The WAVE Report on Digital Media
3D --- Media Creation --- Shared Space
Published by 4th Wave, Inc.
Issue #731 11/13/97
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CONTENTS
@Work Announces Agreement With TCI, COX, and Comcast For Telecommuting Solution via Cable Infrastructure (November 6)
@Work, the business-focused division of @Home Network announced
an agreement with Tele-Communications, Inc.(TCI), Cox Communications,
Inc. and Comcast Corporation to develop, deploy and market @Work
Remote -- a turnkey extension of the corporate local area network
(LAN) to telecommuters. Using broadband cable modem technology,
@Work Remote is intended to provide business customers virtual
private networking at speeds substantially greater than existing
remote access alternatives. Unlike traditional telecommuting solutions,
such as telco circuits and ISDN, that force a corporation to integrate,
maintain, and support a combination of multiple vendors' modems,
routers, servers, software, and communications services, @Work
Remote is designed as an integrated remote LAN access solution
that provides a business customer and its employees with a fully
managed, secure, high-speed, "always-on" connection
between an employee's home and the corporate LAN.
@Work leverages the @Home network backbone and distributed
information architecture to provide high-speed Internet access,
internetworking services and value added applications to businesses
and organizations. @Work offers connectivity via a variety of
transport options that include hybrid fiber coaxial and telco
circuits. Through a combination of @Home's unique distributed
architecture and strong industry partnerships, @Work delivers
a network application platform for businesses looking for open
standard client-server and distributed object computing environments.
http://www.home.net/work
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Wall Street Journal Interactive Reaches
150,000
(November 5)
The Wall Street Journal Interactive Edition announced that it has surpassed the 150,000 subscriber milestone, just over a year after beginning to charge for access to its site on the World Wide Web. The Interactive Journal has the largest circulation of any paid subscription site on the Web. In addition, the Interactive Journal is among the top sites for generating advertising revenue on the Internet. The 150,000 figure announced today includes subscriptions paid for by individuals, as well as registered subscribers at companies who have arranged for site-license access to the Interactive Journal. The total does not take into account nearly 15,000 additional subscriptions paid for through promotional partnerships and an extensive college student program with the print edition of The Wall Street Journal.
Annual subscriptions to The Wall Street Journal Interactive Edition cost $49. Subscribers to any print edition of The Journal, Barron's or SmartMoney can subscribe to The Wall Street Journal Interactive Edition for $29. The complete subscription package also includes Barron's Online and SmartMoney Interactive.
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World Wide Web Consortium Publishes
Public Draft of CSS2
(November 4)
World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) announced the first public working draft of Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) 2, which adds style to content to produce Web pages. The W3C CSS&FP Working Group includes key industry players such as Adobe, Bitstream, CWI, Electricite de France, Grif S.A., Hewlett-Packard, IBM, JavaSoft, Microsoft, Netscape, Novell, and SoftQuad. CSS gives content creators, designers and readers the tools needed to realize the potential of HTML and XML documents. CSS2 adds enhancements in several areas to make the Web more appealing for both content providers and users:
-- Positioned Elements allow greatly improved control
over document layout, both on screen and in print
-- Downloadable Fonts give designers the typographic diversity
they require without resorting to slow-to-load images
-- Aural Cascading Style Sheets (ACSS) empower visually disabled
users by applying style sheets to oral presentations
-- Enhanced Printing
The CSS2 Working Draft is based upon CSS1, a W3C Recommendation issued in December 1996. The Recommendation signifies that the CSS1 specification is stable, contributes to Web interoperability, supported for industry-wide adoption by all W3C Member organizations, and provides a solid foundation for CSS2. Key software vendors, including Adobe, Grif, Macromedia, mBED, Microsoft, Netscape, and SoftQuad have CSS1-compliant products.
CSS2 is designed to complement HTML4.0 and XML, and is prerequisite for the Document Object Model (DOM), the W3C's platform- and language-neutral interface which allows programs and scripts to dynamically access and update the content, structure and style of documents.
The CSS2 specification has been produced as part of the W3C Style Sheets Activity. After a period of public and Member review, the W3C expects CSS2 to be endorsed as a new W3C Recommendation.
http://www.w3.org/Style/
http://www.w3.org/
DIRECTV Activates Three
Millionth Subscriber
(November 5)
DIRECTV announced that it activated its 3 millionth subscriber and that it is now seen in one of every 33-television households in the United States. DIRECTV has activated one million subscribers per year since it began offering service nationwide in the fall of 1994.
