The reason he did that is because you're suggestion is about that reasonable. The game would have to be almost compleatly rewritten for each format, the two formats would look quite different, and probably be all but incompatable. There isn't a game in existance that runs in both DX and openGL, simply because no team wants to take on a project like that, you're doubling your programming hours to do so! Leave the universal standard stomping to microsoft with thier super programming slave table conglomerates.

For practical purpouses PCs will run openGL fairly effectively, it's just slightly less smooth then microsoft DX standards in windows. Lunix however has to emulate windows to run DX platforms. I'm kindof suprized that the SJ's used DX at all in the project, consider it's an independent open source it's obviously going to appeal to the lunix crew to some degree. I would have shot for the universal compatability of OpenGL... Even several big name PC games use it, Doom3 for one...

http://www.unrealtechnology.com/

The Unreal Engine has had dual OpenGL and Direct3d support (among other renderers, back in the day) since UT99.

Yeah swift, that's a rediculously uninformed statement. Many games have options for rendering in either openGL or d3d.

mmmm, I got ponted

Why though? OpenGL runs fine in windows, it seems like a waste of time. Back in the day it wasn't that hard because the only thing the rendering standards were calling was textured polygons, but now with all the shaders and stuff universal compatability seems so complicated to deal with.

Well, in the unreal engine's case, they market the engine to consoles as well. There are already several UE3 licensed games for PC, X360, and PS3; and there are multitudes of UE2 games out for PC, xbox, PS2, and GCN already. They make several hundred thousand dollars per license, so it makes sense to spend more time putting in the extra support. Plus it makes it nice and easy to provide a linux version of the game out of the box (such as UT2004) when you have compatible renderers. Not everything runs on DX, you know

::double post::

VVVVV

But practically everything is OGL compatable... Which is why I'm wondering if you're marketing for compatability and can afford for PC users to lose a few FPS then why not just not market with DX? Are some of the consoles DX compatable only?

[edit]For example, doom3 runs openGL and only openGL... sure it isn't the most efficient rendering engine out there, but it works on lunix...

The Xboxes are the only ones which use directx (and a modified version at that, to take full advantage of the hardware).

People use directx frequently because it's easy to use (comparitively), cheaper to implement, and anyone who would play your game anyway will have it already. Of course, opengl stuff comes with modern video drivers, so I suppose that last point is rather moot... but in any case, the first two still apply.

Wouldn't it be several times more expensive to use both though? If you're SHOOTING for compatability, isn't open GL pretty much univerally compatable?

[Edit] I have come to the conclusion that the UT team is just insane.

Using a rendering "driver" comes at a price. In Unreal this abstract rendering interface payed off since they could use software rendering, glide and opengl (lot's of people had 3Dfx cards or no 3D cards at all). But afaik, this whole unreal rendering system in made by one person (Tim Sweeney) who didn't have to co├â┬Âperate and discuss what would be in the interface.

However would a group of people such as the SY use such an abstract interface, then everytime someone wants to use a new GL effect, they would have to find the d3d equivalent, think of a good way to extend the interface, and implement these things in both d3d and openGL. Or it could be even worse, they have to ask the person who made the d3d or opengl driver to implement this stuff for him. Multiple rendering API's really slows development down. Besides, we're past the point of choice now, since there is so much direct GL use in spring code.


Put this on gamedev.net and you have a flamewar
But I think you're right, at least it has decent documentation.

My point was not for compatability across different systems, but rather for to lwoer the minimum requirements by adding different versions of the rendering system that did thigns differently, such as one that had no textures etc.

But if we're stuck with OpenGL then I dont see why we could just implement a switch in settings to get rid of textures and just use models in a single colour, or even just wireframes, which should lower minimum computer req a lot for some games.