Darren New <dne### [at] sanrrcom> wrote:
> JeffBTX wrote:
> > "What you've thrown together"; can it handle 16 and 32 bit DF3s? (just
>
> Yes. It makes two scans thru the input, first figuring out the largest X, Y,
>   Z, and voxel value, then building the right sized output file with the
> right number of bytes to hold the highest voxel.
>
> I fear I've already screwed around too much this morning, so it might wait
> until the weekend before I can run some samples thru it just to make sure I
> didn't have any dumb bugs.
>
> --
>    Darren New, San Diego CA, USA (PST)
>    There's no CD like OCD, there's no CD I knoooow!

No problem, no rush. For me, its just a hobby - I'll be eager to download & try
it whenever.

I tried an interim solution; I still maintain a *DOS* computer. Back in 2002 or
so, I was frustrated with trying to get certain DOS games & apps that I was
rather fond of to run properly (and in some cases to run at all); "DOSBox" is
NOT an "all-in-one" solution. I contacted a local "mom & pop" computer store,
they specialize in hardware repair, and recycling old equipment into working
platforms... they have a good reputation and they are reliable. So I had a
Pentium-166 machine "built"; NO modem, initially it had 16 Mb Ram (I've since
expanded it to the max it can support, 192 Mb), initially it had an 850 Mb HD
(I've since swapped that out to a 2 Gb HD; the max that DOS recognizes), NO 3D
VidCard - just an SVGA chip w/ 2 Mb VRAM. A legacy SoundBlaster Pro 8 bit
soundcard. Etc. A 100 watt power supply (chuckle).

Installed POVRay 3.1g on the "antique" (just to fiddle around with - not
absolutely necessary for what I'm doing).

I *DO* have a couple of compilers and an assembler for that one (Borland C++
3.0, DJGPP, TASM)... so I made a short, simple program that creates a
100x100x100 8 bit DF3 (blank), total file size = 1000006 bytes, and I can
transfer that to my "mainstream" computer via 3" floppy disk (I have no other
way to move things between these two computers... so I am restricted to file
sizes of ~ 1.44 Mb or less).

Did some experiments w/ a hex editor on the 1-meg DF3 on my "modern system",
some renders in POVRay 3.6.1c. Works great so far; just did some simple
constructs "by hand", calculating the voxel coords. Next I'll write code on the
DOS machine to write data into the DF3, from textfiles as previously
mentioned... and I might fiddle with algorithms to directly model clouds and
tornadoes into the DF3 (which I *started* to do a few years ago).

So far, 100x100x100 / 1 Meg / 8 bit DF3s SEEM sufficient for clouds and
tornadoes. I might change my mind later (probably will...). If I ever get into
modeling water with DF3s (ETC) I'll certainly need something better.

BTW, I hate to be the source of misinformation; earlier in the 6th post in this
thread I said :
"The reason for NOT putting pixels AT corners and edges is that I've noticed
artifacts... a kind of "edge-wrapping"/"bleeding" that occurs if you place a
voxel in a corner (and I assume an edge). The "opposite" corner also shows some
density, when it shouldn't. This is another topic, and I've thought about
posting / asking about it, but it's obvious what is happening."

As it happens, thats due to interpolation, so it makes sense. If an *exact
corner* (and probably edges) are filled in a DF3, and in the DF3 statement if
interpolate 0 is specified, there are no artifacts. interpolate 1 leads to some
artifacting. interpolate 2 = "real darn wacky". So its advisable to leave
corners and edges clear, do all the "plotting" in the DF3 1 voxel away from
corners, edges and faces.

Thanks for your efforts, Darren, and I will keep an eye out for your proggy when
you get it finished - much appreciated.

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