Brooktree teams with Argonaut to develop first 3D silicon solution designed specifically fro 3D gaming.SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 12, 1996-- Brooktree and Argonaut are jointly developing low-cost 3D accelerator technology designed specifically to boost the speed and interactivity of today's complex 3D games; Brooktree will incorporate the new technology in next-generation accelerator chips Seeking to enable fast 3D game performance at a consumer PC price point that until now has eluded the market, the Brooktree Division of Rockwell Semiconductor Systems today announced an agreement with Argonaut, a leading game and technology developer. The two companies are jointly developing a low-cost 3D hardware engine designed specifically for accelerating 3D games in the Windows 95 Direct3D gaming environment. Argonaut is working with Brooktree to develop core 3D acceleration technology that Brooktree will incorporate into its new family of single-chip media accelerator solutions. The first in the family, Brooktree's Bt2164 Video/Graphics controller, was announced today. Brooktree plans to introduce a 3D addition to the family in the first quarter of 1997. This single-chip solution will support the unique combination of lightning-fast 2D graphics, smooth and realistic 3D graphics, plus high-fidelity full-motion video Video transmission that changes the image 30 frames per second (30 fps). Motion pictures are run at 24 fps, which is the minimum frequency required to eliminate the perception of moving frames and make the images appear visually fluid to the eye. from CDs, NTSC/PAL sources and advanced MPEG-2 video sources like DVD DVD: see digital versatile disc. DVD in full digital video disc or digital versatile disc Type of optical disc. The DVD represents the second generation of compact-disc (CD) technology. and direct-broadcast satellite. As part of the joint-development agreement, Brooktree is contributing its expertise in multimedia, 2D graphics accelerators and video system solutions, building on a proprietary silicon architecture that breaks new ground in advanced NTSC/PAL and MPEG-2 video handling, theater-quality TV display on a PC monitor, and seamlessly blended multimedia interactivity. Argonaut is leveraging its expertise as one of the world's leading independent developers of 3D video games See video game console. and hardware technology. In addition to developing many popular game titles, Argonaut created one of the best-selling 3D RISC RISC in full Reduced Instruction Set Computing Computer architecture that uses a limited number of instructions. RISC became popular in microprocessors in the 1980s. microprocessors of all time -- the SuperFX 3D graphics accelerator chip which Nintendo licensed from Argonaut in 1993 for its Super Nintendo Entertainment System  The Super Nintendo Entertainment System or Super NES (also called SNES . Brooktree and Argonaut will work together to solve critical system bottlenecks that have until now seriously hampered silicon solutions for 3D gaming on the PC. "The unhappy truth in the PC game industry today is that most consumer 3D cards can't run 3D any faster than a Pentium running Windows 95 all by itself, and those that can are generally in a price range that only hard-core gamers are willing to pay," said Brian Davis Brian Davis may refer to:
"Most of today's mainstream solutions are generally nothing more than a new spin on last year's accelerated video/graphics controllers with some 3D rendering enhancements," Davis added. "We believe it takes a whole new approach to really make 3D games come alive, and so we're starting from the other direction, working with a leading game developer who truly understands the complex algorithms that are required to get around the hardware bottlenecks hampering today's 3D game performance. Together, we have determined exactly what 3D game sequences must be accelerated in hardware for optimum speed and interactivity, and we are designing our 3D hardware engine from the ground up to implement a solution with a minimum of silicon." Argonaut is uniquely qualified to understand the bottlenecks that have plagued current 3D hardware solutions. The company's game hits include "StarFox" (one of the top 10 games of all time with 4 million units sold) and "Stunt Race FX Stunt Race FX (ワイルドトラックス - Wild Trax in Japan) is a cartoon style 3D racing video game produced and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo console system. " (both co-developed with Nintendo), "StarGlider 1 & 2", "Creature Shock Creature Shock is a 1994 sci-fi action-adventure game released on the PC and 3DO. The game was developed by Argonaut Games and published by Virgin Interactive. The game was later ported to the Philips CD-i, Sega Saturn and Sony Playstation video game systems. ", and "FX Fighter FX Fighter is a 3D fighting video game released in 1995. It was the first realtime 3D fighting game to be developed for the PC. The game was also being developed for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, but eventually only the PC CD-ROM version for MS-DOS was released. ", an award-winning PC 3D fight game. Argonaut's unique game-oriented, software-driven 3D design philosophy allows it to create 3D hardware technology directly centered around the needs of 3D games software. "Working with Brooktree, we can really take PC gaming to the next level," said Jez Sans, managing director of Argonaut. "Conventional hardware-oriented solutions have generally offered attractive specifications but have done little to improve the actual 3D game experience. We've taken a completely new approach by