[SDL] 2D API evolution (SDL 1.3/2.0)

[Torsten Giebl]

Hallo !


> + is a 3D game, but has a software renderer, which needs to update more
> than half of a 640x480 buffer 30 times a second. On old machines that don't
> have OpenGL (or even direct3D support), this means directfb or directx or
> drawsprocket (which I can't get working, btw) is essential. And it seems
> like SDL 1.2 is the way to go for this kind of stuff on old machines.
>
> + Uses the directx backend for software rendering on windows right now,
> which is buggy. Could use D3D backend on newer machines that have 3D
> hardware but don't have enough oomph (or video driver functionality) to
> use the OpenGL renderer (laptops with integrated video, etc.) which I
> suspect will be supported better than the old directx driver, but that
> would leave out lots of old machines that don't have any 3D hardware.

Better use GDI on newer Windows versions, it is really fast now,
on my system faster than DirectX 5. And in Vista GDI will use DirectX 10
so you will get speed.

> + Doesn't use alpha blending for its 2D rendering; it just needs a fast
> way to dump a lot of pixels to the screen
>
> + has an OpenGL renderer as well, but no plans for Direct3D as far as I'm
>  aware
>
> + works (sort of; for some reason I don't get accelerated blits, or gamma
>  faders) in Classic Mac OS, and I still get requests all the time to get
> networking working there. Lots of old macs out there I guess?
>
> + would benefit from the audio capture support going into 1.3

There are lots of Audio Capture Libs out there.

> It looks to me like supporting both 1.2 (for directx, classic Mac OS, and
>  I think somebody did a dreamcast port?) and 1.3 (Vista, Mac OS X, X11)
> by using #defines is going to be the way to go with Aleph One. The one
> problem I see with this approach is I'll need separate Windows builds for
>  directx (SDL 1.2) vs D3D backend/OpenGL (1.3).


I think SDL 1.3 will get some kind of comp. header file
that will allow you to use SDL 1.3 the same way you do in SDL 1.2


CU