30 replies to this topic

[baldurk]

Poll: How many of you are developing cross platform?

I'm just wondering, because it seems like it's not that many.

[davepermen]

i dont use anything but windows (i know linux and co, and worked with it, but they don't please me currently..).

but i only use crossplatform libraries if they exist, and else i try to wrap it in a way easy to change for other platforms.

[EvilSmile]

I use ogl and SDL for most of my stuff.

So, in a way it's cross-platform. I didn't pick ogl and SDL for that though. OGL coz it's so cOoL and SDL coz it's so simple and makes a prefect match for OGL.

I work solely on Linux :]

[donBerto]

ditto.

although i use SDL cuz of it's cross-platform api. I tested it on my friend's windows box. there is _NOTHING_ to change.

[baldurk]

that's the advantage of cross-platform libraries. You open up your market with no major concessions. Often there is no overhead as when it is compiled for the OS, all other OS specific code is removed. At least, that's the impression I get.

[dabeav]

I only use cross platform code, but I also go one step further, and generaly ONLY use OpenGL style libraries. For instance, GLUT, OpenAL, devIL, etc. Reason? Because I dont have to RELEARN anything, i simply can apply what i already know, and spend the other time, actualy working on code. I believe there is a growing number of people out there that are going to start usign other OSs, and me being a game developer "In Training" I want my product to be able to get to as MANY people as possible. Besides, open platform is MUCH easier to write than platform specific, i think, no need to learn new stuff for each one.

[donBerto]

Quote

I only use cross platform code, but I also go one step further, and generaly ONLY use OpenGL style libraries. For instance, GLUT, OpenAL, devIL, etc. Reason? Because I dont have to RELEARN anything, i simply can apply what i already know, and spend the other time, actualy working on code.

and THAT is why [I believe that] OpenGL is better than DirectX. ;)

[baldurk]

what do you mean "OpenGL styles libraries"? do you mean C style as apposed to C++?

[donBerto]

no, he doesn't. he means...

Quote

For instance, GLUT, OpenAL, devIL, etc.

those libraries use/apply OpenGL.

[davepermen]

[quote name='donBerto,Feb 1 2003, 10:33 AM'] [QUOTE] and THAT is why [I believe that] OpenGL is better than DirectX. ;) [/quote]
uhm. you learned one dx library, and you know how to use all modern libraries in dx, in windows at all. com is different, but com is easy and great. i use it in my own code all the time. its the way to abstract your code to make all work independent from each other.
dx is great. gl is great. i'm just used to gl, so i use it. but they are equal in power, and equal in easiness to use. dx9 is awesome imho..
actually, dx is more clean and simple to use than gl. but i'm so used to gl i can't move (i tried several times:D)
crossplatform means nothing for me, but its a nice addon.
(and crossplatform means nothing to me, too, because i want to use rendertexture, and that is not crossplatform on gl eighter.. but it looks like a real version is comming (hope))

[woz1010]

I have found myself doing cross platform coding at work recently.
That is code running between different Unix platforms such as SUN, AIX, DEC, True64.

The differences can be plenty and subtle, but they are there in abundance. This is complicated by the fact that it was a decision long ago to use the particular platforms native compiler, not just one like gcc.
Some of the other similar products, like the one I am on, also have a version for windows.

Finally, just a few days ago, I grabbed the opportunity to get the product to build and work on RedHat Linux, so work is sort of interesting for awhile.

As for games:
C3, the game project I am on, was considering using the Torque engine, which is cross platform ready for Windows, Linux, and Mac.

[baldurk]

woz1010: will C3 run on any platform then?

[davepermen]

lets hope so.. would be cool..

[woz1010]

Quote

woz1010: will C3 run on any platform then?

If we stick with the Auran Jet engine for C3, then no, not in the near future.
If we go with Torque, then yes.

Right now we are giving Jet a serious run through, just a lot has to be implemented as it is more a generic do anything you want if you extended it type API. But we will have the game servers able to run on Windows and Linux

[donBerto]

davepermen said:

crossplatform means nothing for me, but its a nice addon.
(and crossplatform means nothing to me, too, because i want to use rendertexture, and that is not crossplatform on gl eighter.. but it looks like a real version is comming (hope))

i'm a little confused. dx and ogl are very similar and they draw nearly equal in power (although many of us can pick through the pros and cons of both). for a person who's target audience uses a variety of other operating systems then cross-platform development is a key element to consider. it would suck having to write the same code over and over again for different platforms. it's more than just a "nice addon".

second, what do you mean by rendertexture? you know you can render to a texture with OpenGL right?

[davepermen]

yes, you can render to a texture with ogl, but currently over the extensions
WGL_ARB_pbuffer
WGL_ARB_pixel_format (or something like that)
and
WGL_ARB_render_texture..

that means quite complex, and messy, and windows only.

why is my target audience multiplatform? all i know do have windows..

[void]

Id like to just say one thing: GLUT is pretty crapola. It is slow performance wise, rewriting the app using say SDL instead boosts peformance quite a bit, i thing that glutSwapBuffers() is pretty poor performer. The keyboard input is also shit... Use SDL.

[donBerto]

yeah definitely. see the problem is that GLUT was made when OpenGL first came out. that's cool. but as many other libraries became heavily support from their respective communities, GLUT became nothing but old, heavy, code and now it's at a point were it's uneconomical to use it. I don't even think GLUT has the support it once did.

i could be wrong. feel free to enlighten.

[baldurk]

I'd say GLUT is adequate for knocking up a simple demo, but you're right. SDL is better and GLUT is old.

[Phaetos]

I am developing for Linux only. I use OpenGL in combination with SDL, but I don't want to port anything to Windoze. If someone does, its okay as all of my code is GPLed.

I would like to make Linux a far better gaming system than it is today. But my limited time makes this
nearly impossible.

DirectX sucks as it is not available on other platforms. So DirectX is per default a no-choice anyway. Think
of a big gaming development company and what time is needed to port a DirectX game to OpenGL to make
it run under Mac and/or Linux... It would be far more efficient to write it for OpenGL from the beginning, or
am I missing something?

Greets
Stefan