Re: SDL vs GGI

[Pierre Phaneuf <pp@ludusdesign.com>]

Lutz Sammer wrote:

> > Ok, a simple question: for a 2D strategy game, which (in your opinion)
> > suites better -- SDL or GGI?
> 
> I think a easy solution.
>         X11     ->      SDL
>         Console ->      GGI

I have a tentative "pundit-like" declaration to make:

Console is (almost) dead.

Unless somethings skirms and big changes happen, console video is now
almost unusable. There is support for acceleration in the native GGI
drivers, but just about nobody has them, SVGAlib barely has acceleration
(and doesn't use it most of the time) and is becoming very hard to make
happen (Linux distributions installers configure the X server, but how
many configures libvga.config?).

For the current crop of SVGAlib games that only use standard VGA modes
(like 320x200x256 or 640x480x16), this is fine, but newer games (like
our Quadra for example) can barely work without acceleration in video
hardware-specific Super VGA modes. And I got a huge amount of support
mails going like this "my X server runs in an awesome resolution so I
know my card is supported, Quake2 and Doom works, but Quadra doesn't so
it is crap". Then I have to explain that it is because its using an
advanced video mode with higher resolution.

The newer video cards around are only supported thru the VESA SVGAlib
driver, which is a tad slower than the other drivers and supports NO
acceleration. BTW, no accel means no hardware blitting: it is a BIG
difference between hw blits of 400 MB/s and programmed I/O blits of 35
MB/s!

Pointing this out, not only are the higher resolution modes hard to get
working in a console, but their higher resolutions themselves often
requires hardware acceleration. That's not counting the fact that in
640x480 with 16 bit color depth leaves over 7 MB of framebuffer-local
extremely fast SDRAM memory UNUSED! Talk about a good investment in my
video hardware!

I also happen to agree with Dave Taylor on the subject of newer games
being behaving windowed applications, supporting things like cut & paste
and popping "regular" windows for alerts. If you also do, forget GGI.

The future for Linux gaming is OpenGL/GLX/DRI, the new DGA and all
around improved performances in XFree86 4.0.

Sorry for the rant, but I'm tired of APIs that looks like they have been
made for (by?) demo-coders freshly out of mode 13 programming on DOS.

-- 
Pierre Phaneuf
Ludus Design, http://ludusdesign.com/
"First they ignore you. Then they laugh at you.
Then they fight you. Then you win." -- Gandhi