It looks as if an accelerated copy of IndycarII will be shipping with
several boards.
Quoting from Bootnet's News page (http://www.bootnet.com/news.html) "Last
week, we reported that Intergraph was close to signing a deal with id
Softwares John Carmack for the exclusive rights to the accelerated
full-version of Quake. The deal, which was largely based on Carmacks
desire to own a few of Intergraphs workstations, was signed this week.
Intergraph will distribute the accelerated version of Quake, along with an
accelerated version of Indy Car II, in October with its Reactor 3D card
($199)."
About Sierra's new card, Bootnet has this to say, "In a move that calls the
viability of Microsoft's Direct3D API into question, Sierra On-Line will
offer a 3D graphics accelerator card based on Rendition's Vrit chip for
the holiday season. Although this move clearly puts Sierra into direct
competition with major peripheral manufacturers such as Diamond Multimedia,
Orchid Technology, and Creative Labs, Sierra claims it has no intention of
becoming a hardware company.
"We're not trying to get into the hardware business," says Sierra product
manager Scott Fasser, " we're trying to establish a standard." Fasser went
on to criticize Direct3D, saying, "there is no comparison between games
written to Direct3D and games tuned to a specific chip, such as the
Vrit."
Based on the prototype Vrit-based cards that have come through the
bootLab, it looks like the only difference between any manufacturer's card
will be the software bundled with it. Sierra's card, tentatively named
Screamin' 3D, will be bundled with Sierra's Indy Car II, Silent Thunder II,
and possibly one or more additional games to be announced later. The card
will feature 4MB of EDO DRAM and is expected to carry a street price of
$199. The Screamin' 3D is being built for Sierra by the Japanese
manufacturer Canopus and should be available in early November. "
--
Emory University Graduate School of Arts & Sciences
Nascar Setups Page: http://userwww.service.emory.edu/~ebusch/