DIRECTV provides consumers who own a DSS system with access to more than 175 channels of entertainment, sports, news and family programming. DIRECTV and DSS equipment are available at more than 26,000 retail outlets nationwide, including Circuit City, Best Buy, Sears and Radio Shack.
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Vehicle Mount LAN Connected PC
Announced
(November 4)
Proxim Inc. announced a partnership with Kinetic Computer Corporation where Kinetic is delivering its new PC/Rover, a rugged, vehicle-mount PC with integrated RangeLAN2 radio frequency (RF) wireless LAN technology. Such companies as Pepsi Food Services, Norand, Rockwell and GE Fanuc are already using kinetic products.
The PC/Rover product line is a sealed, ruggedized, compact, Pentium-based PC system. The conduction-cooled system includes a high brightness VGA flat panel display and a resistive touch front panel. PC/Rover is intended for end-users, VARS, OEMs and systems integrators in trucks, forklifts, wall-mount cross-dock, and other applications requiring PC technology in physically challenging situations. The PC/Rover has up to 30 Mbytes of built-in CompactFlash solid state memory and a barcode reader interface.
The Kinetic PC/Rover has been tested by XXCal Labs and is OpenAir-Certified. The certification means that the products are interoperable with the same wireless networks as the more than 30 multi-vendor products that utilize the OpenAir 2.4 wireless LAN specification. The OpenAir Standard is supported by the Wireless LAN Interoperability Forum that is made up of more than 20 leading manufacturers of mobile computing devices and solutions.
Proxim's RangeLAN2 products operate in the 2.4 gigahertz (GHz) frequency band and utilize frequency hopping spread spectrum radio frequency (RF) technology, which is both highly secure and exceptionally immune to interference. The products are designed to provide the industry's best combination of features for mobile networking applications, including high speed, long range, low power consumption, network scalability and advanced network management. RangeLAN2 products operate at a data rate of 1.6 Mbps per channel with 15 available channels, allowing users to implement up to 15 separate networks in the same physical space.
http://www.kin.com
http://www.proxim.com
Primary Image Offers Tempest
(November 5)
Primary Image revealed Tempest is a software toolset, designed specifically to produce high-level simulation and training applications. Tempest is a fully featured API environment that is made up of high-level commands. The application only needs to specify the databases and then load them at each animation frame. A complete simulation can be written in one page of C code. The toolset also provides the application with full use of the host PC's processing power offering the user a level of control over the development of any application.
Creatures Sells 100,000 Copies
in Less Than 100 Days: Virtual Life Sim from Mindscape
(November 3)
Mindscape Inc. announced that in the U.S. market it has already sold more than 100,000 copies of Creatures, a virtual life simulation that shipped in late. More than 200,000 Creatures are expected to be sold by the end of the year. Creatures (which is available for both Macintosh and PC computers) introduces an entire world of Norns with lives and personalities of their own. Norns hatch from eggs, live and breed inside the computer, and have the ability to learn and act independently as they grow and explore their virtual world.
A Creatures strategy guide written by the game's developers, UK-based Cyberlife Technology Ltd. In November Mindscape intends to release an accessory product called the Creatures Life Kit No. 1. The kit will feature six new Norns and will be available wherever Creatures is sold.
Creatures Highlights
-- Parent your Norns by teaching them to eat, speak and interact
with you and other Creatures
-- Encourage your Norns to breed and nurture their offspring
-- Empower your Norns to cope with dangerous life forms and
life-threatening situations
-- Play with your Norns as they explore their virtual world
and
learn to use their cyber resources
-- Watch your Norns display real emotions and feelings from
hunger, pain, and even sexual attraction
-- Share your Norns with other proud parents worldwide through
e-mail and the Internet
The Virtual Pet Craze
Creatures entered the booming virtual pet market on the heels of the wildly popular Tamagotchi pocket key chain. The Tamagotchi originated in Japan and was released last spring in the United States amid a flurry of media attention and consumer demand. In addition to publishing Creatures, Mindscape has embraced a corporate strategy to be the leading distributor of virtual life software. In June 1997 the company signed an agreement with PF.Magic to distribute PF.Magic's popular Dogz and Catz virtual pets titles in the United States. Dogz was the world's first virtual pet when it hits stores in 1995 and together with Catz has sold close to one million copies worldwide for the personal computer market. Mindscape will also distribute AQUAZONE, a virtual aquarium from Pulse Entertainment that will be released in North America this fall. AQUAZONE was originally published in Japan and is one of the best-selling PC products in Japanese history.
