Vega is MPI's  original  software environment for the creation, development and deployment of 3d Real-time visual and Audio Simulation, Sensor, Virtual Reality, Urban, High-Flight, Medium-Flight, Low Level and Ground warfare  and general visualization applications.

 

1  What is Vega  

Vega is MultiGen-Paradigm's  premier software environment. For the creation, development and deployment of 3d real-time visual and audio simulation, sensor, virtual reality, and general visualization applications.

Vega provides an extensive and mature programming API in C, and a large list of add-on expansion modules.

By combining advanced simulation functionality with easy-to-use tools, Vega provides the basis for the most productive process for building, editing, running and deploying sophisticated applications quickly and easily.

Vega is used by leaders in the airline transportation, aircraft manufacturing, space and defence industries utilizing Vega's advanced 3d simulation technology for critical operations such as pilot and gunner training, aircraft design, mission planning rehearsal and missile visualizations.

Vega has been superseded by MultiGen-Paradigm's new Vega Prime simulation software suite. (at this time Vega is still currently available from MultiGen-Paradigm)

For more detailed information on Vega see Vega web pages and or contact MultiGen-Paradigm directly
 

2  How do I get Vega

 
Vega is a commercial software product and thus has to be purchased.

Vega and its many add-on modules can be purchased directly from MultiGen-Paradigm or through one of its many world wide distributors

See MultiGen-Paradigm's Website for more details

Note that Vega and its add-on modules are classed as restricted technology by the US state department thus are not available to certain countries and companies etc.
 

3  Can I Still by Vega

No as MultiGen-Paradigm stopped selling Vega in the 3rd quarter of 2005

MultiGen-Paradigm still provides excellent support for Vega through its skilled and well managed Customer Services group, but have not publicly released any patches since Vega 3.71 for NT and Vega 3.62 for Irix
 

4  What is Vega-SP and Vega-MP 

 

Vega is available in two main configuration  flavours:

1. Vega-MP  Multi-Process (MP)
    

2. Vega-SP   Single-Process (SP)

 

Applications developed under Vega-SP can be re-compiled with Vega-MP for full multi-process functionality.

Vega-SP offers a low cost solution for systems with a single CPU and supports the development of applications using a single process runtime model.

Vega-MP  logically distributes application, culling, and drawing tasks across available processors for optimal performance and allows the user to assign graphics and processing tasks to specific processors in the workstation.
 

5 What Operating Systems does Vega run on 

 


Vega Runs on 2 operating systems

• SGI Irix
   

• Windows NT ( Win 2000 and XP Professional)


Not supported
 

• Linux  (never released or fully developed)


Note that Vega is designed to run on the Professional version of Windows (NT, Win2000 XP Professional), parts of the software including Lynx and the licensing mechanism require  the TCP/IP stack which is not present in the home additions ( 95,98, ME etc)

 

6 How is Vega Licensed 

Vega can be licensed so that it is locked to a single work station or you can have licenses which can "float" across a network between machines. This means that if you have only one Vega license, but two machines on your network, then a Vega-based application can be run on either machine, but not on both machines at the same time. In order for a license to be installed, at least one machine must be designated as the license server

Vega is licensed directly from MultiGen-Paradigm and use's the FlexLM licensing technology from Globetrotter Software Inc.

License files Keys are available only from MultiGen-Paradigm directly,

See the QuickStart and release notes in your Vega installation for full details on install a license and or license server

Note that Globetrotter was acquired by Macrovision  and FlexLM has been sucked into a product called FlexNet Publisher  Although this should not effect Vega.
 

7 Were is my license file 

MultiGen-Paradigm's Vega uses the same default file name on license.dat on both Irix and Lynx.

On windows the file by default will be found typically in  C:\Program Files\Paradigm\flexlm or  C:\flexlm

On Irix by default  /usr/local/PSI/flexlm/
 

9 What is a vgSystem

The Vega vgSystem calls allow the user to initialise, define, configure, and control the real-time processing of Vega. The first step in any Vega application should be to call vgInitSys this is required and initialises the Vega System.

vgSystem provides attributes that provide system control, error handling and notification, frame update, multiprocessing setup, and how to gracefully exit the application. All the attributes have default settings that may be overridden from LynX or by API using vgProp. The settings can be queried using vgGetProp (see vgCommon API)

To get the pointer on the vgSystem, use vgGetSys() note that there is and can only be one vgSystem. This is the handle that is supplied to  vgProp and vgGetProp. Note that the handle for the vgSystem is also returned by vgInitSys.

