Extrafloors in ZDoom

[Zell]

well im interested in doom3 but i cant simply run it on my crappy ass computer...<.< but anyway...so im also guessing doom would have to be totally re-made to make use of a true 3d structure? ...hmmm i guess we wont be seeing a solid, 3d floor soon =p

[HotWax]

Or? Cool! Show me a game that needs few CPU but awesome GPU.

Every time an enhancement is made to a GPU, it takes on more responsibilities previously allocated to the CPU.

Original 3D accelerators were just that. They allowed 3D calculations to be made quicker. They did nothing whatsoever for 2D, and so you needed two cards: One for 2D rendering, one for 3D.

Then they decided to merge the cards to make life easier for the gamers so that they handled 2D graphics AND 3D acceleration.

Then, because 3D cards now did 2D as well, they added 2D accelerations, taking over for some common CPU calculations and functions.

Then they added hardware lighting, meaning programmers who wanted lighting in their 3D applications no longer had to do the calculations on the CPU.

Then they added hardware transform, allowing the GPU to move/morph the polygons in certain ways, taking away the need for the CPU to do so.

Then they added true hardware lighting, allowing lights to cast shadows as appropriate, as will be seen in Doom 3, removing the need for a lightmap (which is traditionally applied by the CPU, although newer cards support hardware shading which can automatically apply extra effects, including lightmaps, to the textures)

With every new feature of the GPU, the CPU has to do less and less work when rendering, leaving it open to do other things which are (arguably) more appropriate for the CPU to do: Artificial Intelligence, Input reading and processing, Physics (This will probably move over to the GPU as well, eventually), etc.

[Hirogen2]

I do not think Physics will be done by the GPU, that is not graphics.

[HotWax]

I do not think Physics will be done by the GPU, that is not graphics.

Neither is Transform.