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What is Happening with OpenGL?
Trapped In Windows Hell asks: "I was just at the local game store looking for a new game, and I noticed the absolute lack of ANYTHING other than DirectX games. Where has OpenGL gone, and what does this mean for games on GNU/Linux? If DirectX is so hard to program in, so clunky to use, and limits the game to being sold on only one OS, WHY do so many programmers use it? It seems logical (to me, at least) that programming as portably as possible, as simply as possible, and using standards where possible, leaves a lot more sales options open for the future... and DirectX seems to close all options *but one*." OpenGL use in Windows gaming has decreased dramatically in favor of the use of DirectX which is improving with each release. Will OpenGL continue to mature on the Windows platform (which arguably is the platform that drives most of the mainstream demand for graphics) or will it continue to stagnate as game and driver developers concentrate on the offerings from Microsoft?
Too funny...
:) Grats
So you made some pritty boxes and triangle strip particle engines... Goodie. Those are fun as hell. When you program a full 3d environment with smoke, fog, a fire engine, and do shadows to all objects, then post.
The OpenGL extentions don't apply to the standards based OpenGL API. I'm talking about the wiz-bam new features of different cards (like the Radion's extremely cool anti-aliasing and Z axis dithering)
I'm sure your spining, colored, triangle worked great. Now try to make a 3d engine with the features of Alice or Anarchy Online in OpenGL with OpenGL. It can't be done within a reasonable time period because of all the extentions you would have to use to support all those nifty features in OpenGL.
Really good try at a snappy comeback!
-EvilMonkeyNinja
Mild Mannered Host by Day
Wild Hammered Programmer by Night
> Quake3 depends that heavily on DirectX
:)
damn. you people need to back off and read my posts. I said ALICE REQUIRES DIRECTX for hardware calculations that would have to be handled by card-specific OpenGL extentions. I never said Quake 3 required such extentions at all, because that would be wrong. Alice is indeed based on the Quake 3 engine, and the Quake 3 engine uses OpenGL for hardware rendering. Alice's version of the engine uses Direct X for hardware specific math, it uses the generated information to rendor objects, and paint surfaces on OpenGL objects.
Now lets play this game, Take a screenshot of a long shaded surface in alice, then remove DirectX. Now take the same screenshot. See the difference?? I'm tired of playing games. I'm schooled all of you, it's over
-EvilMonkeyNinja
Mild Mannered Host by Day
Wild Hammered Programmer by Night
Sweet. 2 planes and some boxes/triangle strips with textures I'd expect :)
:)
Just kidding, but I seriously doubt it used any of the hardware specific functions to do cutting-edge coolities like per-pixel shading in hardware or shadow rendering on all surfaces. Any of these things would tear up a CPU if the GPU doesn't support it.
7 posts to 1 article = 1 post, 1 correction, and 5 schoolings.
Consider yourself schooled.
-EvilMonkeyNinja
Mild Mannered Host by Day
Wild Hammered Programmer by Night
1- Almost everyone uses windows to play games on.
:P
Are you nuts!??!?! Many people use Mac and Linux for games. Linux was practically created to be a lighter OS for gaming (or maybe it just worked out that way hehe).
Most hardcore gamers out there use Linux because it is so much better than Windows for playing and serving.
~dolo -- wants to install Linux but is afraid of being labeled a geek!
**********
If it says "Troll" on this post,
I successfully annoyed a nerd herd!
<sarcasm>Yes, and Windows is an innovative, easy-to-use operating system: just look at how many people are using it and developing for it. In fact, why doesn't everybody else just go away?</sarcasm>
The simple fact is that DirectX is heavily promoted and Microsoft is pushing development tools for it. Furthermore, you can bet that DirectX is preinstalled on just about every modern system while OpenGL is a pain to get working on a significant fraction of Windows machines.
People are picking DirectX because that's what Microsoft has decreed to be the standard, what they are pushing, and what they are supporting. Technically, DirectX still sucks; it's another one of a long line of Microsoft "me-too" products that Microsoft pushed on the market using their near-monopoly power.
It also does sound, input and networking.
Well, and there are excellent alternatives to DirectX in those areas as well. Besides, one might ask: why does an operating system need a separate set of game APIs to get real-time networking and audio I/O?