Grand Slam 3/Grand Slam 3.iso/017/inet4_5.arj/3DOPRC.TXT

Text File | 1995-05-07 | 12KB | 191 lines

Subject: PRess release! 3DO Unveils M2: TODAY!!!!!
Date: Tue, 2 May 1995 16:42:37 GMT




WP    BW0056  MAY 02,1995       7:05  PACIFIC      10:05  EASTERN   (
BW)(3DO-2)(THDO) 3DO Unveils 64-Bit M2 Technology
   Business Editors/Computer Writers
   NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 2, 1995--The 3DO Company today  unveiled
its highly anticipated, next-generation M2 technology.   3DO's M2 64-bit
architecture is designed to create a quantum leap in  advanced CD
entertainment technology.  Leveraging 3DO's high-end 3-D  image and sound
processors and IBM and Motorola's PowerPC  microprocessor, M2 technology
rivals image quality and performance  of workstations and the most popular
arcade machines.
   "It's a quantum leap for the industry in both graphics speed and
quality," said Trip Hawkins, 3DO's President and CEO.  "We're  raising the
bar again."  M2 Performance Breakthrough
   3DO designed the M2 architecture to deliver breakthrough  processing
performance and the highest quality graphics and digital video for consumer
interactive entertainment software.
   "The M2 polygon performance alone is phenomenal," said Hugh  Martin,
3DO's Chief Operating Officer.  "M2 easily beats many  expensive graphics
workstations and outpaces popular coin-op arcade  systems.  With its
advanced graphics, video, and sound capabilities,  M2's powerful 64-bit
architecture will enable software developers to  create titles that provide
a whole new level of realism and engaging  experiences not previously
available on advanced CD entertainment  systems."
   Based on 10 revolutionary custom graphics, sound, and I/O  processors
designed by 3DO, and an IBM PowerPC 602(TM)  microprocessor specially
designed with 3DO interactive applications  in mind, the M2 architecture
processes more than one million  polygons per second.  Each of the multiple
M2 processors is  dedicated to specific tasks to optimize superior image
quality and  performance.
 These processors are supported by the powerful system  resources that M2
technology provides, including a 64-bit data bus,  48 megabits of memory,
and a memory subsystem capable of delivering  528 megabytes per second.
MPEG-1 digital video decompression  technology is also designed into the
core M2 architecture for  built-in VHS-quality digital video capability.
   "The superior price and performance of the PowerPC 602 is  enabling new
classes of advanced home entertainment software," said  Phil Hester,
General Manager, Systems Technology and Architecture  Division, IBM.
"Working together with 3DO, we've defined the 602  with unique capabilities
to make M2 the best possible technology for  interactive entertainment
applications.  3DO's 64-bit M2 system  architecture will forever change the
way people play, learn, and  interact."
   The highly integrated M2 architecture was developed from the  ground up
and is the result of working with the world's leading  processor, graphics,
and audio system designers.
   "IBM and Motorola's world class manufacturing process will allow  us to
achieve superior performance through higher integration," said  Hawkins.
"With the PowerPC microprocessor and 3DO's custom M2  processors, we have a
processor family that offers truly  next-generation performance."  Beyond
the Bits
   M2's revolutionary image quality and performance features will  enable
development of interactive entertainment software that  provides an
unprecedented level of realism, with richly detailed  interactive worlds
containing multiple, complex 3-D characters.   With photorealistic images,
high frame rates, VHS-quality video, and  theatre-quality sound, the M2
interactive software experience will  be radically better than anything
consumers are familiar with today.
   "The M2 capabilities demonstrated today go far beyond anything
currently available on the market or in development for the advanced  CD
entertainment market," said Martin.  "Feature like Gouraud  shading,
filtered textures, 3-D perspective correction, and complex  scenes
requiring performance in the hundreds of thousands of  polygons per second,
will take gamers into a whole new dimension of  realism and fun."
   "With the first 3DO system, we delivered the very best  interactive
entertainment experience for the home," added Hawkins.   "M2 will once
again set the standard -- this time for the 64-bit  advanced CD
entertainment experience." Advanced Graphics and Video Features
   M2 technology was designed to enable software companies to  provide
consumers with complex, photorealistic 3-D worlds and  characters and full
motion digital video mixed with  computer-generated graphics that move
seamlessly.  M2 will enable  software companies to develop interactive
entertainment titles that  offer lifelike graphics at tremendous speeds
with considerably more  action than has previously been possible in
interactive titles.
   3DO's M2 architecture includes several key features for  achieving
breakthrough image quality and performance.  These  features, which are
built into and performed by the M2 hardware,  will enable software
developers to easily and efficiently provide  richer, more sophisticated
graphic images and engaging entertainment  experiences.  Software designers
simply apply these advanced effects  to an image and the M2 technology does
the rest of the work.
   -- Gouraud Shading and Lighting -- M2 technology allows  designers to
apply a significant number of lighting effects to an  object or scene.
Light sources are then reflected realistically off  of objects based on
where the light source is in relation to the  object.  Gouraud shading is
applied to the object to create the  appropriate colors and shadows in the
scene.  The result is images  and scenery with brilliantly curved and
smooth surfaces.
