Discussions

Orbit86 wrote:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/browse/-/229647/ref=vg_hp_ln_1_8/104-1593738-1284764

Mathematica uses OpenGL.

I expect someone to say "ohhh Mathematica..thats bullshyt"

Mathematica is a cross platform app, so that makes sense.

Oberon wrote:

Well Unreal Tournament runs on Linux so it must use OpenGL. Or at least have support for it.

It was my understanding that the Quake and Unreal engines are the two 3D game engines most often licensed by other game developers for use in FPS games.

Yeah, the UT line is another one that supported both Direct3D and OpenGL (I'm sensing a trend here. Are ID  engine based games and a few other select titles the only ones that are OpenGL exclusive?).

Note that UT 2004's readme says the following:


The OpenGL renderer is not officially supported on Windows but could be
a good choice on certain hardware / driver combinations as it might
trigger fewer bugs in drivers. Unless you are experiencing serious visual
flaws there is no reason to change to the OpenGL renderer though. Unlike
Unreal Tournament, Unreal Tournament 2004 was designed around D3D and
offers the best performance and visual quality with the D3D renderer.

Also please keep in mind that the OpenGL renderer has higher system
requirements than the D3D renderer. The OpenGL renderer is known to
not work correctly with pre-7.76 ATI drivers.

It seems to me that OpenGL use these days is pretty much based only on the developer's (or publisher's) desire to port to Mac or Linux or the use of one of ID's 3D engines (and even Valve modified their first engine to support D3D) and that few developers are willing to go the OpenGL only route.

NeoTOM wrote:

Original the Sims used it exclusively.
All Valve games (except maybe Source?) have OpenGL modes.

If we're going by sheer number of copies as games then yes, most games DO use OpenGL.

Half Life 1 supported both OpenGL and Direct3D. I don't know which was considered better for performance.

Half Life 2 and other Source engine based games use Direct3D only.


World of Warcraft is another currently popular game that has an OpenGL mode, presumably to make porting to the Mac easier. It is amusing to read the following from Blizzard's support site:

Also, running World of Warcraft in 'OpenGL' mode may cause certain graphical effects not to display properly. Switching the rendering mode of the game from 'OpenGL' to 'Direct 3D' can resolve some display issues.

I'm gonna have to wait for Beta 2 before I can really answer that.

There isn't enough for me in Beta 1, but I did not and no one should have expected otherwise.

I am kind of worried about where some of the interface design is going (not superficial stuff like colors and special effects, but changes in control layout and behavior in Windows and Internet Explorer).

I really like the new "All Programs" menu.

Manip wrote:

BenZila wrote: Manip wrote: Currently OpenGL is FASTER than DirectX Facts and figures please.

I am talking from personal experience but most people seem to agree that OpenGL gives you a better FPS in MOST games.

"Most games" don't even use OpenGL.

Lies!

Man, /. has really gone downhill. Yeah, I imagine most of you are wondering when it was ever uphill, but up until recently I still got some small joy out of it, even wading into the comments on occassion.

This is as good an excuse as any to kick that habit.

Sven Groot wrote:

Stitch 2.0 wrote: http://www.f-secure.com/weblog/ F-Secure Weblog wrote: An Austrian virus writer has published five simple viruses targeting Microsoft MSH in a virus writing magazine.[...]As MSH (codenamed 'Monad') was scheduled to ship as the default shell for Windows Vista (which went to first beta last week), you could argue that these are the first viruses for Windows Vista. Dam*, that was fast!!

That's a strange argument, considering Windows Vista beta 1 doesn't even include MSH.

It doesn't come with Windows Vista, but it does come with the WinFX SDK beta 1 as an optional install. The MSI can be found in C:\Program Files\Microsoft SDKs\WinFX\Setup

The Inquirer (use of the term "Vole" to refer to MS gave it away) is like the Register on crack.

Nah. But it is possible that MS will be writing alot of checks for $1.09 when they lose the class action lawsuit from Vista users forced to watch blurry movies on their old monitors.

Clarity indeed.

TommyCarlier wrote:

I know a lot of people that think Google is the Internet. If they start their browser, Google shows up. So Google must be the Internet. Some of them don't use the address bar of the browser, but use Google's textbox to enter a URL.

My father does that so he doesn't sully his address bar history, which he uses as a bookmarks list instead of using actual Favorites.

It drives me nuts.