http://www.mindscapegames.com
http://www.cyberlife.co.uk
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Warner Brothers Online Selects
togglethis Interactive Character Technology
Warner Bros. Online announced it has selected togglethis Interactive Character (IC) Technology to create interactive online animated stories, games and advertising messages. Warner Bros. Online also announced it has formed a strategic relationship with togglethis, a New York City-based software development company that creates Interactive Character technologies for the Internet, to use its IC Technology as the technology in its push to bring interactive entertainment to the web. The togglethis IC Technology will allow Warner Bros. Online to create true interactive animation based on many of their most popular characters. Warner Bros. Online has also acquired the rights to togglethis' irreverent Bozlo Beaver, the first Interactive Character created by togglethis. Bozlo
a showcase for togglethis IC Technology, has reached nearly 100,000 subscribers online. "The togglethis technology allows us to move into a new age of interactive online animation, consistent with the high quality of Warner Bros.' long-term brand of entertainment," said Jim Moloshok, Senior Vice President of Warner Bros. Online. "Not only does this allow us to deliver on the promise of truly interactive entertainment, but our advertising partners will surely benefit as well." togglethis IC Technology is a patent pending turnkey system for efficiently creating and distributing Interactive Character-based content for the Internet. Warner Bros. Online sees this move as a unique opportunity to create original types of interactive content using the company's long-term franchise characters as well as totally new characters and will make this technology available for advertisers to build the next generation of web advertising.
http://www.togglethis.com
http://www.warnerbros.com
3Dlabs has provided the WAVE Report with a list of the current or planned OpenGL games.
Quake licensees:
Quake2 - Activision
Hexen2 - Activision
Diakatana - Eidos
SiN - Activision
Half Life - Sierra
Duke Nukem Forever - GT Interactive
Non-Quake games:
Descent 3 - Interplay
Streets of Sim City - Maxis/EA
Warbirds 2.0 - IMagic Online
Shattered Steel 2 - Interplay
Su-27 Flanker 2.0 - SSI
KAGE - Terminal Reality is the developer, publisher unknown
Chris Hecker's game, publisher unknown
Origin (subsidiary of EA) - names of games unknown
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731.5 Out-Of-Home Entertainment
Skyline Multimedia Entertainment
Announces Agreement With Namco Cybertainment
(November 5)
Skyline Multimedia Entertainment, Inc. announced it has executed an agreement with Namco Cybertainment, Inc., the largest operator of high technology and virtual reality games in the world. Pursuant to the terms of the Agreement, Skyline has sold to Namco its right, title and interest in and to the "XS" trademark and related concepts and intellectual property in exchange for forgiveness of certain indebtedness, royalty-free license to continue to use the "XS" trademark at Skyline's Times Square location, and a revised revenue-sharing agreement with respect to equipment supplied by Namco for the Times Square location. The Company believes that such new arrangement is much more beneficial and will greatly improve cash flows from the Times Square location.
Kevin Hayes, President and CEO of Namco Cybertainment Inc., shares Mr. Silber's enthusiasm for the new arrangement and stated, "The acquisition of the XS brand will serve as the launching point for our entry into the high-end location-based entertainment marketplace "XS Entertainment" intends to develop and operate exciting, high quality, entertainment facilities at premier sites across the country."
Headquartered in New York, Skyline Multimedia Entertainment Inc. is a holding company engaged in the development and operation of state-of-the-art location-based entertainment attractions worldwide. New York Skyline, Inc. wholly-owned subsidiary, owns and operates New York Skyride, the first flight simulator in the metropolitan New York area. The New York Skyride is located in the Empire State Building, New York's premier tourist attraction. Through Skyline Virtual Realty, Inc., the Company owns and operates XS New York, New York City's first and only virtual reality entertainment center, located in the heart of Times Square. The Company is also currently engaged in the development of additional attractions to be located at the Sydney Tower in Sydney, Australia and the Woodfield Mall in Schaumberg, Illinois outside of Chicago.
http://www.namco.com
http://www.skyride.com
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SlamSite Plans to Open the World's
Largest Themed PC Network Gaming Center
(November 3)
SlamSite, Inc. announced today that it will open the world's largest PC-based network gaming center on November 14th. The 15,000 plus square foot facility is located in the Puente Hills Mall adjacent to a 20-screen AMC Megaplex Theater. Puente Hills Mall is located in City of Industry, California, and just 13 miles from downtown Los Angeles. The new SlamSite features over 100 high-powered PC systems networked together with a 100 MBps backbone that allows gamers to play at Warp speed. The entire system is connected to the Internet with a T-1 trunk that also allows extremely fast play over the Internet.
