27 January 2003
Reported, written and edited by David Duberman
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Microsoft
last week announced broadened availability of the Microsoft DirectX 9.0
application programming interface (API). The latest version of the Microsoft Windows
Gaming API delivers a new High-Level Shader Language (HLSL) and features design
tools for the development of rich multimedia elements such as full-spectrum
color graphics, video, 3D animation and enhanced audio capabilities.
Based on
the C programming language, HLSL introduces a programming environment designed
for simplicity and flexibility across the full range of 3D graphics. It's said
to be useful for development tasks ranging from the creation of art and
animation to effects programming. Compatible with all DirectX-compliant
graphics processing units, MS says HLSL lets developers define a similar visual
effect across a wide range of graphics hardware. It can be integrated into the
Visual Studio IDE and complemented by enhancements to Microsoft's current
developer toolset.
DirectX
9.0 introduces improvements across its suite of APIs. DirectSound offers new
audio capabilities, DirectShow accelerates video rending hardware, and Direct3D
enhances low-level graphics programmability with new programmable vertex and
pixel shader 2.0 models.
The
DirectX 9.0 Software Development Kit including HLSL can be downloaded from the
DirectX Developer Center at http://msdn.microsoft.com/directx/.
The latest version of DirectX is also available for free download (connect-time
charges may apply) from the DirectX Home User Web page at http://www.microsoft.com/windows/directx/.
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New from
Curious Labs is pro-V Studio, a tool for authoring Viewpoint interactive
projects for Web-based presentation. The software uses a visual environment to
let users combine 3D objects, images, Macromedia Flash (*.SWF) animations, and
more.
http://www.curiouslabs.com/go/pro-v/
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Catalyst
Development Corporation, a publisher of Internet controls and libraries, last
week released Catalyst Internet Mail. The ActiveX control provides a simplified
interface for composing, sending and retrieving email messages.
With the
single component, it takes less then 20 lines of code to add email functionality
to your project that would otherwise take over 100 lines of code.
Created
using the ActiveX Template Library, this control has no dependency on
third-party components or Microsoft support libraries. It can be used with a
wide variety of programming languages and different types of development
environments and is supported by languages such as Visual Basic, Visual FoxPro,
Visual C++, Visual Studio.NET, Borland C++ Builder, Delphi and PowerBuilder.
In
addition, the control can be used as a basic COM object in scripting languages
like VBScript, with full support for server-side scripting in Active Server
Pages and other similar technologies.
A fully
functional 30-day evaluation copy is available for free download from the
Catalyst Web site. A single developer license for Catalyst Internet Mail is
$295.
Sample
code here: http://www.catalyst.com/products/internetmail/compare.html
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Alien Skin
Software, LLC, last week introduced Xenofex 2, 14 effects for Photoshop,
Fireworks, Paint Shop Pro, and other image editors. The software simulates
natural phenomena, produces distortions, and transforms photos. Completely
rewritten and including five new filters, Xenofex 2 is aimed at graphic
designers, digital photographers, and special effects enthusiasts.
Among the
effects:
natural
phenomena - render storms using photographs; "aim" lightning by
specifying beginning and end points; age photos with Stain, Cracks, and Burnt
Edges.
Distortions
- warp images with Television, Crumple, and more. 3D effects include Flag,
Shatter and Rip Open
transform
images into jigsaw puzzles, constellations, and intricate mosaics. Advanced
edge detection of Constellation and Classic Mosaic properly match colors and
align tiles/stars for the best effect.
Xenofex 2
uses the same interface Eye Candy 4000. Users tweak their effects in a large
preview that includes underlying layers and command menus, and keyboard
shortcuts. Presets put one-click effects at users' fingertips. Switch between
filters in the preview window and unlimited undo capability.
Now
carbonized for OS X on the Macintosh, Xenofex 2 will be available for the
Macintosh and Windows platforms late in the first quarter of 2003. The
estimated street price for Xenofex 2 will be $129.
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Coming in
late February from Ulead Systems is VideoStudio 7, the next version of its
consumer-level video editing software. Using a display card to output to a
second display device, users can now preview their creation on TV with
high-quality, real-time, full-screen previews. The new version is one of the
first consumer software applications to offer increased processing speeds of up
to 23% by supporting Intel's Hyper-Threading (HT) technology. It also leverages
the performance gains offered by dual processors.
Other new
features include:
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Nvidia
Corporation last week introduced the Nvidia Quadro FX series of workstation
graphics solutions aimed at the professional CAD/CAM and
digital-content-creation markets. The series, which will start shipping in
February, includes the Quadro FX 2000 and Quadro FX 1000 graphics solutions,
both of which combine a 128-bit floating point precision with an eight-pipeline,
programmable graphics engine.
Nvidia
says the cards, featuring three parallel vertex engines with an on-chip vertex
cache, eight programmable pixel pipelines, and a new line engine coupled to a
high-speed DDR2 memory interface, achieve line performance five times faster
than the its previous-generation products. Full-scene antialiasing supports
resolutions up to 3840x2400 QUXGA.
