I think it's just the perception that GDI+ is not HW-accelerated (I know the old GDI wasn't, not sure about GDI+... maybe some cross-talk going on there?). As we all know, software that isn't accelerated by hardware is useless in *any* given context.

That said, I'm mainly going to be using GDI+ for tools and such (mainly since I am leaning more toward OpenGL, or XNA, for the actual game itself). I have no concerns about GDI+ being underpowered for that. And really, GDI+ isn't horribly inefficient -- it is fine for most applications and the kinds of games an actual lone-wolf/indie will actually be able to work on and complete.

(And for what it's worth, my initial comment was directed at GDI, not GDI+ -- maybe I took the original post too literally. Get your names straight, people!)

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What most people don't understand about "enlightenment" is that it is not an end-goal; but where you find yourself just before taking a new "first step."

That's a VERY good point, but who uses hardware like that today? So, sure, GDI sucks from the perspective of comparing it to DirectX, even the old DirectDraw, but who uses the old hardware anymore? And so, does that matter? No one would use GDI for a serious high-end game, but for small games? I found it charming to work with GDI after doing so much engine coding and shader rendering for so many years.. it was a real nice change.

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I think Jasmine's main concern has to do with software becoming so typically large-scale and resource-intensive that it's making hardware more obsolete, more quickly. I believe the rest has to do with which side of the progress-fence you're on. (Progress based on necessity, or progress for the sake of progress.)

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What most people don't understand about "enlightenment" is that it is not an end-goal; but where you find yourself just before taking a new "first step."

I have a pentium 3 (as well as something newer). I also have a laptop that has a PowerPC processor that's much like the Pentium3. Lots of people have netbooks which offer comparable performance to the P3. But that's not really the point: We can allow hardware to compensate for slow code to an extent, but take that too far and it becomes very unattractive.

It may just be because I'm technically minded, theoretical, and idealistic: So if a game looks to me like it should run on a 486, then I think it should run on a 486. Similarly, if a simple pong game is holding a Pentium3 at 90% cpu usage, then I would think a lot less of it. And a lot of indie games do actually feel like that!



I've used GDI myself, and I can understand the pleasure in its simplicity. But it would be nice if GDI calls were as high performance and as versatile as those in directx. A user here Spodi made a generic RPG engine in visual basic that used GDI (vbgore), and it was quite an impressive feat! As time goes on, we'll no doubt see some more generic game engines made using GDI. It's a fun to do as an exercise, and it's a way for less experienced programmers to produce something nice. But as these games and engines become popular and get distributed, we have to start looking at the bigger picture, and ask "is this really what we want the future of software to be?"

The general trend being that software is made less efficiently over time, because hardware is accelerating in such a way that it's always able to compensate for code that's gotten a bit slower... and that's a slippery slope.

I love older software, because it's leaner and more efficient than most of the stuff that's turned out today. Almost all of the software on my computer happens to be >8 years old, and it's not that I'm being stubborn: I also use the Pazera suite, which is relatively new software, and was a gem to find. I like it because it is lean and efficient. As a customer, those are the qualities I look for.

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Jonathan, it looks like I got some waiting to do. Amazon is saying I won't receive the book until Oct. 12... (For the record, I ordered it Oct. 3, and paid for 3-5 day shipping... )

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What most people don't understand about "enlightenment" is that it is not an end-goal; but where you find yourself just before taking a new "first step."

btw, I've written most of a GDI+ based graphics engine in VB.Net ... I read a lot of Bob Powell's GDI+ FAQ for help. While the rendering around image-drawing was a bit slow, it allowed for a lot of nice features like resizing and alpha-blending. It also is much easier to draw text and primatives (circles, rects, etc.).

However, I decided to go back to using SlimDX with VB.Net for the graphics piece ... I'll let you know how that turns out, if I get back to it and finish it.

-Bryk

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