Remember a few years back when the Sound Blaster was the only game out there? Then along came a few upstarts like Media Vision and Turtle Beach. These days choices are a little more complicated, and overall quality and reliability has increased greatly. Now both Creative labs and Ubisoft are releasing 64 bit boards. The AWE 64 and Game Theatre 64 are taking us to new dimensions in 64 bit surround sound.

Less subtle differences in sound boards involve the PCI bus. A sound board sitting in your standard sixteen bit slot utilizes more CPU cycles. These new PnP boards actually free up CPU cycles for other tasks.

In other words, a PCI based sound board will mean fewer pauses while accessing speech files, and in some cases even a slight increase in frame rate since the CPU spends less time monitoring the applications interaction with your sound board. This is good news for sim fans since our applications are about the most demanding out there. Any processor time we can free up means better game play: more fun, more suspension of disbelief.

Meanwhile, the evolution of video continues. 15" monitors are all but standard, and many of us have 17 inch monitors, with refresh rates we could only dream of a few years ago. As prices on 19-21 inch monitors continue to fall, many of us will be making the upgrade in the next year or so.

Moreover, many of us will be taking advantage of PC2TV features found in many of the new 3d chipsets. Coupled with dual monitor support in WIN97, perhaps we will be gazing dreamily at the unfolding landscape from 15,000 feet on our 26" TV while watching our high-res MFD data link display on our 17" monitor at our right hand!

While the first and second generation of 3d chipsets were limited to 800x600 in high color modes, the next generation by S3, NEC, 3dfx, ATI, Rendition and others will achieve resolutions IN EXCESS of 1280x765 with 16.7 million colors. This is made possible by better chip design, more recent memory technologies like SGRAM, and increased on board memory capacities. Of course, the AGP will factor in here also, though perhaps with less impact than we had hoped. For further discussion of the impact of 3d hardware on sims, see the May editorial.

The other cutting edge for video is VR, and as technology improves and prices fall, VR headsets are rapidly becoming more accessible for those of us with limited budgets. Up to now, the shutter type glasses were the only affordable option. Glasses by Virtual I/O and Crystaleyes added stereoscopic play to games like G-Nome, MechWarrior and others.

On another plane entirely, Digital Image Design built support for the Forte VFX 1 into EF2000, and the few pilots I talked to who have tried it were awestruck by the sense of reality and the potential. Combatsim will have the VFX1 in hand in the next week or so and we will give you a first hand report on how VR impacts EF2000.

Now Forte is close to releasing the second generation of headset, with resolution at SVGA standard of 640x480. A remarkable achievement! Its true that the initial release of this product will be beyond reach of the average gamer, but thats always true of new technology. 18 months down the road we may all be buying a VR headset from Forte or Sony.

The point is that head tracking stereoscopic technology would truly be a retake on the entire concept of suspension of disbelief. No more reaching for keys to pan your virtual cockpit, and you necessarily FEEL the strain of craning your head back to keep an eye on that bandit. How much closer to force feedback can you get??

Stereoscopic effects are an advancement in themselves, of course. The simple shutter glasses were really not too bad in this arena. The first time I spooled up the Simuleyes glasses in GNome I was impressed. The distant mech looked distant! WOW. It really is quite amazing and a wonderful environmental cue. The sense of immersion provided by devices like this will help us reach the next level in simulation design.

Add in the advances in surround sound, and we are really making headway! Novalogic, iMagic, Janes, Eidos International, DiD... all will be taking advantage of surround sound technology this year, with the added situational awareness given by depth cueing and spatial positioning. In Comanche 3 with a surround sound setup one hears the explosion or impact in the proper quarter and with the correct intensity depending on proximity. This is the wave of the future! Its true that it means an additional hardware investment, preferably in a good component stereo system, but after all that stuff has been around for a while and used equipment is easy to find.

Once you've found yourself a surround sound receiver, you need to find some speakers. Five is ideal, and if you want your center channel to be a sub-woofer, no problem. A good sub-woofer stuffed under your chair will let you feel the effect of adding in your afterburner. When that "whump" lifts you off your butt you will know that your fuel gauge will be spinning wildly. Remind me to add sound-proofing to my next office...

Finally, force feedback technology, which only became commercially available this year, is going to go gang-busters when WIN97 hits the streets. WIN97 has the Immersion API built in, so sim designers will be able to utilize the technology with a minimum of effort.

The first time I used the CH Force FX I was slightly put off. "THIS is good?" I thought to myself.... But after an hour in Fighter Duel I began to see the potential. The effect of gun recoil and aerodynamic effects was really helpful, both in terms of SA as well as the immersion effect. It helped me feel a part of the action. My body was telling me when I was close to stall, and when engine RPM was low. Now I find myself looking forward to other sim applications. Hopefully the Flying Corps 3d patch will include Force FX support, as earlier indicated by Rowan.

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Last Updated May 3rd, 1997