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Ontario-based
Fakespace Systems has delivered a reconfigurable visualization system as part
of an Immersive Environment Simulator, used to study how soldiers use equipment
in combat zones, at the Army Research Laboratory (ARL) in Aberdeen Proving
Ground, Maryland. The RAVE II visualization system consists of three
detachable, large-scale stereoscopic display units that ARL uses to project
realistic imagery of simulated hostile environments.
The RAVE
II is one part of the Tactical Environment Simulation Facility at ARL, which
includes two adjoining simulation environments. One is a stereoscopic
projection-based Hostile Environment Simulator that includes a 155-decibel
sound system. The second part, called the Immersive Environment Simulator,
integrates the RAVE II with motion tracking and an omni-directional treadmill
to allow soldiers to literally run and move in any direction within virtual
hostile terrain and combat conditions.
The RAVE
II at the ARL is a reconfigurable stereoscopic display system consisting of
three self-contained 10-ft x 12.5-ft rear-projected modules that can be
arranged to form a flat wall display, an immersive theater, or an enclosed
CAVE-like environment. As part of the Immersive Environment Simulator it is used
in conjunction with an immersive sound system consisting of 44 loudspeakers. It
is the first system of its type to ever include an omni-directional treadmill,
and it also has an accurate inertial acoustic position measuring system, which
enables visualizations to track in real time with the user's changing point of
view. SGI was prime contractor for the $2.5 million project, and the Immersive
Environment Simulator is driven by an SGI Onyx supercomputer
The new
facility will be used for human factors studies on pre-prototype hardware and
software, such as new helmet designs and target acquisition systems. As part of
the laboratory's Objective Force Warrior program, the immersive systems will
also be used to evaluate how increased information, and different ways of
accessing and presenting information, will affect soldiers' performance. Among
a variety of proposed research studies, it will also be used in a project to
determine if dismounted soldiers can successfully control one or more
battlefield robots.
More
information on ARL can be found at http://www.arl.army.mil.
More
information on Fakespace Systems Inc. is available at www.fakespacesystems.com, and
pictures of the ARL installation can be accessed at http://www.fakespacesystems.com/password.htm.
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Viewpoint
Corporation says that Lycos Europe, a European Internet portal, has signed an
agreement to deploy Viewpoint content across its European network.
Lycos
Europe intends to utilize Viewpoint's interactive digital technologies in
upcoming advertising and promotional campaigns. The two companies have planned
a European marketing tour to introduce, educate and promote the enhanced
product offerings to the Lycos Europe advertising customer (only one? <g>
- Ed.).
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Just out
from Jon Peddie Research is its $2,495 2003 - 2006 DVD study, which reports a
420 million-unit world market for all types of DVD systems, including players,
recorders, set-tops, PCs, etc.
The report
covers the market size and forecast for five platforms:
Associative
industries benefit from this growth too including semiconductors, software, new
technology, the eDVD, licensing, and copy protection.
* Media
production for DVDs will exceed 1.6 billion discs in 2006, a CAGR of 159%.
*
Semiconductors makers will benefit greatly from this phenomenal growth,
enjoying a 44% CAGR of 44% by 2006.
* Software
decoders, editors, and encoders also to benefit from the explosion of the DVD
market.
The DVD
market is huge, and getting larger; very rapidly. No longer limited to home
entertainment playback boxes, it is being combined with increasing numbers of
consumer electronics products; computers, portable devices, appliances and
industrial systems; DVD is everywhere.
The report
is supplied electronically in printable PDF form. Printed copies are also
available from JPR.
Number of
Pages: 199; figures, 50; tables, 31.
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Coming
this summer from Blizzard Entertainment is Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne, an
expansion set for the PC game Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos.
The Frozen
Throne provides gamers with a new chapter in the Warcraft saga. In the
single-player campaign, players revisit the war-torn world of Azeroth. Several
months have passed since Archimonde and the Burning Legion were defeated at the
battle of Mount Hyjal, yet a new threat has arisen throughout the land.
The evil
Lich King Ner'zhul has been imprisoned inside the Icecrown glacier, deep within
the arctic continent of Northrend. Although the former Orc Shaman lacks
physical form, his soul lives on, forever seeking a means to escape his icy
prison. As the saga continues, it is revealed that both the Night Elf renegade,
Illidan, and the traitorous Death Knight, Arthas, seek the Icecrown glacier and
the mysterious powers found inside. While it is uncertain as to what is being
sought inside the icy tomb, players must traverse uncharted lands and battle
treacherous new enemies to uncover the schemes of these nefarious beings, and
save all of Azeroth from the forces of darkness.
Features
include:
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Sony
Computer Entertainment America Inc. last week released The Getaway, a
free-roaming, mission-based, 3D action game for PlayStation2. Developed by Sony
Computer Entertainment Europe's, Team Soho, the game features 40 square
kilometers of photo-realistically recreated London blocks and street corners.
