Topics

1

Graphics / Regarding the VertexBuffer implementation in Renderables..

« on: March 19, 2019, 12:55:52 am »

This commit has made all the renderables use a vertex buffer if available. Which is great; however, before this change drawables were quite lightweight, and we could create one of these drawables at the last moment. For instance...

loop {

   // construct sprite
   sf::Sprite sprite {...};
   target.draw(sprite);  
}
 

But now, afaict, this will call glGenBuffers and then glDeleteBuffers every frame. If this change is to be preserved I think the docs should not call sf::Sprite lightweight anymore.

2

General discussions / SFML 3: Goodbye OpenGL?

« on: August 19, 2018, 05:02:12 am »

Is the world moving on from OpenGL, and should SFML 3 follow?

I think at this point an independent graphics backend is the simplest choice for SFML. One which will support webgl, opengl, metal, etc. It needn't implement all these, and could just incorporate a library like bgfx to do all the platform dependent stuff.

I know it might be hard to let go of all the OpenGL code in the library.

3

SFML projects / MoonQuest (OUT NOW!)

« on: July 14, 2018, 04:16:29 am »

After 6 years of work my game MoonQuest is now out. I used SFML!

The game is a procedurally-generated adventure game. Here is the website, and the game is available for Windows on Steam. It also has a gameplay trailer:

Gameplay Trailer

My experience with SFML has been great. I encountered some issues (google my posts on this forum) but I got there in the end! Thanks again for the great library!

4

General discussions / Game stuttering? It could be Nvidia Threaded Optimisation.

« on: January 25, 2018, 03:14:49 am »

Here's a community announcement: If your game is stuttering it may be due to something called Nvidia Threaded Optimisation. See this Stack Overflow thread for an analysis and solution of the issue. The easier way to fix it is to register an Nvidia profile that disables the optimisation in an installer. The key triggers of this problem for me seemed to be Nvidia Card, OpenGL, Multiple Threads, and FBOs.

There are discussions of this in other threads, but I thought I'd make one focusing on this exact issue. I hope some future SFMLer finds this before tearing all their hair out like I've done. It plagued me for years!

5

Feature requests / One context per RenderTexture?

« on: September 04, 2015, 01:08:31 am »

I've been doing some research into the sfml source and have found that RenderTextureImpl* and Window creates extra contexts. Due to the performance hit discussed over here http://en.sfml-dev.org/forums/index.php?topic=18585.0 I wonder if it would be better to use a single-context strategy in RenderTexture?

To be more specific: why does RenderTextureImplFBO create a new context, when it could just create an fbo on the shared context and bind it on setActive?

6

SFML website / Showcase section on site?

« on: July 12, 2015, 02:17:30 am »

I was asking around on Twitter about SFML-based games, and I think there are quite a few interesting-looking ones that would make a great little visual showcase for the website. Here's a few screenshots and links to the projects - the last one is from my own project, Moonman. (I also added them to the wiki/Projects.)

I think a good format would be the same layout as the front page, but instead have 3 games with images, a description of the game, and maybe a quote from the developer about SFML.

Thoughts?

http://www.pioneersgame.com/


http://vagantegame.com/


http://www.playcrea.com/


http://moonman.io

7

Graphics / RenderTexture and GL_OUT_OF_MEMORY

« on: June 11, 2015, 02:08:29 am »

Hi! So I'm greedily creating RenderTextures at the maximum texture size, the calls are failing, and then the create(w,h) function returns false. That's all fine, however the error printed is:

"Impossible to create render texture (failed to link the target texture to the framebuffer)".

Running in DEBUG shows more precisely that the problem is actually a GL_OUT_OF_MEMORY error, caused when creating the internal Texture.

I think it'd be nice if the Texture::create function fails and returns false if it can't create the texture because of memory. This would then also let RenderTexture report the true error, that resides with the texture creation.

(In my case I just call RenderTexture::create() with halving sizes until it succeeds, so my system works fine.)

8

SFML projects / Moonman (my sfml game has been funded on kickstarter!)

