3d Flames Fire Graphics Animation Programs: Sometimes a well-architected well-implemented particle system isn't enough when it comes to performance. If you are developing for the PC platforms, and your target is Intel Pentium III or Pentium 4 processors, look no further than the Streaming SIMD Extensions.

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by William Damon, technical marketing engineer, Software Solutions Group, Intel Corp.

Smoke, fire, water spray, dust, and more all have something in common. They all benefit from a good particle system. For the uninitiated, a particle system is essentially the management of a collection of nonstatic points in 3D space. In most common examples, each point, or particle, goes through an entire life cycle from "birth" through "death." Adjusting the parameters that affect a particle's life cycle allows the creation of various effects. The key ingredient of a particle system that makes the generated effects look so realistic is chaos; a bit of randomness in the behavioral modification of the particles. This paper dives into creating a particle system that takes full advantage of Intel® Architecture.

Sometimes a well-architected well-implemented particle system isn't enough when it comes to performance. Wouldn't it be nice if it were possible to design all the math and physics behind these brilliant effects in such a way that the processor could handle four times the workload? If you are developing for the PC platforms, and your target is Intel Pentium® III or Pentium 4 processors, look no further than the Streaming SIMD Extensions.

Streaming SIMD Extensions allow the operation of instructions on up to four pieces of data simultaneously with a single instruction; hence the acronym SIMD: Single Instruction Multiple Data. Arranging and organizing the data optimally allows for the maximum benefit from these instructions. Hundreds of applications exist for SSE. Here we focus on one that is near and dear to the game programmer's heart.

© 2004 Intel Corp.