Re: Can this loop be made faster ?

From: wolfgang kern (nowhere_at_nevernet.at)
Date: 02/26/05 

Date: Sat, 26 Feb 2005 17:16:42 +0100

"The Half" skrev:

| > The first value will actually better represent the real timing during
| > code execution.

| :-(

| > If you run it twice or more often then more and more
| > parts of the code under test become 'recently frequent used' and get a
| > higher cache priority than the surrounding code (including debugger).
| Ok. Good to time gameloops this way then ?

I think so.

[...]
| > but I'm afraid you have to use the windozeAPI or DirectDraw,
| > not sure if you can use code like above there.

| One can use such code, but only in a backbuffer, which would then be
| copied (blittet) by a hardware blitter to the screen. But one would
| probably prefer to use the hardware blitters even to work on the
| backbuffer, as the full operation of locking the the memory, reading it
| from the hardware, changing it, and copy it back to the hardware would be
| slow. As far as I know you can do this in DirectX. I did this once, and it
| made otherwise smooth graphics become yerky.

Yes.

| But its been almost two years since I did any DirectX programming, and
| that was for DirectX7, so much may have changed by now.
|
| Of course, now theres is pixelshaders, that can do this instead, I
| _suppose_, but I have not tinkered with those yet, allthough I have
| several megas of unread docus about it. Time permits....well....(looking
| blank into the screen for a moment...feeling the strains of insomnia...)
| As far as I have understood, the hardware pixel shaders allow for us to
| upload some small pixel shading code to the hardware, and so the code will
| be called, by the hardware for each pixel that is rendered, after the
| texture has been applied. Its supposed to create possibilities for unreal
| graphics effects. but I am really blank to the details yet. But from
| looking at the really amazing games. (just played HL2) theres really been
| an awsome revolution in game graphics. It now looks so wonderful, that it
| allmost ready to take *away* the magic. :)) Oki thats just my sour
| shoulders, and broken ego speaking.... No, actually the new graphics and
| physics engines are really amazing. They make moch, of just about anything
| else. Soon we will simply be able to be part of the movie. I see an
| amazing industry growing up, giving us interactive movies, and awsomes
| games. New ways to tell stories. We should try to keep track of them, but
| sooner or later they may deside to look us out.

If just all this new hardware would come with detailed documentation
instead of HLL-created windoze-drivers...

| > For most games this are just basic attributes.
| > Have you ever tried "TIM" ?
| No. do you have a link to this game. I think you may have mentioned it
| some time in the past, but I couldnt find it sofar.

Perhaps it's too old already,
IIRC the original TIM came on an 760KB floppy during the 286-age.
It got balls, cannons, ropes, buckets, hamster-motors and a lot more,
and all the collisions and motions look astonishing real.

| På gjensyn.
?
bis später,
__
wolfgang

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