Next-Gen Game Graphics: DirectX 10 vs OpenGL2.1
Well, I’m not an expert in the field of gaming, but there has been all of this hype about DirectX 10 from Microsoft and how awesome it’s going to be. I agree that it looks really very awesome and very realistic, but nobody ever looks at the alternatives. I recently came across this image that compares images from DirectX 10 and OpenGL 2.1. Now, OpenGL 2.1 is an open source graphics library which is used for most Linux games and graphics stuff. Well, here is a comparison of the two:
Now, I don’t know about you, but I think that the graphics rendered by OpenGL 2.1 look even better than DirectX 10. I’ll be excited to see what OpenGL 3.0 can accomplish and I’ll be even more excited to see what games they have to offer to Linux at that time.
Also, there has been some discussion of this image on the opengl.org forums. If you’d like to read through it, click on this link. It might help answer some questions that you might have.
Like the post? Did it help you? Want to thank me?
Buy me a soda!
Loading ...
Buy me a Lunch!
Help me in College!
October 6th, 2007 at 1:32 pm
Hi Derek, love the image you’ve posted. The thing is: as long as hardware vendors keep making extensions for OpenGL to access certain hardware capabilities OpenGL will be able to do just as much (if not more currently) as DirectX.
Shader Model 4.0 is only accessible in DirectX through version 10, which means Vista only. SM 4.0 in OpenGL is accessible through Windows XP if your hardware can support SM 4.0.
Image quality depends on the Shader Models used, the quality of the hardware and the quality of the artwork most of all.
OpenGL and DirectX are just APIs which means that they are simply interfaces to hardware functionality.
Best Regards,
Eddy
October 6th, 2007 at 3:58 pm
Cool Eddy.
Thanks for the clarification. I learned something new. I’ve never really known much about gaming, so I don’t keep up on it very much. I ran across this picture on the net someplace and was impressed. Now I know a little more about it thanks to you.
-Derek
December 7th, 2007 at 9:45 am
We’ve discussed this image not long ago on OpenGL forums. The only OpenGL - rendered image is the one in bottom-left corner - it’s from “Human head” demo from NVIDIA.
Anyway - comparing images between OpenGL and DiectX doesn’t make too much sense. It’s all about the algorithm you implement in your application/shaders and the quality of model/material you use.
All OpenGL renderings could be rewritten to DirectX 10 and vice versa. There would be no difference in image quality.
December 7th, 2007 at 10:11 am
@k_szczech:
Thanks for the clarification. It’s easy to get caught up in the hype instead of the facts.
January 22nd, 2008 at 6:02 pm
which game is shown using opengl 2.1?I just cant wait to play that game.
January 23rd, 2008 at 10:54 am
@arragon:
I’m not really sure! I’d like to play that game myself…