Wind simulation

Introduction

Over the past decade, computer graphics has advanced to great levels of realism. Architects can preview their creations in a virtual walk-through. The images produced are stunning - not only are the buildings depicted, but so are landscaping ideas, people walking around and cars on the roads too. Game players can run around realistic detailed cities and other outdoor environments in games such as Unreal Tournament and Medal of Honour. The level of graphical detail in modern games allows players to become fully immersed in game play. However, with increases in the power of modern graphics cards, a lot of CPU is now available for tasks other than graphics.

The problem is that despite the detailed graphics, you can always tell that it is not real. Take a moment to think why this is so, think about your last walk down to the shops. What was going on around you? Compare it to your last mission in Medal of Honour.

Granted that your walk did not have the excitement of the "I could be shot any time now" factor but what it did have was nature. Did you hear the wind in Medal of Honour or Unreal? You probably would have; some game levels do have wind sounds to make the environment more realistic, but could you actually see the wind? You probably saw the wind during your trip to the shops without realising it though. If it were autumn then the wind would be blowing all the leaves fallen from trees into corners or scattering the leaves that a gardener had painstakingly piled up on his lawn. Gaming environments do not offer that level of realism. We propose here a particle system driven by wind currents arranged in a virtual environment suitable for real-time simulation to add an extra dimension to gaming environments.

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