rec.autos.simulators

says...

Brian

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remove 'bye' from address to reply

Yea, I have a poster from the remake version. It's a sight to behold.
Regarding Papy helping 3DFX. Apparently they wouldn't do a 3DFX patch,
but they said 3DFX is welcome to try. I guess they get kudos for
atleast releasing the code.
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Nos

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Evidence of what exactly? That Papy has had the patch for quite some
time? Yes, this is old news on the 3DFX news server.
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Nos

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% >Papyrus had no obligation in letting 3DFX make a patch either. They
% >could have stuck to their guns with Rendtion since Sierra/Papyrus are
% >very much into Rendition.

% Jimminy Cricket! I wonder why?

It has nothing to do with Sierra putting their weight behind the Verite
chip based cards.

% >I think its great that they are even spending a minute of their time and
% >resources to please those who want a 3dfx version.  
% >

% And I think it sucks that they didn't support 3DFX in the first place,
% even though it's superior technology to Rendition.

When Papyrus started coding and investigating 3D accelerated video cards
Rendition was the only card available at the time that Papyrus felt
capable of providing the acceleration they were looking for.  Voodoo
wasn't available.  Therefore they put their eggs in the Verite basket.
This was for ICR2, but I assume ICR2 was basically ported to Rendition
to learn the ropes for NASCAR2.  By the time N2 was released Papyrus was
already working on their next set of projects (along with NROS).  I
highly suspect pulling resources to port N2 to 3DFX had extremely low
priority over their other projects.

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**************************** Michael E. Carver *************************
     Upside out, or inside down...False alarm the only game in town.

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Whatever the cause, Papyrus has gone from being on the forefront of 3d
acceleration technology (i.e., when they originally supported
Rendition cards) to being practically the last software company on
Earth to support more advanced 3d technology such as the 3dfx. It's no
wonder people are getting impatient.

Joe

IndyCar I

IndyCar II (took about a year to fix)

Nascar 2

And for good measure, there's Red Baron 2, the latest disaster.  Pro
Pilot is pretty beat up too.

I shudder to think what's ahead when Half-life is shipped.

says...

I agree with the Voodoo versus Rendition time frame. Clearly, Sierra bet
on the Rendition camp -- but they lost. Yes, they sold a ton of software
which is the objective, but it is time to move over to the 3DFx side of
town.

In terms of priority, the 3DFx patch should be relatively high on the
Papyrus list. GPL & N3 are on a distant horizon but will be supporting
3DFx. NROS is whatever it is going to be for the near term. (Note: I
think Papyrus is keeping a low profile on that deal until it sorts out.)
Things that keep the Papyrus name in the headlines in a positive way are
always high priority.

Releasing a 3DFx patch for N2 would breath new life into an old product
while grabbing some headlines and experience dealing with 3DFx issues. If
Papyrus went as far as re-releasing a new boxed version of N2 with the
3DFx patch, they could probably pick up some additional people who have
been on the fence due to "video card discrimination." (After Thought: I
think they missed an opportunity to package the 3DFx patch with the BGN
Expansion Pack and charge an extra $20 bucks for the combo.)  

Troy

I believe Voodoo came out very shortly after Rendition. The Voodoo was
out before ICR2 and N2 were ported. Lame excuse sorry.
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Nos

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"Superior technology" is not always the winner as you should know
well. An average product will generally sell better than a good one if
packaged and marketed well, especially if it arrives on the market
earlier.

I guess that three years ago you knew that 3dFX was going to be top
dog?

Thought not...

Cheers!
John

I'm sure if Papy hadn't released any 3dFX support you would be
complaining, if they released it a few weeks ago with bugs you would
be complaining, if it worked on-line but crashed NROS you would be
complaining.

Please note that this is not a "patch" as you describe, it is a free
upgrade - "upgrade" in the sense of "product enhancement". You bought
N2 in the knowledge that it did not have, and never would have, 3dFX
support. You were happy. Now you're getting 3dFX support, a free
upgrade to a product which was already fine. A bonus. And this is
considered a problem or an issue worthy of getting upset about?

Cheers!
John

Agreed. I would certainly have bought BGN if it had included the 3dfx
patch.

Joe

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Even lamer justification.

Development of support for a given product begins when the company
concerned (Rendition, 3dFX) is able to persuade software companies
(Papyrus) to support their product. This is done by technical
demonstration, supply of developer kits and boards, technical
expertise and support, etc etc. It is not based upon the release date
of the board.

Cheers!
John

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