NC> But how many actually do?
  Startlingly, quite a few companies write chip-specific versions of games.  
There are a lot (at least 77 or so) which use 3Dfx' Glide, 18 or so which use 
PowerVR's, and Rendition's support is probably somewhere between the two.
  And don't forget, companies don't always just write a generic Direct3D 
version and call it a day.  Forsaken (which will look comparatively dull on 
the PSX, ) has how many optimizations in its D3D code for various 
chipsets, including the ATI Rage Pro I have.
 NC>  :)
  But do you see what I mean?  PSX games might seem better-optimized, but 
it's mainly because they don't use rendering features which would otherwise 
kill it.  You can't play in 640x480 with perpective correction or bilinear 
filtering, let alone 800x600 with Phong shading with bump mapping (something 
which you need a Voodoo 2 board to do right now).
 NC> But the PSX is a very specifically engineered piece of 
 NC> hardware, if the web was an intented intergration in 
 NC> the PSX original plans then it wouldn't be a problem 
 NC> for it to link in and use the technology.
  So you're basically saying "that's not fair!"  :-)  The great advantage of 
a PC is that you can follow a gaming trend as soon as it's available, not 
when a multinational electronics corporation decides it won't affect their 
profit margin.
 NC> Sure multi-player over the Internet would be fun, 
 NC> playing against other people is much more fun than 
 NC> playing against code-controlled CPU drones. :)
  I thought so!  
 NC> :) Probably!
  See!  You can't really condemn the PC game industry, because whatever ills 
it has often translate equally to the consoles.
 NC> :) I used to love Stunt Car Racer on my Atari, great fun, do you know if 
 NC> theres anything like it out on the current crop of 
 NC> consoles? It was racing around elavated tracks, usually 
 NC> with huge sections of track missing which you had to 
 NC> jump over using the ramps of the course. Great fun, 
 NC> especially the cracks appearing in your car as you did 
 NC> the more demanding jumps and landings over the race. :)
  I know there's a port of SF Rush on the N64 - I'm not sure about the PSX (I 
think so though).  
  Also, what about Jet Moto?  While it's not car racing, there are plenty of 
missing track pieces and all kinds of death-defying stunts.  One level's 
secret involves flying through a house; on the final track, you have to spin 
180 degrees into oncoming traffic to win.
 NC> :) I look forward to the day when the hardware prices 
 NC> come down to something near affordable for the Average 
 NC> Joe in the street.
  That probably won't happen for awhile.  There'll always be a stunning new 
piece of technology that's much faster than anything else, and you'll have to 
pay top-dollar (or for you, top-pound) for it.  By the time this finally 
stops, you'll probably be dealing with "holodeck-quality" systems.
 NC> :) But the PSX is engineered to compute specific 3D 
 NC> rountines, fast. Which it does.
  Same thing is true with most 3D boards, and there are some more recent CPUs 
(such as 333 MHz P2s and K63Ds) which do the same as well!
--- Maximus 3.01
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