Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!swrinde!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!sol.ctr.columbia.edu!sdsu!crash!pro-graphics.cts.com!bobl
From: bobl@pro-graphics.cts.com (Bob Lindabury)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: Frame Buffers
Message-ID: <1689@crash.cts.com>
Date: 28 Feb 90 07:56:14 GMT
Sender: root@crash.cts.com
Lines: 45

In-Reply-To: message from tbz@sactoh0.UUCP

> I have been using the Mimetics Framebuffer with Turbo Silver and
> Sculpt4D.  It seems that 24 bit Sculpt4D images still have bands
> while 24 bit Turbo Silver images are nicely dithered.  Is there any
> way to get rid of these bands?
> 
> --Bob   ..!pacbell!sactoh0!tbz

There is no way to get rid of the bands unless you can coherse Byte By Byte
into doing some more work on their Amiga product line rather than jumping over
to the Mac product line entirely.

Seems the boys at Byte by Byte could care less about us Amiga users because
they are going after the Mac carrot (or is that Apple?).  At any rate, it
seems that not much forethought was put into the Sculpt product and they opted
to optimize the redering routines for the Amiga's display modes and didn't
even consider 24 bit rendering to any large degree.  Seems the software will
produce these bands so that another routine can dither between them to get
those nice HAM images.  Too bad that the bands are not skipped when rendering
in 24 bit mode.  So, an otherwise perfectly good product is "rendered" next to
useless for 24 bit images.  Yeah, doesn't everyone want to drop $500 for a 3d
ray tracer that doesn't do 24 bit well?  How about we all drop our bucks on
the product so that Byte by Byte can do more Mac developement?  These ideas
dosn't sound good to you?  Hmm...

I'm still waiting for a "good" 3D program with an interface like Caligary,
Editing easy like Sculpt and rendering/mapping capabilities like Turbo Silver.

If all the best of each of these programs were incorporated into a new 3d
program that also supported the Renderman Spec, I would (as others would) jump
on it in a second even if it did cost in the $1000-$2000 range.

You mention nice dithering in Turbo for 24 bit images.  I'm not sure what you
mean by that but with a 24 bit image (over 16 million colors available) you do
not need to do any dithering.

-- Bob
_______________________ Pro-Graphics BBS  201/469-0049 ________________________
                                             
InterNet: bobl@pro-graphics.cts.com          |       ProLine: bobl@pro-graphics
    UUCP: ..crash!pro-graphics!bobl          |        CServe: 70347,2344
ARPA/DDN: ..crash!pro-graphics!bobl@nosc.mil |  Amer. Online: Graphics3D
___________                                                        ____________
            Raven Enterprises - 25 Raven Ave. Piscataway, NJ 08854