« on: January 14, 2015, 03:06:01 am »

Hey guys, well I've been working away on an sfml-based game for the last 3 years. It's called Moonman and I've just launched a Kickstarter to help fund the final year of development. I'm happy to answer any questions you have about the game or the code. I'd also appreciate if you could share the kickstarter with your friends.

Thanks to the SFML team for making a great library, without which I wouldn't have been able to make this game.

Moonman Kickstarter!



Moonman is a 2D procedurally-generated adventure game (think Terraria, Spelunky, Minecraft, Binding of Isaac, Knytt Stories) set on a nocturnal planet orbited by many moons. The game is about a character called Moonman who explores the vibrant regions and biomes of his nocturnal world looking for fragments of moons -- in order to build a sun. The fragments may be hidden in caves or tombs, be inside large creatures, or hoarded by hermits. The gameplay involves a mix of platforming, resource collecting, crafting, trading, combat and puzzle solving. Each new game will procedurally generate a unique planet to explore and you'll be adventuring through populated towns, dark dungeons, exotic forests, quiet caves, submerged tombs, and crumbling castles.

Follow me at @eigenbom for regular updates. Sign up to the mailing list at http://moonman.io/ to get notified of the release. (Also facebook.)

9

General / Selecting better gpu in a dual graphics system?

« on: April 23, 2014, 03:45:54 am »

Does anyone know how to programmatically force Windows to select the better GPU in a dual graphics system? (e.g., a laptop with a nvidia chipset and intel integrated graphics)

My SFML-based game seems to use the integrated graphics, unless I explicitly right-click the executable and choose "run with nvidia graphics". Running with the good graphics improves the frame-rate dramatically, so I'd like to know if there's a way to make this the default for anyone running the game? (Also, ideally I don't want to bundle an installer with the game.)

10

General / sfml and synergy issue on osx

« on: February 01, 2013, 05:57:59 am »

Hey sfml devs,

just a quick note to let you know I had some problems with http://synergy-foss.org/ while running my SFML game on my mac. The mac was the synergy client, and the sfml was logging tonnes of "HIDInputManager is invalid" messages, and only some keys would work (WASD wouldn't.) This was with the very latest sfml2 code.

This isn't really a problem, but just thought I'd post this for future reference.

11

SFML projects / moonman

« on: August 04, 2012, 06:08:39 am »

Hey guys, I just released a really early alpha of the sfml2 game I've been working on this year.



It's called moonman, and is a 2d platformer minecraft-like. You can grab it from here, with more info available at this thread.

12

Graphics / Gradient banding

« on: January 15, 2012, 11:51:13 pm »

Hi all,

I'm attempting to draw a screen sized rectangle with a gradient that travels vertically. However, some banding is occurring, as seen below. Has anyone encountered this issue or knows how to deal with it. (I also seem to recall it happening when I did it in pure glsl.)

I've got a feeling its the OpenGL settings, but its not clear if I can change these for the core SFML drawing routines..

Code: [Select]


sf::VertexArray skyShape(sf::Quads, 4);
skyShape[0].Position = sf::Vector2f(0, h);
skyShape[0].Color = horizonColour;
skyShape[1].Position = sf::Vector2f(w, h);
skyShape[1].Color = horizonColour;
skyShape[2].Position = sf::Vector2f(w, 0);
skyShape[2].Color = zenithColour;
skyShape[3].Position = sf::Vector2f(0, 0);
skyShape[3].Color = zenithColour;
target->Draw(skyShape);


13

Graphics / New API, Sprite::FlipX() ?

« on: January 04, 2012, 02:02:06 am »

I've been using sprite.FlipX(true) a few times through my code, and after updating to the latest build, I see it's disappeared. Is there a simple way to implement the same functionality with the new API?

I tried sprite.Scale(-1,1) and using sf::Transform to no avail, but I'm also trying to avoid thinking about it too much.

14

SFML projects / Moonman's Xmas

« on: December 15, 2011, 05:56:44 am »

Hi guys, long time lurker and user of SFML, first time poster!

Here's a little game I made with SFML2. I'm working on a bigger, terraria-like game, called Moonman, which I'm devlogging over at tigforums. Overall, I've been very impressed with SFML2, nice clean design, and I was able to build the game on Windows and Mac without too much trouble.



Keep up the good work Laurent and co.