I’ve been reading a disturbing article about OpenGL’s predicament. Is it true that DirectX will surpass OpenGL in functionality?
Also, all these new consoles (Xbox, PS2, Dolphin) will kill PC games unless something saves the PC game industry?
Right now, nobodies looking forward to any PC stuff, but behold, PS2 and Xbox!
Wow to the consoles!
Say bye to PC gaming?
Don’t worry too much about that !
The PC is well-known for its changing technology which means PCs will always be in advance compared to consoles… This also means that more effects will be achievable on a PC… Concerning the X-Box, don’t forget that it is basicallt a PC ! For the PS2 and OpenGL, have a look at this site news (OpenGL for Playstation 2 !).
I don’t think gaming for PC will stop. I don’t think OpenGL will disappear…
Concerning Direct3D being more powerful than OpenGL, don’t forget that new functionalities are accessible in OpenGL via the Extensions mechanism : for DirectX, a new function means a new version number ; for OpenGL it means a new extension !
I hope some other contributors will give us their point of view.
Regards.
Eric
eric is right…
a nice feature of consoles is that you dont have to worry about problems like video/sound cards and stuff - when buying a pc-game you may have to care about system requirements (i think most pc-owners now the system they have,but…), installation and stuff…
there are lots of gamers who aren’t too familiar with computers, they just like to see some BLOOD AND ACTION 
That’s right!
Some console gamers do not want to deal with all this boring stuff (cables, compatibility, installation and so on) and they can’t afford a computer by the way. But most have BOTH a computer and a console. And they play quite different games with each.
Also, people will always want to get the maximum from their computer, so they buy games as well as they surf the internet or work.
To go back to the original question.
Yes it is true that openGL future is to be short lived.
SGI and microsoft have combined forces to produce one 3D graphics API, namely Farenheit.
as a result silicon graphics are no longer supporting openGL in terms of further development.
the farenheit project was scrapped aaaaaages ago.
check out sgi’s webpage on the matter: “yadda yadda due to our commitment to linux yadda yadda we will not be continuing to develop farenheit yadda yadda check out microsoft for future updates”
i wouldn’t worry about it too much. on REAL systems, farenheit was just a combination of existing SGI technology. 
who needs it, when you have opegnl volumiser, opengl optimiser, open inventor, open everything else??!
What about DirectGL ??? hehehehe
Well, I think I’ll say what has already been said : don’t worry about it. With id pushing OpenGL and so many apps based on it, don’t expect it to dissapear any time soon. D3D does tend to get features standardized faster, but usually the stuff slogs on the hardware availible when it first comes out (32 bit color for instance of something that was useless on the first cards that had it)
I can remember this quote from a cool dude:
“there’s no good technical reasons tu use D3D”…
And i’am really not worrying about the OpenGL
future… I’m interested in game developement and i think it’s easier and always really interesting to develop games on PC bcoz it’s powerfull and goes more & more portable… I’ve also heard that OpenGL will
be supported and PS2, Xbox is already a PC
and one day somebody will code OpenGL on the PowerVr2 for the Dreamcast…
In fact PC rulez and D3D & Windows don’t…
Windows&D3D = Yesterday power to today’s computers!
There are also plenty of CAD applications
using OpenGL - ensuring that OpenGL will
be around for a long time.
OpenGL was strong before the PC game
market, and would remain so without it.
[This message has been edited by nigels (edited 05-23-2000).]
The PC games industry is too competitive at the moment, and the console market is starting to really take off. Sony has said it wants to have a PS2 in every home in the world (good luck). So I think it seems there is more action happening around consoles at the moment, dont be worried about pc games disappearing though.
The DirectX and OpenGL is a funny one. While there is a Windows product there will be a DirectX product due to its broad multimedia scope. If, and I say “IF”, OpenML or something similar take off then OpenGL will see an extension to its life. OpenGL is one of the finest API’s created, but without solid development and research funding and commitment then OpenGL can (might not - I hope) be overtaken by Direct3D.
I have my own fears for OpenGL’s longevity. I would hate to see it go but as a developer I see products still being released WITHOUT OpenGL support - thats important. This means that developers are not worried, in sales terms, about satisfying people who use/prefer/develop on OpenGL based systems.
I just wish Windows would go away… and Linux would be a happy OS for all
Originally posted by DLannan:
I have my own fears for OpenGL’s longevity. I would hate to see it go but as a developer I see products still being released WITHOUT OpenGL support - thats important. This means that developers are not worried, in sales terms, about satisfying people who use/prefer/develop on OpenGL based systems.
I have to comment on this… very VERY well said.