See vgSystem  and the Vega Programmers Guide for further details.
 

9 What is a vgGFX 

 

vgGfx  controls the graphics state. It is a collection of enables and values that control how geometry is rendered. All the properties and values for vgGfx are controlled with the vgCommon API vgProp and vgGetProp respectively.

The vgGfx instances are  used with either to vgChannel or vgObserver.

See vgGfx and the Vega Programmers Guide for further details.
 

10 What is a vgWindow 

 


All of the rendering within Vega is performed in a window described by vgWindow. A Vega application must generally have at least one window , unless graphics are turned off by setting the system property VGSYS_GRAPHICS to VG_OFF.  

A vgWindow can contain any number of viewports known as vgChannels. To optimize performance when showing multiple views of a scene, it is best to use multiple channels within a single window rather than multiple windows as this stops the need for the expensive OpenGL context switching.

vgWindow's are opened during the call to vgConfigSys. Thus vgWindow's must be defined before the call to vgConfigSys. You can either let vgDefineSys set up windows that have been specified in an Lynx create ADF file or created through API by calling  vgNewWin to define the windows before calling vgConfigSys.

Each window has its own set of attributes whose settings control frame buffer characteristics, IO, and the drawing process. Some of these properties can be changed during run-time and some cannot. The vgWindow properties are set and retrieved by the vgCommon API vgProp and vgGetProp respectively.

See vgWindow and the Vega Programmers Guide for further details.
 

11 What is a vgChannel 

The vgChannel is were the actual visual data within the 3d Scene is rendered to, you can think of the vgChannel a camera were you set near and far clip planes, vertical and horizontal fields of view.

The data stored in a vgChannel defines where the 3d scene is displayed with in a vgWindow, further it says how the vgScene  is projected onto the screen; How the vgScene is rendered in terms of the graphics environment, and what method is used to clear the screen.

See vgChannel  and the Vega Programmers Guide for further details.
 

12 What is a vgObserver

The primary function of vgObserver is to specify the characteristics, position, and control the visual representations within the Vega graphics system.

The vgObserver is a collection of attributes and references to Vega class instances that together describe a visual representation. Each vgObserver contains a list of vgChannel instances whose views are positioned and oriented based upon the current observer position.

A vgObserver also contains information defining the graphics state (vgGfx) and the environmental parameters (vgEnv) of the scene. Only one instance of a vgGfx or vgEnv may be bound to a vgObserver.

Each vgObserver has a vgScene associated with it that defines the components (vgObject) and hierarchy of the potentially viewed scene.

See vgObserver  and the Vega Programmers Guide for further details.
 

13 What is a vgMotion 

Out of the box Vega provides you with 7 relatively basic motion models and 3 complex motion models with allow the user to navigate through their 3d vgScene

These simple motion models can be used to change the position of a vgObserver and or vgPlayer in a vgScene

The motion models provide are:
 

• Spin
• Drive
• UFO
• Warp
• Fly
• Trackball
• Walk.

There are two more complex motion models provided are: 
 

• Flight Simulator
• Missile
• PickFly

There is one further Motion model supported:
 

• Input Device Direct

The "Input Device Direct" motion model is intended as a direct interface to the data provided by the various types of input devices supported by Vega.

Further the user may create and define up to six additional motion models for use with Vega

See vgMotion  and the Vega Programmers Guide for further details.
 

14 What is a vgScene 

A vgScene is basically a collection of and a container for all the visible of objects that can be viewed by an observer (vgObserver).

Vega can manage any number of active scenes at one time, and provide multiple observers which can view the same scene simultaneously.

Objects may be added and removed using vgAddSceneObj and vgRemSceneObj. Once an object is removed it will no longer visible; however it can be re-attached to a vgScene at any time and become visible

See vgScene  and the Vega Programmers Guide for further details.
 

