Hi! 1. Library systems - good or bad ? 2. Coding of Amiga Graphics Boards - principles 3. Graphics Board hardware 4. Which Boards to support ? 5. Some Notes about Power PC Amigas... 6. Contact addresses... 1. Library systems - good or bad ? Most "hardware hackers" consider libraries a bad (slow) thing, that is of no use for game programming. That is not 100% true. As to libraries to access Graphics Boards there are *TWO SORTS* of libraries, slow libraries and fast libraries. Slow libraries access the hardware using high-level interfaces, like the graphics.library of Amiga OS does. They have mostly no real low-level interface. There are calls like WritePixel and DrawLine in such a library. An example for a high-level library is the egs.library of EGS Graphics Boards (but with some tricks even this library MIGHT be useful for game programming, to use it UNMODIFIED is of no use, of course...) Fast library do not provide a "fat" library interface. It basically provides calls to open screens, close screens, get the base address of the video RAM and perfrom double Buffering. Writing to the screen is done by yourself (you use the processor to write to the Bitmap and such stuff, using your own Assembly code...). Sometimes fast libraries provide code for accessing the Graphics Board blitters too. An example for a fast library is rtgmaster.library. More about which libraries are slow and which are fast in chapter 3. NOTE: You will have to change your mind about libraries. With Graphics Board equipped Amigas, the only solution for fast games are fast libraries that provide a low level interface to the Board hardware. Custom Chips are not longer "in". 2. Coding of Amiga Graphics Boards - principles I wrote down the principles of all available library systems known to me here... A. Picasso II This system is used by the Picasso II, and CyberGraphX can emulate it (Probably the Emulation will slow the thing down, but i tested it with a Texturemapping demo for Picasso II and AGA, and i got a speedup of AT LEAST 4 times using Picasso with the Cybergraphics emulation, compared to AGA (A4000/040 + Piccolo SD64). The vilintuisup.library supports both High Level and Lowlevel functions. There are low level functions for : - Opening a native Picasso Screen (not usable for Intuition...) - Getting the base address of the video RAM - Performing Double Buffering - Changing colors and all that stuff - Closing the Screen again Sad thing : Picasso Double Buffering is done using MoveScreen, it is no real double buffering. But it is said it should be very fast on that Board, the MoveScreen... you should test this before starting to code... there is no Triple Buffering available unless you code this yourself. Because it is very easy to use, runs on many Boards and is Low Level, the vilintui.library is interesting for game/demo coders, in my opinion. If somebody has problems with coding the thing, ask me (i know how...) Will be supported in the game Nemac 4. B. Rtgmaster.library Currently in Alpha stage of the developpement rtgmaster.library is a Low Level (=fast) library supporting : - Opening a native Screen on the Board - Getting the Base address of the Video RAM - Performing Double and Triple Buffering - Changing Colors and all that stuff - Getting information about the structure of the Video RAM of the Board - Closing the Screen again The initial release will support : - all EGS Boards (including A2410, G110 and the usual EGS Boards...) - Picasso II - all Boards with an installed CyberGraphX system - ECS and AGA It is *NOT* needed to deinstall your current WB-Emulation to install this library. For some things (direct video RAM access under EGS, DoubleBuffering under CyberGraphX this thing CHEATS...) This library is freeware. Will be supported in Textdemo and a handful of other games/demos. If someone is interested, contact me (i am one of the coders of the thing...) C. CyberGraphX/cybergraphics.library This library supports Low Level AND High level calls, but the low level ones (that is : Getting base address of VRAM) are a bit complicated to use. There is no Doublebuffering up to now (you can do the same way like with the Picasso II though...) There is a new version of CyberGraphics announced for 1996, that shall contain support for game programmers. If you want to get CyberGraphX you will have to deinstall other WB-Emulations (EGS...) CyberGraphX