Software renderer: Difference between revisions
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
Utopic Tahu (talk | contribs) No edit summary |
Utopic Tahu (talk | contribs) |
||
| Line 25: | Line 25: | ||
* '''Lack of texture filtering''' | * '''Lack of texture filtering''' | ||
* '''256x256 texture limit''' | * '''256x256 texture limit''' | ||
* '''Lower limits''' | * '''Lower limits for drawing geometry''' | ||
* '''No Water waves''' | * '''No Water waves''' | ||
* '''Overdraw from func_detail''' | * '''Overdraw from func_detail''' | ||
Revision as of 05:04, 5 March 2024
A software renderer, such as those available in 
GoldSrc and 
id Tech 2, uses the CPU to render 3D geometry, instead of a GPU. A 3D application using a software renderer can be considered to be running in software mode.
Software renderer often have limitations, and with the usage of CPU instead of GPU for rendering usually causes performance hit (especially for hardware at the time), thus, software renderer are largely deprecated in most games since early 2000s (and the 
Source engine requires DirectX (or OpenGL, Vulkan)-compatible graphics card in order to play the game.
The GPU is still used for processing the 2D image generated from the software renderer, but no 3D hardware is used.
Id Tech 2 engine (VQuake) Software Renderer
Features
- Visual improvements
- Full 16-bit color
- Bilinear filtering (reducing pixelation)
- Improved dynamic lighting
- Optional anti-aliasing
Goldsrc engine Software Renderer
Features
- Colored lighting - Quake simply had monotone lighting
- Transparent textures - Glass can now be used in maps
- Water ripple
Missing Features and Limits and Problems
- Lack of texture filtering
- 256x256 texture limit
- Lower limits for drawing geometry
- No Water waves
- Overdraw from func_detail
- Overbright lighting on MDLs (instead of only map geometry)