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3Dfx History: The GPU’s Great Turning Point?

posted by Fnord666 on Monday February 19 2018, @03:22PM   
from the history-repeats-itself dept.

MrPlow writes:

Submitted via IRC for TheMightyBuzzard

Today's startup companies seem to have a certain arc to them—they get some seed funding, they launch, they draw some interest for their good idea, they keep growing, and maybe they become a part of the fabric of our lives ... or a part of the fabric of a significantly larger company. Strangely, 3Dfx didn't so much draw interest as blow the lid off of a trend that redefined how we think of video games. Its graphics processing units were just the right technology for their time. And, for that reason, the company was everywhere for a few years ... until it wasn't. So, what happened—why did 3Dfx turn into a cautionary tale? Today's Tedium sifts through all the polygons and the shaded textures. — Ernie @ Tedium

Source: https://tedium.co/2018/02/14/3dfx-history-failure/

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Original Submission

• I remember my first 3D video card well I remember my first 3D video card well (Score: 3, Insightful) by Knowledge Troll on Monday February 19 2018, @05:24PM (1 child)

  by Knowledge Troll (5948) on Monday February 19 2018, @05:24PM (#640159) Homepage Journal

  I got a Voodoo2 when they were new and it absolutely shocked me with the difference in quality between software rendering and GL Quake. Much like getting my first SSD I have regret: regret that there will be few other instances in my life where replacing a single piece of hardware has such a drastic increase in the quality of the computing experience.

  We need more of that.

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• Re:I remember my first 3D video card well (Score: 2) by tibman on Tuesday February 20 2018, @01:40AM

  by tibman (134) on Tuesday February 20 2018, @01:40AM (#640390)

  VR (Vive) feels that way to me. I didn't think it would have that big of an impact. But it's like getting my first graphics card, the Voodoo 2 3000. Going from software rendering to the voodoo really changed my gaming life. Discovering linux for the first time was incredible. VR has me captured now. It's not just taking a 3d game and making it VR. It's a whole new experience. Like the first time you launched a web browser and discovered the internet. The VR landscape still looks a bit like the wild west. Competing headsets, formats, platforms and lots of indie content. Good time to jump in! (if you can get over the unfortunately high cost barrier)

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