is much faster than EGS (there is no difference for low level calls of course, as they access the same VRAM :) ) CyberGraphX is at about 40$, it comes for free with DraCo and with Cybervision (and will come for free with "Power UP" Power PC Board, with additional AGA support, and Power PC native code (and game programme support, 3D and multimedia functions and hopefully Low Level functions...) Probably the first games using CyberGraphX (the old one) will be GLOOM Deluxe and Alien Breed 3D Special Edition... If someone has problems with CyberGraphX Programming i could help... soon a documented demo source about this will be available... D. EGS EGS only supports High level functions. It is possible to get as near as possible to the graphics driver, though, and that way, it is quite okay. But it is not optimal, of course... EGS supports as many Double/Triple/... Buffers as you wish... You are NOT able to use IDCMP-Ports with EGS (instead eDCMP of EGS which is similar). If someone has problems, i could help (documentated demo source available...) NOTE: Rumour says it, that EGS will be soon dropped... i do not know if this is true... but CyberGraphX is available for nearly all EGS Boards anyways... E. HRG This is the system of the Merlin. It is an "exote", but after what i heard, it is quite good in the 2.0 release. According to someone of ProDev, they provide similar features as CyberGraphX, but only for the Merlin and not for a lot of Boards like CyberGraphX does, AND they even support Double Buffering what CyberGraphX currently does not... F. Graffiti You can order information from sysop@nostlgic.tng.oche.de No libraries, you hack in everything yourselves... :) But this stuff is a bit confusing... 3. Graphics Board hardware NOTE: Zorro II is slowest (about 3 MB/sec.) Zorro II/III autosensing faster on Zorro III systems Zorro III only is even faster, as to rumours, as an autosensing system (about 15-30 MB/sec., i saw a lot of different values... probably more near 15 MB/sec.) DraCo Direct is fastest (but only available for DraCo) (30 MB/sec. at least, maybe even near 50 MB/sec.) Another Note : PCI is, after what i heard, between 50 and 150 MB/Sec. ... so hopefully Amiga Tech. will build PCI in future Amigas... A. Name: Picasso II Manufacturer: Villagetronic VRAM Size : 2 MB Chipset : Cirrus Logic 32 Bit Bus system : Zorro II Library : Vilintuisup.library or cybergraphics.library or rtgmaster.library Note : There will be a Picasso III in 1996. This Board will be available for Zorro Systems, A1200, and Mac as far as i heard... B. Name: Piccolo Manufacturer: Ingenieurbuero Helfrich VRAM Size : 2 MB Chipset : Cirrus Logic 32 Bit Bus system: Zorro II/Zorro III autosensing Library : egs.library or cybergraphics.library or rtgmaster.library Note : Out of production... C. Name: Piccolo SD64 Manufacturer: Ingenieurbuero Helfrich VRAM Size : 2 or 4 MB Chipset : Cirrus Logic 64 Bit Bus system: Zorro II/Zorro III autosensing Library: egs.library or cybergraphics.library or rtgmaster.library Note : Successor of Piccolo (Because of Piccolo SD64 Piccolo is no longer in production). One of the 4 fastest Amiga Graphics Boards. D. Name: EGS Spectrum Manufacturer: GVP VRAM Size: 2 MB Chipset : Cirrus Logic 32 Bit Bus system: Not sure (but it runs on Zorro II in any case) Library: egs.library or cybergraphics.library or rtgmaster.library Note: No longer in Production, basically a Piccolo clone E. Name: Rainbow 3 Manufacturer: Ingenieurbuero Helfrich VRAM Size: 4 MB Chipset: Don't know Bus system: Do not know Library: egs.library or rtgmaster.library Note: Don't know, if still in production F. Name: Graffity Manufacturer: bsc VRAM Size: 2 MB Chipset: Cirrus Logic 32 Bit Bus system: Do not know, but i think it is a ZII/ZIII autosensing Board... Library: egs.library Note: Do not know, if this got ever produced, may run with rtgmaster.library too, not sure... In every case, not longer in production Do not confuse with "Graffiti", that is something else... G. Name: A2410 Manufacturer: Commodore VRAM Size: 1 MB, as far as i know... Chipset: ??? Bus system: Zorro II Library: egs.library or cybergraphics.library or rtgmaster.library Note: Out of production. H. Name: Retina Z3 Manufacturer: Macrosystems VRAM Size: 4 MB Chipset : Do not know Bus system: Zorro III only Library: Special Retina stuff (do not know...) or cybergraphics.library Note: One