The
Getaway follows the story of two men from opposite sides of the law. Mark
Hammond, an ex-bank robber and former member of the Collins Crew gang, is on
the run for the murder of his wife. Frank Carter is a vigilante cop who was
suspended from the Flying Squad. Both men, manipulated by Charlie Jolson, a
notorious crime boss of London's East End for more than 20 years, are desperate
to clear their names. Longing for revenge, they share their obsession to bring
down London's crime supremo.
The player
can decide how to play, from choosing how to complete missions, to deciding
whether to drive or run to the next location. Initially, gamers will hit the
streets of London playing Hammond in order to complete a series of suicidal
missions, and will later switch over to the role of Carter to complete the
other missions. Both characters provide a variety of gameplay options and
players will experience versatility in missions, as each character has his own
agenda. As Hammond's story unfolds, other characters will be introduced with
their actions viewed from Hammond's perspective. When the gamer changes roles,
however, these same events affect Carter differently, impacting the gameplay
with entwining storylines.
The game
features immersive environments featuring damage modeling and physics on all
cars, moving traffic, free-to-roam parks, hundreds of tourists and pedestrians
and high-powered weaponry. Gamers can race to their next mission, get out and
run inside a building to face their next task -- then make the getaway on foot
or by car. Players can also abandon their cars and grab new ones, and perform
amazing stunts while in their vans, buses, taxis or anything else stolen from
the street.
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New from
GarageGames is the demo version of Chain Reaction, developed by Monster
Studios. The demo features eight playable puzzles and access to 13 of the
interactive parts. The full version of Chain Reaction, available at
www.garagegames.com for $14.95, includes over 50 levels, fifty-nine parts and a
full level builder with tools for users to create their own puzzles, which they
can email to their friends.
The
Monster Studios team includes, Jeff Tunnell, co-designer with Chris Cole and
Kevin Ryan original programmers on The Incredible Machine, the original art
director, Brian Hahn,, Tim Clark and Joel Streudler on music, and Don Carson,
former Senior Show Designer for Disney Imagineering on Mickey's Toon Town, who
set the look for Chain Reaction.
Chain
Reaction is a 3D puzzle game where players create and complete contraptions to
solve each level. The objective of each contraption is to blast MC Monster onto
his landing pad. Players choose from a toy box full of sixty-nine 3D parts such
as a basketball, dynamite, wrecking ball, bucket, solar panel, trampoline, or
electric motor. Connect them with structural parts like pipes, ropes, boxes,
conveyor belts and platforms to create and solve cause-and-effect puzzles.
http://www.garagegames.com/chainreaction
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In the
we'll-believe-it-when-we-see-it department, Tampa Bay-area technology company
Infinium Labs Corporation says it will develop and market a new game console
that it claims will outperform the Xbox, Sony PlayStation 2, and GameCube.
Reported
features include:
The
company says its system provides game developers and publishers a secure and
efficient software distribution system, and that it intends for game developers
and publishers to reap greater profits using this new game delivery system.
Infinium
Labs has engineered its prototypes and expects to unveil the new gaming console
this March, and to launch the console to the U.S. consumer market by November
2003.
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The
Computer History Museum, Mountain View, Calif.-based home to the world's
largest collection of computing artifact and stories, last week announced an
event to celebrate the accomplishments of the database industry. On Monday,
February 10, 2003, the Museum will host a panel discussion with database
pioneers Chris Date, Herb Edelstein, Bob Epstein, Ken Jacobs, Pat Selinger,
Roger Sippl and Michael Stonebraker, with moderator George Schussel.
Panelists
will discuss how the industry got started and highlight their personal
observations and experiences. The public is welcome to attend and enjoy a rare
opportunity to see this intriguing group of pioneers as they share their
personal stories and fascinating insights. Together, the group is responsible
for such accomplishments as the founding of Informix Software, the development
of the SQL database language and the technical planning and design for Oracle9i
Database and IBM DB2.
The panel
discussion starts at 7:00 p.m. and will be held in Building 3 at Moffett Field.
The event is free and open to the public, but reservations are required. For
more information please visit the Computer History Museum Web site at http://www.computerhistory.org/events
or call 650.810.1027.
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The Gama
Network, organizer of the 2003 Game Developers Conference (GDC), March 4 - 8,
San Jose, Calif., will give away one free hotel suite at the Fairmont San Jose
for the nights of Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, March 5, 6 and 7. All GDC
2003 attendees who have paid registration fees on or before Wednesday, Feb. 5
are automatically entered in the drawing. To register, visit http://www.gdconf.com.
The GDC
brings together game development professionals through more than 300 lectures,
tutorials, keynotes and roundtable discussions.
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Spectrum is an independent news service published every Monday for the interactive media professional community by Motion Blur Media. Spectrum covers the tools and technologies used to create interactive multimedia applications and infrastructure for business, education, and entertainment; and the interactive media industry scene. We love to receive interactive media/online-development tools and end product for review.
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- David Duberman
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