The location has three themed areas dedicated to entertaining the entire family. The "Launch Bay" is 5,000 square feet of themed simulators (all PC-based), with 8 Tesla Pods from Virtual World, a Stealth Bomber that seats 4 players and two Mech Battle Bots that each seat 2 players. Players are networked together so they can interact either in a "co-operative" mode against the computers or a "battle" mode against each other. The Nautilus Library is themed after Captain Nemo's Nautilus submarine. Imagine a Victorian-style library in a submarine jam-packed with the latest PC games, comics, collectibles, sci-fi toys and memorabilia and you can imagine The Nautilus Library. The third venue is called the Sci-Fi Cafe. It includes seating throughout the Launch Bay and Nautilus Library as well as outside patio seating. Game players can enjoy a quick refreshment or share a special treat from the kitchen while discussing there past games and future strategies. Throughout the Sci-Fi Cafe are effects that allow customer to feel as if they have been transported to another world.
SlamSite will be "premiering" the latest games from the hottest developers in the software industry. "With the computer game industry having sales in excess of $9 Billion a year, compared to movie ticket sales of $7 Billion a year, it seemed that entertainment software should have a similar platform for launching their releases. SlamSite introduced the concept of software premiering in 1996, and is pleased that our new facility provides the right location and atmosphere for the entertainment software industry to show off their new releases to the general public," stated Frank Westall, SlamSite's Founder and CEO.
"SlamSite is an obvious next step in the growth of the computer industry. Companies such as Gameworks (a DreamWorks/Sega venture) and Disney Quest (a Walt Disney venture) recognize that electronic entertainment is meant to be themed and brought to the masses," according to Mr. Westall. "The difference between these operations and SlamSite is in the technology. We believe that Intel, Microsoft, 3Dfx, Rendition and today's computer game developers such as Activision, and id Software have a technological and creative lead in the critical areas that make up the gaming environment. We're placing our belief in their hands, as opposed to the closed-platform arcade-type machines."
SlamSite will be building an estimated 25 additional entertainment centers over the next several years. The next 2 locations are planned for San Jose, California and New York City, both targeted for the 1st Quarter of 1998. All sites will be connected via a Wide Area Network. Each site will also offer ISP services oriented towards the game-playing community. Currently, SlamSite has small test locations in Burbank, CA and Charleston, SC. SlamSite, a privately held corporation located in Burbank, CA, has been in business for 3-1/2 years.
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GameWorks Plays Games on Halloween
(October 31)
With its new technology partner GTE, GameWorks brought in Halloween live in four states connecting each GameWorks location with a real-time video feed. The event kicked off with Dallas Cowboy star Jay Novacek and Miss Texas USA at GameWorks Grapevine. The party was broadcasted simultaneously with Seattle Seahawk Chris Warren as he hosted up-and-coming band, Dudley Manlove Quartet, at GameWorks Seattle, while showgirls scaled the world's tallest indoor climbing rock at GameWorks Las Vegas. The nationwide linkup was continued in Southern California by Miss Inland Empire who kept the party rolling back into Texas as the music of L.A. rockers, the Tories, set the house on fire right at the top of the witching hour. "GameWorks is about connecting people over games, and the innovative technology of GTE allowed us to make this a reality in four cities," said John Shea, senior vice president of marketing and sales for Sega GameWorks. "We were thrilled to showcase live music, interactive competitions and legendary sports stars -- it really was everything good all at once."
The energy of the evening escalated when Ottis Pittman from Ontario, Calif., proved to be the sharpest shooter in the nation Thursday night and took home a prize of $5,000 in the national "House of the Dead" tournament featuring competitors from GameWorks in Seattle, Las Vegas, Ontario, and Grapevine. The competition was held on Sega's latest hit game and visual adventure of ghoulish thrills, "House of the Dead." Part horror movie/part French film set on a large gothic manse, "House of the Dead" pits the player against ax-swinging zombies, mutant leeches, chainsaw-swinging thugs and an evil-winged creature that always seems to get the girl. Players see the action through the eyes of the agents and can almost feel the slice of each blade as the creatures leave their mark.
