3 ms·

It doesn't look like AAA [1] has any 3D? From what I remember it was more like my Retina Z3 card but better. Had some discussions at conferences, it seemed Ami

It doesn't look like AAA [1] has any 3D? From what I remember it was more like my Retina Z3 card but better. Had some discussions at conferences, it seemed Amiga hardware engineers didn't believe in 3D and were frozen in their graphics mindset of blitter and copper (huge when I wrote 68k demos in the mid-80s, but meaningless when 3D happened). [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amiga_Advanced_Architecture_chipset https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amiga_Advanced_Architecture_ch...

phire 9y ago
It doesn't have 3D, but what it does have is 8 and 16bit chunky graphics modes, which make doing software renderers a lot easier than the planer modes of the old chipsets. With chunky graphics, you can write out an entire pixel with a single write, which is essential for rasterisation in software 3d games. It's not like PCs got 3d graphics cards until late-95, the AAA chipsets released in 1993 might have allowed the Amega to hold on until 96, get proper Doom clones (and maybe even quake clones) and then get it's own 3d accelerators.
- Gogogogirl 9y ago
  "which make doing software renderers a lot easier than the planer modes of the old chipsets." Which is the reason that 3D gaming took really off with chipsets that support software rendering instead of GPUs. The PS1 and the CD32 are around the same time and show how Commodore had no clue about 3D, but Sony delivered (Also Nintendo with the Super FX).
oldcynic 9y ago
No it didn't, but it was started in 88 when keeping planar modes and adding 1280x1024 still made some sense keeping compatibility. Adding the DSP would have made a few new niches. In 93 it was all a bit too late - and they weren't even ready to ship then. 3D was in Hombre that was the PowerPC. Wildly different and no compatibility, so heaven knows how that would have played out. Only that was when we were all starting to play Doom at work :) Edit: I searched and found this from Dave Haynie - who always seemed pretty straight talking. Weirdly some of the dates have 10 years added :D The 3D section and the following on Gould and Ali seems to sum up the train wreck pretty well. eg: "When he got to Engineering, he hired a human bus error called Bill Sydnes to take over. Sydnes, a PC guy, didn’t have the chops to run a computer, much less a computer design department. He was also an ex-IBMer, and spent much time trying to turn C= (a fairly slick, west-coast-style design operation), into the clunky mess that characterized the Dilbert Zones in most major east-coast-style companies" http://www.landley.net/history/mirror/commodore/haynie.html http://www.landley.net/history/mirror/commodore/haynie.html
- Gogogogirl 9y ago
  "keeping compatibility." This killed the Amiga.

phire 9y ago

It doesn't have 3D, but what it does have is 8 and 16bit chunky graphics modes, which make doing software renderers a lot easier than the planer modes of the old chipsets. With chunky graphics, you can write out an entire pixel with a single write, which is essential for rasterisation in software 3d games. It's not like PCs got 3d graphics cards until late-95, the AAA chipsets released in 1993 might have allowed the Amega to hold on until 96, get proper Doom clones (and maybe even quake clones) and then get it's own 3d accelerators.

Gogogogirl 9y ago
"which make doing software renderers a lot easier than the planer modes of the old chipsets." Which is the reason that 3D gaming took really off with chipsets that support software rendering instead of GPUs. The PS1 and the CD32 are around the same time and show how Commodore had no clue about 3D, but Sony delivered (Also Nintendo with the Super FX).

oldcynic 9y ago

No it didn't, but it was started in 88 when keeping planar modes and adding 1280x1024 still made some sense keeping compatibility. Adding the DSP would have made a few new niches. In 93 it was all a bit too late - and they weren't even ready to ship then. 3D was in Hombre that was the PowerPC. Wildly different and no compatibility, so heaven knows how that would have played out. Only that was when we were all starting to play Doom at work :) Edit: I searched and found this from Dave Haynie - who always seemed pretty straight talking. Weirdly some of the dates have 10 years added :D The 3D section and the following on Gould and Ali seems to sum up the train wreck pretty well. eg: "When he got to Engineering, he hired a human bus error called Bill Sydnes to take over. Sydnes, a PC guy, didn’t have the chops to run a computer, much less a computer design department. He was also an ex-IBMer, and spent much time trying to turn C= (a fairly slick, west-coast-style design operation), into the clunky mess that characterized the Dilbert Zones in most major east-coast-style companies" http://www.landley.net/history/mirror/commodore/haynie.html http://www.landley.net/history/mirror/commodore/haynie.html

Gogogogirl 9y ago
"keeping compatibility." This killed the Amiga.