of the 4 fastest Amiga Graphics Boards I. Name: Altais Manufacturer: Macrosystems VRAM Size: 1 or 4 MB Chipset: Do not know, but it is a 64 Bit one... Bus system: DraCo Direct only Library: Special DraCo stuff (do not know...) or cybergraphics.library Note: Probably the fastest Amiga Graphics Board (but using that damned fast DraCo Direct slots simply is not fair for speed comparisions :))) This Board is only available for DraCo (4 MB in the 060 DraCo, 1 MB in the 040 DraCo). But if you use cybergraphics.library your stuff will run on it... the DraCo Direct slots have about the double speed of Zorro III. J. Name: Merlin Manufacturer: XPert VRAM Size: 2 or 4 MB (rumours about 8 and 16 MB Boards, not sure if ever built, probably no...) Chipset: Do not know Bus System: Zorro II/Zorro III autosensing (if upgrade install that autosensing works :) ) Library: HRGSystem.library or cybergraphics.library (maybe rtgmaster.library somedays...) Note: Merlin is the famous ProDev Board, probably the first modern Amiga Graphics Board at all. The problem with the Merlin: ProDev did something wrong with it, and the first version did not run together with some other Zorro III Boards (for example with the Fastlane controller). After XPert died, ProDev took over Merlin-Support and updated Merlins, so that problem was solved. But some guys are waiting till this day, 1 year after the upgrade offer, to get their modified Merlin back. Another problem with the Board : To get a low price, XPert used SLOW RAM with the Board. Most Amigans think, Merlin sucks... but i heard with the upgrade and the latest version of HRGSystem.library it would be quite okay... K. Name: Cybervision Manufacturer: Phase 5 VRAM Size: 2 or 4 MB Chipset: Trio S3 64 Bit Bus system: Zorro III only Library: cybergraphics.library or rtgmaster.library Note: Probably the second fastest Amiga Graphics Boards, the fastest one if the Amiga is not a DraCo (although Piccolo SD64 is faster with WritePixel, if cybergraphics.library is installed...). As far as i know, it can be directly connected to the Cyberstorm Board, and there it MIGHT be that it even will be faster than the Altais... but i do not know... Hopefully Phase 5 will produce a possibillity to connect the Board directly to their "Power UP" Power PC Board... L. Name: Graffiti Manufacturer: sysop@nostlgic.tng.oche.de VRAM Size: Uses Amiga Chip Memory... Chipset: None (uses Blitter, Copper and Main Processor...) Bus system: Where you plug in the 1084 monitor Library: None (maybe someday rtgmaster.library) Note: This is no real Graphics Board, but some sort of HARDWARE HACK. It is slow. On the other side it is cheap. It has a strange screen display that slows things down (but will get the speed of an A1200 + Fastram on an unexpanded A1200 AT LEAST). If you do a good job optimizing (saving graphics in Graffiti format for example) it will be much faster, maybe even like a Zorro II Graphics Board. If you save graphics in Graffiti format and use only longword access you will get about 72 fps for 320x256 Fullscreen. The Board has no Screenmodes and no WB-Emulation available, only for games... (but it should not be that complicated to port AGA stuff to Graffiti as you can still use Copper/Blitter, and Graffiti runs on ECS systems too...) I do not know, if the Board is already available. Other things out there : - Domino : The thing XPert did before the Merlin. cybergraphics available for it, but it is damned slow. It is based on a 30$ old PC graphics Board. - Visiona: I do not know much about this Board, but if i am right, another XPert work - Rainbow 2 : Old Ingenieurbuero Helfrich work, about that "great" like the Domino. As far as i know, there is EGS for this Board. rtgmaster.library MIGHT work with it or not... - G110 : Old but very fast GVP Board connected directly to the Bus of their turboboards (that is faster than Zorro III, about 30-50 MB/sec., after what i heard). If only GVP had lived longer... sigh... they could have done a Zorro III version. As far as to what i know the Board is a BIT slower than Retina Z3, SD64 and Cybervision. Only available for A2000. Out of production. Probably the fastest available Board for A2000. Supports EGS and rtgmaster.library. Was not cheap, as far as what i know. All not mentioned Boards are framebuffers or mega-old stuff, that nearly noone owns... 4. What Boards to support I would : - support