The competition kicked off the opening of the fourth GameWorks, located in Grapevine.in the Mills Mall (20 minutes northwest of Dallas). The next GameWorks is expected to open in Tempe, Ariz., Nov. 20.
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Laser Storm Opens in United Artists'
Starport also Sells to Namco
(October 27)
Laser Storm, Inc. announced it opened another company-owned store, this one located in Albuquerque, New Mexico, under an agreement with United Artists Theaters Circuit. Laser Storm joins United Artists Theaters, Sega City, Showscan and several virtual reality attractions in Starport, Albuquerque's most exciting new entertainment attraction.
Laser Storm also announced the sale of two existing company-owned stores to Namco Cybertainment, Inc. These stores, located in Cincinnati and San Bernardino, were opened under an agreement between Laser Storm and Namco in which up to 13 Laser Storm company-owned stores were to be developed. Financial terms of the sale were not disclosed.
Bob Cooney, Laser Storm's CEO, commented about the sale, "The initial sales volumes of these first two stores were well below our expectations. Both Namco and Laser Storm felt that since we were not moving forward with the number of stores initially planned, it would be better for Namco to operate these stores. Operating these low-volume facilities in remote locations was economically burdensome. Namco with existing operations in these locations is far better positioned to operate these facilities at a profit." Cooney continued, "I am disappointed that the arrangement with Namco has not met our expectations. I am also confident that we can continue to build relationships with other top-notch amusement and entertainment companies such as United Artists and Sega. This will be our focus as we continue to expand our company-owned store chain."
Laser Storm is an operator of themed laser tag entertainment centers and is a leading manufacturer, designer, developer and distributor of innovative themed laser tag games and systems for the location-based entertainment industry. The Company has placed over 200 Laser Storm systems worldwide. The Company intends to expand its recurring revenue base by adding to its Company operated facilities through new-location development.
http://www.laserstorm.com
http://www.namco.com
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Iwerks Wins Two Contracts for Turboride
(October 22)
Iwerks Entertainment Inc. and Regal Cinemas Inc. announced that Regal Cinemas has chosen Iwerks TurboRides to serve as anchor attractions at Regal's "The Escape" Family Entertainment Center in downtown Ft. Lauderdale (Las Olas Riverfront) and at their "Funscape" entertainment center at Cypress Creek Station in Fort Lauderdale. The Cypress Creek location is scheduled to open in December 1997 and Las Olas Riverfront in the first quarter of 1998. Regal Cinemas and Iwerks also said they expect to finalize agreements shortly for two additional TurboRides for entertainment center sites in Nashville and Knoxville, Tennessee for Spring 1998 openings, which would bring the total number of Iwerks TurboRides at The Escape locations to six. The contract for the Las Olas Riverfront location calls for an 18-seat Iwerks Quatro TurboRide, which employs the proprietary Quatro 70mm reversing projection system, and Turbo Tour motion bases.
The Quatro 70mm reversing projection system was developed by Iwerks and features a process in which multiple films are looped together so that they can be shown in the forward and reverse operating positions. The Quatro system eliminates the need to rewind the film between shows and therefore increases theater throughput and capacity. Shown continuously, the simulation attraction at Las Olas Riverfront will be able to accommodate 180 guests per hour. Regal Cinemas will also utilize an Iwerks Quatro TurboRide for its entertainment center at Cypress Creek Station. That simulation attraction will house 16 seats and be able to accommodate 160 guests per hour.
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Microsoft Joins Intel's Open
Arcade Architecture Forum (OAAF)
(October 24)
Microsoft announced at the 1997 Amusement and Music Operators Association (AMOA) Expo in Atlanta, Ga., that they have joined Intel's Open Arcade Architecture Forum (OAAF) as a charter member. Microsoft is supporting OAAFs effort in establishing the PC-based arcade infrastructure and encouraging DirectX developers to look to this organization as the initiative to facilitate migration from proprietary systems in the arcade market to open architectures based on the Windows family of operating systems.
http://www.openarcade.com
http://www.microsoft.com
ZDBOp Sneak Preview
November 5, 1997
By John Latta
Over 350 signed up in advance to attend the unveiling of the PC benchmark suite from Ziff-Davis. In spite of the fact the mainstream benchmarks Winstone 98 and WinBench 98 were shown in the morning it seemed as if all the interest was directed at the roll out of 3D WinBench 98. These tests were used in issue 21, December 2, 1997, of PC Magazine that was also passed out at the conference. This was the first time the benchmark rollout has been held in a conference venue. It is a unique event in that there is no other benchmark conference in the PC industry. Benchmarks and winning an Editor's Choice award, based on benchmark results, can be the difference between having a winning and losing product. It was no surprise that there was a high degree of interest in understanding the new benchmarks and getting a CD-ROM with the actual tests.
