From: kennehra@craft.camp.clarkson.edu (Rich"TheMan"Kennehan)
Subject: Re: Sprite Engine News, VOL #1
Organization: Clarkson University
Date: Sat, 10 Oct 1992 19:14:13 GMT

jas37876@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu (John A. Slagel) writes:

>    Allrighty, guys, my two or three cents....

>    I've been thinking about this since  wrote my first sprite routine about
>    5 years ago....

>    1. Yes, the VGA can be turned off via software
>    2. Storing the sprites in the PC's memory will NOT be any faster than
>       just using software like we do now.... What you need to do is store
>       the sprite info on fast memory on the sprite card, so that it doesn't
>       use the pc bus. The card like you describe wouldn't work on PC/XT's.
Why not?  The Super Nintendo only operates at 2.5 MHz...How fast does
the ram have to be?  Does anyone know how fast the Super Nintendo ROM
is?  If the SNES rom is about the same speed as IBM ram, then there
should'nt be a problem.

>    3. You also should use a resolution higher than 320x256. Why do all this
>       work to produce blocky graphics? We would want a .75 ratio between X
>       and Y to have square pixels... I'd say maybe 512x384. This would give
>       four pages in 1 Meg of memory. But, can standard VGA monitors do any-
>       thing other than 320,360 in x and 200,240,400,480 in y? 
Why not 320 x 200?  Wing Commander 2, Ultima Underworld, and Wolf3D all
use 320 x 200 mode!  Are those games "Blocky???"

>    4. Assume we have 4 pages of video memory... We shouldn't need to page  
>       flip because the hardware will be taking care of drawing the sprites.
>       So, what you should do is have the electron gun read from 2 or more
>       pages, and only display the pixel values that are non-zero.  This would
>       make it easy to put in full-screen two-layered backgrounds, like in
>       Duke Nukem. This would also be flashy enough to sell....
>    5. So, maybe make 2 pages, each with .5 meg of memory for backgrounds.
>    6. Sprite Memory..... At least 1 meg to store sprites. Don't forget how
>       1 character moving around will have lots of different legs positions,
>       etc...
>    7. This is a great idea, but:
>	1. I think people need to physically be together while designing...
>	2. I think you need reasearch funds behind you... ie.. A company!
>	3. If this is so easy, wouldn't someone have done it already?
>	4. Using local bus video on a 486, you could do the same thing in
>	   software *EASILY*.  Matter of a fact, look at Duke Nukem. It
>	   does all that in software.
The whole purpose behind the sprite engine is that you don't NEED a
486 to play great games!  The sprite engine is for ALL IBM users!!!
From those who have an 8086 to those who have an 80486!!!  I for one
am SICK of the companies who have abandoned the users who possess
8086s and 80286s!!!

>    8. Unless you put something into the hardware that is impossible to do
>       with software, it won't sell.  Also, all the people that just have
>       VGA right now obviously can't afford it... otherwise they'd have SVGA
>       right now, considering how cheap SVGA is.
>    9. I do agree with making a joystick card that uses just 8 positions,
>       instead of the stupid, analog idea IBM had. 
>    10. Why not put FM or background digitized sound on it? No sense requiring
>	a GameBlaster and a SoundBlaster.
>    11. I do like this idea... but, realistically, *IF* there was one on the
>	market right now for $300-$400, would you buy it?  I'd like to, but
>	I could barely afford my $180 Sound Blaster for just games.
>    12. If you did have this card, what would you do? Write Duke Nukem again?
>	Rewrite Mario Brothers? Just remember, the world needs *NEW* games,
>	a new generation of completely different styles.

>    Just my thoughts....

>-- 
>------------------------------------------------------------------------
> "Never believe anything a female says, unless it rips your heart out."
> -A brilliant discovery by me on Sept 27, 1992
>  John A. Slagel, email: jas37876@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu