Horde3D

Hi,

I think i will start porting the code to OpenGL ES 2.x well as much as possible, this is my first port and i am new to ES 2.x so i am sure it will take some time, but i am in it for the experience value.

There are certain issues like the lack of (hardware) trilinear filtering and other shortcomings (no 3d textures, reduced set of extensions, etc) that come with a more compact API and feature set (Hardware support).

So i guess my question is: what can be considered a proper port of Horde3D? Should i try to implement missing features in software, even if the performance is poor to keep compatibility with Horde3D?

My impression would be no. Focus on making 'HordeMobile' instead - keep the API and functionality intact as much as possible, but make it the best match for the capabilities of the hardware.

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Tristam MacDonald - [swiftcoding]

yeah that is what i was planning to do. Ill try to come up with a good set of common features, and follow the API as much as possible, though in come cases i will have to use less precise variables and so the method signatures will not be exact matches. I guess ill just start developing and handle these issues as they come along.

The good/bad news. Good: I got selected for GSoC. Bad: The port will have to take a lower priority.

Grats!

Sounds like a cool project.

Update: Created a development environment that supports both AMD and PowerVR, using PVRShell as abstraction layer for multiple OS support and windowing system. Decided to selectively port the code instead of just replacing OpenGL/GLFW calls with EGL/OpenGLES2.x. I will take into account the platform and instead of brute force the port i will design it. Tried to find some Hardware to test, no pre-orders yet taken for openpandora or beagleboard.

I notice the iPhone and iPod Touch just recieve OpenGL ES - only problem is that you need a Mac as a dev machine.

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Tristam MacDonald - [swiftcoding]

Both systems use OpenGL ES 1.x that is not compatible with ES 2.x so for the time being the iphone is out of my plans (shaders are only available on ES 2.x). I hope that the future iPhone 2.0 will have an updated graphics chip. There should also be a couple of Android platforms coming out that support ES 1.x/2.x. I will probably by a MAC during the summer, a horde3d port for that platform would have to use the fixed function graphics pipeline.

I hadn't realised that difference, good to know.

Are you talking about the Mac Mini/MacBook with the Intel GMA X3100?

I have been thinking about those machines, and I think we can make the standard Horde3D run directly on them. Apple's drivers for the 3100 only support OpenGL 1.5, however, they have both VBO/PBO and (this is the kicker) full GLSL support. I don't have access to a MacBook at the moment, but a simple hack to the OpenGL version check could be enough to get us running.

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Tristam MacDonald - [swiftcoding]

Opps, no i meant the iphone and itouch platforms.
But i guess you are right about the 3100

Hello,

I'm also interested in porting Horde3D to OpenGL ES 2.0 (for openPandora). I've set the building enviroment (using powervr sdk in amd64 debian with a 32 bit chroot) and I'm ready to work on it but I would like to discuss it first.

DDd, please PM me ^^

(I'm cross-posting this to the openPandora forum)

You can post right here, it is always best to keep the discussions open. Or you can skype me danielmd, i am also in the irc channel, or msn: danielmd3000@hotmail.com