Subject: re: merging .wld

From: Jerry Isdale <[email-masked]>
Date: 12 Oct 93 00:04:55 EDT

In response to Bob Mason's query about merging worlds and creating menus in
Rend, Todd Porter responds:

> why not create an alphabet in .plgs read in the .wld files and match
> each char to the appropriate. .plg and build the menu that way.  Still
> limited but more flexible.
 A set of single sided flat PLGs for each letter would a) take up a lot of
space and b) be a pain to setup. If Rend werent so limited in its # polygons,
then it wouldnt be such a problem. Perhaps with a 32bit flat memory version it
would work.
 There are times when you want the menu immersed in the world, perhaps attached
to your virtual body (a tool belt as someone suggested). However, I think that
a general menu interface would be much more usable for many applications. It
would be more familar to most users and its dynamics/human factors are better
understood.

 The best menuing solution, in my opinion, would be to have a higher resolution
screen (640x480 or x400) and use good graphic text menus. This would require
some major changes to Rend to support the high res mode and would slow the
frame rate. For world and object building, I think the reduced frame rate would
be acceptable. (besides, I hear great things about Rend-ATI... rend386 v4
modifed to work on the new ATI cards at high res).

Jerry Isdale

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From: Chris Hand <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 12 Oct 93 13:07:00 BST

Jerry Isdale said:
> [...] a higher resolution
> frame rate. 

What about "dynamic resolution".  The screen is in a 640x480 graphics mode,
but while moving around the render only renders pixels in groups of
2x2, effective res. is then 320x240.

When the viewpoint stops (or after an idle period), or when a menu
appears the screen is rendered in full 640x480.  *Real* texture maps
could even appear after further (inevitable) waiting.

Switching graphics *mode* is probably a bad idea since the monitor
(or HMD even) might lose sync and cause "jumps".

> For world and object building, I think the reduced frame rate would
> be acceptable. 

Certainly.  Plus (a) We'll all be using faster machines *eventually*, 
no point in constraining what's possible in the future by the 
technology we're using now, and (b) Not all applications of REND386
will need lightning fast, real-time rendering anyway.  Sometimes the choice
between being able to see the object *properly* (menu for example) and
having a high frame rate is going to be obvious.

> (besides, I hear great things about Rend-ATI... rend386 v4

Where?  When?  How?  Could it be modified easily for other SVGA's?

Chris

-- 
Chris Hand, Lecturer                Internet mail: [email-masked]
Dept of Computing Science,          *new* FIDO address: 2:2503/307.50
De Montfort University, The Gateway,  Fax: +44 533 541891  
LEICESTER, UK   LE1 9BH             >> Reality is 80 Million polygons/second <<

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From: [email-masked] (Scott Wood)
Date: Tue, 12 Oct 93 10:40:42 EDT

[much deleted...]
> Where?  When?  How?  Could it be modified easily for other SVGA's?

Anyone know if this is for-real?  Sounds like the begining of special
drivers to handle specific hardware configurations (for Rend386). Great
for me - I have an ATI Graphics Ultra Pro VESA <---speed-demon!

-scott
-- 
                        _   /|      |   Scott Wood
          Ack Thippfft! \'o.O`      |   Optronics, an Intergraph Company
                        =(___)=     |   [email-masked]
                           U        |