#New Product Announcement
21 messages in this thread
New Product Announcement!
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Virtual Reality Laboratories, Inc., publishers of Distant Suns, proudly
announce the release of Vista. Vista is a unique landscape generation
program which can use United States Geological Survey Digital Elevation
Mapping data to produce realistic looking 3 dimensional landscapes. It
produces output either as IFF HAM, or Turbo Silver Object. Vista also has
a feature that allows the user to generate random 'fractal' landscapes. It
comes complete with 8 data sets, including DEM data for Olympus Mons on
Mars. At finest resolution, the 3-D picture contains 133000 polygons,
which provides gorgeous realism, bordering on surrealism. List price is
$99.95.
Interesting. Where would one get more USGS data if they wished? thx
Kevin:
We (VRLI) are in the process of obtaining additional USGS data for
interesting areas within the US, around the world, undersea data, and
planetary data for Mercury, Venus, the Moon, Mars and several satellites of
Jupiter and Saturn. We will have disks available within 60 days I expect,
and will continue to make more available as soon as we get the data
translated. For those who want to do it themselves, the USGS in Flagstaff,
Arizona has DEM data available on tape, and we will gladly supply our
format info to those interested.
Clint <VRLI>
Clint:
Please keep us informed on the USGS data files you have for release, and
do upload those IFF files. By the way, USGS puts out a fair number of
CD-ROM disks, do you have plans to try using an SCSI version of the drive
hooked to an Amiga to utilize data with your programs ?
Bill:
I'll post an announcement whenever we get more data available. Yes,
we are looking into a CD-ROM version for displaying 'flight paths'. Our
data is USGS with our own header info (for coloring etc.), so reading their
CD-ROM direct could have problems. We will send this header info to anyone
interested with playing with it.
Clint <VRLI>
When you can, please send info on this to Amiga World's New product editor,
Jan Jackson…
– Lou
Lou: I think Susie already has, but I'll check to be sure. Thanks, Clint
<VRLI>
What iff image resolutions do you support? Can it generate convincing
landscapes in hi-res interlace?
?|^] Ray Lewis
Ray: Currently uses 320 x 200 HAM. This was best we could do and still work
on a 1 meg machine. A version that requires more memory and generates
500000 polygons and 320 x 400 is being looked at. Clint <VRLI>
Vista will produce output in TSilver Object format? I guess that
means we can render Olympus Mons in Stereo 3D (Haitex) format, throw in
some flying saucers and have some real fun! And to think, I picked up the
package in the store yesterday, knew nothing about it, and put it back.
By the time I get back there, they probably won't have any copies
left!
THANK YOU for the Turbo Silver Object option. What a GREAT idea!
Robert Fisher
Robert:
The only 'problem' with the Turbo Silver Object, is the memory
required by Turbo Silver to load a Vista output. At res 1, Vista produces
133000 polygons, and TS would theoretically require 40megs of memory to
render it. At res 2, TS requires about 8megs, and at res 4 about 2megs.
We are looking into ways to allow you to cut out a portion of a landscape
to help TS be able to handle it better.
Clint <VRLI>
Hmmm…
Kind of limits what you can do on a wimpy 5 meg machine. Well, I
think I'll still run out and get a copy as soon as I can. Keep up the good
work!
Robert
Robert:
We haven't given up trying to find other solutions, but when
dealing with that many polygons, alot of memory is required. I encourage
people to post 'wish lists' of features and capabilities they wish Vista
had. We will compile such lists and as time permits, they will become
reality. (Virtually) <grin>
Clint <VRLI>
Have you sent press releases to magazines like Computer Graphics World?
They have promised more Amiga coverage and they would eat up something like
this!!!
Andre:
If you could email us an address or FAX number for Computer
Graphics World, we'll send a press release. We sent them to all Amiga
specific publications, but are unfamiliar with what's out there in the rest
of the graphics universe.
