GLDefs

[Iniquitatis]

I'm not insisting on an importance of this, but maybe the GLDefs lump could be renamed (or aliased) to something like HWDefs? Just for the sake of consistency and bright future.
I thought of this due to recent renaming of code internals, addition of Vulkan renderer, etc.

[Rachael]

I'm not going to close this outright because I feel Graf should probably have some input on this, but I have a feeling this is going to be pretty much a "[No]".

The reason why I think that is because it would inevitably result in too much confusion. In fact, with recent changes to the software renderer, GLDefs never really has truly defined GL-only stuff anymore, and that's been the case long before Vulkan.

Unfortunately, it's way too late to rename something that's kind of stuck around for a good 16+ years or so, well before GZDoom's time, even. And when the name was invented there was no foresight that there would ever be a graphics API called ... "Vulkan" ... and just as much no one ever imagined in those days that what were once "GL-only" features would eventually get backported to the Software renderer. (In fact, in only lacking true Sky Boxes, the software renderer is almost at feature parity with what GZDoom was at around 2015 or so - that file is extremely relevant to all renderers, now)

I know it's a mouthful to say "what was once GL-only-DEFS" but that's what it is now. It's a lot easier to stick with the name we've got, despite it being a misnomer, than it would be to adapt to something new.

[Graf Zahl]

I
Unfortunately, it's way too late to rename something that's kind of stuck around for a good 16+ years or so, well before GZDoom's time, even. And when the name was invented there was no foresight that there would ever be a graphics API called ... "Vulkan" ... and just as much no one ever imagined in those days that what were once "GL-only" features would eventually get backported to the Software renderer. (In fact, in only lacking true Sky Boxes, the software renderer is almost at feature parity with what GZDoom was at around 2015 or so - that file is extremely relevant to all renderers, now)

We've got another of those with a far bigger history: DECORATE was initially for defining - decorations. Look what it is now.
That's life when working on a long-running project. Features get extended and some stuiff ends up badly named.

Renaming, however, will always come with its own share of problems and I'm not going down that route. In this case the feature already had a rename - when inherited from ZDoomGL it was named DOOMDEFS, HTICDEFS and HEXNDEFS - which are thankfully forgotten by now.

Regarding features, there's actually a second one the software renderer does not support - brightmaps. And like the skies, the problem isn't that it cannot be done but that someone has to write the drawer code for it. Technically both features are solvable and I wouldn't write them off entirely yet.

[Graf Zahl]

Just a thought:

Let's officially say that GL doesn't stand for OpenGL but for (G)raphics and (L)ights.
Problem solved, the name can remain as it is...

[Nash]

Just a thought:

Let's officially say that GL doesn't stand for OpenGL but for (G)raphics and (L)ights.
Problem solved, the name can remain as it is...

[Rachael]

Just a thought:

Let's officially say that GL doesn't stand for OpenGL but for (G)raphics and (L)ights.
Problem solved, the name can remain as it is...

Works for me!

[Matt]

When did DECORATE stop being just for defining decorations?

[Nash]

Two words:

ZDoom 96x

And we have Graf Zahl to thank for that ;)

[InsanityBringer]

I mean haven't monsters been definable since 2.0.60? (another graf addition, if I remember correctely...) .96x's big addition was the addition of weapons and other inventory items.

[Graf Zahl]

Two words:

ZDoom 96x

And we have Graf Zahl to thank for that

Actually, ZDoom 2.0.63 was the first iteration of DECORATE. 2.0.96x indeed brought 'just' the parser overhaul which extended it to inventory items and weapons.