Readme file for RenderDotC for Windows '95, version 1.02 Quick installation instructions ------------------------------- If downloading from the internet: - Download rendc102.zip into a temporary directory. - Unzip rendc102.zip using PKUNZIP version 2 or higher or compatible program. - Run install.exe and follow the on-screen instructions. - Test the installation: - Run wrendrdc.exe - Pull down the "File" menu. - Select "Render". - Select teapot.rdc - If the colors don't look good while rendering, wait for it to finish! Then point to the picture and click. - If the colors still don't look very good, see doc\rdcfaq.txt. If installing from floppy disk: - Run install.exe on the floppy disk and follow the on-screen instructions. - Test the installation: - Run wrendrdc.exe - Pull down the "File" menu. - Select "Render". - Select teapot.rdc - If the colors don't look good while rendering, wait for it to finish! Then point to the picture and click. - If the colors still don't look very good, see doc\rdcfaq.txt. Becoming a RenderDotC power user -------------------------------- - Read the frequently asked questions and answers in doc\rdcfaq.txt - Go through the online reference manual under functions by category. - Run the examples and study the source. - Order the full version of RenderDotC by printing out order.wri What RenderDotC is ------------------ RenderDotC (RDC) is a photorealistic 3D rendering toolkit. Version 1.02 includes the following features: - RDC bytestream (ASCII text file) interface. - ANSI C/C++ programmer's interface. - Hierarchical graphics state including matrix and attribute stacks. - Orthographic and perspective viewing transformations. - Automatic and manual hidden surface removal. - Antialiasing through supersampling, jitter sampling, and filtering. - Gamma correction and color jittering (to reduce Mach bands). - Output of any combination of RGB, alpha, and depth samples (*). - Output quantization from 1 to 160 bits per pixel (*). - Arbitrary image resolution. - The following geometric primitives: Quadrics: Sphere, cylinder, cone, disk, torus, paraboloid, hyperboloid Patches: Bilinear patches and meshes Bicubic patches and meshes with built-in or custom basis matrix NURB patches and meshes Polygons: Convex polygons and meshes General (concave and/or holes) polygons and meshes Procedural models User defined objects (command lists) - Constant, matte, metal, and plastic surface models. - Ambient, distant, point, and spot light source models. - Depth-cue, and fog atmospheric models. * The demo version is incapable of saving rendered image files to disk. Version 2.0 is already under development and is expected to include the following features: - Programmable shading in C++ - Texture mapping - Bump mapping - Shadows - Environment mapping (reflections) RenderDotC for Windows '95 is distributed as binaries which run on both Windows '95 and Windows NT. An MS-DOS version which runs in protected mode using the GO32 DOS extender is also available to paying customers. RenderDotC may be ported to other platforms in the future depending on demand. The source code for RenderDotC is not available. However, Dot C Software, Inc. is open to licensing agreements whereby RenderDotC would be used as a rendering back end to another application, such as a modeler. RenderDotC is: Copyright (c) 1996 by Dot C Software, Inc. All Rights Reserved. What RenderDotC isn't --------------------- RenderDotC is not a modeler. Scenes are described either in RDC bytestream (ASCII text files) or by C/C++ programs which use the RDC interface. Users who wish to design scenes interactively should use a good modeling program, save the model, convert it to RDC bytestream format, and render it. RenderDotC is not a ray tracer. It uses high quality scanline techniques to achieve results comparable to what you would expect (but not always get) from a ray tracing renderer without sacrificing performance. RenderDotC is not a polygon based renderer. It renders curved surfaces precisely by adaptively subdividing them until they meet certain criteria imposed by the user such as maximum area in pixels. Only then are they rendered as polygonal facets which are usually smaller than 1 pixel! For best results, modelers which describe curved surfaces as polygonal meshes should not be used in conjunction with RenderDotC. RenderDotC does not conform to Pixar's RenderMan Interface Standard. Both the RDC bytestream and RDC interface are proprietary. Conversion tools are provided to convert RIB files and RenderMan programs to RDC bytestreams. The conversion tools in Version 1.02 support every required feature of the RenderMan Interface but none of the optional features. Note: The RenderMan (R) Interface Procedures and RIB Protocol are: Copyright 1988, 1989, Pixar. All rights reserved. RenderMan (R) is a registered trademark of Pixar. Package Contents ---------------- . Root RenderDotC directory. readme.txt This file. license.txt License agreement, limited warranty, and disclaimer. order.wri Order form to purchase full RDC licenses. .\doc RenderDotC documentation rdcfaq.txt Frequently asked questions and answers versions.txt Revision history of the package rdcref.hlp Online user's guide and reference manual rdcref.ico Icon for online reference manual .\bin RenderDotC executable and dynamic link libraries. wrendrdc.exe Program for rendering RDC bytestream files. wrib2rdc.exe Program for converting RIB to RDC bytestream files. rendc.dll RDC interface library for rendering. rdc.dll RDC interface library for RDC bytestream output. rdccomm.dll Actual rendering/state library shared by rendc and rdc. bids45f.dll Borland run time libraries. cw3215.dll (Redistributed in accordance with the terms of owl252f.dll Borland's No-Nonsense License Statement) \windows\system DLL's updated only if RDC's version is newer bwcc32.dll Borland Custom Controls library .\include Header files to be included by ANSI C/C++ programs rdc.h Definition of RDC programmer's interface ri.h Definition of RenderMan interface .\lib RenderDotC static link libraries. rdc.lib Import library for rdc.dll. rendc.lib Import library for rendc.dll. rdccomm.lib Import library for rdccomm.dll. ri2rdc.lib RenderMan Interface library for RDC bytestream output. .\examples Example RDC bytestreams and RDC interface programs. teapot.rdc RDC bytestream of Bezier patch Utah Teapot model. morph.rdc Another RDC bytestream example using polygons. bulb.rib RIB file to demonstrate conversion. teapot.c RDC interface program used to create teapot.rdc. showquad.c RenderMan interface program to demonstrate conversion. makefile Borland makefile for teapot.c and showquad.c. Contacting Dot C Software, Inc. ------------------------------- Please send comments, questions, bug reports, etc. to: lamont@lava.net Visit our Web page to read announcements and download the latest demo version: http://www.lava.net/dotc Other inquiries may be directed to: Dot C Software, Inc. 148 Kuukama St. Kailua, HI 96734 U.S.A. (808) 262-6715 (Monday-Friday; 9AM - 5PM Hawaii Standard Time!)