***QuickNews
by David Lohse and Malisa L. Burkeen
Syndesis Releases InterChange Version 4.0
Syndesis Corp. recently released version 4.0 of their InterChange
software. InterChange gives 3D modelers and content creators much greater
flexibility by allowing them to easily convert models from one format to
another; several modelers can collaborate on one project, each using
their own favorite modeling package. InterChange now has support for more
than 40 different file formats, including: SoftImage, 3DS, AutoCAD,
LightWave, Wavefront and trueSpace, among others. The full retail price
of InterChange is $495, and upgrades from previous versions are $25.
Contact: www.threedee.com
QuantumWorks Announces Geppetto
QuantumWorks Corporation's (QWC) newest product is Geppetto, a tool for
animating the faces of computer characters. Geppetto was developed using
the 3Dfx Interactive Voodoo Graphics adapter installed in a NeTpower
Calisto 200mhz P6 PC, and the Motion Analysis Face Trackerä. This tool
allows developers to add lip sync, facial control and other expressions
to their 3D characters. QWC has other game-development tools and services
to support 3D game developers. Contact Steve Tice for availability and
pricing information.
Contact: setpci@aol.com or 818-906-3322.
The First Microsoft/3Dfx Game
Microsoft's Hellbender game, which will be available this fall, is the
first in a series of Direct3D games developed on 3Dfx's Voodoo Graphics
chipset. Hellbender, an "intense action shooter," is expected to showcase
Voodoo Graphics' high-performance capabilities. To date, more than 100
developers have joined 3Dfx's developer program, Total Immersion.
www.3dfx.com
ENGAGE & Concentric Network's Gaming Network
ENGAGE Online Games has announced that they are developing an online
gaming network in collaboration with Concentric Network Corp. They will
provide both low and fixed latency connections to ENGAGE's family of
games. The network is based on an ATM/frame-relay backbone, and will
utilize advanced networking technology including distributed data
centers, adaptive call processing and partitioned network management. The
network will be accessible through the Internet as well as the major
online services, and will offer up to 15 games by the end of the year.
Contact: www.gamesonline.com
Elastic Reality 3.0
Avid recently unveiled the latest release of their popular Elastic
Reality morphing and compositing program. Version 3.0, for the Windows
NT, Macintosh and SGI platforms, features an optional hierarchical
animation module and tools for shape creation, matte creation and
compositing, morphing and warping, color correction and animation.
Pricing for the SGI platform starts at $6,000; pricing and availability
for the Windows NT and Macintosh platform will be announced at a later
date.
Contact: www.avid.com
GPC Updates
At a press conference during SIGGRAPH a few weeks ago, the Graphics
Performance Characterization (GPC) Group (which is becoming the de-facto
industry standard group for 3D benchmarking) made a number of
announcements and demonstrations, including:
* The new GLPerf benchmark, for measuring performance across different
OpenGL-based systems
* Version 5.0 of the Viewperf benchmark (for which seven vendors are
reporting more than 80 sets of results)
* The first public demonstration of the OpenGL port for the Picture-
Level Benchmark (PLB)
www.specbench.org/gpc/
Number Nine Imagine 128 Series 2 Accelerator
Number Nine Visual Technology has announced another entrant to the "low-
cost-high-performance" graphics accelerator market, their Imagine 128
Series 2e board (a lower-cost version of the Series 2 board) for the
consumer market. Following the current trend towards full integrated
multimedia functionality, it provides 2D, 3D and video acceleration.
Billed as one of the "only true 128-bit graphics card(s) in the world,"
(along with the other products in the Imagine 128 line), it features a
256-bit video engine with support for software-based MPEG decoding,
OpenGL 3D acceleration, and will display 256 colors at resolutions up to
1600 x 1200. The board ships with 4 MB of EDO DRAM, and will be available
in September for an estimated street price of $399.
Contact: www.nine.com
Wave Issue 9607 8/30/96 Article 1-01