15 What is a vgObject

 

A vgObject is a collection of geometry and attributes maintained in a single hierarchy. A vgObject is typically a 3d Model such as an OpenFlight file or fast loading binary file such a "fst'" or "pfb" files

With Vega only vgObjects are visible they may be added to a vgScene to form a collection of objects that would then form the visible scene.

See vgObject and the Vega Programmers Guide for further details.
 

16 What is a vgPart 

The vgPart functions provide a simple and direct method to query and manipulate parts of objects. It provides the user a means to access database elements in real-time.  

vgParts are created for an object using vgMakeParts. This function only creates a vgPart where a named node in the object hierarchy exists. Usually, names are given to the "parts" of an vgObject when constructed using whatever database design tool is applicable.

The Vega parts mechanism provides a simple means to locate and reference those named elements in the object. A list of vgParts is kept for each vgObject within the vgObject class instance.

See vgPart  and the Vega Programmers Guide for further details.
 

17 What is a vgPlayer 

A vgPlayer is used to specify the characteristics of and control dynamic entities within Vega.

Typically, entities are represented visually by a single or multiple vgObjects containing visual attributes.

A vgPlayer may be positioned within the Vega system in either absolute world coordinates, or relative to another specified coordinate system. Using the player type (VGPLYR_TYPE) property, players may be optionally specified to be terrain mapped

i.e. automatically placed at the terrain height plus an offset. In addition, the position of a player may be provided either from an external source via API (vgPos), attaching a vgMotion model to the player, or by attaching an instance derived from the vgNavigator class to the player.

See vgPlayer  and the Vega Programmers Guide for further details.
 

18 What is a vgEnv 

A vgEnv is an environment descriptor structure that is used to specify and control environments within the Vega system. By definition, an environment within Vega is a bounded region that possesses information that describes the atmospheric conditions or circumstances within that region.

The information that specifies the environment consists of either properties that are maintained internal either to a vgEnv instance, or as references of other system components.

Environment properties include:
 

• state
• atmospheric color
• ambient light control (time of day)
• wind velocity.

System components that may be referenced by an environment include:
 

• light source (vgLight)
• fog model (vgFog),
• Environment effects simulation (vgEnvFX) descriptors.

Note that multiple vgLight descriptors or vgEnvFx descriptors may be attached to a single environment. But only single Fog model per environment is supported.

See vgEnv  and the Vega Programmers Guide for further details.
 

19 What is a vgEnvFx 

vgEnvfx supports the creation, deletion, or modification of environmental effects for the Vega System, a variety of optional environmental effects may be invoked and controlled within each vgEnv. Effects within the environment simulate commonly observed atmospheric and physical phenomenon.

Currently environmental effects that are supported include: 
 

• ground fog
• Box cloud
• Hinged cloud layers
• Sky Box cloud
• storm
• ephemeris model
• Sun/Solar
• Lunar disk
• Background images


Cloud layers are simulated as a cloud deck that extends to the horizon and is defined by a top and bottom elevation. When above or below the cloud layer, the cloud surface is simulated by textured polygons that extend to the horizon. A transition layer exists at both the top and bottom of the cloud layer that introduces a gradual degradation of visibility conditions as the eyepoint enters and exits the cloud layer. If scudded clouds are enabled, then the density of the simulated cloud layer varies with eyepoint translation, or a nominal translation value to continue obscurations when the observer is stationary. When the eyepoint is within the cloud layer, the cloud layer appears as an opaque homogeneous haze of the specified cloud deck color.

See vgEnvFx  and the Vega Programmers Guide for further details.
 

vgIsectors provide a method of collision detection which is an important feature of visual simulation software.

Height above terrain (HAT), terrain elevation, line-of-sight occultation (LOS), and object intersection queries are common requirements for visual simulation applications.

Isectors are used in Vega to define these types of collision detection and intersection tests. Isectors need a volume and a target. Isectors use a method which determines the volume, imposes limitations on how the volume can be positioned, and defines the minimum set of test results required for the method.

The target is specified by the user either through the ADF or Vega API and can be a scene or an object. Intersection tests are conducted between the target of the isector and the volume defined for the isector.

See vgIsector  and the Vega Programmers Guide for further details.
 

21 What is a vgIDev  

vgIDev is a Vega class which handles various input devices including 6-D trackers, spaceballs and joysticks. Once created, the vgIDev class handles asynchronous input from the device, which can be accessed by the user either through a motion model or directly through the C API.

