RE: [Algorithms] More Generative Modeling

[Matthew N. <Ma...@re...>]

I think you rather misrepresent people's opinions on the polygon vs. =
non-polygon modelling issue in your mail to Dieter.

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Neil McLaughlin [mailto:bi...@me...]
> Sent: 12 December 2001 08:46
> To: Algorithms
> Subject: [Algorithms] More Generative Modeling

[snip]

> > However these ideas have not gained popularity in the video=20
> game area,
> which covers consoles and
> > accelerator cards.   I could have used your expertise on=20
> our newsgroup as
> I argued that eventually we'll
> > have hardware that supports a non-polygonal approach to=20
> rendering - they
> all laughed at me!
>=20
> > One quote from them: 'Compact descriptions of reality don't exist'.
> > Or  'We love polygons and we choose them over any other method'.

The quote 'Compact descriptions of reality don't exist' did come from =
the discussion and I would still argue that it is true but no one ever =
said 'We love polygons and we choose them over any other method' - =
certainly not in those exact words and I don't think anyone said =
anything to indicate that that was their opinion either. I also think it =
is a misrepresentation to say that 'they all laughed at me!' - I only =
saw polite, reasoned arguments from smart people explaining why they =
disagreed with your opinion. I don't think anyone was laughing at you.

I also don't think the main thrust of the argument revolved around the =
potential for future hardware acceleration of non-polygon based =
rendering. We're already seeing hardware support from ATI and nVidia for =
various kinds of patches / curved surfaces and as current cards are =
catching up with the state of the art in terms of polygonal renderer =
features I would expect to see more non-polygonal acceleration in the =
future as manufacturers attempt to differentiate their products from the =
competition. The main point I think is that *current* hardware doesn't =
support non-polygon approaches well and as a result they are not very =
good choices for commercial games that are aimed at today's state of the =
art hardware.

Matt.