It seems like what almost the entire industry is doing is using the modern hardware capabilities to get away with bad practices and bad optimization all over the place, instead of pushing the boundaries.
I really appreciate games with absurd optimization like Roller Coaster Tycoon from back in the day.
This dude (https://www.youtube.com/@ThreatInteractive) talks a lot about the technical side, I feel like he is starting a wave with the way people are starting to understand how much the developers are slacking off.
Anyhow, I always enjoy your stories from back in those days! Great piece.
This stuff is more valuable than most standard MBA courses, and I speak from experience. Thanks for starting this substack, and thank you to its contributors.
Rendition Verite 3D 1000 came out 1996 and supported Quake, Tomb Raider etc Late 1996 3DFx Voodoo came out and was about 30% faster, both cards had some weaknesses and lack of 3D features. Rendition Verite 2000 suffered manufacturing delays (alleged transistor mask reversal) and by time it reached consumers its performance was beaten by new competitors. Voodoo 2 was a huge success but Voodoo chipset design still lacked many 3D features, the Voodoo 3 just added a 2D core as well. The Voodoo 4/5 release was delayed by driver problems (said to be caused by a bad CD-R copy of Quake3 install). But what killed 3DFx was the GeForce2mx a budget card that had great performance and better 3D features as well. These years were cut throat competition with driver cheats to get good benchmarks on games.
What about the state of 3D graphics nowadays Vox?
It seems like what almost the entire industry is doing is using the modern hardware capabilities to get away with bad practices and bad optimization all over the place, instead of pushing the boundaries.
I really appreciate games with absurd optimization like Roller Coaster Tycoon from back in the day.
This dude (https://www.youtube.com/@ThreatInteractive) talks a lot about the technical side, I feel like he is starting a wave with the way people are starting to understand how much the developers are slacking off.
Anyhow, I always enjoy your stories from back in those days! Great piece.
Can you compare the Voodoo 3D graphics chip to the one you proposed that ARTIST Graphics make?
No more easily than you can. Look up the relevant polygons/second.
This stuff is more valuable than most standard MBA courses, and I speak from experience. Thanks for starting this substack, and thank you to its contributors.
Rendition Verite 3D 1000 came out 1996 and supported Quake, Tomb Raider etc Late 1996 3DFx Voodoo came out and was about 30% faster, both cards had some weaknesses and lack of 3D features. Rendition Verite 2000 suffered manufacturing delays (alleged transistor mask reversal) and by time it reached consumers its performance was beaten by new competitors. Voodoo 2 was a huge success but Voodoo chipset design still lacked many 3D features, the Voodoo 3 just added a 2D core as well. The Voodoo 4/5 release was delayed by driver problems (said to be caused by a bad CD-R copy of Quake3 install). But what killed 3DFx was the GeForce2mx a budget card that had great performance and better 3D features as well. These years were cut throat competition with driver cheats to get good benchmarks on games.
The problem then was hardware. The problem now is plot and game design.