Clint <VRLI>
Just as I suspected. I subscribe to a bunch of "Graphics" type magazines
and almost never see anything from Amiga vendors in any of them. Most of
these are Trade Magazines that are mostly press releases anyway and would
probably print Stuff about Amigas if they ever got anything. I don't want
to get on your case in particular… But it seems to me that most Amiga
developers have a somewhat limited view of the marketplace. People want the
Amiga to be accepted by the general computer public and then send their
press releases to Amiga World and Amazing Computing and think they have it
covered. Anyway, here are a few I would recommend for just about anyone to
send press releases & product information to:
Computer Graphics World (includes NCGA newsletter) One Technology Park
Drive, POB 987 Westford, MA 01886 508-692-0700 FAX: 508-692-0525
Graphic Design USA 120 East 56th Street New York, NY 10022 212-759-8813
Fax: 212-753-5990
Computer Graphics Review (Computer Graphics World clone) Intertec
Publishing Company 9221 Quivera Road Overland Park, KS 66215
Electronic Publishing & Printing Maclean Hunter Publishing Co. 29 N. Wacker
Dr. Chicago, IL 60606
Desktop Communications 48 East 43rd Street New York, NY 10017 212-867-9650
Publish (staunch Mac/IBM :-)) Editorial Department 501 Second Street San
Francisco, CA 94107 415-243-0600 FAX:415-442-1891
Computer Shopper (open minded but mostly IBM, some Amiga) Ziff Davis
Publishing Co. One Park Avenue, 5th Floor New York, NY 10016 212-503-5319
TypeWorld (they'll print anything in DTP) One Stiles Road P.O. Box 170
Salem, NH 03079 603-898-2822 FAX: 603-898-3393 (highly recommended for
anyone interested in DTP)
That should get anyone started. There are dozens more but this is costing
me money to type all this in. You can get reference books in the library
that list ALL kinds of magazines. I'm sure you could find a few more of
interest!
Anyone need a Press Agent???
?
Thanks, Andre!
Most of the publishers in the Amiga community are like us, VERY SMALL. We
can barely afford to advertize in the Amiga only publications, as ad rates
in PC publications are orders of magnitude higher. I will pass this list
on to marketing, and she will send out copies of our press release. Don't
hold your breath expecting them to actually get it in print, as our press
releases often don't make it to print in the Amiga publications. I figure
if 20% of them even mention us, that'll be very good. Your ideas are great
for a larger company with time and money to burn, but for a small company
where everyone works 16 hours/day 7 days a week and barely squeaks by
paying salaries, it may be a bit impractical.
Clint <VRLI>
Gee, you left out Computer Gaming World <ducking> –Eet–
Director of Mayhem
Extra Terrestrial Imports, Ltd.
Andre:
Sincere thanks for describing Computer Shopper as "open minded." We try
our best to be. It's true that we are mostly an IBM book. However, I
personally am a big Amiga fanatic (did the Amiga music for some Cinemaware
projects, in fact) and used to write for AmigaWorld and INFO in my
freelance days.
Look forward in upcoming Shopper issues to more emphasis on Amiga
hardware coverage! I'm putting out some effort in the coming months to beef
up the Amiga coverage. I can't add a lot more pages, but I can hit some
product-related topics that aren't being fully covered elsewhere. You won't
see the results, however, for about 3-4 months (due to our lead time and
the time required to put some of this stuff together.)
In the meantime, we continue to feature a monthly Amiga column by Peggy
Herrington, one of the best in the business. And I even find space to
mention the Amiga in my editorial. A few issues back, for instance, I sang
the praises of WHAP! and, more recently, positively commented on the
Amiga's multitasking operating system compared to the less robust
multitasking of Windows 3.0 and Macintosh Multifinder.
Let me know if our upcoming efforts meet with your approval (or
disapproval). That invitation, of course, extends to all members of the
Amiga forum.
Best, Bob Lindstrom Editor in Chief Computer Shopper 1 Park Ave., 11th
Floor New York City, NY 10016
Bob,
It is great seeing more Amiga material in Computer Shopper. Keep it up!
🙂
Rich
Thanks for the Amiga coverage! WE NEED THE GOOD PRESS AND DESERVE
IT!!! (but I guess you know that already.) Which issue did you compare
Amiga's multitasking with Windows & Multifinder? Was it in an editorial? I
have a staunch Mac owner and an avid IBM user that should read this! (Of
course, before I got an Amiga I thought there would be little use for
multitasking. Now, I don't know what I'd do without it.) Thanks again for
the Amiga support.