>> . Pixar renders their frames at a color depth of something like 16 bits per channel.
> The fill rate on the Geforce series is reasonably high. The color depth is 32 bits
For the GeForce, 32 bits per pixel is only 8-bits per channel, and can leave bad banding and mach artifacts with overlays.
16 bits per channel is 64 bits per pixel (ARGB). Unfortunately it will be a while before consumer cards even start thinking of supporting it.
> But I think we're still a ways off from being able to do away with the repetitive textures that dominate roads or brick walls in videogames.
Exactly. Why? Because we use textures as a form of compression. Computers just don't enough memory and bandwidth to allocate an unique texture for EVERY surface. (Light maps push this boundry though, as can be noted in Quake with it's light map cache.)
The reason textures even "work" to begin with, is that from a distance, a surface looks pretty much "flat". But at the microscopic level (atoms) the "surface" is extremely hilly. In the real world, *ALL* those micro details ADD UP when that object is light. And that is why the textures in any game stand out like a sore thumb. It's not the "textures" themselves that are the problem. It's the surface roughness and lighting that we are CRUDELY approximating (for real-time rendering.) Bringing this back on topic, thats why off-line rendering farms can look SO much better and realistic. They have the time to do all the expensive math calcs needed for realistic lighting (i.e. ray-tracing)
> It didn't appear flat, but rather bumpy
That's why bump-mapping is so badly needed in today's games. It fakes the atomic "roughness" of a surface.
I'll dig up a link to that Quake 1 client (with source) that added bump-mapping later today. The cool part was that you could adjust the level of bumpiness. A textured brick with a little bit of bump-mapping looked WAY better and started to look like a real brick (with indents.)
Everyone remembers in Doom how if you strafed along a North-South wall that you moved faster.
Well Descent had that bug in 3 dimenions! You point turn righ 45 degrees, and point your nose down 45 degreees, then move left+forward+up and you moved at 3x the speed !
The other problem with Descent was that it was peer-to-peer. (You would see people disappear then re-appear on a bad con.) You could hack your client to make yourself invulnerable and there was nothing no-one else could do.
The author's post is NOT flamebait. The BIGGEST problem with *3D* games is trying to make them look distince and unique, as "almost anybody can write a 3d engine." (There was a Game Developer article on this.) Why do you think NPR (Non Photo Realistic) rendering is catching on? "Jet Grind Radio" for the Dreamcast used "real-time toon-rendering" for a nice effect.
> Atleast back then gameplay was more important than fancy graphics and 3d accelerators.
Gameplay doesn't sell, fancy graphics and repetative gameplay does. i.e. Diablo 2 has sold over 2 million copies, Lineage has over 2 million subscribers, EQ has over 300K subscribers, etc.
I'll try to dig up some links on the rendering issue.
> But someone going 10 MPH *under* the traffic flow causes traffic to back up behind them.
Hear Hear!
I agree, one idiot driver driving REAL slow (no, not grandpa) pissing off the 20 drivers behind him is just as unsafe!
I guess experienced drivers know when to drive with the flow of traffic, when to drive what the weather permits, and what your skill provides (i.e. higher speed cornering)
> In exchange for safety, it is illegal to yell "Fire" in a theater that is not actually on fire. You can't mention guns and bombs at the airport security checkpoint.
Those examples you listed are NOT examples of free speech.
The difference in these cases is that you are on someone else's *property*. They are free to make whatever rules they want.
Bringing this back on topic: No one *owns* the internet, so the court ruling that typosquatting is illegal, is like saying that the government has the exclusive rights and jurisdiction to domain names (e.g. you are on their property.) which they allow others to use. That's complete nonsense.
> Heck, the airport checkpoint itself is a limitation on interstate commerce.
Now, that is certainly interesting. Have any links where I can read up more on that?
> Most of the things which Americans and others accept as rights are actually priviliges - free speech. They have been granted by the state; they do not exist by default.
Bullshit. I'm free to say whatever I want. I don't need your permission ("privilige" aka "license") to talk.
Does the government create people, or do people create the government?
If people create the government, then the sovereign people ALREADY HAVE those right(s) (to free speech, to travel, etc.)
> Provide the players with *clients* that only display the game and send player movement/control data.
The problem is latency. In an ideal world the server would tell the client "exactly" what it can or can't see.
However, today's network just don't have a low enough ping to do this. Quake used client-side prediction for movement as ANY form of lag provides a discontinious play experience.
Actually Ultima Online does do the above. You can't "use" the next item, until the server acknowledges the first item is valid.
i.e. open container, drink potion
You're also forgotting, that ALL program's have bugs. You can have the best hack-proof client, but if the server logic (bug) is incorrect people can still cheat.
