[Actc-devel] 1.1 Gold available + what's next?

[Brad G. <gra...@ta...>]

I just uploaded the final 1.1 to sourceforge and plunk.org.  The
main page is still "http://plunk.org/~grantham/public/actc/" and the
sourceforge project page is "http://sourceforge.net/projects/actc/".
All the final really does is update the manual to match the API and
adds a few more manual sections regarding ranges, errors, and file
formats.

I'm soliciting new ideas for the next release.  I'm targeting the end
of February for 1.2-alpha.  Here's my list so far, including ideas
that *might* make the release date but might be dropped, in decreasing
order of combined ease and priority:

    - verify no warnings on 32-bit Linux, 64-bit Linux, 64-bit IRIX out-of-box

    - verify compilation on Win2K, Win98, WinME, release Visual C makefile

    - benchmark against:
        * Meshifier
	* STRIPE
	* David Blythe's optimized Haeberli stripper
	* IRIS Performer's stripper
	* OpenGL Optimizer's stripper
	* NVtristrip 

    - add texture coordinates to tcsample file format

    - release OpenGL viewer that uses tcsample format (used to make images
      on the actc page
        * add texturing
	* D3D version?

    - improve performance to beat some other strippers in performance,
      memory use, and triangles per strip
        * Meshifier
	* STRIPE
	* NVtristrip

    - make MAX_STATIC_VERTS a dynamic parameter settable through actcParam,
      but perhaps not as that quantity

    - add Meshifier-compatible API (almost done) for lazy people

    - option for stitching strips together with degenerate triangles
        * in TC itself or as a post-process?

    - optimize for vertex cache hits (e.g. Radeon, GeForce hardware transform)
        * pass previous N vertices to new function actcOptimizeForCoverage?
	  then ACTC tries to build tristrip hitting those vertices?
	* is screen/texture coherence (to optimize framebuffer/texture
	  cache hits) also important?

    - add a simple multithreading sample program; try to break up dataset
      in simple way into n pieces, run n TCs

    - add prototype vertex hashing API (something like glBegin-glVertex-glEnd
      goes in, and an indexed vertex array comes out)
        * Intention is to solicit feedback, not write a final API

    - try to walk triangle strip backwards (like Meshifier did) to pick up
      more orphaned triangles

    - add quad and polygon primitives so ACTC can make polygon-to-triangle
      decisions on its own if possible (I think this one might be hard
      to integrate into the current code base)

    - add sample marching cubes program outputting in tcsample format

I don't think all of these can be done (I have a day job, as I suspect
the rest of you do) but I think it will be fun to try.  Please let me
know what your priorities are and what you'd like to see first. 
Anyone who wants to help me with these is welcome, but I'd prefer to
know you're working on it so we don't duplicate effort.

		-Brad
-- 
Brad Grantham, gra...@pl..., http://plunk.org/~grantham/