Intel, Digimation to improve 3D games

Intel Corp. and 3-D software maker Digimation Inc. will partner to create software that helps 3-D games tailor themselves to individual PCs.

Called multiresolution mesh technology, the new methods will enable real-time 3-D games to add as much or as little detail as the user's PC can handle.

The software part of the technology will run in the game - or possibly, in the installer - and reduce the detail to a level that the user's PC can handle. The software will work with Direct3D, OpenGL, and Glide graphics interfaces - the primary ways that 3-D software talks with the computer.

Still, the goal of creating games that can scale their graphics automatically to fit the PC they're loaded on will not be realized before Christmas - and more likely, the year 2000 - as it requires a new cycle of game development to incorporate the plug-ins.

The full story is posted at http://www.zdnn.com .