Wave Issue 9601 6/23/96 Article 5-01

***SIGGRAPH PREVIEW: Digital Bayou

Online games: a hot topic for SIGGRAPH? Hoping for a
SIGGRAPH buzz marketing coup ala last year's VRML SIGGRAPH
debut, a group of 15+ companies are pushing a DIS-based Bayou
Sauvage multiuser 3D game as a key showpiece project.

Early buzz is that Bayou Sauvage is positioning to be the most
visible of the numerous networked 3D projects that will be on
display in the Digital Bayou exhibit area.

Bayou Sauvage participants: MaK (multiuser DIS connectivity),
Viewpoint (repurposed realtime military models--look for the UFO),
Lockheed Martin (SE Asia military terrain converted to LA bayou),
Evans & Sutherland, Intergraph, and 3Dfx. Some 12-15 other
companies may contribute and/or have a client station in their booth.

DIS, or Distributed Interactive Simulation, is the DOD standard for
military 3D simulation. Some within the DIS community are
lobbying to bring convert DIS to consumer use, and are hoping that
Bayou Sauvage will kickstart an effort in this direction (watch for
DIS Lite). Bayou Sauvage will be the first non-DOD funded demo of
DIS technology.

DIS supporters are hoping to end run VRML 2.0, which has
postponed multi-user issues for now.

Digital Bayou is coproduced by Clark Dodsworth of Osage and
Brian Blau of Intervista.

www.mak.com