FTEQW: Porting 32-bit color software renderer?

[Baker]

[Baker]

Minimum potential of software renderer + skybox. Makaqu and a skybox I creatively repaletted to make it sure it wasn't crapified:

Click to enlarge:



This is only an 8-bit skybox! 24 bit 512x512 should be fine.

[goldenboy]

There are some others who like software

Even without looking to QW and legoquake, I know of two very productive community members who use software renderers.

I haven't used it for a while myself, just recently loaded it up to check something. This is a major point in the software renderer discussion. Have it around to check stuff, for reference, and for historical reasons. The other major point is that it might be needed on some platforms or by some implementations (Flash Quake).

Personally I wouldn't want to use it daily, actually I prefer Darkplaces lately because I like the look (I use FitzSDL when lighting maps, though, since DP's lighting is notably different).

I keep it around, though.

Arguing that the software renderer should be dumped because "it's 1999, man!" is more than a bit backwards... It isn't really "pixelquake" either - you get the same pixel look in GL renderers when you use the original skins and textures. In typical surroundings, such as e1m6, without the large visible sky and without lots of transparent water visible, software actually looks good enough.

32 bit software looks more than good enough.

Basically I only use Darkplaces for the shiny rocket trails and the sparks. YES, I KNOW THAT DARKPLACES IS NOT JUST ABOUT EYECANDY. However, modding features don't have so much to do with the renderer.

You can run xavior's csqc gui mod in FTE's software renderer just fine. Just as an example.

[revelator]

not disliking software either in fact a game i still enjoy took software rendering to a whole new lvl with shadow volumes and the best damn water i ever seen. granted it used a hybrid heightmap/voxel engine.

you might even know it its called outcast

some pics from the game

http://images.google.dk/images?hl=da&so ... CCoQsAQwAw

[JasonX]

[Urre]

[mh]

Fitz does overbrights too, and metlslime is very particular about doing things the same way as software Quake did them. The major difference with DP would be on account of all the RT stuff that's enabled by default (?on appropriate hardware only?), and the labyrinth of cvars (like r_realtime_lightmap_dynamic_world_ha_ha_im_only_making_the_name_this_long_to_annoy_you) (joke) you need to go through in order to switch it off.

[Urre]

There's menu commands for turning stuff off with a single button press... However, that still doesn't make it render the same, it still does something different, or so it feels like. I should take screenshots of areas with all funky DP effects turned off, and compare with screenshots from Fitz.

[MDave]

[Baker]

[JasonX]

[Baker]

Here are 2 screenshots of FTEQW's magnificient 24-bit (32 bit) software renderer.

The following is a Half-Life map:



And shot #2: you see sparks from firing the gun and the black spots on the wall are decals where I shot the wall:



If I try to port the 32-bit color support, I'm not going to give myself a super-migraine --- it'll just be the 32-bit color support for map rendering -- not all the special particle effects and so forth.

[Spike]

32bit rendering requires that your framebuffer be 32bit.
your framebuffer being 32bit requires that you touch _all_ the rendering code, or at least anything that puts colour onto the screen. Enjoy!

[Baker]

[Sajt]