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From: ali@rocky.UUCP
Newsgroups: comp.graphics
Subject: Re: Amiga World Ray-tracing article...
Message-ID: <239@rocky.STANFORD.EDU>
Date: Thu, 16-Apr-87 02:35:24 EST
Article-I.D.: rocky.239
Posted: Thu Apr 16 02:35:24 1987
Date-Received: Fri, 17-Apr-87 05:36:50 EST
References: <629@puff.WISC.EDU> <2985@sdcsvax.UCSD.EDU> <647@puff.WISC.EDU>
Reply-To: ali@rocky.UUCP (Ali Ozer)
Distribution: comp
Organization: Stanford University Computer Science Department
Lines: 40
Keywords: cost

In article <647@puff.WISC.EDU> beilke@puff.WISC.EDU (Matthew Beilke) writes:
>Make that 320X400 6-bit H.A.M.  The Amiga doesn't have the capability to
>display > 6 bit planes.

Despite that (just to set the record straight for comp.graphics 
readers not familiar with the Amiga), the Amiga can display 4096 
colors at once, using 6 bit planes. How many other computers that
cost under $1k can display 4096 colors at once? For
that matter, how many computers that cost under $10k can display 4096 colors
at once? True, programming in this mode is a bit difficult, but is 
possible --- There are even paint programs that allow editing in 4096 colors
at once. Some of the better ray-traced images out there (like Dave 
Wecker's "glass") use this mode so well that you get none of the 
"color-banding" problems that appear in most computer generated images.

>   Tell me the truth now, would you really rather have >> 100 amigas or just
>one Cray?  Come on now, tell me the truth.  Besides, where would you put
>all of them. :-)
>Don't get me wrong, I have an Amiga, and love it, but well, if I had access
>to a Cray, it would probably see a lot less use.

Now, if I had access to a Cray, it would be nice, but still, so what? You
could create ray traced images at a rate of one every few minutes, but you
would still need your Amiga to display them, especially if you want to see
all 4096 colors. Also, for personal uses (Word Processing, etc), I would
still use my Amiga. And thanks to multitasking you do not need to sit and
watch your Amiga grind away on ray-traced images. Besides, the
Cray could not sit at my home (I don't think my house
wiring could handle the electricity required for cooling!), so it would
have to be somewhere remote, and how much fun is that?

Of course, there is still the problem of taking 2 years to create a movie. 
Oh well, I guess I can't use my Amiga to create a full ray-traced movie.
But, the Amiga is still a wonderful machine for desktop video and for
creation of home videos/movies. Using deluxe video, for instance,
it is possible to create fairly long animation sequences (15-20 minutes)
within a several hours. The film isn't ray traced, but it can be put
on a video tape and used effectively for class/business demos nonetheless...

Ali Ozer, ali@rocky.stanford.edu