DirectX version of SketchUp?
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I've seen several mentions of issues with SketchUp which are quite often attributed to SU being an OpenGL application and the issues are predominantly OpenGL related graphic rendering idiosyncrasies. Such things like the clipping plane blotting out geometry at close zoom levels and seeing lines behind front faces when viewing your model from a distance and others like the shimmering effect when multiple faces overlap.
I don't know if OpenGL is actually an archaic technology or if there's a genuine reason for using it in preference to DirectX, which I assume is a superior technology.
I'm curious to know if (and when) goooooogle might ever consider dumping the OpenGL version in favor of DirectX (or the next BIG thing) or if DirectX might someday be a user selectable option.
Any thoughts, opions?
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@tfdesign said:
@xennon said:
DirectX, which I assume is a superior technology.
......Steady!
My assumption is based on the glaring proliferation of 3D games (and apps) that seem to favor DirectX for their platform - even the crappy 2.5d platform games seem to favor it. I know of no new games that use OpenGL which is why I think it might be old-dayz stuff.
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Tom, you seem to be on Mac. Is DirectX not a Windows platform (only?)?
If so, what would happen with the Mac users? -
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@jbacus said:
john
.Very interesting read and certainly clarified and changed my perception of OpenGL. It's certainly NOT the dinosaur I thought it to be.
So I guess, to answer my own query - Probably not: I think OpenGL will most likely remain as the fundamental graphic API used in SU for quite some time.
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You should also take a look at this thread. The original question is regarding moving to a newer version of OpenGL (as you mention OpenGL isn't archaic, however SU is using v1.5 from 2003 whereas the current version is 4.x as of 2010), however it gets into the DirectX question a bit.
-Brodie
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I wouldn't mind if you dropped Mac support and concentrated on a single platform. Although I guess there might be a couple Mac users who would be upset.
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@jim said:
I wouldn't mind if you dropped Mac support and concentrated on a single platform. Although I guess there might be a couple Mac users who would be upset.
haha.. yeah, a couple million
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I wouldn't mind if you dropped Windows support and concentrated on a single platform. Although I guess there might be a couple of Windows users who would be upset.
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John Carmack (Quake series, Doom series, and the upcoming Rage engine) chose to use openGL rather than Direct-X -- that's saying something. Also, Call Of Duty series and Far Cry are notable games/series using openGL.
OpenGL appeals to me (as an end-user only, I know nothing about programming) because it's free, non-proprietary, and is managed by the Khronos Group who also manages openCL. And openCL seems much more significant, at this point, than openGL -- using the graphics card to significantly speed up general computation. At this point it's CUDA (which is arguably better, at the moment) or openCL -- free and works on everything or proprietary and only works on Nvidia hardware.
I realize this is a convoluted and indirect reason to like openGL, but I want the software to succeed that's not owned by a private company that gets to dictate what hardware we have to buy and who can use the software.
Besides, have you seen smallluxgpu (openGL rendering program)? Tell me that's not awesome.
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