Subject: Re: Imagine 4 everybody! The Campaign - join in!!
Date: Wed, 18 May 1994 16:51:42 -0600 (MDT)
From: kholland@polaris.unm.edu (Kiernan Holland)

as Jason B Koszarsky said,
<
<>Why isn't a better anti aliasing available in scanline ?
<
<Something's different because Imagine 3.0 renders slower than 2.0
<on the exact same project with the exact same settings.
<
<Jason K.
<

That's probably the addition of more samples per pixel or something..
It might be a different technique.. omething always changes in software
upgrades.. Then again it could be the complexity (not quality, obviously)
of the code, that is making it slower.. Just as DeluxePaint IV is slower
than Dpaint III, but I haven't figured out what made EA decide to crap 
Dan Silva's code (probably incompatibility with the code they were writing
for Dpaint on the PC).. It might be logical to assume that Imagine 3.0 
is slower because of the PC version, or vice versa. 

I just got Impulse's last newsletter and they hinted at porting Imagine 
to the PowerPC's, which I'm all for, but this may in turn cause 
other versions (or compilations of the same code on different platforms)
to render slower because of differences in code optimizations, operation
optimizations, etc. in order to make Imagine faster on a PowerPC. 
I don't mean to say that they are developing on a PowerPC or a PC or an 
Amiga, solely but if they are optimizing, writing, updating the code for 
one platform and porting to all the others there is a good chance 
speed and/or functionality will degrade.

Well, I might go for that 100 dollar deal but it sounds more like a square
deal.. Impulse doesn't have several thousand users asking for a major software
revision and all they need to do is sell upgrades of thier software 
rather than major revisions.. It works, but I'm a bit wary about this
technique becuase this is what made Bill Gates rich.. But Bill made Basic 
for N-number of computers which was part of it..  I think that keeping 
Apex out of thier biz from a biz-perspective was wise especially 
providing they give Imagine 3.0 textures free of charge. It was best because
they wouldn't have to talk to Apex and Apex's users everytime they wanted
to make a major upgrade on the texture-mapping system or the low-level
functionality of Imagine..  The idea is to keep everything proprietary, makes
you more money and keeps you from wasting time on discussions with 
others you don't get any direct support from.. It's logical, but maybe the 
best approach would be to offer a third-party development license, 
so Apex could write for Imagine, but this would require Apex to commit.
What would even be better than that would be a joint agreement, 
Apex works on textures and texture system upgrades and Impulse ports the
texturing system to each platform, Apex would only be given access to code
that has to do with the texturing of objects and nothing more, maybe some relate
d
information that might help in the design. Impulse would be given only 
access to Apex's library of compiled routines for texturing, but none of the
code so that Apex can upgrade the code and optimize it at will.. 
They would both hold meetings about various subjects dealing with interfacing
the code of the two.. The usual software engineering, etc. That would work..
But given Impulse's stuborness and Apex's concerns about Impulse (few 
have already said Impulse wasn't willing to do much for them, and even 
once provided a development package and later cut it off) it doesn't look 
like the two will ever come together. If Impulse is listening, I'd suggest 
reconsidering relations with third party developers. It will make life 
easier than you think.. No company ever made it on its own without 
some help from the outside, these days it is completely uncommon to have a 
isolated company making software without external help.. What do I know..
Maybe a little more than some..


Kiernan 


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