FalconFly Current News 2004

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Aufgrund der im Hintergrund bereits seit langem hervorragenden Beziehungen zur größten, deutschsprachigen 3dfx-Seite VoodooAlert.de
und in Anbetracht der Tatsache, dass dieses 3dfx Archiv seit Bestehen rein international und somit englischsprachig gehalten ist,
sind beide 3dfx-Seiten nun offiziell eine Partnerschaft eingegangen.

In englisch nicht bewanderte 3dfx-User finden dort (Webseite, Forum) idealen Support in allen Belangen von 3dfx Hardware,
und beide Seiten ergänzen sich dadurch jeweils ausgezeichnet

MesaFX
While not quite ready for a new final Version, development has continued all the time.
To monitor the progress 'live' and grab the very latest intermediate Releases as their appear, visit the 3dfxzone MesaFX Forum Thread :
www.3dfxzone.it/enboard/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=358

Apart from that, the entire 3dfx scene has been more or less calm, with only a few new Drivers being assembled.

Overall, the amount of Visitors visiting this remote place reached record high levels,
but the existing Server backbones do handle the load extremely well, no Problems noted.
For the Archive, all that remains to do as the next big step, is to aquire a massive increase in Storage capacity.
From there on, also those significantly larger Downloads (Driver/Demo CD ISO's) can be made available online and
the ever-growing offline File Archive can finally be implemented.

Due to the sheer amount of available Downloads, a second, much more basic Option to browse for Files is in the planning.
(offering only the latest and/or most recommended Files, intended to become a "Quick Reference" for ease of use)

Also in the planning is a simple, but useful "HotLink" feature.
This will allow to exactly Link to a File location on the respective Download page, thus permitting other Webmasters and Users
to directly pinpoint to the File in question, thus removing the need to either link to the big Download Page or the File itself (which is normally inhibited by default).

3dfx Archive on CD/DVD confirmed
A small number of Media has already been shipped to various spots on the Planet.
Following the philosophy of the Archive, it remains completely free of any cost, and the DVD Option
packs quite a punch of Bonus Material you just won't find in the online Archive...

MesaFX
MesaFX v0.5x series development has stopped, and has moved to v0.6x series with a shiny new Core and a bunch of new Features.
By now, the most notable of them are :
- Temporal Antialiasing (Voodoo4/5)
- Compressed Texture support
- Unreal Tournament, Quake 3, Babylon, Hitman 2 Problems should be fixed

3dfx Archive expansions
The 3dfx Identification Section has been added, and is well received.
It already represents the biggest, it not the only list of its kind helping unfamiliar holders of 3dfx Cards.

The Archive as of now has broken 450000 Visitors, and offers some 648 dedicated Files for Download.
With the size reaching 1907MB in Files alone, the transition to a new, more capable Infrastructure is only a question of time.

Collector's Roundup
Quite a number of avid 3dfx Collectors exist, but those normally do so in silence.
Sparked by a Forum Thread, this silence was recently broken and an insane amount of more-
or less-known 3dfx Models hit the showcases, upto and including Prototypes

...head for the Forum for details and Images...

Quick Wrap-up of March :
- MesaFX is upto V0.61 -
- 3dfx Patches Section created -
- 3dfx Archive on DVD ? -

The Patch Section was actually long planned, and simply needed a launch to get it going.
Initially, expect it to remain rather small, however.

I would have never thought I'd ever say this ever again, but...
The 3dfx Archive is slowly but constantly creeping upwards in size, with the redundant Servers' capacity limits starting to come into play.
Despite 2250MB appearing rather generous in size, the amount of amassed Files found, scattered all over the Web,
did a good job of significantly outpacing all capacity limits I ever had in mind for the Archive.

