Developer of real-time character animation middleware, Mystic Game Development has announced that Emotion FX 3, its animation SDK for multi-core processor systems is now available for the PS3.

“We are pleased to join Sony Computer Entertainment’s Tools and Middleware program for ‘PLAYSTATION3,” said John van der Burg, the development director at the company. “Now that EMotion FX 3.5 is available on PLAYSTATION®3, we are looking forward to seeing what game developers will do with it.”

Some of the features in the SDK include real-time motion retargeting, tight integration with 3D Studio Max and Maya, multi-processor support, facial animation, character customization and more.

The PlayStation 3 news keeps rolling in as AGEIA announced that its PhysX SDK v2.4 will become available to registered PS3 game developers on March 31. Details:

The AGEIA PhysX SDK is highly recognized for its extensive physics functionality and multithreading capabilities, which are uniquely suited for the multicore architecture of the Cell processor adopted on PLAYSTATION®3. The latest AGEIA PhysX SDK version 2.4 is optimized for the Cell processor, adding mind-blowing physics action to the high-definition graphics of PLAYSTATION®3 titles.

In the 2.4 release, several components of the AGEIA PhysX pipeline have been offloaded from the PPU of the PLAYSTATION®3 to the SPUs; developers can fully control the component deployment. This has resulted in a 50% reduction in maximum PPU load, leaving more room for game code and smooth frame rates.

A v1.1 beta version of the Quake 4 SDK is available, updating the tools required to create content for the Raven shooter. Grab it from id’s FTP server, 3D Downloads, 3D Gamers and Worthplaying.

In its latest press release, Quazal announced that they have been approved by SCE’s Tools and Middleware program for PlayStation 3, letting developers make use of their Net-Z and Rendez-Vous online multiplayer middleware technologies, as well as the Spark! Lobby technology, in their games.

Quazal’s tools are also available for the PS2 and PSP, among other platforms.

Animators can now look forward to Emotion FX 3, a real-time character animation SDK, as it now fully supports the Xbox 360. Interested developers can make use of the SDK to enable real-time motion retargeting, multi-processor and multi-core support, advanced inverse kinetics, and many other features.

Following on from a recent interview of Films-Aime, where he stated that around 1,000 Revolution SDKs had been shipped, IGN Revolution spoke to various studios that have received their SDKs, learning quite some new surprising things.

First off, the SDK is cheap - damn cheap - as it comes in at $2,000, thousands of dollars cheaper than that of a PSP one, let alone a Xbox 360 or PS3 SDK. As for the SDKs themselves - three revisions have been sent to the studios. The first kit was, as IGN puts it: “quite literally a Gamcube console with a wired Revolution controller attached.” The second and third kits were ones with minor tweaks and boosts in CPU power. According to insiders, big companies like EA and Ubisoft - who are working on E3 2006 titles - will soon receive a fourth SDK prototype, which promises to deliver 90-95% the power of a production Revolution console.

Regarding concerns that the Revolution wasn’t powerful enough, one studio went on to say: “At first, we were discouraged that it would be less powerful than Xbox 360, but once we got everything working with the controller, our concerns faded.” Other studios echoed his “enthusiasm”.

The studios also talked about price points, with many believing the console could launch for under $200, and possibly at a low-low point of $150 - which would be amazing to say the least.

Looks like Nintendo may have a winner on their hands, but with audiences clamoring prettier graphics, who knows?

A new update for F.E.A.R. has been released, updating the US and European editions of the horror-shooter to v1.03. The patch introduces ‘PunkBuster’ (anti-cheat software), a vote kick option and best of all – three new multiplayer maps. Follow the links below to download the appropriate files:

• US Version
  3D Downloads, 3D Gamers, FileFront, FileNuts, Gameguru Mania, GameSpot, Sierra, VGPro and Worthplaying
• Euro Version
  3D Gamers, 4players.de, Boomtown, FileFront and Worthplaying
• Dedicated Servers
  3D Gamers and Worthplaying
• Tools
  3D Gamers and Worthplaying