From: Allan Schaffer (allan++at++sgi.com)
Date: 09/12/2001 19:26:04
Performers,
THANK YOU for helping us to make SIGGRAPH 2001 such a successful
conference for our team & the Performer project.
As usual I'd like to summarize the Friends of Performer meeting
that we held during the show, to let you all know what was presented,
and to give a preview of what's coming!
About 175 of you attended; although, the unusual time (4pm-6pm)
conflicted with other conference activities so there were a significant
number who weren't able to make it. We're very sorry about this and
will do our best to schedule better evening times for future meetings.
The meeting focused on our upcoming release, Performer 2.5, coming in
late November. Development of 2.5 is going strong and we're very
excited about all the new capabilities -- and we were thrilled by
your response to the demos; you're going to love it!
We started off with a brief recap of Performer activities since last
year's SIGGRAPH:
- OpenGL Performer 2.4 released in November 2000
A full release for IRIX and Linux. The complete list
of new features in 2.4 can be found at:
http://www.sgi.com/software/performer/announce.html
- OpenGL Performer 2.4.1 for IRIX released with 6.5.12, May 2001
- OpenGL Performer 2.4.2 for IRIX released with 6.5.13, August 2001
- OpenGL Performer 2.4.2 for Linux, to release in September 2001
Adding many NV updates, updated license, and compatability with
RedHat 7.x / glibc2.2 :: No more "unresolved symbol: stat"
- OpenGL Performer "Open Development Project"
An open project for contributions to the Performer
utility libraries, loaders, and samples:
http://oss.sgi.com/projects/performer
and of course...
- Development of OpenGL Performer 2.5!
OpenGL Performer 2.5 will be distributed for both IRIX and Linux,
and there is some VERY enticing news below; read on...
We also gave thanks to our contributors to the Performer 2.4 "Friends
of Performer" compilation CD. These contributors include several of
the leading companies and research institutes in the visual
simulation, database modeling, game authoring, and virtual reality
marketplace; and we greatly appreciate their contributions. They include:
- ACSYS/CSIRO Virtual Environments Lab
- Aechelon Technology
- MultiGen-Paradigm
- OpenWorlds
- Princess Interactive Software
- Shortech International
- Virginia Tech. University
- Iowa State University Virtual Reality Applications Center
A detailed listing of their contributions can be found at:
http://www.sgi.com/software/performer/partners.html
For the second segment of the meeting, Brad Reddersen, the Senior Vice
President of the Visual Systems & Engineering Services division (of
which Performer is a part), discussed the "State of the Union", briefed
the audience on the broad range of graphics projects underway at SGI --
both hardware and software -- and outlined our strategic approach for
current & future efforts: raising the bar on system performance and
quality; driving down the cost of visualization; and developing new
systems architectures. This was a very dynamic talk, with a lot more
detail for each of those three than I can summarize here. I hope that
those who weren't able to make it will have an opportunity to hear
Brad in a future Friends of Performer meeting -- it was very good news
all around.
We then moved into the third segment, a sneak-preview of many of the
new features and capabilities we're working on for Performer 2.5, and
beyond.
But first to business and the mechanical details of the release:
1. As with 2.4, Performer 2.5 will be distributed for both
IRIX and Linux.
2. News for the Linux version...
As before, a free demo version will be available from the SGI
website. The demo vs full license distinction is still present,
but as to the restrictions of the demo license...
!! The expiration date is being _removed_ !!
and
!! The Single-Process restriction is being _removed_ !!
Yes you read correctly! The restrictions will be removed and
instead we are going with a far simpler approach, there will
simply be a thin Performer/SGI logo banner on the bottom of
each frame in the Demo version for Linux.
3. 2.5 Beta participation: Early-access is already underway and
we are expecting a general-access 2.5 Beta to be available in
October. Contact us if you have any special needs.
Our 2.5 features list was driven by your feedback and suggestions over
the past 18 months. The needs you all have identified, and where the
Performer team has been focusing its development efforts, are the
following six categories:
a. Enhanced Realism for the High-End
b. Distributed Rendering
c. Combinatorial Effects
d. Ease-of-Use
e. Supporting Huge Datasets
f. Commodity Platforms
On to the major new features...
