremely overhyped. It's beyond me how it got any Game of Show awards at E3. Definitely not gonna give it a try on anything. Cheers to anyone who feel differently about it.

[GadgetGooch]

Your the first person to start with the fanboy shit...why?? Jus fuck off and go stick ur tech up ur ass u steaming pile of nonce...

[AndrewLB]

Benchmark a MacPro running OSX (openGL) and then a PC running Windows with identical hardware specs (DirectX), and the PC will destroy the Mac.

The Operating System, its overhead, and graphics API has a great deal to do with performance. Sony doesn't create operating systems for a living, while Microsoft has been building them for x86 architecture systems for about 3 decades now.

[cocadaking]

@all above
You guys are a joke

[4Sh0w]

Nature, do you know how stupid you sound? Always talking about what ps4 will do, but what we know now is the less powerful, harder to dev for console has more AAA launch games, pushing more than Knack does at 1080p, and has the best graphics out now in Ryse. I could easily just assume micro will have better dev tools as a software company to get more performance out of X1 and given their deep pockets I could also assume they will continue to hire the best talent to keep more quality AAA games coming to their platform.

If past success always meant future success then Nintendo would be unstoppable right now, things change and you have no idea for sure who will deliver the best games this gen. There are studios like PD with GT and Lionhead with Fable that have lost some quality lately, will they turn it around this gen or will their IP return to greatness, will their be a surprise new studio to capture the magic that brings a great new highly rated IP, will some other once great studio fade a bit, how about delays, folks leaving, etc, etc see we all can assume based off last gen but EVERY GEN BRINGS SURPRISE CHANGES and new found success. Plus if all you truly care about is specs you should buy a pc, I care more for playing some games that offer more in the package or the type of games I want to play or fun at 720p vs a boring 1080p game.

[M1ST4K3]

@AndrewLB where did you learn that? Why do people "speak" without knowing technology... By reading your words I can tell you know NOTHING of OSs and Graphic APIs...

The difference you talk about is in GPU drivers (made by GPU developers, not M$), not the API... Test a game on Windows that allows both Directx (Windows native) and OpenGL (OSX native)... If the game is done right, both the solutions look alike AND perform alike. Directx is a bit more approachable (read, easy to develop) but in the end, both APIs allow for the same kind of stuff... OpenGL even had some features before Directx (Tesselation, etc...)

The difference between Windows and OSX is that Nvidia / AMD release 12+ driver builds per year, while Apple doesn't pretty much give a f*ck about that...

The thing is that Console development is a bit different from PC (even with x86 arch).. It's more low level (you can bypass certain Directx high level calls that are forced on a PC OS because of the security layers).

Actually, I think AMD is trying to allow something similiar in PC with Mantle, but we are yet to see the results (I personally think it's a BIG hype as it has to circumvent the security layer of the OS, thus using system calls for every low level call, etc...)

[miklo84]

@Sven Benoit, I'd say fairly well considering playstation already had an installed user base. Let's see, led to one of the biggest franchises of all time, maybe you've heard of Halo? How about the ability to be able to play multiplayer console games online. Wonder which company was able to make that "Live". Just saying. Fanboyism, incurable since ps1.

[malokevi]

I think he just means that processing power that is currently dedicated to streaming massive texture files can now be allocated to achieving 1080p without sacraficing quality.

Nobody said anything about Xbox One suddenly having better hardware than PS4.

NOL, always so quick to throw up your defenses.

"Plus we all know PS4 will have more "games" over Xbox One"

...Plenty of games coming down the pipes for both consoles. Exclusives, multiplats... there is tons for everybody. So much so that I, and many people I know, refuse to miss out on great games by limiting ourselves to a single gaming console as we did in the previous generation.

Nobody is attacking you, or the PS4. Just relax.

[Nocando]

Sigh. Yes we know the PS4 is still more powerful, heres a cookie (pats head). Now you can go sleepies better.

[webeblazing]

how did his comment about lets just enjoy games and have fun, turn into hey ps fanboys lets $hit on the xbone?

[stiggs]

NatureOfLogic said "My toy is better than your toy. I'm FIVE".

[VENOMACR1227]

I can see why you have 1 bubble. Great use of it to show off your sony fanboyism. People like you who give Sony fans a bad name.

[1OddWorld]

@Sven Benoit

It is up to developers and certainly first party developers to showcase the consoles power. So Your argument failed because Microsoft failed in creating first party games that showed it was a beast and get people to run out and buy one. Microsoft fails at first party games.

Halo, Forza,Gears, Are the only first party games that I can even recall that is a problem Microsoft needs to rectify.