rtgmaster.library or cybergraphics.library at least - support Graffiti - Maybe Picasso II Other things only, if needed (it makes no sense supporting EGS if you already support rtgmaster.library, because EGS has no advance about it...) HRG is exotic... And if you already support cybergraphics.library or rtgmaster.library there is the question if you need anything of the others... CyberGraphics would be great as a standard, if it ONLY would support Double/Triple Buffering like rtgmaster.library... i hope, release 3 will do... and as long as it does not, i personally will use rtgmaster.library for my game... 5. Some Notes about Power PC Amigas... In the game/demo developper list, someone replied : * How should the switch for AmigaDOS to PowerPC be in your opinion ? PowerPC's should be 100% AmigaDOS compatible but I know that's not realistic. This is probably the fear of many Amigans (Amiga DOS to be dropped), but i am able to calm you. Amiga DOS WILL NOT BE DROPPED !!! At the Computer 95 i asked the guys of Phase 5 who are doing the Power PC Amiga (wake up, guys, this is not Amiga Technologies doing Power PC Amiga, that will probably be licensed work of Phase 5) and they told me the following : " - We work in cooperation with Amiga Technologies. - Future Power PC products of Phase 5 and Amiga Tech. will be compatible. - PowerUP Power PC Boards will be out in June/July 1996. - As software we will use a PowerPC version of Amiga DOS. - The Amiga DOS port already started, but in June/July 1996 probably the port is only partially done. - What is not ported, will be done with 680x0 emulation. - We will finish to port the Amiga DOS to Power PC as soon as possible. - Older (680x0) software will run using 680x0 Emulation on Power PC Amigas. - On a Power PC 604, the 680x0 Emulation will have the speed of at least an 68040. - But of course the goal is to do everything in Power PC code, that is much faster. - For the Graphics we will use CyberGraphX 3.0 Power PC Native. - An 680x0 version of CyberGraphX 3.0 will be too available. - CyberGraphX 3.0 will support AGA and Graphics Boards. - CyberGraphX 3.0 will include new 3D, multimedia, audio and video functions that are especially interesting to game developpers. " They could not answer, if future Amigas from Amiga Technology will be compatible as to the GRAPHICS SYSTEM too, but they hope that this will be so (CyberGraphX 3.0 will be available more than a HALF YEAR before Amiga Technologies Power Amigas will show up... So Power PC Amigas will be 100% Amiga DOS compatible... at least as long that AmigaDOS stuff runs on an 68040, as this will be 68040 emulation... Power UP Boards will be available in January for developpers, the cheapest Board (using Power PC 603e) will be at 1000 german marks (that is about 1.3x the cost of a new A1200). It will be available for A1200, A3000 and A4000 (maybe for A2000 later...). 6. Contact Addresses : Picasso : VillageTronic Marketing GmbH Wellweg 95 D-31157 Saarstedt Germany email : goehler@adsp.arkon.sub.org (is this stite still running ?) : Software and hardware documentation crest@adsp.arkon.sub.org : Hardware developement ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Graffiti : sysop@nostlgic.tng.oche.de (Jens Schoenfeld, the manufacturer...) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- EGS: uli@wombat.okapi.sub.org (One of the main programmers of EGS, but he does not do much more EGS stuff, as far as i know...) OR Includes from an older version are on Aminet OR Ingenieurbuero Helfrich Technologie-Zentrum Delmenhorst Am Wollelager 8 D-27749 Delmenhorst Germany (Manufacturer of the Piccolo and the Piccolo SD64) OR ftp.orion.etsu.edu (or something similar...) OR ftp.uni-stuttgart.de (i am not sure, if the EGS directory still exists...) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- CyberGraphX: fmariak@chaosengine.ping.de (Frank Mariak) marvin@sun.ph-cip.uni-koeln.de ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cybervision: phase 5 digital products In der Au 27 D-61440 Oberursel Germany ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Retina and Retina Z3 and DraCo Altais : MacroSystem GmbH Borgaecker 2-6 D-58454 Witten Germany ------------------------------------------------------------------------- rtgmaster.library : John.Hendrikx@grafix.xs4all.nl or myself... MagicSN haeuser@tick.informatik.uni-stuttgart.de