Already, many GigaBytes (!) of assorted 3dfx Files are being postponed into hibernation storage, pending evaluation.
(which is a monumental task, considering not even every File carries usable Documentation)
Add dozens of GigaBytes for Patches, 3dfx Game Demos and original Driver CD's, and you get a glance of the dimensions we're talking here

The only long-range solution is a brute-force approach to things, and effectively, moving the entire 3dfx Archive to an entirely new Infrastructure.
With security and the Archive's Integrity clearly coming in at first priority, such a massive change requires thorough planning.

Current estimates are, that the 3dfx Archive in it's present form will continue to exist and grow until somewhere beyond mid-2004,
at which I predict the Archive to reach the boundary of all available capacity.

On several occasions, people voiced questions regarding the risk of the 3dfx Archive going offline one day.
After all, many long established 3dfx Websites already vanished, and not few did so unannounced, and died a silent death.

With the creation, maintenance and expansion of the 3dfx Archive, a certain level of responsibility arises (or at least it feels that way).

For that reason, I'd like to announce a new service :
Although not intended for mass usage, technically, there is the Option of aquiring a snapshot of the complete 3dfx Archive.
Upon a per-request basis, a DVD (or a set of CD's) can be ordered.
(free shipping worldwide)

Due to popularity and significance, MesaFX finally got its own Section, which it certainly deserves by now.
(the Tools Section got a bit crowded over time)
MesaFX V0.51h5 is the current Release, so be sure to check it out for anything OpenGL you need

Future Sections currently in the planning cycle :
"getting along with 3dfx Voodoo Hardware"
"The 3dfx Showcase"

The first Section is a guide geared towards normal Users, that either got into first contact with 3dfx Hardware,
or simply look for something handy-dandy to setup their Cards efficiently, as well as safely navigating around Problems, experienced Users have long solved.
All with the simple goal to make the operation of these venerable Cards the painless and nice experience they deserve to be.

The 3dfx Showcase is planned to be no less than a virtual Museum, including various widespread 3dfx Models.
However, it will also contain some of the more rare and elusive examples of 3dfx-based Hardware, including Prototypes.
Where available, historical Information (as far as known) will be mixed with a more easy-to-use Specifications Table of each Card.
(which seems to be more appropriate than digging dozens of .pdf Documents, as currently available in the Archive)

Misc. News
Updates to the Archive have been rather slow lately, and work has (as usual) kept its maintainers busy with other Priorities

In the meanwhile, not much happened around the 3dfx Community worthwile reporting, with one exception :
Quite alot of highly interesting 3dfx Auctions on Ebay finished last month, allowing quite a few rare Items to find a new home

New month, new report
I figured a monthly news entry with a short summary is probably the best way to keep people up-to-speed

- MesaFX Release V0.51h is out, now includes Support for :
Voodoo2, Banshee, Voodoo3, Voodoo4, Voodoo5
(Voodoo1 is apparently being evaluated, VoodooRush possibly coming soon)

To those not familiar with MesaFX yet :
It is a very feature rich 3dfx OpenGL counterpart, and offers upto OpenGL 1.5 compilance.
(includes variable Software Rasterizer fallback, depending on 3dfx Card used)

Happy new Year to all!
With the 3dfx Archive being about 2.5 years old, and 3dfx' demise 3 years ago, time to take a look around...

MesaFX going strong :
After the initial success with MesaFX for Voodoo, progress was and is being made every week.
Already, the Mesa Port has enabled 3dfx Cards to run OpenGL Games that were previously impossible to run.

Overall, the support for 3dfx has reached a new height, breaking new ground not only for Voodoo4/5, but also Voodoo2, Voodoo3 and Banshee...
While the Hardware might be old, that way it is still possible (against all odds) to achieve a level of Visuals and Performance
most people would have thought impossible a year ago already.

The 3dfx Archive will continue to serve a massive amount of Files related to 3dfx, and offer a free platform to exchange Information and Support.

Images of success speak more than words, 3dfx Hardware in action :
Voodoo Banshee (Raziel64 Evolution Driver & MesaFX)

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