In an effort to maintain a consistent frame rate, reading from devices may be done asynchronously, in order to prevent a slow device from interrupting the desired frame rate. Note that if a device is not capable of producing data at the desired frame rate, the device position data may not be updated every frame. Some devices, such as the mouse, have very fast read times, and therefore it may be desirable to avoid the slight overhead of an additional thread. In such a case, the input device instance may be configured as synchronous with data reads done in a post frame callback function.

See vgIDev  and the Vega Programmers Guide for further details.
 

22 What is a vgPath

In addition to the basic motion models provided with Vega, users can create a series of  control points called that describe a predetermined path, these waypoints are controlled with vgPath and are stored on disk in a binary format

The vgPath and it waypoints can the be use to control motion of certain Vega classes by automatically by traversing the defined path with vgPlayers, vgObserver's, or vgObjects via an attachment to a vgPlayer using a vgNavigator to do the actual motion between and along the described path

The vgSplineNavigator class API, together with the vgPath class API form the underpinning of the Vega Pathing tool. The Vega Pathing tool provides an easy-to-use capability for users to place control points and set vgNavigator parameters without writing any code. Vega features both linear and vgSplineNavigators  describe how the control points are traversed

See vgPath  and the Vega Programmers Guide for further details.

See vgNavigator  and the Vega Programmers Guide for further details.
 

23 What is a vgNavigator 

The vgSplineNavigator class API, together with the vgPath class API form the underpinning of the Vega Pathing tool. The Vega Pathing tool provides an easy-to-use capability for users to place control points and set vgNavigator parameters without writing any code. Vega features both linear and vgSplineNavigators  describe how the control points are traversed.

a vgNavigator's use a marker table to describe the control points to traverse, these control points may be created using the Vega Pathing tool or through API and through loading vgPath file

A "marker" is a data structure associated with a control point in a path; the navigator to process this data and perform the actions it specifies during path traversal. The navigator interprets these markers and uses their data to determine how to traverse between two control points or which specific actions to take when a certain control point is reached. Path traversal can be based upon a constant velocity and acceleration, deceleration, or duration.

See vgNavigator  and the Vega Programmers Guide for further details.

See vgPath  and the Vega Programmers Guide for further details.
 

24 What is a vgPicker

A vgPicker provides a set of functions that allow the user to pick or select geometry within a Vega Application.

The vgPicker can be used to pick the following types vgPlayers, vgObjects, vgParts, pfGeodes and pfGeosets. As a vgPlayer is an abstract container class and has no physical presence in the scene-graph thus when a vgPlayer is selected at the pick target all vgObjects attached to the vgPlayer will be picked.

the vgPicker provides a set of high lighting styles to visually indicate which items have been selected. vgPicker also provides a simple method for transforming and rotating the selected items.

The vgPicker properties are set and retrieved by the vgCommon API vgProp  and vgGetProp respectively.

See vgPicker  and the Vega Programmers Guide for further details.
 

25 What add-ons are available for Vega

MultiGen-Paradigm's Vega has several very useful Add-on modules available to extend the functionality of the product: Here a list of those I'm aware of links to their respective data sheets. The add-on modules have to be purchased and require separate licenses to be generated

I believe that Audioworks and Special effects are now provide a part of the base Vega development package.
 

• AudioWorks2

• Special Effects

• Large Area Database Management (LADBM)

• Vega Marine

• Vega DIS/HLA

• Vega DI-Guy

• Vega Symbology

• Navigation and Signal Lighting (NSL)

• Vega Light Lobes

• Non-Linear Distortion Correction

• CloudScape VR

• SimSmith Vehicle Objects

• SimSmith Vehicle Controls

• Vega Immersive

• SensorVision

• SensorWorks

• RadarWorks

• TMM (Texture Material Mapper)

 

Also see Vega Modules root page and contact MultiGen-Paradigm directly for prices etc.
 

26 Were can I download Vega

MultiGen-Paradigm's Vega and its Module are not currently available online so you cannot download the software from MultiGen-Paradigm or any were else.

The Vega software and modules have to be purchased directly through MultiGen-Paradigm or on of its distributors, see the How to Buy page at MultiGen-Paradigm's Website for further details and current sales contact information etc.
 

