Re: New GDK port: OpenGL

[Derek Simkowiak <dereks realloc net>]

-> > 	I've written an OpenGL game engine that uses SDL for its input (it

-> I'd suggest you use DirectFB instead of SDL, since with DirectFB you get 
-> an almost complete GDK port (http://www.directfb.org/gtk.xml) that has
-> support for hardware-accelerated alpha-blending. I also consider the 
-> DirectFB API more featureful and mature than the SDL API. All you'd have
-> to do is write an OpenGL renderer for DirectFB which shouldn't be that
-> difficult.

	[This is getting offtopic -- please direct any more responses on
this thread to me privately.]

	Thanks for the link, I was not aware of DirectFB.  But the reasons
I went with SDL:

1. Clean, well-documented, popular, proven in games, and actively maintained
2. OpenGL support
3. Cross-platform support.  I want to run my game on MS Windows, Macs,
and BeOS.

	DirectFB is missing (2) and (3).  As far as writing an OpenGL
renderer for DirectFB, it's not that simple; my game will make use of 3D
hardware accelerators (3Df/x via Mesa and other cards, like NVidia, via
glX).  NVidia's drivers are closed-source and Glide is no longer
supported.  Also, I don't think writing an OpenGL render is as simple as
you make it out to be.  (Besides that, I'm really happy with SDL.)

	So far it looks like GLUI is the only OpenGL widget set on the
planet, and it doesn't have a text widget or scrollable areas, let alone
something like themes to make it useful for games.  ParaGUI (based on SDL)
looks nice, but is slow when rendering on top of OpenGL because
SDL_OPENGLBLIT mode is necessary.  I may yet need write an OpenGL widget
set from scratch... *sigh*.  (Historically, games have implemented their
own console and HUD, ala Quake.  CounterStrike is the most 'advanced' in
terms of OpenGL U.I., with its weapon purchasing menus, but I need much
more than that.)

	Anyway, please kill this thread on the GTK+ devel list.


Thanks,
Derek Simkowiak
dereks realloc net