GZDoom 3.6.0 Released

[phantombeta]

Thanks for the new version GZ :D

What's the status of OpenGL 3 versions less than 3.3? Do we need the vintage version for that, or are they supported in the mainstream version with reduced performance?

You need to use the vintage version for OpenGL < 3.3. The mainstream version has no support for any versions lower than 3.3 at all.

[Graf Zahl]

They need the vintage build. The only hardware in existence for which a GL 3.1 driver exists but no 3.3 version is Intel HD3000 on Windows. All other cases are outdated drivers for which an update should exist, unless you are stuck with some laptop depending on OEM drivers - but these would be far too weak to handle GZDoom anyway.
Obn the flip side, 3.3 was the first GL version to implement all features the modern build requires as a minimum. Uniform buffers in particular are hit and miss in earlier drivers.

[Rachael]

Mac and Linux builds added.

[MartinHowe]

Thanks GZ and PB. I am trying to replace an XFX Black Radeon 6850 card that came with a computer but is faulty, but get conflicting information about the 6850 series (i.e., graphics cards in this price range). It's as if different vendors who use that chipset enable different levels of OpenGL on them, though I don't know enough about graphics hardware to see how they do that

[Rachael]

It's as if different vendors who use that chipset enable different levels of OpenGL on them, though I don't know enough about graphics hardware to see how they do that

OpenGL is nothing more than a piece of software that communicates directly with the GPU in order to process data, at the direction of games and applications being run on the computer. So - it's whoever wrote your driver that's using a lower OpenGL version.

[drfrag]

That depends on driver version, use a more recent amd driver. That one was a pretty good card and should support GL 4.5. It was mid-high range and power consumption and heat were reasonable.
But an equivalent nvidia card will give you double the performance in GZDoom i think. And if the card is faulty you can't use it.
You could get a very cheap second hand nvidia card at Cex. Which one is your current card?

[ReFracture]

Mac and Linux builds added.

Thank you kindly, modern Linux x64 version running very well here on Slackware 15 on a gtx 980 Ti.

[Wohlstand]

Just now I have checked out "modern" and "vintage" source code tarballs, and there are has no difference! (I did comparison via Meld)
If the "modern" and "vintage" build is a result of CMake flags only, which reason of publishing 1:1 same tarball as there are like different?

[Graf Zahl]

It should be different source code.

[Wohlstand]

I thought that until I have downloaded both tarballs for curious to compare the difference between of them, and I have found no difference... Is this an accidental mistake while releases were uploaded?

[Rachael]

There may have been. I may have accidentally clicked on the g3.6.0 tag which got duplicated in drfrag's repository.

I redownloaded it. Hopefully I got the actual correct tag this time.

[drfrag]

It's the g3.6.0_legacy tag.

[MartinHowe]

Thanks, @drfrag. I didn't realise how driver dependent things like that were and thought it was mostly to do with the capabilities of the chip. I did look at NVidia cards but the ones available on eBay (I never use CEX they charge ridiculous prices at least here in the UK) all want two PCI-e 6-pin connectors, my PSU only has one.

Replacing the PSU is a non-starter as cost is an issue for me and anyway, if the 6850 card worked I'd have been happy with it as it runs GZDoom OK until it overheats (I replaced the thermal grease; the problem is the fan won't turn on); so I'm really looking for like-for-like.

But now I know more about the subject, I can make better decisions. Thanks to all who replied. Now I will stop derailing this thread

[Wohlstand]

Okay, just now I have checked out the downloads, now it's fine! :3 (the Meld have shown me a lot of differences)
BUT, the download link on the main page is 404-not-found, because of missing "g" in version number...

[Rachael]

Thank you - it's fixed.