1997 may be remembered as the year of the F22, with no fewer than five simulations based around the new stealth fighter being released. The latter two, JSF and F22: ADF, have just gone gold.

Or 1997 may be remembered as the year when 3d hardware became mainstream. The two front runners to date have been 3dfx and Rendition, with ATI, Permedia and nVidia coming up strongly in the rear, perhaps even passing Rendition and vying for 3dfx' crown. This development has given rise to next generation graphics featured in the later simulations of the year: JFIII Platinum, Longbow 2 and F22: ADF. But the best is yet to come!

An Allied A10 in F22: ADF

Longbow 2, F22: ADF and Comdex have shown us the future. 3dfx has not been idle, and 1998 will see the next leap forward in pixel pushing technology, which in turn will result in another leap forward in software sophistication. To be sure, the focus will first fall on higher frame rates and greater object detail, but once again the freeing of the CPU from its slavery to such mundane tasks will result in new strides in AI and perhaps even new secondary technologies.

Voodoo 2 isn't the only news at Comdex this year, though perhaps so far its been the most prominent. Just as significant has been the heavily guarded gates leading to AMDs next generation CPU, the K6 3d.

AMD put a 266MHz version of the new CPU side by side with a comparably outfitted Pentium II 266. The demo being run was Dreamworks Interactive's Trespasser. Only software 3D rendering was being used in both machines. However, the Trespasser code recognized the additional 24 3D MMX instructions in the K6-3D part and put them to good use. The results: TWICE the framerate and 60% (average) greater FPU performance over the PII-266. If THAT isn't news I'll eat my mainboard!

But thats not the whole story. In reality the new K6 part was more heavily loaded than the PII running alongside it. The version of the game running on the AMD hardware had additional features enabled that the PII did not support, resulting in greater realism in fog and water translucency effects.

As many of you will be aware, the architecture of the x86 is such that only one FPU cycle can be completed per clock. However, this limitation is gone in the new K6-3d hardware, and in theory the new CPU can achieve up to four FPU cycles per clock! In practice, due to a variety of restrictions, AMD has found that the FPU operates between 2 and 2.5 cycles per clock. This current limitation will be partly addressed later in 1998 when the K6+ 3d is released. Cyrix has also been doing some solid design work and we'll provide coverage as soon as we can.

1998 will also see the 100MHz bus become standard fare. In fact AMD had a 300 MHz K6 CPU running on a 100MHz bus at Comdex (3x clock). Now put these developments in perspective...

In 1998 Intels competition is going to increase dramatically. In fact, AMD is poised to become the gaming machine of choice in the new year. This means better prices for new hardware for those prepared to upgrade, and better performance for those who make the move to AMD. Now lets add Voodoo 2 to this picture... (VBG)!!

The simulations arriving in 1998 are going to benefit from hardware that two years ago was barely conceivable in the wildest dreams of gamers. Simulations like Flying Nightmares II, Falcon 4.0, F22: Total Air War and Fighter Squadron: Screamin Demons Over Europe have had us on the edges of our chairs for some time now. But while we've been looking over the edge, most of us have noticed that our hardware has barely been keeping pace. Things are about to improve!!

By the time F4 and TAW are released many gamers will have upgraded to Voodoo II. Based on test results now coming in with early silicon Voodoo 2 is 2x - 3x faster than the original 3dfx chipset. This means that a P166 system running ADF on Voodoo II in late January at full detail could be running at 50 fps. A PII system at 333MHz with Voodoo II would likely run ADF at 90+ fps. However, this isn't taking into account the new 100MHz bus mainboards, AGP or the AMD K6-3d which will appear early in the new year.

