3D graphics just got 3D-er.

As most gamers know, nothing in video games is really round. In order to make the game a manageable size, the 3D models in games are made up of polygons forming geometric shapes. This works great for straight objects, but the trade-off for faster loading speed is that all circles are about as round as a stop sign. The more polygons you include, the smaller the straight edges are and the closer you get to being truly round.

Unfortunately, nothing can ever be truly round in this system. The other option is a style called point-cloud data. This basically creates everything out of individual points rather than geometric shapes allowing the creation of any shape, kind of like really big atoms. The problem with this is that the strain on your poor desktop loading every individual point would probably make it crash, burst into flames, or become sentient just to get back at you for putting it through that ordeal. Looks like we’re out of luck in the round department. Unless…

BEHOLD! A proposed fix! Yes, Unlimited Detail. An interesting little program with a unique little idea. A combination of the SkyNet-creating point-cloud data and the already sentient Google, these people claim that by searching for and only loading the relevant points on screen, they can drastically cut down on the required processing power for points and actually make it a reasonable system. Should this system work as advertised, this could not only propel graphics into a whole new level, it could also allow for much larger worlds to keep their size without sacrificing detail. Imagine if World of Warcraft could run it’s cinematic graphics normally.

This:

Instead of this:

Definitely something to keep an eye on. A beautiful, realistic-looking, shimmering eye