3D System Requirements and Graphics Card Readme

SOFTWARE AND HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS

    MINIMUM SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS

    RECOMMENDED SYSTEM

THIRD PARTY UPDATES

    3D HARDWARE CHIPSET SUPPORT / DRIVERS

    DRIVER RECOMMENDATIONS

    WINDOWS SYSTEM UPDATES

    MACINTOSH SYSTEM UPDATES

TROUBLESHOOTING

 

How to optimize a system for playing Shockwave 3D Content

  1. Compare your system against the system requirements
  2. Update drivers and other system software components wherever possible
  3. Use hardware rendering instead of software rendering

 

SOFTWARE AND HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS

3D MINIMUM PLAYBACK SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS

Windows:

Macintosh:



3D RECOMMENDED PLAYBACK SYSTEM

Windows:

Macintosh:

**Note: the term "current" as applied to hardware-accelerated 3D graphics cards refers to products released during 1998 or later.  Performance varies between graphics cards .  These products are often referred to as "second-generation 3D graphics cards."  The latest 3D graphics cards make use of features like 32-bit rendering, multi-texturing, alpha-blending (transparency), anti-aliasing, etc.

THIRD PARTY UPDATES

 

3D HARDWARE CHIPSET SUPPORT / DRIVERS

Shockwave 3D performs best on the newest software drivers available for any given graphics card .   It is important to update all drivers on a regular basis, perhaps every six to nine months if possible.  Support for DirectX (version 5 or newer) is critical for Windows PCs.  Support for OpenGL (version 1.1.2 or newer) is critical for Macintosh.  

DRIVER RECOMMENDATIONS:  

Try using the currently installed drivers.  If you experience poor rendering performance or quality, then obtain the latest drivers from the card or chipset manufacturer.

 

WINDOWS SYSTEM UPDATES:

Updating core components of an operating system can often realize performance improvements.

MACINTOSH SYSTEM UPDATES:

Updating core components of an operating system can often realize performance improvements.

Note: Apple's OpenGL installer may OVERWRITE some of your graphics card Extensions - reinstall your graphics software (driver)  AFTER adding Apple's OpenGL

TROUBLE-SHOOTING

PROBLEM:  My display has visual glitches and anomalies when rendering 3D.

SOLUTION:  Make sure you have downloaded and installed the latest drivers for your graphics card.  

NOTE:  Some cards do not support in hardware all modern 3D features used by Shockwave 3D.  Cards that cannot handle the rendering of some 3D elements in hardware force the CPU to draw the images instead ("software rendering").  This greatly affects authoring and playback performance of Shockwave 3D content.  Poor 3D graphics support and a slow CPU will limit the Shockwave 3D experience.  Please see the Minimum Requirements section above.


PROBLEM:  I have a current hardware accelerated 3D graphics card, with the latest drivers, but am still seeing poor 3D performance on my 256-color desktop.

SOLUTION:  Change the desktop from 256 colors (8-bit color), to Thousands (16-bit) or Millions ( 32-bit) of colors.  3D can only utilize hardware acceleration in 16-bit or greater display modes.

 

PROBLEM:  I just upgraded to Windows 2000 or bought a new graphics card for my Windows 2000 machine.  Windows 2000 detected it, but I do not get any hardware accelerated 3D rendering.

SOLUTION:  Windows 2000 may not provide 3D support with its own drivers for your product.  You may need to download drivers from your video card manufacturer.

 

PROBLEM:  With hardware OpenGL rendering, 3D objects appear much darker than with DirectX or software renderers, and the specular highlights aren't as visible. 

SOLUTION:  In software, and in DirectX, specular lighting is applied "on top" of textures.  By default, OpenGL adds specular lighting "below" textures.  Shockwave 3D takes advantage of OpenGL extensions that make the result look like DirectX and software, but not all video cards or OpenGL implementations support these extensions.