I feel a little Jules Verne-ish in this, but think for a moment. What kind of frame rate will we see in F4 and TAW with Voodoo 2 on a P200? Probably around 60 fps. Anything past about 50 fps would be transparent to the user; you wouldn't see the difference. HOWEVER... one difference might be that this frame rate could be held regardless of what is happening in the world around you. Are there fifteen aircraft nearby, half launching missiles? No worries. Is there ground action as well, and are you in a multiplayer environment? Is someone dropping bombs and blast effects are having to be modelled two miles forward of your aircraft? In 1998 we will have all this AND sophisticated AI in the background without frame rates constantly dropping off.

The beauty of the Voodoo 2 boards is that they can be run in a parallel "scanline interleave" mode, where A draws only the even scanlines in a frame while B draws the odd scanlines, effectively DOUBLING the speed! Just as significant, scanline interleave allows the boards to pool their framebuffer sizes to allow higher resolutions than that possible with only one card. In other words F4, LB2, JSF, FN2, FS:SDOE or TAW fans with TWO V2 boards will be running these sims at rates that are transparent and silky smooth and in the highest resolutions they support.

JSF Screen..

Obviously, there is EXCESS horsepower here! The reality is that the refresh rate of your monitor effectively limits what you can display. So instead of running at 160 fps, how about 50-60 fps and going to 1024x768 with 2-3x the object and terrain detail we see now. Hmmm...

Just as exciting, this may FOREVER alter the upgrade direction for gamers too. Tired of creeping along at 40 or 50 fps on your weak kneed P166? Spring for a SECOND Voodoo 2 board and immediately DOUBLE your frame rate, or move to a higher resolution and increase your frame rate by 50% in the same go round.... good grief! Get out those savings passbooks and invest in some 3dfx stock, its looking mighty good to me! (Send me a few shares for making the suggestion.... =)

Longbow 2 Lighting Effects

As I mentioned above, this freeing of the CPU in 1998 is going to again have developers dreaming of what could be.... I can envision (believe me, it ain't that hard!) playing F22: TAW with my two 17" monitors, using one to watch the live action and the other as my AWACS control map and interface. You like the idea? Send DiD a note! Or I can envision using one monitor in Falcon 4 for the color MFDs of the Block 52 model, and the other for my forward cockpit, padlock views etc. We will have PLENTY of power to drive two displays, and WIN98 has built in support for dual monitors. This is only the beginning folks!

F22: ADF .. a bad day!

Next we have to factor in AGP to this equation. AGP will give software developers freedom to load much larger textures into main memory for quick access by the simulation. This again means much more detailed objects and environments. Cities and factories and military bases are going to start to look much more real. Likely explosions and other special effects will also benefit.

Other technologies are not standing still, and Forte still plans to release their next generation headset in January. This means headtracking, stereoscopic and stereophonic modes up to 1024x768. Initially the price is likely to be in the $700 US bracket, but by the end of the year it could be significantly lower. And its fairly likely that Forte isn't the only working on improving the technology. If other manufacturers enter the fray we could have an interesting situation by the end of the year.

Its interesting that Longbow 2 was the only simulation this year that really put together all the elements of the dream: awesome graphics, awesome effects, awesome AI and awesome multiplayer fun in a dynamic campaign setting. Its almost as if the first great simulation of 1998 was released in 1997....

But 1998 will see the next generation of simulations, those that integrate strong tactical elements and offer the player strategic control at new levels, released to the market. I'm talking about Flying Nightmares II, Falcon 4, and F22: TAW. To a lesser extent we might also include Fighter Squadron: SDOE.

Each of these simulations has been too long coming, and each offers a dynamic campaign AI and/or a combination of multiplayer features that transforms the simulation into a very immersive and unpredictable experience. Each will also be state of the art in the use of communications, and in graphics, flight and physics modelling. Its too bad that we couldn't have tasted of that fruit this Christmas, but it will be all the sweeter when it arrives in the new year! Combined with the next generation of hardware, it will be a marriage made in heaven!

All told 1998 is shaping up to be what 1997 ALMOST was... the year of the simulation, the year when software and hardware met together and kissed... the year of snychronicity. Its a small step for technology, a giant leap for simkind..!

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Last Updated November 20th, 1997