I have to believe that OpenGL is here to stay. At least in some form or another. OpenGL was the kick to the 3D gaming market that it needed. It brought mass market 3D to everyone that wanted it. Slick, reliable, and easy to use to boot.
Enter Microsoft. They hate being left out. And with the money that 3D started making during this time, Mr. Gates couldn’t help but flinch (deja vu - Microsoft vs. Netscape on the internet frontier sound familliar?).
Thus came DirectX, the bane of all things multimedia. I remember people haranguing Direct3D in DX3 through DX5. Then the tone started to change at DX6, and everyone (except Microsoft haters and many OpenGL supporters) began to realize DirectX and Direct3D.
Mr. Gates has begun to get his way in this market. DX7 isn’t a bad product, and mind you I support OpenGL completely.
But what needs to be mentioned, very very few games are touting OpenGL. Direct3D happens to be the renderer of choice. Now I believe that Redmond may have its hand in this as well (cash subsidies to game developers maybe), but still. Try to name five current to-be-released titles not based on preexisting engines (UT or Quake3) that will initially support OpenGL.
I say that OpenGL is not dead, but it is struggling in the gaming market. Why?
One word.
Marketing.
How many of us have seen a SGI commercial or ad lately (at all)?
How many of us have seen a Microsoft commercial or ad lately?
I will continue to develop in OpenGL as long as I can. It took me two weeks to learn, almost fully. I’m not going to complain.
Thanks for allowing me to spew.
Siwko
Consoles are fine… and i will buy a PS2 for sure… Console games are always “perfect” and PC-games are always “buggy” ! The pc game industry always releases “unfinnished” games and every month there is a new patch 
I am really fed up being a “beta-tester” for those pc-guys, i think the best example is John Carmack + ID and his Q3A (a nice game, for sure). I think 1 or 2 patches are maybe “excusable”, but being a “point-release”-coder is not that k00l !
… and the problem with consoles is expensive games and lowres output.
Originally posted by Igor:
Console games are always “perfect” and PC-games are always “buggy” !
Far from the truth.
Remember Zelda for N64? Was not the initial release buggy? Was several more bugs found in the next release as well?
I have found several games for the playstation and N64 that contain bugs. However, console makers have adopted Microsoft’s attitude toward ‘bugs’. If they don’t cause the app to crash, its called a feature. If it does cause the app to crash, its a hardware problem.
Personally, I enjoy patching games, as long as they don’t introduce new bugs (which they inevitably do), and when they include cool new features. (ie: Allegiance 1.1 patch - nice features)
There ya go.
Siwko
Well Humus, to be honest, when you really BUY your games on PCs, they are as expensive as console ones ! The main difference between the two platforms is that PC makes it much easier to have copies of games (although you can chip a PSX ; don’t know for Dreamcast or PSX2…).
As far as I am concerned, I only have a PSX at home (no PC !) and I buy almost only second-hand games (when a game is new, you wait 2-3 months before finding it second hand) for between £10 and £20… PSX new games are between £20 and £35… I think it is almost the same for PC games… or am I wrong ?!?
Eric
Siwko, I think the proportion of buggy games is far bigger on PCs anyway… It is not always due to the programmers : when you talk about a “PC”, it can represent 1 million different machines (can’t explain you the mathematics behind this number so please do not ask ! ). It is well known that a big number of PC games problems are driver issues (and mainly gfx cards ones nowadays !)… On consoles, developpers get to know the machine and have very rarely problems with the hardware !
Your Zelda example is certainly an example of consoles problems but can you tell me about, say, 10 problems like that ?!? I believe I could find 10 PC games problems without thinking too much !
Well, anyway, everyone is right : PC or console, it is frustrating when you buy a brand new games and it’s bugged ! (by the way Gran Turismo 2 on PSX has got lots of graphics glitches during Replays !).
Regards.
Eric
Well Eric, from the prices you show me i can see that games are much cheeper in United Kingdom than in sweden (which i never doubted). In sweden you buy pc games for 300-500 SEK (about perhaps 25-45 £) and console games for 500-800 SEK (about perhaps 45-70£).
WWWWWWoooooooouuuuuuuuuaaaaaaaaaaooooooooouuuuuuuhhhhhhhhh ???
Yeah, in this case, you had better living in England…
Well, I suspect PSX2 games at the beginning will be something like £35-50. But I did not know PSX games were that expensive in Sweden (I think I heard that a packet of cigarettes was £8 over there as well ! I should go back to France if I want to keep smoking !).
In this case, I understand better your point of view !
Regards.
Eric
EIGHT POUNDS ???
i’d quit smoking then…
here in austria it’s about 1.5 -2 pounds ( where’s the f**ing pound-sign on my keyboard??) , but games 20 -30