On Tuesday 22 March 2011 10:33:19 [email protected] wrote: > > > Interesting.I just did my own quick test ... converted 1 out of 3 > > livery (png) files to a dds with Gimp plugin .Had to flip the image > > vertically before converting. I changed liveries with the dialog , and > > the 2 png files took several seconds to change , the dds changed > > instantly.I saw no difference in quality , but the load time was > > impressive.The original png file is 158.6 KB , the dds is 16.8 MB.This > > should swell fgdata significantly , unless Tim does (hopefully) does > > the /Aircraft split... > > Here I would argue the other way - changing liveries is not a > performance-critical task, it's not done regularly or on a per-frame > basis, and as a user I usually don't mind if I have to wait for 3 seconds > (on the other hand, I do mind waiting three seconds in flight for a cloud > bank to be loaded). So in this case I'd stick with the png file. > > * Thorsten > Hmm, I'd say it's rather critical when in place of one highly detailed airplane you can have about four with the same level of detail in the texture ;)., or a texture with doubled dimensions, thus having more detail ;)(since, as Gary said .dds files get loaded compressed in video RAM). Also there would be less (or maybe none) stuttering and freezes when somebody spawns in your area, and their plane gets loaded.(but that's multiplayer specific). Or maybe a groud texture that's 'twice' the size of the current ones?
One other thing I've noticed, that with .dds files, (with or without pregenerated mipmaps) the blurring due to mipmap rendering is noticeable less pronounced. Of course, .dds isn't the answer to all our performance related troubles... and I don't think it should be used everywhere, but it has it's benefits in certain cases. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Enable your software for Intel(R) Active Management Technology to meet the growing manageability and security demands of your customers. Businesses are taking advantage of Intel(R) vPro (TM) technology - will your software be a part of the solution? Download the Intel(R) Manageability Checker today! http://p.sf.net/sfu/intel-dev2devmar _______________________________________________ Flightgear-devel mailing list [email protected] https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/flightgear-devel