27 What is Lynx  

LynX is an extensible point and click graphical user interface that increases productivity by enabling changes to changes to: application functionality, visual channels, multi-CPU allocation, eye-points, observers, special effects, time of day, system configuration, models, databases, and more at the point of application deployment. Access to 'Active Preview' also allows many settings to be modified, and previewed instantly, without re-starting of the application. LynX supports end-user reconfigurability of delivered systems for non-programmers. Several tools are provided with LynX to help the user quickly define a simulation. These include:

An Object Viewer for examining individual objects referenced in the Objects Panel
 

• An Object Property Editor for viewing and setting attributes of object parts

• A Scene Viewer for looking at a Vega scene in top-down orthographic or perspective views and for examining coordinates within the scene

• An Input Device tool for testing and understanding the nature of the input devices defined in the Input Device panel

• A Path Tool for defining and editing paths along which objects or observers can move, as well as specifying object or observer speed and orientation along segments of those paths

28 What is an ADF file

An ADF stands for Application Definition File which is a plain text file

Lynx is the editor for Application Definition Files. An ADF contains all the information that a Vega application needs at initialisation, as well as some information to be used during run-time.

A single Vega executable is capable of producing a variety of simulations by interpreting different ADFs. As with any editor, you may create, view, modify, and save these files. From LynX you can launch an application that uses an ADF to preview the results before saving the definition for later use.
 

29  Can I edit an ADF File

Yes you can edit an ADF file, you can edit the file in any standard text editor, Jot, Nedit, Vi, Emacs etc.

Although normally you would uses Lynx to edit and create the ADF files.
 

30 Where is pfflt.h

 

The head file pfflt.h is shipped with SGI Performer and is required to be able to set OpenFlight loader properties and use the OpenFlight file loader directly. The file is found in "Include\Performer\pfdb\pfflt.h", this files is not shipped with Vega for Irix or Vega for NT. MultiGen-Paradigm support  had stopped supplying this to customers, for some reason, I believe that they still do not supply this file.

The good news is that you can get this file from the SGI Performer package and this is now easier as Performer is free to download from SGI Website for Irix, Windows and Linux. On Windows the file can be found:

"C:\Program Files\Silicon Graphics\OpenGL Performer\Include\Performer\pfdb"

Also currently you can get the pfflt.h here
 

31 Where do I find Open Flight Loader functions and structs

 

The functions to set and get properties/attributes for  loading OpenFlight files are found in the pfflt.h which is only shipped with SGI Performer

 

see FAQ #30 for details on where to get the header files.
 

32 What is vgCommon

 

Many functions in Vega share a common API. These common function are normally referred to as vgCommon functions and will operate on any Vega instance, note that not all of the vgClass instances implement all functions. See the individual vgClass man pages for which vgCommon functions are support.

Vega is a modular library, meaning each set of functions that perform a specific task share a common control structure. All the information necessary to complete the task is contained in the control structure.

No global or static local variables are used. This allows the user to instance as many Vega classes as necessary. Each class shares many similar variables with all other classes. A single API is used to access these variables for all Vega class instance.

See vgCommon  and the Vega Programmers Guide for further details.
 

33 What functions can I find in vgCommon

 


The following vgCommon functions are grouped together and are shared between many of the vgClasses, note that not all of the vgClass instances implement all functions. See the individual vgClass man pages for which vgCommon functions are support.

