CompuServe Thread

#R4 Z-buffer Creation

3 messages in this thread
#127742From: BITSOct 7, 1994 1:35 PM
Hi Guys, What I'd like to know is whether with 3d Studio release 4, it's possible to get z coordinate information on a per-pixel basis from an IPAS routine. Failing that, what are the options available for generating a 16 or 8 bit z-buffer from release 4 and how could I use IPAS to get the z values for a scene without writing a renderer myself. Ideally, there would be a switch inside the render options dialog called Generate Z-buffer bitmap – this is wishful thinking, right?? Regards, Andy Roberts BITS Corp.
#127800From: Yost GroupOct 7, 1994 8:22 PM
Yup. You can access the z-buffer now. There's a new IPAS API call (vpost_zbuf) that'll give you a 4-BYTE-per-pixel version of it (which would be 1.2Mb for a 640×480 screen, btw). We'll put a simple little IXP up here in DL1 after R4 ships that lets you save that to an image file if you want. – G
#128074From: BITSOct 10, 1994 6:34 AM
Gary, Thanks for that info – that IXP would be very useful indeed. Nice One!! Andy Roberts BITS Corp.