Another day another developer speaking about OpenGL. This time around it's Aras Pranckevičius a developer of Unity.
He has a major point to make early on too:
I completely agree, as developers are starting to use OpenGL more and more as they look to support the growing Mac & Linux user-base that's thirsty for games.
I can't say I agree with many points he makes either especially when he states things like this:
I've never met a Windows gamer who doesn't update their graphics drivers, have you? Seems strange that someone who games on Windows wouldn't update the one thing that could really change their experience. Especially since on Windows things like the Nvidia control panel actually tells you each time there's a new update.
Not many people would be buying an actual graphics card not use Windows in-built drivers now would they?
Apparently that is now a power user thing to do which shocks me, just how little do you have to do to be a "power user" nowadays? I think this is a problem due to consoles, iphones & Androids since you have very little interaction other than updating apps (which you can make automatic).
Another thing about his post does shock me though:
You would think that someone who works on a game creation tool that supports building for Linux would look into it a bit more.
It seems Mantle and DirectX 12 have caused a massive stir amongst developers who have used OpenGL that's for sure. I wonder how many more developers will come out of their bat caves and speak up about OpenGL.
It is all well and good making blog posts on it, but if all people do is blog about it and not try and help OpenGL move forward in some way then we will just see a pattern of developers constantly speaking ill of it.
I'm not going to pretend that I have the faintest idea what all these blogs are talking about in regards to the innards of OpenGL. As a gamer I just want the best experience and more people helping out in developing OpenGL's API is always a good thing.
See the full post on it here from Aras. Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
He has a major point to make early on too:
QuoteIf people complain, that at least means they do care!
I completely agree, as developers are starting to use OpenGL more and more as they look to support the growing Mac & Linux user-base that's thirsty for games.
I can't say I agree with many points he makes either especially when he states things like this:
QuoteOn Windows, out of the box, you do not get an OpenGL driver (but you do get a D3D one for most GPUs). And no, actual people out there do not update their drivers. Ever.
I've never met a Windows gamer who doesn't update their graphics drivers, have you? Seems strange that someone who games on Windows wouldn't update the one thing that could really change their experience. Especially since on Windows things like the Nvidia control panel actually tells you each time there's a new update.
Not many people would be buying an actual graphics card not use Windows in-built drivers now would they?
Apparently that is now a power user thing to do which shocks me, just how little do you have to do to be a "power user" nowadays? I think this is a problem due to consoles, iphones & Androids since you have very little interaction other than updating apps (which you can make automatic).
Another thing about his post does shock me though:
QuoteI’ve no idea about Linux. I know there are binary drivers for NV/AMD, and open source for Intel – but no idea about whether Linux people update drivers, or whether they come with OS etc.
You would think that someone who works on a game creation tool that supports building for Linux would look into it a bit more.
It seems Mantle and DirectX 12 have caused a massive stir amongst developers who have used OpenGL that's for sure. I wonder how many more developers will come out of their bat caves and speak up about OpenGL.
It is all well and good making blog posts on it, but if all people do is blog about it and not try and help OpenGL move forward in some way then we will just see a pattern of developers constantly speaking ill of it.
I'm not going to pretend that I have the faintest idea what all these blogs are talking about in regards to the innards of OpenGL. As a gamer I just want the best experience and more people helping out in developing OpenGL's API is always a good thing.
See the full post on it here from Aras. Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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My answer to this developer is the same as the other one, stop complaining about it & get your hands in there & fix it.
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Do everyone knows of the ppas Xswat or Xorg-edgers to get the latest drivers?
Just installed Nvidia 337.25 driver and with my GTX-650, the witcher 2 (you know the game everyone complains it's a crappy port? ;)) at mid-specs looks great. Much better in texture application than 331.38. and the fps rate is good.
My second tought about this is to get these drivers you must know the way to do it. Why isn't it offered "out of the box" at Ubuntu's installation with a special note or warning, if need be, in the additional drivers panel?
I'm not complaining, there must be a reason that I don't know of but in my Linux experience, using a ppa is much easier that downloading the binaries from the hardware manufacturer...
Just installed Nvidia 337.25 driver and with my GTX-650, the witcher 2 (you know the game everyone complains it's a crappy port? ;)) at mid-specs looks great. Much better in texture application than 331.38. and the fps rate is good.
