S
- saturation
- Adjustment to the extreme value of a range when the actual value approaches the extreme. If the maximum value in a range is 1,000 and the maximum saturation point is set to 900, then any value greater than 899 is adjusted to 1,000.
- scene
- The entire set of objects that make up a virtual environment, including visible objects, sounds, lights, and frames. In Direct3D, the entire set of objects is contained by a root frame.
- screen space
- Frame of reference in which coordinates are related directly to two dimensional locations in the frame buffer, to be displayed on a monitor or other viewing device. Projection space coordinates are converted to screen space coordinates using a transformation matrix created from the viewport parameters.
- secondary sound buffer
- A section of audio memory that stores individual sounds that are played throughout an application. The sound can be played as a single event or as a looping sound that plays repeatedly. Secondary buffers can also play sounds that are larger than available sound-buffer memory; the buffer serves as a queue that stores the portions of the sound about to be played.
- service provider
- A dynamic-link library used by DirectPlay to communicate over a network. The service provider contains all the network-specific code required to send and receive messages. Online services and network operators can supply service providers to use specialized hardware, protocols, communications media, and network resources.
- session
- In DirectPlay, an instance of several applications on remote machines communicating with each other.
- sound buffer
- A segment of memory that stores DirectSound audio data. Sound buffers can be primary or secondary, static or streaming.
- source color key
- A color that, in the case of blitting, will not be copied, or, in the case of overlays, not be visible on the destination.
- specular property
- The material property that determines how a point of light on a shiny object corresponds to the reflected light source. The specular property of a material is one of two properties that determines how a material reflects light. See also emissive property.
- spotlight
- A light source that emits a cone of light. Only objects within the cone are illuminated. The cone produces light of two degrees of intensity, with a central brightly lit section that acts as a point source, and a surrounding dimly lit section that merges with the surrounding deep shadow.
- static sound buffer
- A section of memory that contains a complete sound. These buffers are convenient because the entire sound can be written once to the buffer.
- sticky focus
- In DirectSound, the capability to play sound buffers when the owning application does not have the input focus. For example, a DirectSound application could continue to play a sound buffer while the user was working in another application.
- streaming sound buffer
- A small sound buffer that can play lengthy sounds because the application dynamically loads audio data into the buffer as it plays. For example, an application could use a buffer that can hold 3 seconds of audio data to play a 2-minute sound. A streaming buffer requires much less memory than a static buffer.
- stretching
- Blitting an image into a destination with different dimensions. This operation is supported directly by some hardware.
- stride
- Synonymous with pitch. See also width.
- surface
- Memory that represents visual images. This is often display memory, but it can be system memory. See also complex surface, off-screen surface, overlay surface, and primary surface.
- sustain
- The period when the basic magnitude of a force feedback effect is attained, after the attack and before the fade.