> I do want to have the latest Video Card, latest chipset, latest Soundblaster Platinum card, and THX certified speakers..which could set me back a couple of thousand..
Computer equipment is different though. With the latest video card(s) you get a much higher framerate. With the newer sounds cards, they support 5.1 channels.
The poine is, it is much easier to "quantify" the quality with computer hardware, then with high end audio equipment.
Instead of IBM developing 2 chips, why couldn't they develop just one and send it to both Nintendo and Sony. Think they would notice?;-)
It *would* lower the hardware production costs if Nintendo and Sony ever "standardized" on commodity hardware. Nahh, they'll never go for it, it would make too much sen$e.;-)
> I also can't see someone sittin in church and looking at a computer screen bible...
I have. Usually the bible in church is NOT used linearly but for searching / looking up a few scriptures. Computerized books work very well for this.
> But as for the paper back/hard back novel, I just can't seem to see that going away.
I agree. I would rather take a small pocket book to bed to read then my laptop any day (or nite;)
For something to be read sequentially, computer books suck compared to the "natural" high resolution flicker-free paper.
Stand up. Put your hands at your sides, so your palms are touching the outside of your thighs. (e.g. as if you were lining up for the drill sergeant.) Notice how your thumb points towards your front, and your pinky points toward your back. This is position #1.
e.g.
O (head)
|
| (hands resting along your sides, pointing down)
|
|
|_
Now keeping your elbow beside your body, raise your hands up 90 degrees so your arms form a L and your thumbs are pointing upwards. (Think of shaking someone's hand.) Now rotate your hands inwards so your thumbs are pointing towards each other. And finally, move your hands together so your thumbs are touching. This is position #2.
Notice the "unnatural" angle your wrists are making in position #2, while the "natural" position of shaking someone's hand doesn't put your wrist in constrained positions.
RSI is real. I have personally noticed symptons over the last few years. After typing all week, I would get a inflamation in my wrists while driving on the weekend. Hurts like hell, and nothing you can do makes it go away. Fortunately it would only as 30 mins.
I switched over to M$ natural keyboard, since there is more space between the TGB and YHN keys versus the traditional keyboard. It is certainly not the best ergonomic keyboard, but I notice that if I go back to a normal keyboard, my wrists tend to get sore.
Interestinly enough I haven't had any symptons of RSI since I started taking Aikido and doing the standard wrist stretches. e.g. Ikkajo, Nikajo, Sankojo, and Kote-gaeshi.
Disclaimer: Consult a qualified doctor before doing any stretches, etc.
> 'If you cut off their XXXXXX XXXXXXX legs there ain't gonna be no more kicking'.
You are right, a business without any customers no longer can afford to stay in business. But the problem is too many suck^H^H^H^Hconsumers continuing to buy something they think they "need."
Myself is a perfect example:-( I'm trying to stop drinking soda. I know it's not good, but yet I continue buying it because I like the taste. And it keeps the soda companies in biz. In essence I have "voted" with my money.
I can see the same thing with people buying DVD's.
The root of the problem with "bad" corporations is ourselves. We need to continue active boycotting and show more people how to wake up from what is going on around them.
> Its too easy to cheat with the language and revert back to "proceduralness"
Excuse me, but C++ was *designed* to be a multiparadigm language (procedural, generic programming (templates/containers), AND Object orientated.) That is its strength, and what makes it so complex to learn.
All 3 paradigms are orthogonal, and supported by the language. It is up to the programmer/designer to know what paradigm applies to the task.
Cheers
--
"The issue today is the same as it has been throughout all history, whether man shall be allowed to govern himself or be ruled by a small elite." - Thomas Jefferson
Slashdot Mirror
> And yet insurance is emminently respectable.
Insurance is another ponzi scheme, just like gambling.
If people want to blow/"invest" their money, that's their prerogative, and others should have no right to tell them what they can or can't do with it.
>> . Pixar renders their frames at a color depth of something like 16 bits per channel.
> The fill rate on the Geforce series is reasonably high. The color depth is 32 bits
For the GeForce, 32 bits per pixel is only 8-bits per channel, and can leave bad banding and mach artifacts with overlays.
16 bits per channel is 64 bits per pixel (ARGB). Unfortunately it will be a while before consumer cards even start thinking of supporting it.
> In a game EVERYTHING has to be either anticipated, or computed in real time.
Frame-based animation is the example of the prior.
Skeletal-based animation (and motion blending, ala Granny) is the example of the later.
> But I think we're still a ways off from being able to do away with the repetitive textures that dominate roads or brick walls in videogames.
Exactly. Why? Because we use textures as a form of compression. Computers just don't enough memory and bandwidth to allocate an unique texture for EVERY surface. (Light maps push this boundry though, as can be noted in Quake with it's light map cache.)
