I hope I'm not the only one....

[AKSeaWulfe]

I made no mention of hardware, because in order to do bump mapping, Acid, you need to either have it on all platforms or none.

The only way to get it on everyone's system is to force them into buying a Geforce card, or tell 'em to f*ck off.

You think the game will last with the few people that can afford a GF2 or the 600$ GF3?

The point behind my stating to get decent bump mapping, it has to be done in software is because it NEEDS to be done in software for cross platform compatibility.

I know what cards do bump mapping, and I know what cards don't. I didn't need to bring up a list, I was telling "TheWobble" that it would be done in software.. and that's not very fast at all.

Remember: Cross Platform Compatibility.. it either makes or breaks software.
-SW

[juzz]

 

Originally posted by aztec:
Sheeeesh...ur name is acid  

"aztec"

like those south americans don't have anything to do with psychedelics...  

[AKSeaWulfe]

And if you want to know why I "gave TheWobble the smack down", re-read his post.

Why should *HE* be forced to play a game when *HE* has the system to play it with a lot more detail and a fully active environment?

Hmmm if he's so damned rich, I wonder if he can afford to pay for us all to HTC to keep the game running for his higher specification system?

You can't very well make people upgrade because some people have the hardware and some don't, and then call them whiners because they can't push their system to the limits nor can they afford to go out every year to dump 1500 - 2000$ to get the next best thing.

Think in terms of what people have today, and what they are probably still using from yesterday... Next year the Geforce 40000 might come out with every graphical feature you could think of done in hardware... but how many people have the money to buy it? How many people are still running something else?

Think about it.
-SW

[AcId]

Games that do support Bump mapping do infact run on systems that don't support it with that effect disabled. It is added eye candy for those who have the capability. So you see it isn't a question of cross-platform compatibility. It's simply an option, just like 16 bit Vs. 32 bit color. If you want 32 bit you had to upgrade your vid-card right? But the same game that does 32 will run on a 16b card as well. I agree that if it was done in software everyone could have the option but like you said It would require way to much horsepower, not to mention a coding nightmare to get it to work on every possible PC/Vid-card config out there. Which is why it is being done in Hardware. To reiterate, it does not need to be done in software to make it work, the obvious better option is Hardware. It would be nice to be able to give it to everyone for free, but if you want to see it you gotta pay for it. Just like 32b.

Edit: I'm not talking about "If you want to play the game, now you have to upgrade." Options dude, I'm talking about Toggled options. You don't have the capability, fine, but you can still play the game without added eye candy.

[This message has been edited by AcId (edited 03-16-2001).]

[AKSeaWulfe]

Right, I understand what you mean Acid... but I'm trying to say that the engine would need re-worked.. perhaps even a new engine to accomodate both bitmap and bump mapping terrains.

Obviously, it would need an entire new graphics engine to run bump mapping, no question there (many many months of work too), but in order to accomodate both you might run into problems.

Just the way the two ways of creating terrain would work.

Yes, I think bump mapping would be nice, but it may not be a viable option for online gaming (where there is a definite need for speed) for another year. You also need more system memory and an AGP card to do it well.

I have enough system memory, I just have an outdated system.

I wouldn't be against bump mapping, but it may not be a worthwhile option until it's completely supported in hardware with a few more options.

I understand you don't want it right away, but TheWobble comes off that way. I think it would be a nice option, by the time we see a really good bump mapping engine and video card that can support it (maybe 6 months to a year for the video card) then there's really no point in making an engine right yet.

As an option down the road, yes I think it's a good idea. But right now, it is probably just as good to have a terrain with a bitmap overlay.
-SW

[AcId]

Yeah......It was a beautiful dream.

*runs off to the lab*
Time to do some work for a change.

[This message has been edited by AcId (edited 03-16-2001).]