Graphics Revisited (and it looks great!)

The popularity of MegaMek has inspired me to move forward and implement stuff a little bit backwards. Rather than aiming to get all the support programs working first, I have decided to get the main program running and build the support programs later. I hope this will have the intended affect of turning this project into a "bazaar" and get me out of the "cathedral" building mentality.

Which means I had to get cracking on the graphics engine once again. And this time, I am proud to announce, that I am proud of the results it is churning out. After mulling over OpenGL in the back of my head, and reading the Red Book from cover to cover for the 18th time, I have some really nice results.

"Standing on the Shoulders of Giants", too many to mention here, but I'll try to assemble a list of the people whose code I have examined to bring this baby together. It really is important to become an expert in a field before trying to go very far - or at least copying what the experts have already done!

As for as for proof, I have it sitting here in my home directory. I *COULD* post some screenshots, but there are a few things that I want to fix that I know HOW to fix, so I figure, "Why bother posting screenshots when they will be totally outdated in a few hours?" I mean, I could spend an hour and post the screenshots on the web page, or I could spend an hour and add another cool feature. (And this bugger is already crawling with featuritis and I am loving it!) If you are screenshot-thirsty, come by and visit me when I pop up on IRC (Hint: watch the mailing list). I'll send you whatever you want.

Expect to see some really cool scenery. From the trees to the environment-mapped water surface, to the flowing hills, to the awesome mechs and infantry... you will be amazed. I am amazed, and I wrote it!

So, hold on to your pants, stick around, and see what you can do to help. I'm still very much in business, and the project is more alive than ever.

And PS: You won't find any working graphics code in the downloads section - you'll have to go to CVS.

Jonathan