[NewZealander]

yes we all realize the ps4 is more powerful, its all we hear again and again and again on this site.

its all we heard at the beginning of last gen too when the gap between 360 and ps4 was even bigger...

and even with ps3's power it still got bum ports.

http://www.videogamer.com/p...

ghostbusters should have been top of the list, either way just because a console has the edge in power or specs don't mean its all roses and sunshine, there will be ups and downs for both consoles, and if you think everything on ps4 will be superior then your delusional.

[CEOSteveBallmer]

@ sven benoit and the xbone defence force. before you guys run your mouth, don't put MS in the same league as sony in terms of games. Orig xbox is powerful yes, but sony defeated them in the exclusives area and design of the console. don't forget PS2 came first so there is more time for MS to make orig xbox more powerful. but this time PS4 and xbone have launched on the same year. so what if you give sony a more powerful hardware to work with?? that even a less powerful PS2 and PSone they manage to pull it off? and in the PS3's case, xbox 360 has slightly powerful GPU but not a more powerful CPU. and yet sony manage to succeed with PS3. It's only a matter of time before the PS4 will become another PS2 in regards to games

[TheDrunkenJester]

Huh.. How can people disagree with this? It's true, I'm tired of people talking about specs,it's boring. I'm glad the launch is over with so we can focus on games instead of specs and what company is better. Both consoles have great titles coming for exclusives, and the 3rd party titles are looking great. Natureoflogic is one of the reasons I wanted to reply as well, calm down ddude

[Drekken]

Did you (Thekayle) Just make another account backing up what you said? You are a sad man.

[Drekken]

Banned from neogaf to come here with your BS? You are the absolute worst type of commenter.

Do you not understand you can have good games WHILE playing in 1080p? I don't think you do... For all of the people that own 1080p TVs, which is most: THEY WANT FULL HIGH DEFINITION.

You carry on here like you did at Neogaf, you won't last long. This place is Sonyland too. Just like any place with a brain.

[Nocando]

For real, piss off with that "any place with a brain" garbage. Makes me question whether you have one.

[TheKayle1]

ive been banned from neogaf for the same reason coz ppl like u have all this bubble on n4g...

as u called it this is sonyland ...

re read my post maybe one day you will understand what i was meaning...

ppl like this fight...ppl need it to feel themself better...

is so freakin sad

ps. if u think that the masses can scare a person with a strong idea of what the things are...well man...i think u will not stand a lots in your own life

i dont need neogaf to be with me

[Drekken]

Your meaning is your favorite console can't do 1080p, so why are people hung up on it. I get what you are saying.

I won't buy games based on graphics only. They need to be a good game. I don't understand you because a game can be innovative and have great graphics. I bet you played Ryse and loved it.

I'm not going to engage with a person that can't capitalize or use punctuation when typing.

[Dewitt]

Drekken you keep making comments like these I will make sure you are gone as well. People have every right to buy whatever console they want without being insulted. Also, SonyGAF did a mass banning before E3 to anyone who had anything positive to say about MS and used the excuse they were a viral employee. That site is an absolute joke and so are their insiders.

OT: This is exactly what I was talking about with optimizations making the performance gap shrink because the devs can only do so much with the tools provided. Launch titles were rushed several devs only had XB1 devkits for 6 months to make launch with their ports.

[Ol_G]

Wow personal attacks I don't know who you are but you better shut up your taking it too far

[Salooh]

Ps4 is stronger and easier to develop for and that's a fact. You can't change that. But i agree. We should focus on games right now since all the people knows the difference. Let them choose what they want them selfs. Sales shows people interests and that's the ps4 :P.

I choose ps4 because it have better history with exclusives and now it have better versions of multiplatform and it have playstation plus and i prefer dualshock 4 now over the xbox controller.

[JeffGUNZ]

PS4 is stronger? How much does it bench press?

[Salooh]

4 times more then X1

lol

[AaronMK]

"Ps4 is stronger and easier to develop for and that's a fact. You can't change that."

That is a pretty blanket statement.

The evolution of developer tools over the life of the platform can make a big difference in ease of development. Even if we were to take as a fact that the PS4 is easier to develop for today, that does not mean it will be true tomorrow.

I don't think even XBox One fans (well, those not in fan-boy mode) would dispute that the PS4 is overall more powerful based on published specs and performance comparisons of multi-platform titles, but just because it is the performance winner today does not mean it will be the performance winner of tomorrow.

In performance, the bottom line is not actual specs, it is what is actually utilized in practice. The evolution of developer tools (affecting ease of development) and of the graphics APIs (both platform specific APIs and more general ones such as OpenGL and DirectX) can play a big role in hardware utilization. The spec gap between the PS4 and XBox One is not big enough to prevent those, and other factors (which could include platform differences hidden behind NDAs developers must sign) from continually shifting the actual performance balance.