   -- Texture Mapping -- Texture mapping is used to apply a graphic
texture to polygon-based models to give the modelled object the  desired
look.  3DO's M2 texture mapping capability renders polygons  delivering
more than 100 million pixels per second and supports a  wide range of data
types, including video.
   -- Filtering -- Filtering is the process used to make objects  and
textures appear smoother and more natural by averaging and  softening an
image's pixel edges.  Filtering creates more realistic  images while using
simpler geometry.
   -- Mip mapping -- Mip mapping is used to provide a smooth  texture
appearance as an object moves closer to or farther away in a  scene.
Through mip mapping, the system dynamically uses different  levels of
texture detail based on the object's distance from the  camera.  The images
will appear to scale more smoothly and maintain  their visual clarity
regardless of camera distance, yet only the  original texture is needed.
   -- Z-Buffer - A two-dimensional world is described by two axes  -- X and
Y, or horizontal and vertical.  A three-dimensional world  adds a third
axis, Z, which allows objects to be placed anywhere  within a
three-dimensional space.
 When one object sits in front of  a second object, the Z dimension tells
the system where each object  is relative to others.
   The Z-buffer manages complex objects intersecting dynamically  and
enables automatic hidden surface calculations.  The system  automatically
knows for any given visual perspective what the user  will see, and
therefore which polygons to render.  For example, if a  car drives in front
of a tree, the system automatically determines  that it does not need to
render that portion of the tree which is  hidden behind the car.  M2
Z-buffering is provided in the hardware  as with coin-op arcade machines
and workstations, while other  systems only allow for Z-buffering to occur
in software.   Z-buffering provides a big performance gain when using
complex  graphic models.
   -- Perspective correction -- 3-D perspective correction takes  the Z
dimension into account when mapping a texture to a polygon.   The M2
technology automatically modifies the textures in a scene to  appear with
the proper perspective, based on user interaction.  This  results in fewer
artifacts and simpler geometry than for competing  systems.
   -- Transparency -- Transparency enables complex images and  special
effects to be built with simple geometric models.  The M2  architecture
also provides alpha channel support, which enables  software designers to
control the level of transparency in a model  pixel by pixel in real time.
For instance, one large polygon can be  drawn and a texture can be mapped
with transparency applied to  appropriate pixels to create the desired
effect.
   -- Hardware-based MPEG-1 video decompression -- The M2  technology is
designed with built-in MPEG-1 video decompression to  provide VHS-quality
digital video capability.  In addition to using  digital video
decompression for playback, M2 treats decompressed  video like any other
type of data.  This advanced technique enables  designers to apply
decompressed running video to an object like any  other texture.  With this
feature, M2 hardware has the video effects  capability of machines costing
many thousands of dollars.   Additionally, multiple streams of digital
video can be incorporated  in a title at one time.   Software Development
Environment
   Software design expertise in developing 32-bit 3DO titles is  scalable
to the new M2 architecture.  As part of its M2 technology  strategy, 3DO
has taken advantage of its current operating system  and development tools
to minimize the M2 development learning curve.  The company leveraged and
migrated many critical components of its  32-bit platform development
environment to the M2 development environment, including its core operating
system, enhanced with new  2-D and 3-D graphics functions to enable
software companies to  produce M2 titles faster and more easily than
developing first  titles for other new architectures.  M2 Product Designs
   The M2 system architecture was designed to provide 3DO hardware
partners with the flexibility to produce products to meet a variety  of
consumer needs, including add-on upgrades for current 3DO  Interactive
Multiplayer customers, as well as integrated standalone  M2 systems.
   "3DO was first to market with a 32-bit system, and others have  adopted
our concept of the product," said Hawkins.  "But nobody else  has anything
like M2."
   The company expects to announce M2 hardware and software  partners and
specific M2 product launch plans at a later date.
   Based in Redwood City, Calif., The 3DO Company (NASDAQ:THDO)  develops
and licenses advanced interactive technology to hardware  and software
companies worldwide.  The company's award-winning  product design, the
32-bit 3DO Interactive Multiplayer system, was  created to deliver a
breakthrough in interactive entertainment at an  affordable price.  3DO
also develops, publishes, and distributes  CD-ROM software products and
peripherals for the 3DO system.  The  current 3DO system is available
worldwide from Panasonic, GoldStar,  Sanyo, and Creative Labs. -0-
   Note to Editors:  3DO, the 3DO logos, and Interactive  Multiplayer are
trademarks and/or registered trademarks of The 3DO  Company.  All other
brand or product names are trademarks and/or  registered trademarks of
their respective owners.
   --30--crd/sf
   CONTACT:  The 3DO Company
             Diane Hunt, 415/261-3214
             Tuesday Uhland, 415/261-3142
   KEYWORD:  NEW YORK CALIFORNIA
   INDUSTRY KEYWORD:  COMPUTERS/ELECTRONICS COMED PRODUCT
                      INTERACTIVE/MULTIMEDIA ENTERTAINMENT RETAIL
REPEATS: New York 212-575-8822 or 800-221-2462; Boston 617-330-5311 or
    800-225-2030; SF 415-986-4422 or 800-227-0845; LA 310-820-9473