I didn't really feel like posting the below but there are a couple of things I just could not stand staying silent about...
Some time ago, I dropped my removable hard disk drive rack (with the hard disk drive in it). The hard disk drive is now as dead as Bush's prospect for another term. While I don't really mind losing all the pr0n and a bunch of stuff like freeware executables, software patches and games-related stuff, I was particularly distraught that my Pixel Shader project was on it. Although I did back-up my project (burned on CD), that was many months ago and it consists of perhaps 40% of the project. I am continuing with the project but my interest in it has dimmed considerable due to so much being lost (when I killed the drive, the project was like 80-90% done... that means my back-up is 50% of my WIP). I will need to re-organize the project if I want to have it completed in a useable form.
As recently as a few days ago, something has prompted the re-evaluation by B3D of its involvement as a Futuremark press beta member. Although the issue appears to have been amicably solved, it left a rather sour after-taste although no bridges of friendships were burned (but I did feel the need to tell Futuremark that B3D really wouldn't miss such an association, as good as it may be for B3D). We do still think Futuremark and its suite of 3DMarkXX suite of 3D-centric benchmark software has an important influence on the sales of 3D video cards by virtue of it being used by various media outlets and by OEMs but what happened set us thinking about what could be happening "behind-the-scenes" (i.e. unsubstantiated conspiracy thinking). I won't reveal what the fuss was about but the gist of it centered around the use of 3DMark03's Game Tests here at the site'o'love. This particular could've-turned-nasty incident has speeded the necessity for Futuremark to re-define (and stress) the role and their expectations of its press beta members (of which Beyond3D is but one of three -- the number of which could change -- the others being CNet and ZD... that really is more and more impressive the more I think about it). Anyway, Beyond3D has high hopes for the next 3DMark from Futuremark, the first 3DMark Beyond3D has had an active role in helping to define, guide and develop. I personally think 3DMarkXX's Game Tests are as useful and as necessary as its Features/Theoretical Tests, given the interest and focus of B3D staff that also takes into account games in general -- what other software (like 3DMark and especially its Game Tests), that utilizes the latest API (and latest hardware) features, is released as quickly after the public debut of a next-gen part and therefore we can verify if the marketing and promotions by the IHVs are relevant/truthful/etc? What other software really don't particularly care if it runs badly on most systems due to inadequate 3D hardware?
Marketing campaigns such as NVIDIA's "The Way It's Meant To Be Played" (TWIMTBP), as Dave had initially voiced his concern about it, really has begun to annoy me for reasons already expressed by some of you guys (who spend money on the right video card) for very right reasons. There are developers who develop games to their best of their abilities and there are developers who develop games that make them the most money. Such a campaign has a better chance of success with the latter category of developers. There is no way in hell that I would be able to be familiar with a high percentage of game developers but houses such as id and Epic (regardless of what you think of them, even if you know some of their personnels like I know John and Tim respectively) are those that I know for certain that do not fall in the "for the love of money" category although profits is the bottom-line. There are far higher risks and stakes than immediate financial gratification. I applaud NVIDIA for this campaign of theirs as a business-driven strategy even if I don't agree with it ethically and morally. I applaud even more the developers that resist the temptation.
Everything appears set as far as NVIDIA's next-gen part is concerned (and no, I don't know its specs officially, unlike Dave with his NDA, who hasn't or maybe couldn't tell the rest of his site partners its specs... and since I'm not tied by NDAs I could actually tell you guys about it... but you know I won't). I'm not sure how things stand at ATI because truth-be-told I don't have the kind of contacts I have at ATI that I have at NVIDIA. Paper specifications are one thing but I do think that NVIDIA has learned its lesson. Well, let's change that to I "do hope". It will be interesting but I personally wouldn't be too concerned with whatever "features war" that might be forthcoming... at this stage of the industry (MS, its Windows-API, the next XBOX), performance is likely to be far more important than it was with the very first DX9 debutants.
I would also like to thank (again) the developers that I regularly correspond with. Some are less likely to worry that I would reveal anything they say about next-gen technologies (hardware, their upcoming software) publicly, others probably don't know me well enough. In any case, it's nice to know someone like Tim Sweeney trusts me to a certain extent (he tells me bits about UnrealEngine3 that really can't be made public... but he won't answer my emails about Shader Model 3.0 or even PS 2.x). And it is heartening to know that John Carmack reads my emails even if he doesn't answer them most of the time (someone I know who knows him commented that he sees the world in 1s and 0s, LOL). Tim declined my invitation for him to participate in our developer forum but if I posted the kind of stuff we email each other about and make that his forum (i.e. by proxy), it would make for some interesting reading. Oh well, here's hoping that particular forum picks up... it's very relevant to a site like this, going beyond just our investigations (and revelations) of hardware architectures and driver intricacies. Everyone, bombard those developers with your emails! (just kidding... don't do that!!).
Personally, I'm more eager for HL2 and DOOM3 to be available than the next-gen hardware. I suppose I'm not a hardware freak after all. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing.
