OpenGL's status...
Author
Hi,
I''m just wondering if you can tell me if OpenGL will be used in games for years to come, or if it looks like it may fade away into obscurity? I would love to learn opengl, and I just want to know I''m not wasting my time on something that may be made obsolete by DX. I know that DX is now in a more advanced state than opengl as opengl has not evolved in the same manner, but will perhaps opengl 2.0 fix all of this and make opengl once again the better API? I guess what I want to know is will all of the mess such as extensions and such that exist in opengl be implanted into the language properly so that it has all of the functionality of DX with shaders etc etc..... put my mind at rest, thanks.
When she''ll go, Nobody knows...OpenGL will be here forever. Weither it will be a big gaming API is anyone''s guess.
OpenGL is only a ''mess'' because anyone is allowed to add to it, or subtract from it, when approved by ARB, instead of having Microsoft telling companies what is and isn''t going to happen.
As a beginner, you wouldn''t have to worry about extentions anyways, since you''ll won''t be needing them for a months, if ever. The only time you need multiple rendering paths, is if you are really pushing OpenGL, for most applications, they aren''t needed.
It is also much easier to get started in OpenGL, compared to direct3D. Learning OpenGL will also help you understand how video cards work, because it is very low level. If you decided to jump to Direct3D, knowing OpenGL will help you with some optimization theory.
~~~~~
"the best thing about betting on apathy is that even when you lose, you dont care." - nethead.
Download and play Slime King I.
OpenGL is only a ''mess'' because anyone is allowed to add to it, or subtract from it, when approved by ARB, instead of having Microsoft telling companies what is and isn''t going to happen.
As a beginner, you wouldn''t have to worry about extentions anyways, since you''ll won''t be needing them for a months, if ever. The only time you need multiple rendering paths, is if you are really pushing OpenGL, for most applications, they aren''t needed.
It is also much easier to get started in OpenGL, compared to direct3D. Learning OpenGL will also help you understand how video cards work, because it is very low level. If you decided to jump to Direct3D, knowing OpenGL will help you with some optimization theory.
~~~~~
"the best thing about betting on apathy is that even when you lose, you dont care." - nethead.
Download and play Slime King I.
OpenGL is used for more than just games. It will be around as long as you want it to be.
http://www.opengl.org/developers/about/overview.html
--
Dave Mikesell
d.mikesell@computer.org
http://davemikesell.com
http://www.opengl.org/developers/about/overview.html
--
Dave Mikesell
d.mikesell@computer.org
http://davemikesell.com
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