1. Image-Based Rendering
The capability to replace a complex object (trees, people, etc)
in the database with pre-rendered images of the object as seen
from different angles.
2. Real-Time Shadows
Utilizes an Image-Based approach to project an object's true
shadow upon any & all other objects in the scene.
3. Light Shafts
An extension of the pfVolFog functionality in 2.4, combining
a patchy fog to define the shaft boundary; a layered fog for
simulating attenuation; and a lobe light for spot illumination
on objects in the scene.
4. Cull Programs
A method of optimizing & combining multi-pass rendering effects,
by selection of the Performer draw-bin based on user-defined
attributes; ie: Opaque? Transparent? Within a given polytope? etc.
5. Dynamic Shaders
Extends the pfShader functionality in 2.4, allowing shader
"inputs" -- such as the light position -- to be modified in
real-time.
6. pfViewer
A new class for _easy_ creation of a full-featured Performer
application, with emphasis on simplicity and extensibility.
Contains intuitive framework for easy integration with GUI
toolkits, automatic management of pipes & channels, built-in
controls for draw style, stats, etc., integration of user-
defined motion models, and inventor-style picking and
manipulators.
7. Distance Collaboration
Continuing development among SGI, MPI, EDS, and US Army
TACOM to create a multi-user collaborative virtual prototyping
environment.
8. Visual Serving
Integration of OpenGL Performer with the OpenGL Vizserver product.
9. Clusterfly
A new version of perfly for the SGI Graphics Cluster system,
synchronizing the perfly 'ViewState' among nodes in the cluster.
10. GeForce3 features
For example Register Combiners, which provide the ability to
do low-level shading & rendering pipeline programming. Paves
the way for higher-level vis-sim features such as Bump Mapping,
Phong Shading, advanced multitexture and lighting techniques, and
so on.
Something I said during the meetng and should mention again: some of
these features are items that you'll all see in Performer 2.5; and
others are longer-term development efforts, that may take longer to
complete. As we bring the release to completion, I invite you all
to continue with feedback and suggestions of how you'd like to see
these new features evolve, and what you'd like to see in Performer
2.6... or 3.0.
Following the features discussion, the meeting then turned to a pair
of brief presentations from our Guest Speakers:
First was Randall Stevens, the President of ArchVision, who
discussed the imagery datasets shown in our demonstration of
Image-Based Rendering. ArchVision got its start in the
Architectural-Walkthrough & Simulation area, and provides
a wide range of 3D imagery datasets that now (in conjunction
with Performer 2.5) can be utilized in a real-time simulation.
We look forward to seeing more of this in the future!
Their website is: http://www.archvision.com/
Second was Bill Jepson, Director of the Urban Simulation Laboratory
at the UCLA Department of Architecture and Urban Design, a group of
many talents, and particularly well-known for their "Virtual LA"
simulation. Bill's talk ranged from how the simulation & visualization
of urban environments can be used for emergency response, disaster
preparation, logistics/traffic management, and so on; to applications
where proposed building & landscape designs can be simulated and
evaluated by the builders, planners, architects, and other parties.
(My summary can not give the talk & demo justice - you had to see it!)
And with that, we took a few more questions and drew the meeting to
a close.
As a final item, I'd like to extend a very warm thanks,
To Bionatics, who contributed the software used to create
the tree imagery dataset used in the first Image-Based
Rendering Demonstration; [incidentally this was a small
"dome-shaped" dataset for the demo at the meeting, meaning
it was correct from the top as well as around the sides; we
had a larger version with more views being shown in our booth
as well.]
To BVR, for the continuing use of the Helicopter model,
when showing Light Shafts and Shadows;
To Archvision, for the trees and people imagery datasets
used for the second Image-Based Rendering Demonstration;
And of course to our guest speakers, Randall Stevens and
Bill Jepson, for such interesting talks!
So, thank you all once again, and we look forward to seeing you at
I/ITSEC 2001 -- with Performer 2.5 CD's in hand..
---- Allan Schaffer allan++at++sgi.com Engineering Manager, OpenGL Performer 1-650-933-2160 Silicon Graphics http://reality.sgi.com/allan
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