seanc@pro-party.cts.com (Sean Cunningham) (05/31/90)
Is there ANYONE out there with ANY information WHAT-SO-EVER on this new 3D rendering package called " RENDITION "? All that I've read in any of the magazines about it is that it uses advanced scanline routines to create photo-realistic images without having to raytrace...and from the stats on ASDG's "ART DEPARTMENT", Rendition uses 32 bits-per-pixel files!!! Perhaps someone from ASDG could comment...that is, unless they're under some sort of "non-disclosure" agreement. It seems as though when things finally get published in the magazines, they're already common knowlege here...or we've speculated on them enough to have atleast pinned some features. Sean //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// UUCP: ...!crash!pnet01!pro-party!seanc | ARPA: !crash!pnet01!pro-party!seanc@nosc.mil | " Fanatics have their INET: seanc@pro-party.cts.com | dreams, wherewith they | weave a paradise for RealWorld: Sean Cunningham | a sect. " Voice: (512) 994-1602 PLINK: ce3k* | -Keats | Call C.B.A.U.G. BBS (512) 883-8351 w/SkyPix | B^) VISION GRAPHICS B^) \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
mark@calvin..westford.ccur.com (Mark Thompson) (06/02/90)
In article <2913@crash.cts.com> seanc@pro-party.cts.com (Sean Cunningham) writes: >Is there ANYONE out there with ANY information WHAT-SO-EVER on this new 3D >rendering package called " RENDITION "? Rendition is image synthesis software created by Numerical Design Limited in Chapel Hill. It runs on Sun 3/4/386i, PC/AT's, Mac's, Amigas, and Definicon DSI-780's. Its features include: Scanline based rendering, hidden surface removal, anti-aliasing, smooth shading, highlights, environment maps, transparency, shadows, up to 8K x 8K resolution, 32 bit color (8 bits of alpha for compositing), and a variety of surface properties such as wood, metal, plastic, and 2D and 3D textures. It appears that there is only one kind of light source but you can change its color and intensity. There is a wireframe preview mode and final images can be compressed to 7, 8, 9, or 10 bits as well as run- length encoded. The impression I got was that this is a PC clone product that will run with a bridgeboard and a Targa frame buffer. The images I have seen it create are reasonable but I tend to yawn at Targa products on an Amiga. Some sample render times are below. These were an image of a nearly empty room (chair, window, vase, and lamp). The increase in polygon count is due to the introduction of shadows. polygons time(sec) method ---------------------------------------------------------- 236 67 flat shading 236 84 Gouraud shading 236 100 Gouraud shading w/ transparency 589 1166 Gouraud with shadows 589 1252 Gouraud, shadows, and transparency These were rendered on a PC-AT w/640K ram and 80287 at 512x485. This is not very impessive, especially for simple Gouraud shading! Numerical Design can be contacted at (919)929-2917 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- | Mark Thompson | | masscomp!mark Designing high performance graphics | | (508)392-2480 engines today for a better tomorrow. | --------------------------------------------------------------------------
perry@madnix.UUCP (Perry Kivolowitz) (06/03/90)
In article <2913@crash.cts.com> seanc@pro-party.cts.com (Sean Cunningham) writes: >Is there ANYONE out there with ANY information WHAT-SO-EVER on this new 3D >rendering package called " RENDITION "? >Perhaps someone from ASDG could comment. Rendition is a rendering engine for hire. That is, suppose you were writing a 3D modelling system that had an awesome user interface but your rendering sucked? You could make a deal with Numerical Design Ltd, a company from North Carolina, to acquire their rendering routines as a library which your user interface front end could call. Thus far, the only product on the Amiga which uses the Rendition engine is Octree's Caligari Broadcast. Rendition is also the name of the file format which Rendition engines can output. The Rendition format does indeed have up to 32 bits-per-pixel. And yes, Rendition is one of the supported formats for the Art Department. pk -- Perry Kivolowitz, ASDG Inc. ``We look for things. Things that make us go.'' UUCP: {harvard|rutgers|ucbvax}!uwvax!astroatc!nicmad!madnix!perry CIS: 76004,1765 PLINK: pk-asdg
seanc@pro-party.cts.com (Sean Cunningham) (06/06/90)
In-Reply-To: message from perry@madnix.UUCP Thanks for the info... I am a little disappointed though...I like the output from Caligari, the only thing is (from what I've read), you have to have a TARGA or VISTA board to get the *nice* output from Caligari. Maybe they'll support the Toaster and the Firecracker/24 in a future release...I still would like to see "AmigaRENDERMAN"... Sean //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// UUCP: ...!crash!pnet01!pro-party!seanc | ARPA: !crash!pnet01!pro-party!seanc@nosc.mil | " Fanatics have their INET: seanc@pro-party.cts.com | dreams, wherewith they | weave a paradise for RealWorld: Sean Cunningham | a sect. " Voice: (512) 994-1602 PLINK: ce3k* | -Keats | Call C.B.A.U.G. BBS (512) 883-8351 w/SkyPix | B^) VISION GRAPHICS B^) \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
wizard@sosaria.imp.com (Chris Brand) (06/09/90)
In article <3010@crash.cts.com> seanc@pro-party.cts.com (Sean Cunningham) says: > Maybe they'll support the Toaster and the Firecracker/24 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Isn't that Impulse's 24bit board? What happens with it? Is it available? How much does it cost? Is there any software to support it? -- ------------------------------------ Chris Brand - wizard@sosaria.imp.com "Justice is the possession and doing of what one is entitled to" - Platon ------------------------------------
jandreas@pro-graphics.cts.com (Jason Andreas) (06/14/90)
In-Reply-To: message from mark@calvin..westford.ccur.com
I was told that the ND had started to port Rendition to the amiga, but then
Octree bought whatever rights available for it. They then finished the port,
and it is included in Caligari-Broadcast.
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Internet: jandreas@pro-graphics.cts.comrcw@ndl.COM (Robert Whitton) (07/09/90)
>>From: jandreas@pro-graphics.cts.com (Jason Andreas) >> >>In-Reply-To: message from mark@calvin..westford.ccur.com >> >>I was told that the ND had started to port Rendition to the amiga, >>but then Octree bought whatever rights available for it. They then >>finished the port, and it is included in Caligari-Broadcast. This is not accurate and we feel that it is important to correct this rumor. Numerical Design Ltd. has been licensing its photorealistic rendering package for several years on workstations and high end PC's. It is made available to systems builders for inclusion in applications in slidemaking, animation, CAD, and other appearance sensitive areas. An Amiga version was introduced in 1989. That version has been licensed to Octree Software for use in Broadcast Caligari but it is not true that "Octree bought whatever rights available for it". Rendition on all platforms and in all its versions remains the property of NDL, available for license. Robert Whitton rcw@ndl.com Numerical Design Ltd. ...!mcnc!rti!ndl!rcw