Active Worlds 3.0 - tech requirements
By Bille (source Active Worlds help files 3.0) [09/Apr/00]The Active Worlds 3.0 was available for beta testing on April 3rd. Great improvements have been reported from enthusiastic testers. But the new browser also requires more from your PC.
Active Worlds 3.0 has native support for 3D hardware accelerators, which give a better performance, especially if your computer has a rather new 3D video card. All in all, the system requirements for Active Worlds 3.0 have changed from previous versions.
Hardware
Active Worlds 3.0 requires a Pentium CPU, at least 32 megabytes of RAM, and a Direct3D-compatible video card with at least 2 megabytes of RAM and with the display set to 16 bits (also called "high colour").To run AW 3.0 you must make sure that you have a Direct3D-compatible 3D video card. If you don't know the capabilities of your current video card, but you know it's name, try searching the web for information. You can also contact the company who sold it to you.
If your video card does not meet the Direct3D requirement, you should install a 3D video card in your computer. Those cards are not very expensive, and sooner or later you might need it anyway - we all know the speed of Internet developments... When buying a new card, make sure to purchase a 3D video card with at least 16 MB of memory, although 32MB is recommended. According to AWcom, any of the newer video cards from the major manufacturers, such as the Voodoo 3000, the Matrox Millenium G400 or the 3D Blaster Riva TNT, will work great with Active Worlds 3.0.
You will also need the latest drivers installed for your video card. Such drivers can be downloaded for free on the Web.
Software
Active Worlds 3.0 requires DirectX 7.0, which can be downloaded download from Microsoft.Operating System
Active Worlds 3.0 requires Windows 98, but in practice 3.0 should also be able to run on Windows 95 and Windows 2000 systems. It will not currently run under Windows NT 4.0.Internet Connection
Active Worlds requires HTTP access to download the objects in a world. If your web browser is configured to use a proxy server, the AW browser will use the same settings automatically. If not, this can be fixed by adjusting the settings. I think this means that if your web browser currently is saving to cache, there will be no problem.No 3D card = no AW?
It has not been decided yet whether you will be able to use AW 3.0 if you don't have the 3D hardware. It all depends on whether the announced verion of RenderWare that will work on systems without 3D hardware, will be released in time for the AW 3.0 release. If no such RenderWare version is available, AWcom might continue to support Active Worlds 2.2 and upgrade it with most of the AW 3.0 features.The AW 3.0 browser will probably not be ready for release until May, depending on the results of the beta testing. But if you are happy with your cyber life, make sure to avoid problems by checking that your computer meets the technical requirements before the browser release. According to the beta testers it will be worth it:)
If you want to read more about AW 3.0, go to the temporary help files (may change before the final release of AW 3.0)