Rendering

[awesomelemonade]

Hello there!

I'm here seeking info on how to render.. "Stuff".. in OpenGL.

I currently know how to use OpenGL 1.1, which I soon found out was deprecated.
My computer currently only supports up to OpenGL 2.1. I would like to provide support for OpenGL 2.1, and up.

So, I would like opinions. Should I just get a new computer? Get better graphics?
Is there any specific advantage on using OpenGL 3 vs OpenGL 2? Speed? Performance? Quality?

Thanks in advanced

[abcdef]

I've always liked this article

http://www.java-gaming.org/topics/introduction-to-vertex-arrays-and-vertex-buffer-objects-opengl/24272/view.html

Should I just get a new computer? Get better graphics?

Up to you, I'm guess as it only supports 2.1 its not going to be the fastest computer out there. If it works just fine for you I wouldn't get anything

Is there any specific advantage on using OpenGL 3 vs OpenGL 2? Speed? Performance? Quality?

Performance may be a benefit but you have a lot more control over what you can do on the screen. Opengl 2 provides countless ways to get things on the screen (shaders and intermediate mode), it is sort of a hybrid of opengl 1 (intermediate mode only) and opengl 3 (shader only). Opengl 3+ just extends on the shader philosophy and increases the amount of things you can do

[quew8]

...(shaders and intermediate mode)...

Yes everything you said was right but, two things.

1) You mean "immediate" mode. Sorry to be picky, I know you know what you're talking about and I just want to say let's not confuse him before he's started.

2) I'm not going to rant about immediate vs. deferred and fixed function vs programmable pipeline, but maybe look into it. Immediate mode and shaders can be used together, just as deferred rendering and fixed function pipeline can.

[awesomelemonade]

So it looks like, after researching about immediate/first function vs programmable pipeline, I should learn OpenGL 3.0 with shaders. Is this correct?

[awesomelemonade]

Sorry for double posting, but: Does OpenGL 3 require you to learn some C or whatever it is that allows shading and vertices?

[quew8]

...immediate/first function vs programmable pipeline...

Sigh, sometimes I feel like no one likes my rants.

Anyway. Yes learning core OpenGL 3.0 which is deferred rendering with VBOs and VAOs and programmable pipeline with shaders is a good idea these days. Understand core OpenGL 3.0 and you will find most things massively easier. (technically to do "core" it would have to be OpenGL 3.1)

And with LWJGL you never need to touch a single line of C code. Shaders in OpenGL use GLSL (GL Shading Language) which is a language very similar to C but minus the pointers. Which is a lot like saying Java minus the classes. It isn't difficult.