The reason textures even "work" to begin with, is that from a distance, a surface looks pretty much "flat". But at the microscopic level (atoms) the "surface" is extremely hilly. In the real world, *ALL* those micro details ADD UP when that object is light. And that is why the textures in any game stand out like a sore thumb. It's not the "textures" themselves that are the problem. It's the surface roughness and lighting that we are CRUDELY approximating (for real-time rendering.) Bringing this back on topic, thats why off-line rendering farms can look SO much better and realistic. They have the time to do all the expensive math calcs needed for realistic lighting (i.e. ray-tracing)
> It didn't appear flat, but rather bumpy
That's why bump-mapping is so badly needed in today's games. It fakes the atomic "roughness" of a surface.
I'll dig up a link to that Quake 1 client (with source) that added bump-mapping later today. The cool part was that you could adjust the level of bumpiness. A textured brick with a little bit of bump-mapping looked WAY better and started to look like a real brick (with indents.)
Everyone remembers in Doom how if you strafed along a North-South wall that you moved faster.
Well Descent had that bug in 3 dimenions! You point turn righ 45 degrees, and point your nose down 45 degreees, then move left+forward+up and you moved at 3x the speed !
The other problem with Descent was that it was peer-to-peer. (You would see people disappear then re-appear on a bad con.) You could hack your client to make yourself invulnerable and there was nothing no-one else could do.
> Now all games look the same!
The author's post is NOT flamebait. The BIGGEST problem with *3D* games is trying to make them look distince and unique, as "almost anybody can write a 3d engine." (There was a Game Developer article on this.) Why do you think NPR (Non Photo Realistic) rendering is catching on? "Jet Grind Radio" for the Dreamcast used "real-time toon-rendering" for a nice effect.
> Atleast back then gameplay was more important than fancy graphics and 3d accelerators.
Gameplay doesn't sell, fancy graphics and repetative gameplay does. i.e. Diablo 2 has sold over 2 million copies, Lineage has over 2 million subscribers, EQ has over 300K subscribers, etc.
I'll try to dig up some links on the rendering issue.
My copy of Hard Hat Mack had a secret message from "The Fly"
It sure was neat looking for easter eggs in games.
> But someone going 10 MPH *under* the traffic flow causes traffic to back up behind them.
Hear Hear!
I agree, one idiot driver driving REAL slow (no, not grandpa) pissing off the 20 drivers behind him is just as unsafe!
I guess experienced drivers know when to drive with the flow of traffic, when to drive what the weather permits, and what your skill provides (i.e. higher speed cornering)
Yeap. Thank-you for putting it more eloquently then me.
> Everytime you speed, you run the risk of killing someone.
Bullshit.
You can run the risk of killing someone while driving BELOW the speed limit. (i.e. rainy or winter driving conditions, etc.)
Speeding != driving reckless.
Speeding is a VICTIMLESS crime, which should NOT be illegal.
Now, reckless driving IS indangering someone else's life, which SHOULD be illegal (and it is.)
> In exchange for safety, it is illegal to yell "Fire" in a theater that is not actually on fire. You can't mention guns and bombs at the airport security checkpoint.
n dness.com/FREEDOM990628.htm+fire+theater+yell&hl=e n
Those examples you listed are NOT examples of free speech.
The difference in these cases is that you are on someone else's *property*. They are free to make whatever rules they want.
http://www.google.com/search?q=cache:www.fatalbli
Bringing this back on topic: No one *owns* the internet, so the court ruling that typosquatting is illegal, is like saying that the government has the exclusive rights and jurisdiction to domain names (e.g. you are on their property.) which they allow others to use. That's complete nonsense.
> Heck, the airport checkpoint itself is a limitation on interstate commerce.
Now, that is certainly interesting. Have any links where I can read up more on that?
Cheers
> Most of the things which Americans and others accept as rights are actually priviliges - free speech. They have been granted by the state; they do not exist by default.
Bullshit. I'm free to say whatever I want. I don't need your permission ("privilige" aka "license") to talk.
Does the government create people, or do people create the government?
If people create the government, then the sovereign people ALREADY HAVE those right(s) (to free speech, to travel, etc.)
i.e.
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press;
> What utility does gold have besides as a medium of exchange?
WHY are all high-end audio/video connectors GOLD plated? Because gold doesn't corrode.
> Provide the players with *clients* that only display the game and send player movement/control data.
The problem is latency. In an ideal world the server would tell the client "exactly" what it can or can't see.
However, today's network just don't have a low enough ping to do this. Quake used client-side prediction for movement as ANY form of lag provides a discontinious play experience.
