ITEC, The Hague, April
11, 2000 - Quantum3D®, Inc. today announced availability
of the first Heavy Metal™ AAlchemy™ systems, the company's
watershed family of scalable, advanced realtime 3D graphics
systems for visual simulation and training applications. Heavy
Metal AAlchemy 4116 ships this month as the first model in the
AAlchemy family, which offers the most scalable and advanced
PC-based image generator (PC-IG) graphics capabilities available
in the industry today. With state-of-the-art full-scene, sub-pixel
anti-aliasing and industry leading graphics performance, AAlchemy
4116 enables realtime rendering of complex synthetic environments
rich in cultural features, free from distracting visual artifacts,
and at sustained frame rates.
Leading training system integrators
and developers are demonstrating their visual databases on a
three-channel, precision-synchronized AAlchemy 4116 system in
Quantum3D's stand (number 724) at ITEC, The Hague, The Netherlands.
They include Thomson Training and Simulation with SPACE Magic™
scene management software; MultiGen-Paradigm with Vega™
scene management software; and SDS International's LiteFlite™
Re-configurable Flight Simulator, employing Quantum3D's OpenGVS™
4.4 scene manager -- which supports Terra Page™ from Terrain
Experts (TERREX) Inc., and enables rapid paging and rendering
"on the fly" of very large area terrain databases.
"SDS has multiple USAF and
Navy customers that have pre-purchased Quantum3D's Heavy Metal
AAlchemy," said Dr. Dutch Guckenberger, Chief Scientist
for SDS. "SDS is pleased to be one of the first system
integrators and developers to offer the improved AAlchemy performance.
SDS's newest visual system product, the Shadow Buffer Control
Module or SBCM, is capable of adding multiple visual channels
to legacy simulators and takes advantage of the AAlchemy visual
quality. Our next version of the SBCM, planned for the second
quarter of 2000, provides 2550 by 2040 resolution utilizing
the AAlchemy 4116."
"Quantum3D continues to
deliver PC-based, advanced graphics performance for the most
cost-effective deployment of visual simulation and training
applications," said Rick Bess, Vice President of Marketing
at Quantum3D. "We have worked closely with key customers
to develop an exceptional product that delivers performance
and value second to none. System integrators and developers
wanting full-scene, sub-pixel anti-aliasing from a PC-IG will
see unparalleled value with AAlchemy 4116."
Quantum3D, the first company
to bring full-scene, sub-pixel hardware anti-aliasing to embedded
PC-based visual computing systems, continues to lead the industry
with innovative technology, delivering low-cost, high-performance
PC-IGs for the rapid deployment of advanced visual simulation
and training applications. Heavy Metal AAlchemy delivers Quantum3D's
patent-pending unparalleled full-scene, sub-pixel anti-aliasing
image quality with SwapLock™ precision inter-channel synchronization,
high resolution support, greater polygon throughput, a significantly
higher fill rate, faster texture download, and improved image
quality achieved via higher color depth support. AAlchemy is
compatible with a wide range of leading realtime 3D scene managers
such as CG2's VTree™, Lockheed Martin's SE/View, MultiGen-Paradigm's
Vega™, Reality2's Tiepolo, Soft Reality's SoftVR™,
and SPACE Magic, as well as Quantum3D's OpenGVS; with 3D graphics
APIs such as Quantum3D's SimGL™ and 3dfx Glide®; with
realtime 3D file formats such as OpenFlight® and Terra Page;
and with leading PC operating systems. In addition, AAlchemy
supports important simulation features via add-on hardware and
software modules that will be introduced subsequently. AAlchemy
pricing starts at $7,999 in the US and $9,199 outside the US,
per channel.
First PC-based IG to Deliver
Industry-leading Pixel Fill Rates
Heavy Metal AAlchemy models deliver scalable pixel fill rates
from 140 megapixels per second to greater than one gigapixel
per second, depending on system configuration. AAlchemy features
enhanced geometry and texture throughput to deliver industry-leading
performance, capable of supporting 1280 x 1024 resolution or
greater. The AAlchemy architecture approach enables wide parallelism
for single-pass, full-scene, sub-pixel anti-aliasing and deep
parallelism for scalable fill rate. AAlchemy delivers 32-bit
per-pixel color and Z, source, and destination alpha-blending,
stencil buffering, advanced texture compression, enhanced transparency
support, and advanced video capabilities.
About Quantum3D
Quantum3D, San Jose, California, was the first company to deliver
PC-based visual computing systems with full-scene, hardware
anti-aliased graphics capabilities for visual simulation and
training. The company develops and markets integrated PC-based
interactive 3D visual computing systems, realtime 3D graphics
subsystems, and related system software, that combine to deliver
sustained realtime frame rates, superior graphics quality, and
value. Quantum3D delivers complete 3D visual computing solutions
for the visual simulation and training market and the out-of-home
entertainment markets, and is the exclusive supplier of 3dfx®
graphics technology into those markets. In addition, Quantum3D
creates and distributes realtime 3D development software tools
and products, enabling developers to fully optimize their applications
to benefit from the company's visual computing systems.
Quantum3D, Heavy Metal, Mercury,
SimGL, AAlchemy, and OpenGVS are trademarks of Quantum3D. All
other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
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