Improving Efficiency...
by Kirby Webber · in Torque Game Engine · 03/17/2003 (11:22 am) · 3 replies
Read this and tell me what you think about the possibility of Torque integration.
#2
www.enbaya.com/html/Products.htm
From the description of their algorithm, it sounds like it's a lossy compression/continuous LOD package.
They also have texture compression, but it doesn't sound like anything special.
Continous LOD does take quite a while to code, so if it's relatively cheap this might be a nice way of keeping download sizes down.
03/17/2003 (11:50 am)
A better link:www.enbaya.com/html/Products.htm
From the description of their algorithm, it sounds like it's a lossy compression/continuous LOD package.
They also have texture compression, but it doesn't sound like anything special.
Continous LOD does take quite a while to code, so if it's relatively cheap this might be a nice way of keeping download sizes down.
#3
The are converting larger datastructures into smaller datastructures by "encoding" the data
into a smaller representation. I have done some work in the distant past when delivering multimedia content
over a leased satelitte connection.
Any speed gained at one end of the pipline has to be lost somewhere else. The pre-processeing and encoding of the data
has to be very CPU intense. One way to do this would be use small coordinate systems with variable bit precision.
Rarely does a 32bit float use all 32bits in a game engine, esp once it is moved into a local coord system.
I have to agree with Phil, I won't dismiss this as a gimimic but I think they are having a hard time selling it as a product because it is a day late and a dollar short, memory and processing time is CHEAP. Most games that are multi-cd are so because of all the useless FMV and other stuff I have never seen it because of 2D or 3D content size, not to mention a DVD.
The only place I can see this as a useful technology is mobile phones, pda's and maybe hand held gaming systems. Everything else has more storage capacity than anyone can create non-FMV content for right now and it gets cheaper by the hour.
03/17/2003 (12:10 pm)
There is nothing magical about this, the important word they use over over is "encoding".The are converting larger datastructures into smaller datastructures by "encoding" the data
into a smaller representation. I have done some work in the distant past when delivering multimedia content
over a leased satelitte connection.
Any speed gained at one end of the pipline has to be lost somewhere else. The pre-processeing and encoding of the data
has to be very CPU intense. One way to do this would be use small coordinate systems with variable bit precision.
Rarely does a 32bit float use all 32bits in a game engine, esp once it is moved into a local coord system.
I have to agree with Phil, I won't dismiss this as a gimimic but I think they are having a hard time selling it as a product because it is a day late and a dollar short, memory and processing time is CHEAP. Most games that are multi-cd are so because of all the useless FMV and other stuff I have never seen it because of 2D or 3D content size, not to mention a DVD.
The only place I can see this as a useful technology is mobile phones, pda's and maybe hand held gaming systems. Everything else has more storage capacity than anyone can create non-FMV content for right now and it gets cheaper by the hour.
Torque 3D Owner Phil Carlisle
Frankly, it sounds pretty lame. Ok, they probably use some local coordinate system to save model meshes out (i.e. using 8bit fixed point for storing small meshes).
I dont think its particularly helpful. I'd rather spend time cutting down texture usage by creating a procedural texture generation engine (ala farbrauch? demo) and use that (model geometry is as nothing in comparison to textures!).
So.. gimmick, kinda not that useful.
Unless I'm wrong. I have been before :)
Phil.