Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!csd4.milw.wisc.edu!cs.utexas.edu!usc!apple!well!gors
From: gors@well.UUCP (Gordon Stewart)
Newsgroups: comp.graphics
Subject: RenderMan Demo Disk / VGA File Format
Message-ID: <13111@well.UUCP>
Date: 12 Aug 89 21:25:38 GMT
Reply-To: gors@well.UUCP (Gordon Stewart)
Organization: Whole Earth 'Lectronic Link, Sausalito, CA
Lines: 31

I have been playing with my RenderMan demo disk, and since I
have both a Targa and a VGA, I have looked at both sets
of images. I am convinced that my own color selection algorithm
produces better results than the median cut that was apparently
used to produce the .VGA images. 

But to test it, of course, I'd like to produce files in the same format
as the supplied .VGA files, which are pasted to the screen with VGAGT.EXE.

These files are 60768 bytes, which leads me to believe that they are
320 x 200 pixels, with 256 colors.  This adds up to 60000 pixels, with
3 x 256 = 768.  Since the VGA uses only 6 bits per component in the
color map, I suspect that the other bits are being used (parity??).

I tried (in a cursory fashion) to produce a file in which the color
map came first, followed by the pixel data. Then I tried it the other
way 'round.  No dice. It says "bad vga file" or something like that.

So, guys -- what's the file format? If you are privy to this info, and
don't mind saving me the time involved in reverse-engineering
the file format, I'll reward you with nifty and keen images!

Michael Sierchio

P.S.
	What an amazingly fabulous thing, this RenderMan!

-- 
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(Doolan) | (Meyer) | (Sierchio) | (Stewart)