Questionnaire - Part2
Hi all,
firstly ive got to say a big thankyou to everyone that participated in my questionnaire. The results have been collected and im just at the beginning stage of processing them.
Continuing on from the questionnaire, i would like to hear some more specific views on what you think of Direct3D and OpenGL.
If you could take the time to check this post out and reply with your views i would be immensely grateful (again )
http://www.mark-ingram.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=197
Mark,
I''m sorry if I sound rude, and I don''t want to start a flame war, but this is one of my pet peeves and I have to respond.
Why do people have to decide on either OpenGL or Direct3D - why can''t they use both, of if they use just one, who says they have to choose between one and the other? Both do approximately the same thing, just in different ways. It''s media, such as your survey, that serve to confuse people to the truth.
I''d like to quote:
Which looks nicer? You are asking the average gamer, who may not know the technical details behind either API, to decide why the visuals a developer has created either shows the shortcomings or gains of a specific API? Based on the graphics quality that developer chose to use?
So, if I can wow a gamer with some special eye-candy using Direct3D, then is Direct3D a better API, or did I just do a better job on the visuals? You''re confusing the graphics work a developer puts into their game with the use of the API. Both APIs perform and create almost identical visuals. You can get identical results using either OpenGL or Direct3D. You are confusing functionality with artistic ability.
Getting a basic window up and running is the same, regardless of the API. The initialization need to get a simple Direct3D window is extremely small - I can show code to prove this. The same with OpenGL. It''s only when you get into the exacts of drawing that things get different.
Now, getting past the need for simple drawing, Direct3D make things very easy. That''s wrong, and I''m sure a lot of OpenGL developers will agree. OpenGL can perform just as well as Direct3D. In your example, you mentioned calculating normals. Well, normals are values you set, and those values are the same regardless of which API you are using. You are saying that Direct3D does all the hard work for you. That is not true - you still must use the proper normal values, or even Direct3D will not produce the exact results you are hoping for. So, there is nothing special to normals - you still need to calculate the proper values, regardless of the API.
I''m sorry if I sound rude, and I don''t want to start a flame war, but this is one of my pet peeves and I have to respond.
Why do people have to decide on either OpenGL or Direct3D - why can''t they use both, of if they use just one, who says they have to choose between one and the other? Both do approximately the same thing, just in different ways. It''s media, such as your survey, that serve to confuse people to the truth.
I''d like to quote:
quote:
Gamers:
Which do you think looks nicer overall in the games? Why do you think that is? Do you think hardware plays an important part in those results? Who do you think will be the final winner in the Direct3D and OpenGL battle? Do you think OpenGL will be pushed back onto *nix systems only?
Which looks nicer? You are asking the average gamer, who may not know the technical details behind either API, to decide why the visuals a developer has created either shows the shortcomings or gains of a specific API? Based on the graphics quality that developer chose to use?
So, if I can wow a gamer with some special eye-candy using Direct3D, then is Direct3D a better API, or did I just do a better job on the visuals? You''re confusing the graphics work a developer puts into their game with the use of the API. Both APIs perform and create almost identical visuals. You can get identical results using either OpenGL or Direct3D. You are confusing functionality with artistic ability.
quote:
Developers
So, personally, i feel that OpenGL is alot easier to get started with. If we are talking about getting a window up and running and basic animation then i think OpenGL is the best. The initialisation needed to get a simple Direct3D window is a bit extreme.
However, once you get past the need for simple drawing (lets say for example texturing an object, using lighting and calculating normals) Direct3D (at least with version 8.1) makes things very easy, you want to calculate normals on all vertices? Easy. Just call a function inside a loop and Direct3D does all the hard work for you. However with OpenGL, all that hardwork of calculating dot and cross products for the normals has to be done manually.
What are you opinions on this? What have you found while experimenting with these APIs?
Getting a basic window up and running is the same, regardless of the API. The initialization need to get a simple Direct3D window is extremely small - I can show code to prove this. The same with OpenGL. It''s only when you get into the exacts of drawing that things get different.
Now, getting past the need for simple drawing, Direct3D make things very easy. That''s wrong, and I''m sure a lot of OpenGL developers will agree. OpenGL can perform just as well as Direct3D. In your example, you mentioned calculating normals. Well, normals are values you set, and those values are the same regardless of which API you are using. You are saying that Direct3D does all the hard work for you. That is not true - you still must use the proper normal values, or even Direct3D will not produce the exact results you are hoping for. So, there is nothing special to normals - you still need to calculate the proper values, regardless of the API.
I prefer DX because (most) commercial games use it, and it has more integration with Windows (from the limited view I''ve seen in) I like to be on the same page with the "pros", so to speak. Don''t get me wrong though, I''m sure you can create equally impressive stuff with OpenGL as well
What about quake 3 and doom 3 and all those? I think they use ogl. I think it''s about equal, but I could be wrong. I like direct3d too though.
-~-The Cow of Darkness-~-
-~-The Cow of Darkness-~-
doom3 is written in OGL, same as all other quake engine games. soldier of fortune I + II etc.
after learning D3D recently i have to say i prefer the structure of it alot more than OpenGL. i was a fan of OGL, and stubborn that D3D wouldnt change me, but i was wrong, after a few months of learning i have totally changed my opinion.
after learning D3D recently i have to say i prefer the structure of it alot more than OpenGL. i was a fan of OGL, and stubborn that D3D wouldnt change me, but i was wrong, after a few months of learning i have totally changed my opinion.
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