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OpenGL Headline News
FinalTouch 2K and HD use the OpenGL API for real-time digital color correction of movies
Jun 30, 2005
FinalTouch 2k and FinalTouch HD are real-time tools for professional colorists to color-correct and fine-tune movies using OpenGL API-based 32-bit per channel imaging. Using ATI 850 xt cards or similar high-end graphics cards which support OpenGL API shaders, include large amounts of onboard memory and can perform accelerated, advanced 2D imaging functions, allows for very fast and often realtime operation during primary color and tone manipulation. The HD version recently won the DV magazine Excellence Award. Runs on Mac OS X.
Category: Applications • Permalink
Google Earth lets you “fly” to aerial views of many locations on the planet using the OpenGL API
Jun 30, 2005
Google Earth is an integration of Google Maps with 3D (an enhanced version of Keyhole’s 3D satellite imagery product). It uses the OpenGL API and hardware acceleration to let you fly around a 3D globe to many locations on the planet using overhead satellite photos, tilted 45-degree photos, 3D rendered buildings, and overlays that display local area search, map directions, terrain, and everything from roads to hotels to bike routes. A $20/year subscription offer higher res and GPS support. It requires an OpenGL API hardware accelerator. Currently available only for Windows. But Mac and Linux (and possibly handhelds through OpenGL ES) on the way.
Category: Applications • Permalink
Write Portable Code: An Introduction to Developing Software for Multiple Platforms
Jun 30, 2005
The development of cross-platform software has been a long-standing challenge for programmers because each system has its own requirements and peculiarities. However without portable code the programmer can’t expand the availability of their software to a broader market. (Windows, Mac, Linux, Mobile Phones, Handhelds, or across processors) Programmers often pick up the idioms, tricks and methodologies for developing cross-platform software through sheer trial and error, as they encounter the same mistakes and patterns of code over time. If you’re an intermediate-to advanced-level programmer who’d rather cut to the chase, “Write Portable Code” contains the lessons, patterns and knowledge you’ll need for developing cross-platform software. Written by Brian Hook of id software (Doom and Quake) fame.
Category: Developers • Permalink
Cluster Edition of Open Inventor for large volume 3D visualization
Jun 29, 2005
Mercury Cluster Edition for Open Inventor enables scalability of OpenGL API-based Open Inventor and VolumeViz LDM (large data management) for increased resolution, quality, and performance in applications that display large volumes of data. Based on a distributed scene graph, Open Inventor Cluster Edition allows an application to run unchanged on a master computer, with its scene graph optimally distributed to slave cluster nodes. It supports OpenGL 1.5 and programmable OpenGL Shading Language shaders.
Category: Developers • Permalink
Kaze, Ghost Warrior 3D film using OpenGL API-based TAFA facial animation software
Jun 29, 2005
CGW has a story on the making of the low budget, high-quality Kaze, Ghost Warrior 3D film. Facial animation was paramount to the story, so the filmmaker developed TAFA using the OpenGL API to display real-time sub-patching of UV textured models at interaction rates of over 100 frames per second. Dragging and dropping phonetic morphs from the OpenGL API-based Morph File onto an exposure sheet and scrubbing achieved the synchronization between the audio and the animation.
Category: Applications • Permalink
Visor SDK visibility culling tool using an OpenGL API-based GUI
Jun 29, 2005
One of the techniques used to accelerate rendering of 3D images is visibility culling, the process where the invisible is removed from the graphics pipeline at early stage. This can be implemented by using the method of Potentially Visible Sets (PVS), that pretabulates the visibility information, enabling rapid culling at run-time. The Visor SDK enables the PVS method to be used with high complexity 3D models. The PVS computation is implemented as a four-stage automatable pipeline and can be controlled via an OpenGL API-based GUI.
Category: Developers • Permalink
Poser 6 human figures designer adds OpenGL API support
Jun 29, 2005
Poser lets you design human figures, or 3D renderings that can be animated. Recent versions included features such as realistic hair and cloth dynamics. The latest version adds image-based lighting, ambient occlusion, render shadows separately from objects, subsurface scattering of light to translucent objects, enahnced lighting and full support for the OpenGL API for accelerated real-time previews and export of an OpenGL API-based animation preview.
Category: Applications • Permalink
VDrift driving simulation using the OpenGL API enhances performance
Jun 29, 2005
VDrift is a driving simulation made with drift racing in mind. It’s powered by the Vamos physics engine and uses the OpenGL and OpenAL APIs. The latest release enhances performances, adds an analog clutch, and adds an in-car view.
Category: Applications • Permalink
Lush OO Lisp interpreter with OpenGL API bindings adds 64-bit support
Jun 29, 2005
Lush is an object-oriented Lisp interpreter and compiler with a seamless interface to C, a vector, matrix, and tensor engine, a huge numerical library, a GUI toolkit, and bindings to GSL, SDL, OpenGL, V4l, and others. It offers an alternative to Matlab, Python, and Scheme. The latest v1.1 adds 64-bit and enhanced OS X support, fast SVM library, and SVG output.
Category: Developers • Permalink
GameDev acquires NeHe’s OpenGL API tutorial website
Jun 28, 2005
GameDev.net has acquired the excellent NeHe Productions OpenGL API tutorial and coding website. GameDev will continue to make NeHe’s tutorials and other information freely available and will also expand the current site.
