Release Notes MicroImages, Inc. TNT-Products V. 6.8

RELEASE OF RV6.8 TNT PRODUCTS
may prevent TNTsim3D from rendering the maximum texture detail in each frame. DVD
readers inherently read data much faster than a slow CD and, thus, are not likely to produce
this limitation.
Sm aller Landscape Files.
Using TNTsim3D 6.7,
your Landscape Files could be quite large if you assembled geo-
data for a reasonably sized project area. TNTsim3D RV6.8 supports the use of
JPEG2000 compression and the new limited area extents can reduce your Landscape
File size by a factor of 10 to 100. This size reduction is illustrated in the attached color
plate entitled JPEG2000 in TNTsim3D. Alternatively, these same new features permit
your geosim delivered on CD or DVD to cover a much larger geographic extent by these
same factors. Furthermore, now you do not have to combine (mosaic) small texture layers
such as orthophotos in advance.
JPEG Compressed
Textures.
Linked lossy or lossless compressed JP2 (JPEG2000) texture layers can now be used
in TNTsim3D 6.8. Using JP2 linked files does not effect your frame rate but may slow
down the rate at which detail
is filled into the view(s) from front to back (which means,
from near to far). Hard drive read rates are not easy for you to improve, but JP2 files
are much smaller, which greatly reduces the time to read these layers. However, this
JP2 data must be decompressed in your central processor (CPU) before it is used and,
thus, this controls how fast detail can be filled in each frame. The result is acceptable if
you are running on a fast (>1 GHz) CPU and will improve if you can provide an even
faster CPU.
Virtual Mosaicking of Textures.
Multiple texture layers
could be associated with each terrain in TNTsim3D 6.7. Each
was expanded with null cells to match the full extents of the terrain layer. Thus, using
several smaller texture layers would unnecessarily inflate the size of the Landscape File.
Texture layers used in TNTsim3D RV6.8 no longer need to match the extents of the
associated terrain layer. Now it is possible and convenient to use multiple smaller textures,
such as orthophotos, with a terrain layer of larger extent and let TNTsim3D
mosaic them during the simulation. This is also illustrated in the attached color plate
entitled JPEG2000 in TNTsim3D.
Co mbine Different Kinds of Terrains.
Vir tual Mosaicking of Terrains.
Just as for textures, you can now use a geosim that has multiple terrain layers. This
feature is illustrated in the attached color plate entitled Multiple Terrain Surfaces in
TNTsim3D. The terrain layers can be adjoining or disjoint patches of terrain, representing
the same or a different type of surface. If all of the terrain patches represent the
same surface type (such as quad map DEMs), these layers then make up a virtual terrain
mosaic that will be assembled by TNTsim3D as it loads all the terrains into memory.
Ve rtical Stacking.
Multiple terrains can also be a 3D vertical stack of layers that represent different kinds of
3D information. Stacking different kinds of terrains permits you to move around in
MICROIMAGES MEMO 30
5 MAY 2003