                                BIX - DEMO
                              by Dave Wallin

Legalese:
        This demo is provided with no warranty what so ever. I am not
   responsible for any damage done as a result of it's operation. By running
   the demo, you agree to these terms.

Description:

The Bix program is a demonstration of extremely realistic physics in 3d. In
the future it will probably be used in several games, once I finish adding
flatshading and texture mapping - as of now, it's all wireframe. Still, you
can get a good idea of the depth and realness of the engine. Note that all
3d objects have an "inside" as well as an outside - most 3d objects used
in todays games are only an outside "skin" of what they are representing. If
you were to try to use that in the Bix engine, it would just flop down like
a paper bag. Shapes need to be supported on the inside so that they don't
collapse. The equations used in the Bix engine are surprisingly simple, so
the end product should be able to run fairly fast (Bix is currently un-
optimized).

When you run the demo, make sure you try to knock over the flagpole, and
note how the flag blows upwards as it falls down. Neat, huh? ;)

* Starting the demo:
        Make sure you have a mouse driver installed, and run BIX3.EXE

* How to use the demo:

        The demo is easy to control - just use the mouse to roll around
   the cube. The cube will roll in the direction you move the mouse.

* Things I will probably add later:

Shaded/texture mapped triangles
Z-Buffer
Changeable camera angle (very easy)
Better collision detection amoung entities (right now only uses bounding spheres)
Some kind of AI, probably neural nets, to control motions of entities
        - will be used for complex things like a person walking, picking
        things up, ect.


* Closing Remarks

The first game I intend to make will probably be a simplistic, "capture the
flag type game", with little cube guys knocking each other around. After that
I want to make some kind action game which will show off the capabilities
of the engine to their fullest extent. Of course, I want to do a lot of things
but I always end up forgetting about them.

If you want to buy the source code to Bix, I may be willing to sell it...

Send all hate mail, letters of encouragement, and other news to:

Dave Wallin
dwallin@juno.com
