More Microsoft Shenanigans

Expect OpenGL in Vista to be approximately 50% slower than DirectX (made deliberately slower my M$). From the posting:-

• OpenGL performance will be significantly reduced - perhaps as much as 50%
  
• OpenGL on Windows will be fixed at a vanilla version of OpenGL 1.4
  
• No extensions will be possible to expose future hardware innovations

More here at the Wikipedia article:-

Microsoft has taken the decision not to release the information necessary to allow third parties (such as those at NVIDIA, ATI or the other large graphics card manufacturers) to develop replacement drivers, leaving no way to avoid the 50% speed drop.

Where's the 3D On Slow PC's?

With the latest programming technology and libraries, how come is it that 3D now requires the latest top-of-the-range graphics cards? I'm not just talking about the latest commercial games, but open-source projects. I run a bog-standard 600Mhz PC with no special graphics card, and I can't run any modern 3D game, apart from the ones I write. Half-Life (1) and Quake run vert smoothly without a problem, but for some reason anything written in the last 5 years either runs like a dog or not at all. It's one reasons why I make sure all my 3D games can run on the lowest spec PC. Why should we lose out on all the fun?

Piracy Lies!

More lies about piracy are being peddled by the industry. Lets address a few:-

Why should we fight piracy?

• Piracy/counterfeiting is illegal and punishable by fines and jail sentences. - Especially now that the lobbying of governements has got into full swing; you can put put away for longer for pirating a game than beating someone up.
  

• Counterfeited/pirated games are often mixed with obscene or pornographic material. Where? And why haven't mine?
  

• Consumers have no recourse under law for faulty pirated games, which can damage hardware. True, they can damage your hardware if you drop a box of them on your PC.
  

• Local and national jobs are lost as a result of pirate operations.

• Proven links exist between piracy and organised crime, including drugs and pornography. Yes; they are both on their web page.

New Upload of Emergent Mercenary (v0.4)

It's finally turning into a game! In the latest upload, you start in a deserted field. A ship then flies overhead and teleports down some comrades; just in the nick of time as something seems to be moving in the distance...

The unit intelligence is getting better, and they look more realistic now, especially with their moving legs.

The game is freely available here.