ELBOX COMPUTER Krakow, 30 May 2001 Warp 3D for ELBOX Please note our explanations in reference to comments appearing in various news lists and concerning the date of sending a Warp3D offer to Elbox Computer. Someone is spreading false information on behalf of Hyperion in this reference. As we have informed, the FIRST Warp 3D V4 offer was sent to Elbox Computer on Friday 25 May 2001 at 22:29 CET. On Tuesday 22 May 2001, Elbox Computer was informed ONLY about the change in the Warp3D status. The following text was included in the end of this statement: "In the upcoming weeks we will be approaching all hardware developers with concrete and fair proposals which allow for very moderate compensation for Warp 3D V4 support." After 3 days, on Friday 25 May night, the announced offer was sent to Elbox Computer. However, there were no contract details in it, only the suggested price was given. Since Monday, 28 May 2001, Elbox Computer is in touch with Hyperion and discussing the offer. I hope to have dispelled all the fog concerning the date when we received the offer in question. Mariusz Wloczysiak ELBOX COMPUTER, Press Department http://www.elbox.com PS. Please find the full text of the first message from Hyperion of 22 May; as the facts have already been made public, this is no longer a business secret. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -------- Original Message -------- Subject: Change in the Status of Warp3D Date: Tue, 22 May 2001 12:28:57 +0200 From: Hans-Joerg FriedenOrganization: Hyperion Entertainment V.O.F. To: MB@elbox.com, MBR@elbox.com --------------Boundary-00=_9SFQGR0TN2SA0J1DHNKL Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Hi! Hyperion Entertainment has decided to change the Status of Warp3D slightly because of the current market situation. Please find attached to this mail an explanation of these changes. For further questions, please contact Ben Hermans (mailto:LegendConsulting@netscape.net), Managing partner of Hyperion Entertainment. Thanks for your time. Best regards, Hans-Joerg Frieden Senior Software Developer, Hyperion Entertainment Mail: Hans-JoergF@hyperion-software.de Web: http://www.hyperion-software.de --------------Boundary-00=_9SFQGR0TN2SA0J1DHNKL Content-Type: text/rtf; charset="iso-8859-1"; name="Warp3D.rtf" Content-Transfer-Encoding: base64 Content-Disposition: attachment; filename="Warp3D.rtf" ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ We want to inform you that after extensive deliberation, Hyperion Entertainment has decided to upgrade the status of Warp 3D V4 from a freeware product to a commercial OEM product which will offered to Amiga hardware developers. This decision was prompted by two major reasons: 1. Hyperion Entertainment has reached an agreement with Amiga Inc. to incorporate Warp3D V4 into Amiga OS 4.x on a per unit royalty basis. Producers of zico compliant hardware (Amiga One etc.) will be required to license Amiga OS 4.x and will as such be paying indirectly for Warp 3D V4 drivers. It is unacceptable to both Amiga Inc. and these hardware producers that they would be required to pay royalties for a product which other hardware producers would receive free of charge. 2. Warp 3D started out as a freeware product developed by non-commercial developers to support the Virge and Permedia 2 chipsets. Compared to current chipsets the Virge and Permedia 2 are extremely primitive and feature-poor. The effort and time needed to adequately support modern chipsets such as the Voodoo 3 and Matrox G450 with their rich and advanced feature-set is far greater than the effort required to support the Virge and Permedia 2 chipsets. As the original Warp 3D developers have now moved on to commercial development, maintaining Warp 3D as a freeware product would entail that development of new Warp 3D drivers and extension of the Warp 3D API would be very slow as development could only take place "after hours". This is not only not in the interest of Amiga users but it is also not in the interest of hardware producers and resellers who rely on the availability of Warp 3D drivers to successfully sell their Amiga hardware. Hyperion Entertainment fully understands that the company has a responsibility towards the Amiga community including the hardware producers because of its control over the Warp 3D API and no attempt has ever been made or will be made to exploit this position unfairly. In the upcoming weeks we will be approaching all hardware developers with concrete and fair proposals which allow for very moderate compensation for Warp 3D V4 support. As we know that market conditions in the Amiga market have been hard for everyone including hardware producers, Hyperion Entertainment is even willing to accept payment in kind (hardware). Best regards,