Thanks to all involved!

Will this be another paid for graphics driver, or will it be a free upgrade for those who bought Warp3D SI?

@ddni i dont think it will be a free upgrade but what do i know. Hans for president :)

@amigakit @Hans
Congratulations on getting this far! Presumably the core features are done, and it is mostly in the bug-fixing phase now?

@ddni
Given the "nine months of hard work", I very much doubt it will be free.

Hans answered my question on AW.net:
Quote:

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!We Love ya Hans !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Warp3D SI wasn't free. I happily bought it. I had hoped for regular updates to it, but few came. Now with the arrival of Warp3D Nova I worry that Warp3D development has ceased. If Nova is a paid update, then I can't see me jumping in quite so readily.

@DDNI

We pitched the price of the Warp3D Southern Islands driver at the price of a family meal at McDonalds. Perhaps it should have cost more because we are only half way through paying for the development cost and that was a 5 digit sum. The project is currently in the red but it was something that had to be done at the time to get RadeonHD 3D running on the X1000 platform.

OK. Didn't realise that. The advertised price of Warp3D SI didn't say interval payment. My bad. Am I bitter? Yes you bet, but not just at you, but at the sh*t state of AmigaOS development in general. [insert obligatory "want more, learn to code yourself!" response].I know you guys are stuck in the middle, I appreciate the efforts, so I rarely vent, but enough is enough. Sorry.

@ddni
My reply to your previous post somehow didn't get posted. So I'll try again...

The reason for so few updates to the W3D_SI driver is that it was complete and pretty well optimised on release. By the time you bought your copy I had already pulled almost every trick that I could think of to maximise performance. So not much scope for updates.

I was originally going to release a basic version first, and optimise later. However, it quickly became clear that wasn't a good idea. Releasing a driver that got only a few fps in OpenArena just wouldn't have been acceptable.

I know that paying for drivers is a touchy subject, and I can understand you being upset about the thought of spending more. Please do bear in mind that Warp3D Nova isn't a mere update; it's a new modern API (+ drivers) that is a giant step forward. It's also been (and continues to be) a mammoth task. The W3D_SI driver pales in comparison.

You're unsure about it all? No worries. Sit back and make up your mind when you're ready.

Hans

I think ddni has a legitimate claim: if the current Warp3D is basic, and NOVA is advanced, announcing this before would have given users a choice and maybe even open up deal at a later date to get both Warp3D APIs at a reduced cost in the form of a package. It is not about the money and I'm happy to support such effort. However a community can also fund such projects from the get go and at least then you have a choice because funds are limited as we all know especially for those with modern A1 that are still carrying that sum they spent on the machine. Having said that, Nice to see leadership and design improvements. Lets hope for good things ahead.

@ddni Why pissed at Hans? He just gets paid for writing software. The only downside i see i that he doesn't get fulltime paid to do work on OS4.

I AM NOT pissed at any individual. I applaud Hans for his work. I know Matthew and like him. Trevor is a dude. I AM pissed at the situation.

@ddni And what should I say that I have a Northern Island card and ... well... I wish Amigakit can do something about the NI drivers too.

Can't wait for this to be released, already reworking AmiCraft in preparation. This is a game changer (literally).

Quote:

The W3D Southern Islands driver was driver for the existing W3D but for newer cards. NOVA is a completey new API plus driver, 'basic' and 'advanced' does not apply.

Quote:

How can you announce a project before it's even comissioned?

caras wrote:

unlimited power
Can't wait for this to be released, already reworking AmiCraft in preparation. This is a game changer (literally).
----------------------------------------------------

@ddni Quote:
At the risk of derailing things further, I'm still not clear what kind of updates you expected? I mean, it works doesn't it? Regular updates to a driver would just indicate it wasn't completely finished at release.

Quote:
This is definitely going off-topic... Do you mean development of OS4 or of programs for OS4? But either way, I hadn't noticed things being much worse (or better) than historically. If your answer is long, then perhaps you could create a new thread for it? (And blame me for asking!)

1. Iterative updates to tweak performance. 2. AmigaOS in general. Particularly the Moribund Hyperion (publicly anyway) and the seemingly never to materialise SMP, Gallium, 4.2 etc etc.

As far as funding goes, which what paying for system drivers in fact is, Warp3D as a basic compatibility driver/layer for current software is a basic Warp3D enhanced project, while whatever you want to call it be it Nova or Warp3D Nova or next-gen AmigaOS OpenGL, is a more advanced form of the same thing.


RadeonHD was made part of the system so upgrading software + hardware immediately to support Final Edition and better playback made sense, while Warp3D didn't do anything for me and is about legacy software.


Do I feel regret for purchasing this?


no because as I said I'm happy to support such effort. If I had known about Nova would I purchase Warp3D - no, or at least not right away, because it appears to be an ongoing thing with drivers and functionality and don't tell me these thoughts suddenly materialised.


I would have managed it differently and so that would have been my choice to do so as a X1000 Amigan. Because paying for drivers and their enhancments/layers/whatever is in fact financing the development without choosing when and where to invest.


Why not do such a project with someone like Huno so you'll have right from the get go a state of the art example so no convincing is needed?


Because the way things go around here is that everybody is clinging to a hope here and there in the form of driver upgrades so you make these addons and only then approach the community.


This time I'm not going for it unless I can see some actual stuff that do something for me. I'm enjoing the better card in a R9 270 and the better playback on FE.


I don't need those little drops of "the platform is alive" addons. Those that do might enjoy themselves better on other platforms.


I came back from those other platforms after 20 years and I don't see that so called advancement and enablement.


What people call advances are a market of buyers and sellers which is what those platforms have become. If so then the console world is the place to be and this is the competition much like in the early days.


Granted, playing in the big leagues means apps & games, and apps & games is where we should be headed if we ever wish to play there.


Is this driver a step in that direction?


I have no idea. What I know is what I can do with what I have as a user. who invested an extreme sum on a machine that I'm enjoying and have no regrets about.


I hope this answers both questions about knowing what to do as it relates to users and to developers.