---- * Header added by Operation: 3DFX (www.op3dfx.com) *----
Contestant Number: 112
Type: Screensaver
Short Description: Swirling particles and realtime waves
Author: Mike Ruete <ruetem@lafcol.lafayette.edu>
API: OpenGL
Rush Compatible: Yes
NT4 Compatible: Yes
Source Available: Yes (entry112_src.zip)
---------- * Original Readme File Follows *-------------------
Name: NUMB
Single Line:
swirling particles and realtime waves
Multi Line:
Particles are generated and translated in realtime with some funky
math I can't describe. The waves are generated in realtime, including
all values for lighting. There are 32x32x2 triangles in the wavy part,
each requiring calculation of a normal vector, averaging for vertex
normals, and dot products for vertex intensities. Enjoy the results.
Author: Mike Ruete / Gripp
Contact: ruetem@lafcol.lafayette.edu
web-url: http://www.lafayette.edu/~ruetem
Submitted to the Operation 3DFX contest in March, 1998
http://www.op3dfx.com
Last-updated: March 3, 1998
Compatibility:
--------------
3dfx: if it doesn't work with my Pure3D, I'm toasty. :)
Rush: Couldn't get good testing.
Permedia2: Should work fine, I've tested with a FireGL 1000 Pro 8MB.
Riva: Tested under win98 with an ICD, Use alt blending, it runs faster.
**For non-3dfx owners: run swapgl.bat before you try to run the screensaver
or you'll get a glide2x error because it'll try to use the inclduded 3dfx
gl miniport.
If it doesn't run right on your system, let me know, and I'll want the
msg.log file from the data directory.
Quick Start:
------------
if not a 3dfx owner, run swapgl.bat
run numb.exe, it'll bring up a dialog, select your settings.
run numb.exe again, and it should work.
if you need to change settings, run numb.exe /c
Screensaver install:
--------------------
copy numb.exe to numb.scr
copy all the files to an installation directory (e.g. c:\numb)
open explorer, right click on numb.scr, and select "install".
Click the settings button to choose settings.
preview may not work with 3dfx, because some display properties
applets use glide, preventing the screensaver.
Uninstall:
----------
Run regedit
search for "gripp"
you should find HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/Software/Gripp
delete the key.
delete the files from your hard drive.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Why "NUMB"? Because that's how I feel after staring at it for an hour.
Running with 3DFX:
An opengl32.dll for 3dfx is included. This is a mini-gl driver
released a little after Quake2's release to fix memory problems. This is
the only driver I've tested with, so I'd suggest using it.
There is a batch file called "swapgl.bat" in the release. It swaps
the .dll file between opengl32.dll and 3dfxgl.dll, so you can easily disable
3dfx to use another gl implementation.
Here's the poop on the options:
numb.exe /c -- Display the configuration dialog
The default settings are configured for Voodoo Graphics boards
(go figure, it's a 3dfx contest). Use the fullscreen option for Voodoo Rush,
Permedia 2, and all other boards that use the 2D card's framebuffer.
The data path is for when it's installed as a screensaver. Make a directory
to hold the textures, and then set this option to point to that dir. It
defaults to ".", which is the current directory.
The "Use Heightfield" option enables/disables the wavy water effect. This
effect puts a larger strain on both fillrate and calculations. There's lots
of light calculations involved, which you CPU has to do (I tuned it for 40fps
on my PPro200 + Pure3D), and it also stresses fillrate for slower cards,
especially software rendering.
The "Use Alternate Blending" option uses
glBlendFunc(GL_SRC_ALPHA, GL_ONE_MINUS_SRC_ALPHA) instead of
glBlendFunc(GL_SRC_ALPHA, GL_ONE). I added this option because my
FireGL 1000 Pro doesn't support GL_ONE. It doesn't look as good, but it
looks better than ugly square, flat-colored particles.
If you copy numb.exe to numb.scr, then right click on it in an explorer window,
then click "install", it will install it as your screensaver. It doesn't draw
to the preview window, but if you click "settings" it'll display the settings
dialog, and if you click preview it will run. It will also run when it's time
for the screensaver to kick in.
Please feel free to send me any feedback you may have, especially if it works
particularly well/badly on your GL card.
-Mike Ruete / Gripp
ruetem@lafcol.lafayette.edu