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Ian's SGI Depot: FOR SALE! SGI Systems, Parts, Spares and Upgrades

(check my current auctions!)

Introduction

This site is not a source of N64 news, articles, game previews, etc. The focus here is on the technical aspects of the system hardware, available graphical effects, how they work, detailed term definitions, and a thorough debunking of the technical rubbish that's often printed about the N64 (mostly in games magazines). If you're after game reviews, tips, cheats, etc., then check out one of the many N64 WWW sites that exist today (there are quite a few and some of them are of very high quality):

Actually, it's rather ironic: I had the first major N64 web site back in 1994 which eventually peaked at almost 1000 visitors per day before it went off the air in November 1995 (I moved country). In early 1995, if you did a search on any WWW search engine (eg. Lycos), my N64 page came back as the first and only reference for N64 info. Ah, those were the days! :D

But times change; today, many other people can dedicate the time and effort needed - which I cannot spare - to make a really good general N64 web site. Since it's announcement in 1993, I have investigated the technical aspects of the system - an area not really covered by any other N64 site. Incidentally, yes, I do own an N64 and have about 20 games.

Part of the reason why I've created this N64 Technical Information site is because the N64 hardware is designed by SGI and as such is of obvious interest to users of other SGI systems, but the main reason is because I hope N64 owners will take advantage of what is here to learn more about the system they own - the 'black box' phenomenon of consumer products is not an ethic I agree with (ie. the tendency to hide the internal workings of a product from its user). Future consoles need future designers, programmers, artists, etc. and the most obvious source of such people is the current audience of games players.

The mass consumer market has become increasingly important to SGI as it is a means by which its very latest technology can be used on a large scale, bringing down costs and increasing the pace of development. If you're an N64 user reading this, you may not realise the extent to which SGI is involved in the games arena as a whole, whether it's the hardware and software systems used by games companies to design games (AliasWavefront software, O2 and Octane workstations, etc.) or a more direct influence, eg. the N64 itself.

So there you have it. If you're after game reviews, cheats and news then you're in the wrong place, but if you want to know what on Earth an 'Alpha Channel' is, then sit back, relax, and I'll try and take you smoothly through the jargon.

Ian.


Ian's SGI Depot: FOR SALE! SGI Systems, Parts, Spares and Upgrades

(check my current auctions!)
[WhatsNew] [Intro] [Sys Desc] [PR] [CPU] [RCP] [GFX] [Polygons] [MIPS/MFLOPS] [Res/Video] [FPS]
[Future Technology Research Index] [SGI Tech/Advice Index] [Nintendo64 Tech Info Index]