The following functions are defined in vg.h
 

• int        vgGetType( vgCommon *handle );
• void       vgName( vgCommon *handle, const char *name );
• void       vgGetName( vgCommon *handle, char *str );
• int        vgGetName vgCommon *handle );
• void       vgDelete( vgCommon *handle );
• void       vgUpdate( vgCommon *handle );
• ERR        vgProp( vgCommon *handle, int which, float prop );
• float      vgGetProp( vgCommon *handle, int which );
• ERR        vgClassProp( vgClassId classid, int which, float prop );
• float      vgGetClassProp( vgClassId classid, int which );
• ERR        vgAttrList  (vgCommon *handle, int which, void *attr, int nattr)
• ERR        vgGetAttrList( vgCommon *handle, int which, void **attr, int *nattr)
• void       vgCopy( vgCommon *dest, vgCommon *src );
• void       vgPrint( vgCommon *handle );
• void       vgUserData( vgCommon *handle, void *data );
• void *     vgGetUserData( vgCommon *handle );
• void       vgWriteADF vgCommon *handle, int token, FILE *fp );
• void       vgAddFunc( vgCommon *handle, int which, vgCallback *func, void *data );
• void       vgDelFunc( vgCommon *handle, int which, vgCallback *func, void *udata );
• ERR        vgSnapshot( vgCommon *handle );
• ERR        vgDetach( vgCommon *handle );
• ERR        vgReattach( vgCommon *handle );
• void       vgAddClassFunc( vgClassId classid, int which, vgCallback *func, void *data );
• void       vgDelClassFunc( vgClassId classid, int which, vgCallback *func );
• void       vgInitClass( vgCommon *handle, vgCommon *src );
• void       vgAddClass( vgCommon *handle, vgCommon *refhandle );
• vgCommon * vgGetClass( vgCommon *handle, int type, int idx );
• int        vgGetNumClass( vgCommon *handle, int type );
• void       vgRemClass ( vgCommon *handle, vgCommon *refhandle );

See vgCommon and the Vega Programmers Guide for further details.
 

34 What is Performer 

Performer from Silicon Graphics (SGI) is a powerful and comprehensive programming interface for developers creating real-time visual simulation and other performance-oriented 3D graphics applications. It simplifies development of complex applications used for visual simulation, manufacturing, simulation-based design, virtual reality, scientific visualization, interactive entertainment, architectural walk-through, and computer-aided design.

Performer provides the advanced features and innovative techniques that enable you to achieve peak performance and make optimal use of system capabilities and sophisticated 3D graphics features. It gives you the capability to scale easily to multiple processors and multiple graphics pipelines, deploy to a wide range of systems and price points, and be ready-made for the graphics systems of today and the future.

Performer has be re-branded by SGI to OpenGL Performer. Performer is considered by man as the Granddaddy of the Scene-Graph and may of the feature now commonplace in other Scene-Graphs were first pioneered in Performer. Originally Performer was only available on Irix and was used as a tool to show the power of the SGI big iron such as the Infinite Reality series of machines.

Vega Irix, used SGI Performer as its Scene-Graph and significantly provide added value, many new features and enhancements and ease if use on top of Performer
 

35 What version of Performer does Vega Support 

Vega for Irix only supports Performer 2.2x. and requires Irix 6.2 or greater ( Although some programs things such as MultiGen-Paradigm's Flight IG product supports a later version of Performer
 

36 Can I use Performer on Windows

No you cannot use SGI Performer for windows with Vega NT as you would use SGI Performer for Irix with Vega For Irix.

Vega NT was released long before SGI released Performer for windows, and due to high customer demand MultiGen-Paradigm ported their Excellent Vega product line to Window's in the process they had to develop their own Scene-Graph, which is called Jolt.

Note that Jolt is not directly exposed to the Vega NT user, instead MultiGen-Paradigm product a performer emulation wrapper layer around jolt. This was required in order to allow their customer to port the Irix based application to windows

Note that not all Performer function are support see  Functions supported for which Performer functions are supported in Vega NT
 

FlightIG is MultiGen-Paradigm's outstanding and industry leading Image Generation(IG) application based on Vega, and is optimized for fast jet and helicopter flight simulation using complex geo-specific databases.

MultiGen-Paradigm's FlightIG is more than an advanced application through it is a complete turn key solution of Software, Hardware, support, customer engineering and complex geo-specific database generation

See the MultiGen-Paradigm's FlightIG page as part of the Visual Simulation services
 

38 What is Jolt 

 

Jolt MultiGen-Paradigm's  internally developed Scene-graph that is behind the scene on Windows NT.

Note that Jolt is not directly exposed to the Vega NT user, instead MultiGen-Paradigm product a performer emulation wrapper layer around jolt. This was required in order to allow their customer to port the Irix based application to windows

Note that not all Performer function are support see  Functions supported for which Performer functions are supported in Vega NT
 

39 How can I improve real-time performance

40 What is Phase Locking

41 What are "pfb/pfa" files

 


"pfb" and "pfa" are database file formats provided with OpenGL Performer. Performer provides both loaders and writers for this format

"pfb", is binary database format, this is basically a binary dump of the scene-graph of a model or node, it is extremely fast to load.

