Unigine has released a new benchmark to show off the impressive visuals of its Unigine 2 engine, much in the way it used the original Heaven benchmark to pitch the first one. Known as the Superposition graphics stress test, it has full support for 8K resolution (7,680 x 4,320), which should push even the most powerful systems to their limit.
Just as the world is starting to come to terms with the idea of 4K video and 4K gaming, Unigine is keeping its eyes firmly on the future. Alongside its support for Ultra High Definition (UHD) resolution, the benchmark also offers “screen-space ray-traced global illumination” for its lighting, which is likely to be just as taxing on a system.
As with all benchmarks, Superposition comes with graphics processor (GPU) temperature and clock monitoring, helping hardware enthusiasts to push their kit to the limit. They can even run an “extreme stability test” to make sure that their clocks are going to hold during long-term gaming or testing.
There are also global leaderboards, as well as full support for both Windows and Linux operating systems. Oddly, it seems to only support Open GL 4.5 or DirectX11 right now, according to PCPer. Unigine has reportedly been looking at adding Vulkan support in the future.
There are other setting options for shader and texture quality, with several settings for testing whether your system is VR ready.
Unigine has also hopped aboard the wave of virtual reality acceptance by making Superposition a fully realized VR experience. Compatibility with the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive lets users explore the single-room environment, complete with 900 interactive objects and several mini-games.
The setting you can walk around in is a retro classroom laboratory, where a professor’s experiments and inventions lie around haphazardly on several desks and cabinets. There are some mysteries to uncover for those willing to explore. You will need one of the aforementioned headsets to do so, or perhaps just a keen eye when viewing the video in the header.
The free version of Unigine’s Superposition benchmark is available now, with the advanced version costs $20 before taxes. It provides access to the VR experience and more engine settings, though anyone can try out 8K mode with the basic version.
Unigine’s offering is a little more expensive than some of the other big names in the business. While the likes of Unreal Engine and Unity have royalty or subscription fees, Unigine requires just one upfront payment. The “Starter Single” pack costs $1,500 and offers a free trial, while the more expensive team packs cost more than $10,000.