Hyperion Entertainment changes status of Warp3D V4

We would like 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 for a moderate license fee.

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 would  be 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.  Combined with the fact
   that there  are currently no less than  7 different PCI  product from
   three different manufacturers, it's clear that the effort required to
   support  modern chipsets on  all the different PCI hardware available
   goes far beyond the scope of a freeware project.

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  market  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.

We have  already  succesfully negotiated agreements  with  Matay and DCE
regarding  Warp3D V4 support  for the  Voodoo 3  on their respective PCI
hardware.  We are  therefore happy to  report that  Voodoo 3 drivers for
these PCI solutions will be available shortly.

A similar proposal was made to Elbox but so far we have not received any
reaction.

Users  considering purchase  of a PCI   solution for Amiga   and who are
interested in  high-performance   3D  graphics should   investigate  the
availability of Warp3D drivers prior to making their decision to opt for
one or the other PCI solution.

It    should also be    noted that   Warp3D  will   remain free  for end
users. Also, this  only affects hardware producers. Software development
with Warp3D  is still free of charge,  commercial and shareware products
included.

For queries please mail to one of the addresses below:
Hans-JoergF@hyperion-software.de
ThomasF@hyperion-software.de
BenH@hyperion-software.de