Hello Jonathan ! 
 NC>> But how many actually do?
 JF> Startlingly, quite a few companies write chip-specific versions of
 JF> games. There are a lot (at least 77 or so) which use 3Dfx' Glide, 18
 JF> or so which use PowerVR's, and Rendition's support is probably
 JF> somewhere between the two.
Blimey.
 JF> And don't forget, companies don't always just write a generic
 JF> Direct3D version and call it a day.  Forsaken (which will look
 JF> comparatively dull on the PSX, ) has how many optimizations in
:-J
 JF> its D3D code for various chipsets, including the ATI Rage Pro I
 JF> have.
ATI? They do the factory fitted/bog standard Mac video hardware. I think.
 NC>>  :)
 JF> But do you see what I mean?  PSX games might seem better-optimized,
 JF> but it's mainly because they don't use rendering features which would
 JF> otherwise kill it.  You can't play in 640x480 with perpective
 JF> correction or bilinear filtering, let alone 800x600 with Phong
 JF> shading with bump mapping (something which you need a Voodoo 2 board
 JF> to do right now).
Great. 
 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.
 JF> So you're basically saying "that's not fair!"  :-)  The great
;) As if....
 JF> advantage of a PC is that you can follow a gaming trend as soon as
 JF> it's available, not when a multinational electronics corporation
 JF> 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. :)
 JF> I thought so!  
If we had free local calls. Which we ain't got, and aren't likely to get very 
soon either :(
 NC>> :) Probably!
 JF> See!  You can't really condemn the PC game industry, because whatever
 JF> ills it has often translate equally to the consoles.
Its fun. :)
 NC>> :) I used to love Stunt Car Racer on my Atari, great fun, do you
 NC>> know if 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. :)
 JF> I know there's a port of SF Rush on the N64 - I'm not sure about the
 JF> PSX (I think so though). 
 JF> Also, what about Jet Moto?  While it's not car racing, there are
 JF> plenty of missing track pieces and all kinds of death-defying stunts.
 JF> One level's secret involves flying through a house; on the final
 JF> track, you have to spin 180 degrees into oncoming traffic to win.
I ain't played it, still amusing myself with my brother Saturn and the few 
games he bought for it. :)
 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.
 JF> That probably won't happen for awhile.  There'll always be a stunning
Or, like, ever. They keep pumping more technology and keeping the price about 
the same  price level. :_/
 JF> new piece of technology that's much faster than anything else, and
 JF> you'll have to pay top-dollar (or for you, top-pound) for it.  By the
Nice, strong Pound atm. :)
 JF> time this finally stops, you'll probably be dealing with "holodeck-
 JF> quality" systems.
Yeah! I can't wait. :) 
NC>> :) But the PSX is engineered to compute specific 3D
 NC>> rountines, fast. Which it does.
 JF> Same thing is true with most 3D boards, and there are some more
 JF> recent CPUs (such as 333 MHz P2s and K63Ds) which do the same as
 JF> well!
:) In the studio I'm freelancing at they have a P300, /just/ a bit nippy. 
Spends most of the day utilising all that power playing FMV clips on the 
screensaver. Great. 
CheeryBye
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Prodigy - Fire.Jericho
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