[Salooh]

It's like if you are talking about the ps3. Ps3 was stronger then the 360 but it was really hard and that's why developers made better versions on 360 but in the end of ps3 cycle we started to see ps3 as a lead platform such as GTAV.

Your talk apply to ps3. But it doesn't apply on X1/PS4 situation because X1 is weaker in specs so even if developers get over the hard development it's still weaker. And ps4 showed it's power from the start because it's easier to develop for then X1. PS4 dominate in almost every side. X1 will never be better then ps4 in sales/amount of big games/multiplatform versions/ps+.

I don't mind if MS proved me wrong because that way gamers get more good gaming experience :P . But that's reality from my side ..

[Ol_G]

I read this as "I have the better console shut up"
That's the attitude of Sony fanboys damn I miss Tue days when i was discussing the new sonic on the game gear and playing golden axe and super Mario those were the days no fanboy wars but gaming together with joy

[Agent_hitman]

Great, the texture streaming memory usage reduced to 75% that's a huge efficiency.. And it will benefit the next gen hardwares as far as longevity is concern.

[bornsinner]

awwww sheeeeet!!! combine that with 32mb esram to bring 6gb worth of textures with title resources !!! dx 11.2 ftw

[XtraTrstrL]

That's tiled resources, and it's just Microsoft's name for their implementation of the AMD APU's Graphics Core Next "Partially Resident Textures". It's a hardware implementation of what John Carmack first created with his mega-textures for his Rage game. PS4 already announced they had it implemented in their API long before DX 11.2 was announced. So, Microsoft is still playing catch-up, they don't have their own little amazing secret weapon here.

[DJMarty]

bornsinner - Esram is nothing to right home about, it wasn't used on 360 cos it was to small.

Esram has the same problem on X1, it's limited. It's complicated and can't make up for the X1 design flaws

[worldwidegaming]

drain on memory? Sounds like this would work better on low memory consoles rather than ones with 8GB of memory...

[XtraTrstrL]

It'll make any console better, despite the amount of ram, you can always use more ram. Now even more stuff can be loaded in at once, more characters running around with much better AI for each one, and much more of the level loaded in the background, making the open world streaming work much smoother. It just makes things better all around.

I really like that it reduces disk-file size by 67%. So a game like Killzone that takes up like 50GB, if 45GB of that is textures 'n stuff, it could possibly drop the texture data size down to 15-20GB, and the overall game to like 20-25GB if that's how it works.

[Zynga]

This is good then because games won't be as big as they were going now in Gb. Less install wait time and more space for our consoles.

[someoneagain]

8GB isn't a lot. First, 1.5GB is reserved for the PS4 and 3GB for XBO.

Second, that 6.5GB and 5GB respective remaining supports the roles of both RAM and VRAM. Let's suppose a 1:2 usage ratio for simplicity's sake; that's 2.2GB and 1.7GB left for their respective system.

Thirdly, even though the systems use eSRAM and GDDR3 for RAM purposes, it doesn't actually matter. The difference between 12.8GB/s and 17GB/s DDR3 in games at 1080p is insignificant. (See below for source)

Fourthly, 176GB/s for VRAM purposes isn't a lot. You can get put a 224GB/s graphics card in your existing desktop computer for $350, less than the cost of a PS4. (See below for source)

Fifthly, Mantle. The performance benefits of low-level API are coming to PC.

Sixthly, ~2GB for VRAM is good for 2013, but these things intend to be around for 5+ years. More would be better.

My point is that performance benefits of faster texture streaming are beneficial for all.

Source for RAM speed scaling: http://www.anandtech.com/sh... (Scroll down to the actual games)

Source for Geforce 770: http://www.nvidia.com/gtx-7...

[theXtReMe1]

Unfortunately, that's not where it ends for PCs. Then you have to upgrade your memory and your motherboard and CPU, etc. etc. etc. Your $350 soon turns into six or $700 and you're left with a machine that is just a little bit more powerful than the PS4 for double the cost.

That is the beauty of choosing console gaming over PC. You have one common denominator for developers to make the most of and exploit over the coming years and you don't have to jump through hoops to get your games to work. No driver issues, no installs, everything just works... And quickly.

I was a PC gamer for years and spent thousands trying to play the same games as consoles. Except, it seemed nothing ever just worked. There was always one issue or another and if I got lucky and one game actually did work... The next wouldnt and I would have to troubleshoot all over again... Or spend more money to upgrade.

I tire quickly of PC enthusiasts spreading their gospel in every CONSOLE thread, to prove their superiority and justify all of the money they spent getting there.

