Funcom recently made some major updates to its Dreamworld engine for its MMOG, Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures. The new updates allow for more graphically impressive elements to be displayed while playing the game and according to today's press release, Funcom's Dreamworld 2.5 engine is now the first game to make use of Nvidia's server-side PhysX technology.

The new updates have more than doubled the speed of in-game physics processing, allowing for realistic collision effects and massive improvements to performance. Check out the official press release after the break.

‘Age of Conan’ first game to incorporate server-side NVIDIA PhysX technology

- Funcom’s proprietary ‘Dreamworld’ engine first to feature server-side NVIDIA PhysX – - Fully rewritten render engine provides major performance improvements on high-end computers, as well as enabling more visual features on lower-end machines -

Durham, USA – March 30th, 2011 – Funcom and NVIDIA have announced that Funcom’s proprietary Dreamworld 2.5, a leading game engine for massively multiplayer online games (MMOs), is the first game to incorporate server-side NVIDIA® PhysX®. This unique implementation into the Dreamworld engine  results in more than a doubling in the speed-of in-game physics processing vs. traditional client-side PhysX technology, delivering realistic collision effects within the online gaming environments. 

Dreamworld currently powers two of the world's most popular massively multiplayer online games: ‘Age of Conan’ and ‘Anarchy Online’, with a third, ‘The Secret World’, currently in development. The updated Dreamworld Engine 2.5 with server-side PhysX is now live in ‘Age of Conan’.

"We are excited to be working closely with NVIDIA to integrate PhysX technology into our Dreamworld 2.5 engine," said Rui Casais, Chief Technology Officer at Funcom. "Server-side collision using PhysX will allow us to add a new level of realism to our online worlds, and we look forward to implementing other enhancements as well, including NVIDIA APEX clothing and destruction, to make our games even more interactive and immersive."

"We are also proud to have launched  a fully rewritten render engine for ‘Age of Conan’, yielding major performance increase on high-end systems and enabling several new visual features for lower end machines”, said Casias. “We have been collaborating closely with NVIDIA in continuously improving the quality of the Dreamworld Render engine, resulting in fully new effects such as shader-based anti-aliasing techniques now being implemented in ‘Age of Conan’. The launch of the new engine is a major milestone towards the high requirements for visual performance in virtual adventures required for ‘The Secret World’."

For more information on NVIDIA PhysX and APEX technologies, please visit www.nvidia.com/physx.

For more information about Age of Conan, visit www.ageofconan.com.

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ABOUT FUNCOM - Funcom is an independent developer and publisher of online games for PC and consoles. Funcom has provided outstanding entertainment since 1993 and continues to expand its track-record of more than twenty released games. Recent titles include ‘Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures’, ‘The Longest Journey', 'Anarchy Online' and 'Dreamfall: The Longest Journey'. For corporate information please visit www.funcom.com. For information about Funcom games visit www.anarchy-online.com www.dreamfall.com, www.darkdaysarecoming.com or www.ageofconan.com. Funcom is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange under the ticker FUNCOM.

About NVIDIA - NVIDIA (NASDAQ: NVDA) awakened the world to the power of computer graphics when it invented the GPU in 1999. Since then, it has consistently set new standards in visual computing with breathtaking, interactive graphics available on devices ranging from tablets and portable media players to notebooks and workstations. NVIDIA's expertise in programmable GPUs has led to breakthroughs in parallel processing which make supercomputing inexpensive and widely accessible. The Company holds more than 1,800 patents worldwide, including ones covering designs and insights that are essential to modern computing. For more information, see www.nvidia.com.

Certain statements in this press release including, but not limited to statements as to: the benefits, features and impact of NVIDIA PhysX technologies and APEX technologies and the effects of the company's patents on modern computing are forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause results to be materially different than expectations. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include: global economic conditions; our reliance on third parties to manufacture, assemble, package and test our products; the impact of technological development and competition; development of faster or more efficient technology; design, manufacturing or software defects; changes in consumer preferences or demands; changes in industry standards and interfaces; unexpected loss of performance of our products or technologies when integrated into systems; as well as other factors detailed from time to time in the reports NVIDIA files with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, including its Form 10-Q for the fiscal period ended October 31, 2010. Copies of reports filed with the SEC are posted on the company's website and are available from NVIDIA without charge. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and speak only as of the date hereof, and, except as required by law, NVIDIA disclaims any obligation to update these forward-looking statements to reflect future events or circumstances.

© 2011 NVIDIA Corporation. All rights reserved. NVIDIA, the NVIDIA logo, CUDA, 3D Vision, GeForce and SLI, are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of NVIDIA Corporation in the U.S. and other countries. Other company and product names may be trademarks of the respective companies with which they are associated. Features, pricing, availability, and specifications are subject to change without notice.