Actually Ultima Online does do the above. You can't "use" the next item, until the server acknowledges the first item is valid.
i.e. open container, drink potion
You're also forgotting, that ALL program's have bugs. You can have the best hack-proof client, but if the server logic (bug) is incorrect people can still cheat.
A good joke is timeless. If you don't find the joke humoruous, that's your loss, not mine...
Mod parent up.
. htm is very good !
That link http://www.gpick.net/sbr/security/w2ksecuritytips
Humankind: the only species capable, and dumb enough to wipe out prior species, and themselves.
> I do want to have the latest Video Card, latest chipset, latest Soundblaster Platinum card, and THX certified speakers..which could set me back a couple of thousand..
Computer equipment is different though. With the latest video card(s) you get a much higher framerate. With the newer sounds cards, they support 5.1 channels.
The poine is, it is much easier to "quantify" the quality with computer hardware, then with high end audio equipment.
Instead of IBM developing 2 chips, why couldn't they develop just one and send it to both Nintendo and Sony. Think they would notice? ;-)
;-)
It *would* lower the hardware production costs if Nintendo and Sony ever "standardized" on commodity hardware. Nahh, they'll never go for it, it would make too much sen$e.
> I also can't see someone sittin in church and looking at a computer screen bible...
;)
I have. Usually the bible in church is NOT used linearly but for searching / looking up a few scriptures. Computerized books work very well for this.
> But as for the paper back/hard back novel, I just can't seem to see that going away.
I agree. I would rather take a small pocket book to bed to read then my laptop any day (or nite
For something to be read sequentially, computer books suck compared to the "natural" high resolution flicker-free paper.
Cheers
> yet Google can search the entire web in under 1/2 a second for me?
m l
. shtml
Because google has over 4,000 !! linux boxes with custom clustering software.
http://www.ee.ethz.ch/~slist/ee-talks/msg00056.ht
http://www.slashdot.org/articles/00/05/31/1242237
Cheers
> , like writhing on the floor while a udansha gently twists your wrist to just short of the breaking point....
;-)
You could just tap the mat earlier
Stand up. Put your hands at your sides, so your palms are touching the outside of your thighs. (e.g. as if you were lining up for the drill sergeant.) Notice how your thumb points towards your front, and your pinky points toward your back. This is position #1.
e.g.
Now keeping your elbow beside your body, raise your hands up 90 degrees so your arms form a L and your thumbs are pointing upwards. (Think of shaking someone's hand.) Now rotate your hands inwards so your thumbs are pointing towards each other. And finally, move your hands together so your thumbs are touching. This is position #2.
Notice the "unnatural" angle your wrists are making in position #2, while the "natural" position of shaking someone's hand doesn't put your wrist in constrained positions.
RSI is real. I have personally noticed symptons over the last few years. After typing all week, I would get a inflamation in my wrists while driving on the weekend. Hurts like hell, and nothing you can do makes it go away. Fortunately it would only as 30 mins.
I switched over to M$ natural keyboard, since there is more space between the TGB and YHN keys versus the traditional keyboard. It is certainly not the best ergonomic keyboard, but I notice that if I go back to a normal keyboard, my wrists tend to get sore.
Interestinly enough I haven't had any symptons of RSI since I started taking Aikido and doing the standard wrist stretches. e.g. Ikkajo, Nikajo, Sankojo, and Kote-gaeshi.
Disclaimer: Consult a qualified doctor before doing any stretches, etc.
Cheers
> 'If you cut off their XXXXXX XXXXXXX legs there ain't gonna be no more kicking'.
:-( I'm trying to stop drinking soda. I know it's not good, but yet I continue buying it because I like the taste. And it keeps the soda companies in biz. In essence I have "voted" with my money.
You are right, a business without any customers no longer can afford to stay in business. But the problem is too many suck^H^H^H^Hconsumers continuing to buy something they think they "need."
Myself is a perfect example
I can see the same thing with people buying DVD's.
The root of the problem with "bad" corporations is ourselves. We need to continue active boycotting and show more people how to wake up from what is going on around them.
> Its too easy to cheat with the language and revert back to "proceduralness"
7 1/
/
Excuse me, but C++ was *designed* to be a multiparadigm language (procedural, generic programming (templates/containers), AND Object orientated.) That is its strength, and what makes it so complex to learn.
All 3 paradigms are orthogonal, and supported by the language. It is up to the programmer/designer to know what paradigm applies to the task.
You might want to check out these books:
Multi-Paradigm Design for C++
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/02018246
Generic Programming and the Stl : Using and Extending the C++ Standard Template Library http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0201309564
Cheers
--
"The issue today is the same as it has been throughout all history, whether man shall be allowed to govern himself or be ruled by a small elite." - Thomas Jefferson