My second tought about this is to get these drivers you must know the way to do it. Why isn't it offered "out of the box" at Ubuntu's installation with a special note or warning, if need be, in the additional drivers panel?
I'm not complaining, there must be a reason that I don't know of but in my Linux experience, using a ppa is much easier that downloading the binaries from the hardware manufacturer...
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I think the drivers are faulty, but in a different way.
The big concern I have about gfx drivers is that they are tweaked, twisted and shaped around applications, especially games. In my eyes this is the wrong way to fix things.
As it is now, game and engine developers code their stuff for DirectX or AnyGL and relies somewhat on the assumption, that GPU vendors will hack "optimizations" around any quirks your special use case might need for a speedup. Just have a look at how big these drivers got over the years!
As a gamer you might just see the fps increase or enjoy prettier visuals ingame, but is this the right way to handle this?
Wouldn't it be better to have strict and usefull APIs and have the implementors use them correctly instead of dancing around everyone elses faulty code by adding little (or not so little) shortcuts in the driver to fix what most probably wasn't broken in the first place?
The thing is: if a workaround for game A does one thing for game A specifically, how will all the other games benefit from that, if the fix is limited to that single application?
The big concern I have about gfx drivers is that they are tweaked, twisted and shaped around applications, especially games. In my eyes this is the wrong way to fix things.
As it is now, game and engine developers code their stuff for DirectX or AnyGL and relies somewhat on the assumption, that GPU vendors will hack "optimizations" around any quirks your special use case might need for a speedup. Just have a look at how big these drivers got over the years!
As a gamer you might just see the fps increase or enjoy prettier visuals ingame, but is this the right way to handle this?
Wouldn't it be better to have strict and usefull APIs and have the implementors use them correctly instead of dancing around everyone elses faulty code by adding little (or not so little) shortcuts in the driver to fix what most probably wasn't broken in the first place?
The thing is: if a workaround for game A does one thing for game A specifically, how will all the other games benefit from that, if the fix is limited to that single application?
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Quoting: SXXIf you try to look around you'll notice that MS don't give a #$@% about PC games and there is no "anti-OpenGL campaign".
I'm not going to take issue with everything you said, but there is an anti-OpenGL campaign by Microsoft, and there has been since almost the first day they released Direct3D nineteen years ago.
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I game on Windows and don't update my graphics driver unless I am experiencing an issue. Most of the time updates go smoothly, but sometimes they introduce problems. That's the reason for that old adage, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Besides, I don't usually run the newest graphics card, and those updates to Windows drivers just don't add greater functionality. Too many times the improvements are geared toward a specific new chipset and/or a game I don't play.
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LinuxGamesTV Jun 7, 2014
Quoting: NotToGoingUJustToPostJudging by the number of support posts in PC Game forums that contain the words "update your drivers" it's clear to me that not everyone does. I personsonally don't. It takes ages and it often breaks (NVidia installer just hangs). I do it only when a specific game does not work.
???? I can't confirm that. Not on Linux and not on Windows. Yes some nvidia GTX Cards need old Drivers for some Games (on Windows) but on Linux? No. I use every Time the latest nv cs. driver thats works with the latest kernel.
If the latest nv driver not works with the latest kernel, so i don't update the kernel but the NV driver i did.
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Quoting: liamdaweWow I honestly thought the amount of "gamers" who didn't update their graphics drivers was low. I am utterly shocked that doing something as simple as that is now what a power user does, my how levels have come downActually, I think you shouldn't think of it like a power user level has come down, but more like the amount of casual and new PC users has risen in recent times - meaning the amount of PC users well under the power user level has increased big time.
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Quoting: mikeyzmanIs itt me or does this guy seem totally, completely out of touch with the non linux world? It seems he's spouting off about something he has zero-point-zero knowledge about.With what form of certainty can you debunk his points? How many'gamers' do you know, what percentage of all 'gamers' do you think that is? Just cos you don't think something is true doesn't mean you're right...
<paraphrase> "windows users don't update their drivers" WTF planet do you live on? If you're any type of gamer you check, EAGERLY, regularly.
This is a useless article, you interviewed a coffee enthusiast who decided to badmouth espresso when he's never actually had one. Okay - that may be a bad analogy, but seriously, he's out of touch.
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