combining our games-based software expertise with Brooktree's knowledge of PC video, multimedia silicon architectures, and low-cost, high-volume IC design and fabrication fabrication (fab´rikā´sh  n),n the construction or making of a restoration. technology. Our unique skill at Argonaut is designing hardware from a software point of view." According to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. industry analyst Jon Peddie, president of Jon Peddie Associates (Tiburon, Calif.), a 3D development partnership between a semiconductor company and a software developer represents a compelling new model for addressing the 3D system challenge. "Last year's promise of thrilling 3D effects on the PC turned out to be more hype than substance," Peddie said. "The chip makers quickly learned that they couldn't do expensive CAD 3D on a PC budget, so they resorted to bolting some 3D rendering capabilities onto 2D parts. The result was nominal to poor 3D capability without the buffering, memory, bandwidth or speed required for 3D gaming. Two things have to happen. First, you really need to perfect -- at the PC level -- the complex algorithms that are necessary to run all the algebraic 1. (language) ALGEBRAIC - An early system on MIT's Whirlwind. [CACM 2(5):16 (May 1959)]. 2. (theory) algebraic - In domain theory, a complete partial order is algebraic if every element is the least upper bound of some chain of compact elements. calculations that abound in 3D. Second, you have to convert those algorithms into mainstream PC silicon. Teaming a chip company with a game developer is a nice way to combine those two skillsets." Brooktree's and Argonaut's primary focus is the Windows 95 Direct3D gaming environment. Brooktree has extensive experience in this area, and has optimized its current graphics accelerator silicon for the entire suite of DirectX and ActiveX APIs, including DirectDraw, DirectVideo, Direct3D, ActiveMovie and ActiveVRML. This experience is being applied to the jointly developed Brooktree and Argonaut 3D technology. Additionally, Argonaut will port its BRender 3D development software to Brooktree's 3D accelerator chip, and the chip also will support customized games graphics, as well. Rockwell Semiconductor Systems is the fastest growing business segment of Rockwell. Based in Newport Beach Newport Beach, residential and resort city (1990 pop. 66,643), Orange co., S Calif., on Newport Bay and the Pacific Ocean; inc. 1906. It is a popular seaside resort and yachting center. Manufactures include electrical and medical equipment, computers, boats, and adhesives. , Calif., it comprises the Multimedia Communications Division, the Wireless Communications wireless communications System using radio-frequency, infrared, microwave, or other types of electromagnetic or acoustic waves in place of wires, cables, or fibre optics to transmit signals or data. Division and the newly acquired Brooktree Division. The Multimedia Communications Division is the world leader in facsimile and PC modem devices for personal communications electronics. The Wireless Communications Division offers total system solutions for advanced cordless telephony and global positioning systems (GPS) receiver engines and is developing products and technologies to address the Personal Communications Services See PCS. (PCS (1) (Personal Communications Services) Refers to wireless services that emerged after the U.S. government auctioned commercial licenses in 1994 and 1995. This radio spectrum in the 1. ) and wireless packet data markets. The Brooktree Division is a leading producer of high-performance digital and mixed-signal integrated circuits for multimedia, graphics, communications and imaging applications. Rockwell's industrial automation, semiconductor systems, avionics and communications systems and automotive component systems businesses are leading providers of technology solutions to customers worldwide. The company has annual revenues in excess of $10 billion and employs more than 56,000 people. Argonaut Software Ltd. is a global leader in 3D game development, 3D tools, and 3D hardware technologies. Argonaut created the first 3D game, "StarGlider", for the Atari ST and the Commodore Amiga A personal computer series introduced in 1985 by Commodore. Amigas gained a reputation early on as advanced graphics and multimedia machines, and NewTek's Video Toaster application brought it to the forefront of economical, high-end video editing. ; the world's best-selling 3D game, "StarFox" for Nintendo; and the award-winning 3D PC fighting game, "FX Fighter" for GTE GTE General Telephone & Electronics GTE Génie Thermique et Énergie (French) GTE Gas Turbine Engine GTE Global Tropospheric Experiment GTE Geothermal Energy GTE Gas Turbine Efficiency plc (Sweden & USA) Interactive. Argonaut develops and publishes BRender, the leading cross-platform, real-time 3D game development tool. Argonaut designed the SuperFX chip, which is the world's best-selling RISC graphics chip. Argonaut is a privately-owned company with offices in the United States and the United Kingdom. CONTACT: Rockwell Semiconductor Systems Eileen Algaze, 714/221-6849 E-mail: eileen.algaze@nb.rockwell.com or Argonaut Rich Seidner, 415/851-7565 E-mail: rich@argonaut.com Anna Parton par·ton n. Any of the point particles believed to be a constituent of hadrons, now known as quarks. No longer in technical use. [part(icle) + -on1.] , 011 44 181-200-5777, Ext. 244 (U.K.) E-mail: anna@argonaut.com or The Benjamin Group Carolyn Fromm or Kirsten Bollen, 714/753-0755 E-mail: cfromm or kbollen@oc.tbgi.com |
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