The organization that is responsible for the benchmarks is ZDBop located in the Research Triangle Park in North Carolina. There is about 45 staff of which 1/2 do the actual developments. Its director is Bill Catchings. ZDBOp is claimed to be the largest independent PC benchmarking effort in the PC industry. In spite of the fact that the whole of the PC industry is interested, ZDBOp has only one customer - the Ziff-Davis publications that include PC Magazine, PC Week and Computer Shopper. In fact, it was revealed at the conference that over $3m in offers were made in 1997 for the development of benchmarks by outside firms and ZDBOp turned all such offers down. It is their policy to not take any such fees so that the integrity of the tests would not fall into question. The testing for the magazines happens at the Foster City, CA facility.
During the conference it was evident that there exists a close linkage between the Ziff-Davis publications and ZDBOp. The needs perceived by the publications drive the requirements of the tests and the agenda for future tests. One topic in 3D testing which came up for discussion was the need for OpenGL benchmarks. ZDBOp is struggling with this issue. A factor, of which the magazines play a major role, is the assessment of the user demand. Given the mass-market nature of the publications, games and business productivity is at the center of their attention. Professional applications, such as SolidWorks or 3D Studio MAX, are seen as small elements in the market. Thus, in spite of the interest from the audience, as shown by a raise in the hands, this is largely a peripheral benchmark issue at ZDBOp. The most likely path, which ZDBOp would go, would be a application level benchmark, yet, they view this as a major effort. Winstone 98 is a similar PC benchmark and to create such a test for only one 3D API is a non-trivial undertaking.
3D WinBench 98 is a quality and performance test that simulates applications on top of Immediate Mode in Direct 3D. This test is a significant departure from the other tests in the suite in that it is "forward looking." That is, by including tests for capabilities not yet fully supported by the industry ZDBOp is challenging the industry to include new features to gain higher test scores. The 98 tests include for the first time anti-aliasing. There are now 19 tests in the 3D WinMark 98 suite. No single card runs all of the tests today.
The tester has a range of options including resolution, color depth, full screen or windowed modes, buffering modes and API including: Execute Buffers, DrawIndexedPrimitive and Draw Primitive. It seemed especially significant that ZDBOp found that the DrawIndexedPrimitive was slightly slower that the Execute Buffer which was no more than a one-to-one mapping of the Execute Buffer calls to the DrawIndexedPrimitive calls. ZDBOp described this as a Microsoft code issue. However, the DrawPrimitive performance was significantly slower than the Execute Buffer method due to the higher costs of Transform and Lighting, even though their tests did not use this but did use Strips and Fans.
There are now 41 quality tests. This is particularly important in that 25 of the tests must be run before the WinMark tests can be completed. Many regarded the inclusion of a side-by-side comparison of good, bad and test images as an important forcing function for the industry. ZDBOp commented that they had seen multiple bad images in their testing. The reference images include hot spots to look for in the testing of the actual images.
The features tested include: flat and Gouraud shading, nearest and linear magnification and all four MIP-map filters: per pixel verses per triangle, MIP-map boundary variations and shortcut filtering between levels. In response to the question - why include flat and Gouraud shading they stated that they had found errors in some of the cards tested. Other features tested include: z-buffer, specular highlights, culling, anti-aliasing (not-edge form), texture addressing, color key, dithering and perspective correction, texture blending, pixel blending, fog, texture and triangle limits and a texture fidelity test.
In the testing there are 19 scene walkthrough tests which require specific features and if the features are not included the testing falls back to HAL for software emulation. The end result of the test is a frame rate result. If the test fails a 0-frame rate is given and the 3D WinBench 98 value is the sum of all the tests.
The scene complexity has the following average number of triangles per frame as 4,00 - 17,600 to D3D which gets reduced to 3,400 to 11,200 at the driver and 2,200 to 6,800 as drawn for a typical HAL driver. The textures are as large as 256 X 256 and vary from 339K to 1.4M per frame on a average basis with the maximum of 467K to 2.8M per scene.
The 3D processing test is to highlight the differences between CPUs running D3D transform and lighting including the impact of a good set up engine. This test is done with flat shading and not textures.