Some time ago, I dropped my removable hard disk drive rack (with the hard disk drive in it). The hard disk drive is now as dead as Bush's prospect for another term. While I don't really mind losing all the pr0n and a bunch of stuff like freeware executables, software patches and games-related stuff, I was particularly distraught that my Pixel Shader project was on it. Although I did back-up my project (burned on CD), that was many months ago and it consists of perhaps 40% of the project. I am continuing with the project but my interest in it has dimmed considerable due to so much being lost (when I killed the drive, the project was like 80-90% done... that means my back-up is 50% of my WIP). I will need to re-organize the project if I want to have it completed in a useable form.
As recently as a few days ago, something has prompted the re-evaluation by B3D of its involvement as a Futuremark press beta member. Although the issue appears to have been amicably solved, it left a rather sour after-taste although no bridges of friendships were burned (but I did feel the need to tell Futuremark that B3D really wouldn't miss such an association, as good as it may be for B3D). We do still think Futuremark and its suite of 3DMarkXX suite of 3D-centric benchmark software has an important influence on the sales of 3D video cards by virtue of it being used by various media outlets and by OEMs but what happened set us thinking about what could be happening "behind-the-scenes" (i.e. unsubstantiated conspiracy thinking). I won't reveal what the fuss was about but the gist of it centered around the use of 3DMark03's Game Tests here at the site'o'love. This particular could've-turned-nasty incident has speeded the necessity for Futuremark to re-define (and stress) the role and their expectations of its press beta members (of which Beyond3D is but one of three -- the number of which could change -- the others being CNet and ZD... that really is more and more impressive the more I think about it). Anyway, Beyond3D has high hopes for the next 3DMark from Futuremark, the first 3DMark Beyond3D has had an active role in helping to define, guide and develop. I personally think 3DMarkXX's Game Tests are as useful and as necessary as its Features/Theoretical Tests, given the interest and focus of B3D staff that also takes into account games in general -- what other software (like 3DMark and especially its Game Tests), that utilizes the latest API (and latest hardware) features, is released as quickly after the public debut of a next-gen part and therefore we can verify if the marketing and promotions by the IHVs are relevant/truthful/etc? What other software really don't particularly care if it runs badly on most systems due to inadequate 3D hardware?
Marketing campaigns such as NVIDIA's "The Way It's Meant To Be Played" (TWIMTBP), as Dave had initially voiced his concern about it, really has begun to annoy me for reasons already expressed by some of you guys (who spend money on the right video card) for very right reasons. There are developers who develop games to their best of their abilities and there are developers who develop games that make them the most money. Such a campaign has a better chance of success with the latter category of developers. There is no way in hell that I would be able to be familiar with a high percentage of game developers but houses such as id and Epic (regardless of what you think of them, even if you know some of their personnels like I know John and Tim respectively) are those that I know for certain that do not fall in the "for the love of money" category although profits is the bottom-line. There are far higher risks and stakes than immediate financial gratification. I applaud NVIDIA for this campaign of theirs as a business-driven strategy even if I don't agree with it ethically and morally. I applaud even more the developers that resist the temptation.
Everything appears set as far as NVIDIA's next-gen part is concerned (and no, I don't know its specs officially, unlike Dave with his NDA, who hasn't or maybe couldn't tell the rest of his site partners its specs... and since I'm not tied by NDAs I could actually tell you guys about it... but you know I won't). I'm not sure how things stand at ATI because truth-be-told I don't have the kind of contacts I have at ATI that I have at NVIDIA. Paper specifications are one thing but I do think that NVIDIA has learned its lesson. Well, let's change that to I "do hope". It will be interesting but I personally wouldn't be too concerned with whatever "features war" that might be forthcoming... at this stage of the industry (MS, its Windows-API, the next XBOX), performance is likely to be far more important than it was with the very first DX9 debutants.
I would also like to thank (again) the developers that I regularly correspond with. Some are less likely to worry that I would reveal anything they say about next-gen technologies (hardware, their upcoming software) publicly, others probably don't know me well enough. In any case, it's nice to know someone like Tim Sweeney trusts me to a certain extent (he tells me bits about UnrealEngine3 that really can't be made public... but he won't answer my emails about Shader Model 3.0 or even PS 2.x). And it is heartening to know that John Carmack reads my emails even if he doesn't answer them most of the time (someone I know who knows him commented that he sees the world in 1s and 0s, LOL). Tim declined my invitation for him to participate in our developer forum but if I posted the kind of stuff we email each other about and make that his forum (i.e. by proxy), it would make for some interesting reading. Oh well, here's hoping that particular forum picks up... it's very relevant to a site like this, going beyond just our investigations (and revelations) of hardware architectures and driver intricacies. Everyone, bombard those developers with your emails! (just kidding... don't do that!!).
Personally, I'm more eager for HL2 and DOOM3 to be available than the next-gen hardware. I suppose I'm not a hardware freak after all. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing.