[someoneagain]

@ thextreme1

Except you don't have to upgrade, just like you don't have to upgrade your PS3 to the PS4 to play COD:G.

The difference is for PC users is that when multi-platform games stop supporting PS3/X360, PC users have the freedom to choose what level of fidelity. Don't want to upgrade? Turn down the graphical settings. Want to play at 1080p? A $250 will do it in 2013. $175 in 2014. $125 in 2015.

Another difference is that PC users are avoiding parity by upgrading, not to "keep up." It's optional. While PS4 fans are busy celebrating the 633K pixel lead 1080p has over 900p, PC users can play with 2M more pixels (1600p) or 6M more pixels (4K). The PS4 will never do these things.

"I tire quickly of PC enthusiasts spreading their gospel in every CONSOLE thread"

Look at the thread title.

"Granite SDK V2.0 Now Available, Reduces PS4, >>>>>>PC< <<<<< & Xbox One Memory Usage"

Whoops.

[ma1asiah]

@ someoneagain

Dude I'm assuming this line here:

"8GB isn't a lot. First, 1.5GB is reserved for the PS4 and 3GB for XBO."

You are referring to RAM reserved to run the Os for both systems. Since have you have not quite made this point clear and given that both systems have more RAM then that free for developers to use for games then I am pretty certain my first assumption is correct.

HOWEVER the PS4 does not have 1.5GB of RAM reserved for the Os X it has 3.5 GB with which 1 GB is what is termed Flexi RAM and can be utilised for either Os or games based on what ever the priority is at the time. The X1 uses a Hypervisor in much the same way.

[nosferatuzodd]

good now those gddr5 can really get a work out and kick it into overdrive cant wait to see some games 2years from now

[someoneagain]

2008 technology, here you come!

[IRetrouk]

You know not everyone can afford the latest and greatest pc hardware parts right? Why not say something constructive instead, or at least add something that actually relates to the article.

[someoneagain]

@ IRetrouk

If you can't afford the $109 GDDR5 Radeon HD 7770, you can't afford a $400 PS4.

[IRetrouk]

I didnt say i couldnt afford anything, there are people out there that cant afford to build a game rig, you say the graphics card is 100 odd dollars but what about the rest of the parts that is needed, build a pc that can outperform a ps4 or one for the same price.

[Shakengandulf]

So nintendo cant use this because they don't copy the game to the HDD?
Is that how it works?

[sAVAge_bEaST]

Most likely, though the article didn't say. Seems like a compression method for textures.

[BoneMagnus]

Sounds like a win for everyone!

[ShiftyLookingCow]

Why should I care about an engine I have never heard of?

[OsirisBlack]

Does this mean we will see significant improvement across the board? Pc,PS4 and XB1?

[jay2]

You still can't patch hardware, things will only get more clear and we'll see how much a camera affected hardware.

[annus]

Wow, this shows just how little the people on N4G know, yet still claim to know.

This is just some random companies SDK. This literally has NO EFFECT on companies that aren't using this. It's not some magical 75% gain in graphics, it's just an increase in a companies code.

And sure less memory usage is fine, but it's the GPU that is struggling to spit out 1080p/60FPS, the amount of RAM doesn't play as much of a role.

[kingPoS]

It's a win win for all the parties involved minus the platforms not mentioned (android i-os)

Cheers!

Gateway MT6706 2008

[8BitSoul]

Now that is what you'd call next gen technology! I hope this means that games in the coming years can finally focus more on reinventing game mechanics and gameplay, rather than getting stuck focusing on graphics (not that good graphics aren't nice, just saying)

[DanDan7]

Ok so what exactly does this mean for ps4 games & xbone?

[CrashJones]

/looks around to see if coast is clear

I think it means that it will be easier to make games for those systems, as well as the PC.

win for them and us.

[reddx11]

XBOX ONE IS USING THIS BETTER THAN PS4 IM NOT BE A FANBOY BUT DAM AMAZING FOR PS4 AND XBOX ONE
https://www.youtube.com/wat...

[ktorc]

..jingle bells ..!

[MadLad]

Where were you guys last generation?

[mechlord]

1. This early, memory consumption is okay. No one has struggled or downsized their specs due to memory.
2. How much memory does this SDK uses ? everyone is just talking about the increase in usage performance, but what is the base memory usage?
3. This wont matter much as pretty much anyone is creating their own engines from scratch or something alike.
4. Get over and out of each others e-penises and anuses. Can we be civil and not go there?

[BABY-JEDI]

Hi.. Have your Granite SDK V2.0 with a BIG Merry Christmas LoL
No complaints here
; D