New in the tests is support for AGP, however, given the small texture requirements it is not expected that AGP will make a major difference in the test results.
The maximum performance limits were found for a null driver that emulated an infinitely fast triangle set up, no texture swapping and all features implemented. These results are for with and without anti-alaising
Pentium II 266 789/712
Pentium MMX 200 464/418
The sample results using these new tests include:
Velocity 128 4MB 473
XPERT@Play AGP 8MB 374
Monster 3D 363
Revolution 3D 8MB 237
STB Nitro 3D 4MB 101
Mystique 220 4MB 94
These tests were done on a Pentium II 266 at 640 X 480, 16 bpp, full screen and front buffer.
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Autofact
(November 4-6,1997)
By John Latta
Autofact continues to be the best "pure" 3D exhibition. No other show exhibits as much technology where 3D is mandatory be it 3D scanners, visualization, parts assembly or virtual manufacturing. However, this show is withering. Smaller than last year and with the show floor only sparsely populated on the first day Autofact is contradiction to what others claim to be a growing market.
D.H. Brown Company estimates the market is growing from 6% to 18% per year. This is certainly on the slow side of the PC industry growth and especially Windows NT growth, which we estimate at 50%+ per year. At the conference Daratech, the leading MCAD market research firm, released an estimate which they estimate market grow from 1996 to 1997 of 18.5%, which is the same growth from 1995 to 1996. PTC software revenues, the leading MCAD company, are estimated to climb from $650m to $850m. Yet, in another contradiction, PTC who has yet to score a major win with an automobile company, did not even exhibit at Autofact which is at the center of the automotive industry. Based on our count this is the second year running where PTC has not exhibited. Thus, we remain cautious about assuming the MCAD market will be the foundation of a robust professional market that will drive 3D adoption. This market has every indication of being supply side limited by the number of trained engineering professionals who can operate the MCAD industry "seats" which all the vendors scrap for.
The MCAD is another market caught in the Windows NT steamroller. Microsoft had a booth showing ISV and IHV solutions but this was but a blip compared to all the companies showing their applications on Windows NT. At the core of the impact of Windows NT is the following:
A consistent user interface;
The lure of an open platform where the users can mix and match software solutions from various vendors; and
Lower cost systems in both software and hardware.
Both Sun and SGI were at Autofact but they seemed over shadowed by NT's presence. Sun was touting Java in Engineering that was a hollow message - who cares about Java when it is the applications that count and not how it was developed. It seems that the Java message only has so many legs and having it jump into MCAD is irrelevant.
The MCAD software technology goes in waves. Certainly one of the more significant was Autocad, which many scoffed that no PC DOS application could do serious CAD. With 1.6m seats no one is laughing. Yet, when PTC introduced solid modeling with the power of 3D-object modeling and visualization 2D appeared grossly out of date. Yet, the next wave came with SolidWorks with more features including assemblies and motion dynamics. SolidWorks is an NT product that significantly undercuts the pricing of PTC. At this show we saw what could be another wave with DesignWave from Computervision and this brings what is being called feature-based design. The model description includes not only geometric data but also other information, which is accessible to developers using Visual Basic. In addition, DesignWave has not only an excellent interface for modeling but also one that is well integrated into Windows.
Here is some data the WAVE Report collected on software pricing.
DesignWave
$3,995 (single seat, Windows
$1,995 (when 6 or more seats are purchased at the same time)
SolidWorks 97Plus
$3,995 (single seat, Windows, full featured, no options required,
2 releases a year)
$1,295 - 12 month subscription service
PTC
$28,000 - Pro/Engineer & Pro/Designer bundle
$26,000 - Pro/Engineer and Surface and Assembly Modules
$12,000 - Pro/Designer (Standalone Application)
All software priced the same for UNIX and Windows OS
Deneb
$60,000 - IGRIP - Robotic Simulation Tool
$15,000 - Ultra - Similar to IGRIP but with less capabilities
$10,000 to $60,000 - Envision - virtual prototyping from design
to assembly
$1,500 to $30,000 - Quest - Discrete Event Simulation Program
for Facility Layout and Process Flow
Consistent with the burial of 3D into the systems and acceleration being a component of virtually all systems OpenGL and OpenGL accelerators were pervasive on the floor.
HP is also making a significant shift to the NT workstation market. Its product is Kayak and this is the host for the only HP 3D card the Visualize fx4. The Kayak XW comes standard with the Accel ECLIPSE card based on the 3DPro chip. To get the same system with the fx4 costs and additional $2,000. Thus, if it could be bought separately the fx4 could be about $5k street price.
