GPU Test 1 - Jane Nash

If you want any more proof that the 3D games industry is dominated by geeky men who’d get a kick out of drawing a pair of breasts on Wilma Flintstone, then look no further than 3DMark Vantage’s first GPU test; Jane Nash. In this test, short-skirted secret agent Jane dashes into a cave filled with water while her geometric curves wobble, and then spends a while bending over on all fours on top of a crate. However, if you can ignore the gratuitous sexism, then there’s a lot of work for your GPU to tuck into in this test.

This test is designed to simulate a 3D scene with lots of different static objects, very few of which are created with geometry instancing. The test also features a lot of complex dynamic-skinned objects, as well as cascaded shadow maps. On top of this, a lot of work has also gone into the water effects, particularly when it comes to the way that light is reflected with caustics. For those of you who aren’t up on your optics, caustics refers to the way that light is reflected and refracted by a curved object or surface, and you can see this in action in this test’s rippling waves. This test also features cloth simulation, which can be seen on Jane’s clothes.

Interestingly, this test also reveals a bit of product placement in the form of Jane’s escape vehicle; a boat that’s unashamedly sponsored by ATI board partner Sapphire. This is a pretty hardcore test, though. We found that it ran smoothly on our 512MB GeForce 8800 GTS test system on the Entry settings, which don’t feature the splashing water spray, but that it slowed down quite ridiculously when we stepped it up to the Performance preset.

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