Software vs. OpenGL Mode

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What's everyones problem with the "Paper Mario" sprites? Does it affect anything? I personally kind of like how it looks, even if it's not normal.

I like OpenGL and how it's resolution doesn't make a lot of textures look really fugly, but these days I really only ever use Software. I never minded the small graphical errors.
 
Well, the way I see it, there are two choices: see the sprites all flat-looking from above (in OpenGL), or don't see anything from above at all (in Software).

Seriously, I don't think beggars can be choosers here. If you have to look down at such a sharp degree that flat sprites would look weird, chances are that this same view in Software would be much to distorted to see anything whatsoever.
 
I prefer the good old software.
I tried once OpenGL , and ... everything I've noticed is that the CEILING of water is better achieved and that the characters are in "Paper Mario" style, as you say.
That's all. I have not the eye to find some details...
 
Sonnarkku said:
I can't use OpenGL, it never ran, not even from 1.09.4 and never will.
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OpenGL runs very nicely on my computer, which runs Windows Vista, which is notoriously bad. I get minimal lag even with a nearly complete set of MD2s. But I don't use it too often, because it has crashed my computer a few times and I don't trust it that much anymore. I do use it occasionally when I want MD2s though. I have the latest version(2.0.6).
 
I generally prefer the way Software mode looks nowadays, especially when it comes to atmospheric lighting. OpenGL just looks unnatural to me somehow. But I like how OpenGL has better depth perception in brightly-lit areas (at least with the right fog settings) and also better texture filtering on far-away objects.

Plus the general inaccuracy of the Software rendering (such as lines flickering as you rotate the camera, for instance) is really, really charming somehow.

I remember older versions had command line parameters to allow Direct3D and Glide rendering. Did they actually work?
 
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Iceman404 said:
I love, and always use OpenGL now. Software mode hurts my eyes when looking at detailed textures due to it's bad resolution, has a horrible FPS, and is shaky. The only thing I still wish the team would consider is fixing OpenGL to look like it does in XSRB2, with the shadows, fog, and what not. As I always say, shadows and fog give the game an even more realistic quality to it.

EDIT: Pfft!! Srb2 alone already has fog. Whoops.
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Is this related to me showing you Banshee Boardwalk in OpenGL mode? :P Oh and don't worry about OpenGL Getting fixes.. JTE, the new head programmer, has done it already, and can surely do it again ;)

---------- Post added at 04:14 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:12 PM ----------

Fawfulfan said:
Well, the way I see it, there are two choices: see the sprites all flat-looking from above (in OpenGL), or don't see anything from above at all (in Software).

Seriously, I don't think beggars can be choosers here. If you have to look down at such a sharp degree that flat sprites would look weird, chances are that this same view in Software would be much to distorted to see anything whatsoever.
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My personal choice would be either have default models and a fixed model system (Which would be a whole lot more peaceful) or have an underside sprite for when the player goes beneath an object (Which would give software users a chance to have depth in their otherwise 2D world)
 
For a slow computer like mine, OpenGL runs too slowly. Even with Software mode, DSZ is almost unplayable. Therefore I stick with Software, even though OpenGL looks nicer.
 
Knux576 said:
I DONT EVEN KNOW HOW TO SWITCH BETWEEN THEM! But i'm using software right now.
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It's pretty easy just get the net launcher, then click the OpenGL option and run it, although you can't switch mid-game or anything, it's either on or off.
 
Callum said:
I still prefer OpenGL to Software, even if I almost always use Software now (for convenience). I would like to attempt to fix most of OpenGL's problems some day.
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That would be awesome if you wound up being able to actually do that. For all the outcries against OpenGL in the past, having it fixed would open up so many more options for level design, it's not even funny. I immediately think of BSZ not needing funky walls to try and hide its issues.

It kinda depresses me how you can't really play through SRB2 properly in OpenGL right now because of all the issues. I used it exclusively in the Final Demo series and would LOVE to use it again if it actually worked.
 
Rob said:
That would be awesome if you wound up being able to actually do that. For all the outcries against OpenGL in the past, having it fixed would open up so many more options for level design, it's not even funny. I immediately think of BSZ not needing funky walls to try and hide its issues.
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I've experienced this firsthandedly. Using non-glitchy OpenGL completely eliminates any worries about software glitches. The only thing left to worry about is lag. I've built areas 100,000 fracunits wide and had them work absolutely fine. And since oftentimes wide areas are for scenic purposes, they need not be filled with plenty of FOF's. A level I'm making, Coral Spires, takes place among a series of spire islands in a vast blue sea. The effect of the sea, with islands in the background, is something I would never have been able to pull off without OpenGL. Not to mention the passages between islands. Most of the level would simply shatter software mode.
 
Aside from the lag and the limit of 60 color maps to a map, (game crashes loading the color for DSZII) my vote goes to the slopy goodness and fog gradients of OpenGL. It turns the SRB2 world into something that really pops! I don't think it would take but a few adjustments to the system to get the whole globe on board that OpenGL is simply better!

And to you naysayers of these "paper Mario sprites", I say buck up! That's just how the whole thing was made. Don't hold it against OpenGL for showing the sprites for what they are.
 
Sparkz said:
Aside from the lag and the limit of 60 color maps to a map, (game crashes loading the color for DSZII) my vote goes to the slopy goodness and fog gradients of OpenGL. It turns the SRB2 world into something that really pops! I don't think it would take but a few adjustments to the system to get the whole globe on board that OpenGL is simply better!
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Never seen this issue with DSZ2 before, so I don't know what you're talking about, but fixing OpenGL rendering is not a simple task. From everything I've heard, there's a lot involved. Most people who started work on it realized that they could be putting in effort elsewhere and decided not to work on fixing a renderer when we had a viable alternative.

Fog and gradients aren't what make it something worth having though. It's that a fully-functional OpenGL render would eliminate all the issues with Software and would make everything work smoother on the whole.
 
You're absolutely right, Rob fog is not the big selling point of OpenGL. To be frank, I'm actually not impressed with the "richer" color map of OpenGL anyways. What really sold me was the slopes. They make it all more Sonic-like.

Is software this "viable alternative" you speak of, or is there something else going on?
 
Rob said:
fixing OpenGL rendering is not a simple task. From everything I've heard, there's a lot involved. Most people who started work on it realized that they could be putting in effort elsewhere and decided not to work on fixing a renderer when we had a viable alternative.
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The OpenGL renderer has to be rewritten to eliminate the fixed function pipeline and use Framebuffer Objects (FBOs) with shaders to duplicate the effects of software mode. Because SRB2's rendering does a lot of framebuffer reads, it could end up being quite slow. You're essentially taking a lot of old 2D game tricks and trying to duplicate them on modern GPU hardware.

As far as sprites looking like Paper Mario, that's something easily fixable by billboarding the sprites on all three axises rather than just X and Y. It might look even stranger, though.
 
SSNTails said:
As far as sprites looking like Paper Mario, that's something easily fixable by billboarding the sprites on all three axises rather than just X and Y. It might look even stranger, though.
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Exactly...this is what I've been trying to say. As far as I'm concerned, flat sprites are not a glitch but a feature. If it weren't for the limited camera angle of Software, we'd already be acquainted with how awful billboarded sprites look from very steep angles.
 
My original post on here is pretty old, and my opinion on the whole "Paper Mario" look has changed completely. I'm actually perfectly fine with it now, and I can imagine billboarded sprites looking weird from a steep angle.
 
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