Intergraph was making the case for its TDZ2000 line of workstations that incorporate the RealiZm line of accelerators. At the low end is the ZX13 that includes 16MB of texture memory and costs $2,995. The next step up is the ZX25 that costs $3,995 and it has 32MB of texture memory. The high-end card is the VX25 for $4,995 which includes 32MB of texture memory. All cards are capable of holding up to 64MB of texture memory. Intergraph also offers a geometry accelerator that costs $1,995. For complex objects this would appear to be a necessity. These cards will support a CDRS-03 score around 65. In December Intergraph will enhance the RealiZm cards to boost the CRDS-03 performance in the 100 range.
---
AMOA
(October 23 - 25, 1997)
By John Latta
This AMOA show in Atlanta was the forum to rollout the Intel Open Arcade Initiative. The leadership role has shifted to Intel from Microsoft and the coin-op industry was anxious to hear of Intel's plans. At the same time Microsoft announced that its is joining the Intel initiative. The show, however, was a shell of its former self with only 223 exhibits and 6,200 attendees. Neither Sega nor Namco had a booth but its new equipment was being shown in a distributor booth. The most recent numbers from Vending Times show that the coin drop fell nearly 10% in 1996 which was better than the 16% decline in 1995. To take a 25% decline in 2 years is an indicator of the pain the industry is experiencing.
On the show floor were the first PC based coin-op systems. There was a developer corner that included NANI, Compaq, Intel and Quantum3D. We came away surprised at the pricing of the first PC based games. Most of these systems are priced at $16,000 or above. As a result the PC games are competing directly against the high-end simulator pieces from Sega and Namco. The software cost typically runs $1,495 that we find very expensive. One company was offering usage for 4,000 plays for $325 - which they called try and buy. This is equivalent to a royalty rate of 8 cents per play, actually not bad. Many of these PC based systems included a motion seat but, in general, these were not polished game systems - clearly the first generation. One that stood out in its play interface was a soccer game by Interactive Light called Kick-It. A ball was positioned in front of the game on a tether. One played the game by kicking the ball into a void in the bottom of the cabinet. This had sophisticated and integrated interface elements targeted to the game play which are increasingly prevalent in the high end games today. Yet, the fact that the PC is being used is largely immaterial because the game would have little use outside of the original game. So much for a general-purpose cabinet.
PlayPak Systems announced their attack on the arcade market but using a Mac. In fact, the CEO, Dan Stein, went so far as to claim the Rhapsody, the Next based OS for the Mac, would be on most of the coin-op systems next year at AMOA. These systems broke the high price mold and were being quoted at $5,000. Thus, here was an example where the Mac was more cost effective that the Intel based systems. At the same time we also spoke with Frank Happ, President of Happ Controls, and he expressed concern that the PC, in both hardware and software, is not ready to support the demands of the coin-op environment.
We came away with the following observations.
Operators made comments that the Intel presentation was top level and did not provide information on what Intel is actually going to do to make the coin-op industry successful. Put in another way - where is the business model from which the industry can make money?;
In one year, since the first Microsoft presentation at AMOA in Dallas, the coin op efforts by Intel and Microsoft have shifted from addressing the dedicated machine market to the high-end simulator market. That is, the early price point was $4,000 and now it is out of the hands of many of the operators when machines are priced at $16,000+;
Intel will hold another meeting of the Open Arcade Initiative the first week of December;
Konami was showing its 3D Cobra technology based game called Bujutsu Fighter. It matches the Sega Virtua Fighter and costs $10,000 for a 33" display and $17,000 for a 50" display. This was another example of pricing gone ballistic.
3D has become pervasive. For, in what appears the first time, high end 3D is being used in a dedicated game. Midway is using 3D in Mortal Kombat IV. This uses the proprietary chip developed by Midway.
The technology direction of the industry appears to be moving away from an emphasis on 3D to the player interface devices. This is an area where Namco has excelled. Its first product Alpine Racer defined new ways to interact with the game. They raised the bar again with Final Furlong that is a horse racing game. These are not inexpensive - it costs $24,000 to $25,000 for a two-seat game. However, the game play continued to draw the players, at least on the show floor. Sega has its own hit in Top Skater, which costs $15,000. They also have a leasing plan.
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Copyright 1997 4th WAVE, Inc.
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