   just wondering about Grahpic APIs
  I''ve just been looking through a few games people have made with Directx and OpenGL and i was wondering, is it possible to use  either DX or OpenGL to create graphics as good as for instance lets say Dreamcast or PS2..Are there methods that allow you to perform such tasks to create such good graphics assuming that you''ve got a powerful video card, like for instance raytracing and photon-mapping. (Please don''t flame me...although this question is very noobish..some insight to this would be greatly appreciated, after all, this is a forum for noobs right? hehehe well thanx, i appreciate all comments  ).   no theory` 
  Good graphics are just a matter of having well detailed models and animations, along with the right combinations of lighting, alpha blending, texture mapping, and the more complex operations of bump mapping, vertex shading, etc.DirectX and OpenGL are absolutely capable of generating images of the quality of those systems, with today's video cards.  Mostly, the power of the video card determines frame rate.  You should find all the capabilities of rendering whatever you would like in most any recent video card.I don't know enough about raytracing or photon-mapping to say if today's video cards can handle those operations in a hardware-accelerated way. [edited by - Waverider on July 29, 2003 1:08:24 PM];  Just take a look at the Xbox it uses DX for graphics and it looks great it''s just a matter of using the right combinations and of course having nice 3d models and textures.  ;  The reason most games on consoles look better then on PCs, is that they all (well, all unmodified ones ) use the same hardware, so developers can program it all to specifically use that hardware. ;  PC can have much better graphics. It is just that a lot of programs don''t take advantage of technology. OpenGL is my favorite. It is easy to use, and seems to be a lot better with extra features.   Scott SimontisC++ Programmer ;quote:Original post by Village Specialton  PC can have much better graphics. It is just that a lot of programs don''t take advantage of technology. OpenGL is my favorite. It is easy to use, and seems to be a lot better with extra features.   Scott SimontisC++ Programmer   OK, now i know that there are 3D modelers out there, like 3D studio Max (just sweet), Maya, Lightwave, Truespace..etc..Now my question is, how do these modelers relate to the API''s that you use, for instance lets say you''re using directx.If i create really cool incredible graphics with 3D Studio Max, would i somehow load the mesh into the API, and would i still have the excellent high quality mesh? Or would something else happen. Because i''ve seen some amazing stuff done with 3D Studio Max and if you could put some of those incredible graphics in your game, that''d be sweet    no theory` ;quote:Original post by RS_Hybrid  quote:Original post by Village Specialton   PC can have much better graphics. It is just that a lot of programs don''t take advantage of technology. OpenGL is my favorite. It is easy to use, and seems to be a lot better with extra features.   Scott SimontisC++ Programmer   OK, now i know that there are 3D modelers out there, like 3D studio Max (just sweet), Maya, Lightwave, Truespace..etc..Now my question is, how do these modelers relate to the API''s that you use, for instance lets say you''re using directx.If i create really cool incredible graphics with 3D Studio Max, would i somehow load the mesh into the API, and would i still have the excellent high quality mesh? Or would something else happen. Because i''ve seen some amazing stuff done with 3D Studio Max and if you could put some of those incredible graphics in your game, that''d be sweet    no theory`   Well, what people do is they make the models in a modelling software, such as Max or Maya or others, and export those models in a format which the API can utilize (like the .X format for instance). In the API you then load in the models needed.   -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius -- and a lot of courage -- to move in the opposite direction. ;  The modeler really depends on the API. When making the game, you usually need to use a required format by the API to render the image. .x is the most popular. This is for DirectX. however, you can use the Quake formats if you want, and Softimage or Lightwave(I don''t remember which one) has an xml format.   Scott SimontisC++ Programmer 