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Domain: devolution.com
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Comments · 55
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Don't be a bigot! :-)Let's face it - the DirectX API is, technically, a heap of doggy-doo. As you said, you have never used Direct3D. If you had, you would not have said what you did
No, there you are wrong, my friend. I have seen enough code comparisons between Direct3D and OpenGL to know that Direct3D is a very poor choice. I will not say the same, however, for the rest of the DirectX API. DirectX may not be the best gaming API (before DirectX, I used Allegro, an excellent DOS-based API built with DJGPP), but it is a good API. You know that, because by your very own admission, you say "The features provided by the DirectX API are very useful, and there is a need for something like this in the industry."
Just because you and I share a dislike for Microsoft, let's not be bigots and say that everything Microsoft has created is bad. Part of the plan for ensuring "world domination" for Linux is recognizing what weaknesses Linux has, and how to make them better.
One API that does look promising is the Simple DirectMedia Layer. Check it out! I've downloaded the API and looked at it, and it seems very promising. My only problem with it right now is that it doesn't support X, but it at least is off to a very good start.
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Here is a great place to start!It may not be DirectX - but here's a great place for info on how to get started writing games for Linux/X11. Check out the Linux/X11 Game Writer's Page, maintained by Paul Coates. This page has lots of source code you can download and compile to show you how to do 2D graphics animation, mouse and keyboard input, and even digital audio. At the very least, download his demo programs, compile them and try them out. I've run them on my Intel P200 (running Linux) at home and an HP-UX workstation at work and they ran quite smoothly on both.
Also, download the source code to Maelstrom (a cool Asteroids-like game) and study carefully the source file x11_framebuf.cpp.
I've found these resources to be very helpful in my current effort to convert my own DirectX game project to Linux/X11. Give them a try, and let's get busy making games for Linux!
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SDL already killer game api?Perhaps a killer game API already exists: SDL (Simple DirectMedia Layer) is being used e.g. by Loki Entertainment for their Linux port of "Civilization: A Call to Power", and similarly for a number of other games (here's a list). I don't know much about it, so I don't really know if it's in the "useful" versus "killer app/api" category. There are quite a few other game and graphics API projects going on, and of course there's the definitive www.linuxgames.com and www.golgotha.org (which arose from the ashes of the late crack.com) I agree that having a good selection of great games available under Linux can only help.
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SDL already killer game api?Perhaps a killer game API already exists: SDL (Simple DirectMedia Layer) is being used e.g. by Loki Entertainment for their Linux port of "Civilization: A Call to Power", and similarly for a number of other games (here's a list). I don't know much about it, so I don't really know if it's in the "useful" versus "killer app/api" category. There are quite a few other game and graphics API projects going on, and of course there's the definitive www.linuxgames.com and www.golgotha.org (which arose from the ashes of the late crack.com) I agree that having a good selection of great games available under Linux can only help.
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More than just OpenGL support needed!
Check out the PenguinPlay project (Don't have the URL handy, sorry) they are working on a DirectX type of system. Also, you might find SDL (Simple, Direct Media Layer) interesting.