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feldon34 · 03-22-2003, 09:42 PM

Originally posted by Quick Death
Jim --

What about the CalZBufferOn having it's value set to NULL?

Using a hardware ZBuffer was, for a brief period (3 days), optional. Then Jim saw how turning it off it made the fish look.

Z-Buffers control the sequence in which things are drawn. Most 3D programs do not waste the energy to determine the "draw order" and simply send a list of all the 3D geometry to be drawn to the 3D card.

For instance, if you are displaying a 3D model of a car, you might send the car body, then the suspension, then the wheels, then the seats to the video card.

This would look rather comical if you did not have a Z-Buffer telling it which parts of the car need to be drawn in which order!!! You'd have all 4 wheels visible from one side of the car, then the suspension pasted on top of that, and the seats floating in mid-air.

Unfortunately, a Z-Buffer requires a couple of MB of memory.

Essentially, Marine Aquarium 2 has outgrown 4MB video cards and having crummy fin-clipping issues was deemed "not worth it", especially since a replacement video card can be had for $30.

03-22-2003, 09:42 PM	#121
feldon34 Forum Administrator Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Rock Hill, SC Posts: 10,938	Originally posted by Quick Death Jim -- What about the CalZBufferOn having it's value set to NULL? Using a hardware ZBuffer was, for a brief period (3 days), optional. Then Jim saw how turning it off it made the fish look. Z-Buffers control the sequence in which things are drawn. Most 3D programs do not waste the energy to determine the "draw order" and simply send a list of all the 3D geometry to be drawn to the 3D card. For instance, if you are displaying a 3D model of a car, you might send the car body, then the suspension, then the wheels, then the seats to the video card. This would look rather comical if you did not have a Z-Buffer telling it which parts of the car need to be drawn in which order!!! You'd have all 4 wheels visible from one side of the car, then the suspension pasted on top of that, and the seats floating in mid-air. Unfortunately, a Z-Buffer requires a couple of MB of memory. Essentially, Marine Aquarium 2 has outgrown 4MB video cards and having crummy fin-clipping issues was deemed "not worth it", especially since a replacement video card can be had for $30. "Journalism is printing what someone else does not want printed. Everything else is public relations." - George Orwell "If voting changed anything, they'd make it illegal." - Emma Goldman Last edited by feldon34; 03-23-2003 at 12:42 AM.