The general practice is to convert you 3d models to pfb for your finished application

"pfa" is an ASCII text format which is human readable, this is very slow loading and is generally used for debugging purposes

 

42 How do I Create "pfb" file

"pfb" and "pfa" can be created using the OpenGL Performer pfconv tool or through code using pfdStoreFile, any file that OpenGL Performer can load can be converted to the "pfb" or "pfa" formats.

Alternatively you can use the Vega supplied tool topfb on Irix and objconvert on Windows  which will convert a single file or convert all files defined within an ADF file.) (on windows you get "fst" files not "pfb" files)
 

43 Can I use  "pfb/pfa" files in Vega

 

Yes can  use  "pfb/pfa" files in Vega Irix, as well as all the other formats that supported directly supported by OpenGL Performer
 

44 What are "fst" files

"fst" files are MultiGen-Paradigms proprietary binary database format, which  is basically a binary dump of the Vega NT scene-graph of a model or node, making it extremely fast to load.

The general practice is to convert you 3d models such as OpenFlight "flt" to "fst" files

"fst" files are created using the objconvert utility program supplied with Vega NT
 

45 How do I use objconvert  

objconvert [[-A adf | -g geofile] -s suffix] | [-f] [-i]
 

• -A  : Convert all objects in specified ADF;
• -g : Convert only the specified geometry file;
• -s  : convert all objects in ADF to object with suffix
• -f   : print supported formats
• -i  : inline textures
• -? : print this help message
  
   

46 Are "pfb" files backwards/forwards compatible

Due to the binary nature of the "pfb" the files they can easily be come none compatible with newer versions of OpenGL Performer, requiring for the "pfb" files to be re-generated
 

47 Are "FST" files backwards/forwards compatible  

Due to the binary nature of the "fst" the files they can easily be come none compatible with newer versions of Vega NT, requiring for the "fst" files to be re-generated
 

48 Should I keep my original files after converting to "pfb" or "fst"

Absolutely yes you MUST keep you original model sources files you used to create your "pfb" or "fst" files. Due to the binary nature of the "pfb" and "fst" files, they  can easily be come none compatible with newer versions of Vega NT and OpenGL Performer, requiring for the "pfb" files to be re-generated
 

49 How do I build a static Vega NT Application

To build a Vega NT application statically you need to make sure your Visual Studio build settings include the following:

C++ General/ Preprocess Definitions

for MFC based application
 

_PSI_STATIC_LIBS,WIN32,NDEBUG,_WINDOWS,_AFXDLL

 

for Console based application
 

_PSI_STATIC_LIBS,NDEBUG,VERSTR=\"3.5\",_CONSOLE,_MBCS,WIN32

 

Link, General Object/Library Modules

dsound.lib kernel32.lib user32.lib gdi32.lib winspool.lib comdlg32.lib advapi32.lib shell32.lib ole32.lib oleaut32.lib uuid.lib odbc32.lib odbccp32.lib opengl32.lib glu32.lib glaux.lib wsock32.lib winmm.lib dxguid.lib msacm32.lib comctl32.lib netapi32.lib psVTexS.lib

Link, Input Object/Library Modules

dsound.lib kernel32.lib user32.lib gdi32.lib winspool.lib comdlg32.lib advapi32.lib shell32.lib ole32.lib oleaut32.lib uuid.lib odbc32.lib odbccp32.lib opengl32.lib glu32.lib glaux.lib wsock32.lib winmm.lib dxguid.lib msacm32.lib comctl32.lib netapi32.lib psVTexS.lib

Other Libraries

Add any other libraries you need to link in on to this line as well, Note Vega static libraries have the 'S" for static. 

The only none static Vega libraries you should need is the xvs.dll the other should link in above.

Then you may need various Windows/MFC DLL's such as MsvcPxx.dll, MSVCRT.DLL, MSVCRTD.DLL,MSVCRTxx.DLL this will depend on what is on the target system version
 

50 Does Vega Support Terrex's Terra Page format

Unfortunately no neither Vega for Irix nor Vega NT have direct support for the Terra Page file format.

 

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