"3D Game Machine", further referred to as "3DGM", is an API-style toolbox for arcade game development, it includes a real-time 3D rendering library and a whole set of routines for manipulating 3D "virtual" environments.
The main features are :
- simple easy-to-use interface
- very fast rendering
- full "virtual" 3D worlds with six degrees of freedom
- free-form texture mapping with optional flat-shading
- material and light properties
- convex/cave polygons with unlimited number of vertices
- unlimited number of light sources
- dynamic hidden surface removal
- special graphic modes for fast full-screen animation
- automatic shape behaviors
3D Game Machine includes a number of data structures to link a "Virtual World" together, such as a "World" which holds all shapes and light sources active in a world. The ViewPort structure points to the World in which the observer (the camera) is present.
Polygons can have any number of vertices, and do not necessarily need to be convex. For example, a two colored checkerboard of an arbitrary number of squares can be composed by only two (vicious) polygons. Since only the outer coordinates need to be specified, less points are being transformed, and the speed is again increased.
All polygons can be either of fixed color, flat-shaded, textured or both. The "TwinPoly" definition allows many polygons to be assigned the same ID of a "father" polygon. This way polygons can even punch holes into one another, for instance, 3 concentric disks can be defined with only six polygons, instead of having to be tessellated into numerous triangles.
- Texture Mapping
3DGM's 3D Toolbox achieves high speed texture rendering. Note that texture mapping occurs without distortion on arbitrarily angled polygons, and is thus not limited to DOOM-style texture mapping.
- Material properties
Each polygon can be given material properties, such as shiny or plastic, which will be reflected at the time of illumination.
- Light sources
Each world structure can include an unlimited number of light sources, each of which can be given specific RGB properties. Light sources can be moved and chaged dynamically, they are recalculated at each frame.
- Modulators
The modulators allow to automate the movement (displacement or orientation) of the shapes or the observer (camera), and to automatically track or look at a specified point or shape.
3DGM Pro features
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- projected polygons access
- custom Operating System routines routines (memory & palette animation)
- custom Color Fitting Algorithm (faster rendering)
- heavy check flag for extensive debugging
- statistics for maximum number of light sources, shapes, polys for fine-tuning memory usage
- "Low Level Text" for fast real-time text display (OS-independent)
- open access to Math routines
- source code for shape converters
- access to Texture & Material tables
To obtain more information about us and our related products, you can reach us at :
Virtually Unlimited, SNC
24 Chateau-Banquet
CH-1202 Geneva
Switzerland
Internet : main@Virtually.mcnet.CH
Compuserve : 100423,2721
ftp://FTP.VIRTUALLY.MCNET.CH/virtually
Voice Mail : (+4122) 310-0806 CET (central European time)
Fax : (+4122) 733-3115
Check out our FTP site at FTP.VIRTUALLY.MCNET.CH, in the "virtually" directory for information about our other products. We will upload other games and demos in the future.
This document and the information it contains are subject to change without notice. Brands and products mentioned are trademarks of their respective holders.
Copyright (c) Virtually Unlimited, SNC / Geneva, April 1995
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