GGG, It's Time To Move On To The 21st Century, Or, Why DirectX 9 is a Bad Idea

It's not about DirectX->OpenGL migration or new content. It would just be one more piece being worked on by new/different people in parallel. Much like the Predictive->Lockstep migration, except that they needed to keep both modes.

Yes, it means money dedicated to that particular project but I doubt it would stifle the others. A careful cost estimate filtered through a Kickstarter project would both answer the question of whether or not such a move would be supported and, if so, fund the project. Chris seems to excel at managing this sort of thing. But Kickstarter likely isn't strictly necessary any more now than it was in closed beta - most likely far less so.

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Charanjaydemyr wrote:

I never said nothing, I said it adds nothing. Even if the game is suddenly cross-platform, it hasn't really added content.

You said it adds nothing. I said it adds cross-platform support. Cross-platform support is not nothing. Cross-platform support is not added content. Added content is not the only something you can expect to get in a patch. Lockstep was not added content. Lockstep was something (that we supported unknowingly). Saying it doesn't add content is trivial and essentially an irrelevant derailment of the thread.

This thread, as far as I'm concerned, is about getting something for the effort/money involved in replacing and/or updating DirectX. The lack or otherwise of added content is a separate matter and doesn't mean such an endeavour adds nothing.

You have your details, as I see them, as requested.. do with them as you wish.

I see many games nowadays that have both directx 9 and 10/11

I have absolutely no idea how much of an investment in resources it is to switch from one to the other, but having both options available would of course be consistent with how GGG does things if they do go for it

that might however make it longer to release new content as you'd have to fine tune it for both systems. I wonder what part of the PoE playerbase still uses 32 bit systems.. It can't be that many, those systems ar eprobably getting less and less capable of running PoE

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Charanjaydemyr wrote:

Would people support that? And I don't mean a few bucks. I'm talking the usual range of 40 bucks through 1k.

Definitely yes, at least my typical 50 and probably more as I'm starting to do better than setting aside 10 bucks a month. I'd rather see things done right, even if it's probably not going to help my poorman's setup much.

It ain't much but I imagine I'm not alone on this.

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Charanjaydemyr wrote:

Fair enough. Edited for clarity.

As for Lockstep, it was a surprise and not even intended for 2.0 -- they didn't announce it until they knew it would make it in time. I knew about it early and was floored.

So consider that: a non-content feature that added *a lot* to the game mechanically and QoL-wise was a bonus to the original planned content-heavy update. I'd say a lot of people were read to support The Awakening before lockstep was announced as a done deal.

That said, I don't believe there is a technical change that could be made right now that would have as much impact as the lockstep option has. Such an update would be lots of little things that not everyone benefits from. That is wherre I think garnering support would be tough.

I do.

Optimizing draw calls and render entities so that FPS does not plummet to the single digit range when weather effects or a ton of corpses are onscreen is one game changing optimization. It makes encounters like Dominus and Malachai go from "impossible on PCs that cost less than a thousand bucks" to "hard, but doably fun".

Optimizing the engine this way also adds the option for new, cool spells and effects. I'm quite sure that there are a few ability gems that were in the works before but were scrapped because they were deemed to be GPU-killers if implemented as intended by the designers.

Also, just because I don't have a supporter tag doesn't mean that I don't support the game. If I recall correctly, buying microtransactions and stash tabs won't give you supporter status.

I'd appreciate it though if GGG staff went in and provided hard statistics on how many users are on WinXP and the like, though, so that we know how many would be affected if we moved to DX10/11/12, or maintained a dual-engine design.

If they worked on that patch after November (or support after November would mean anything in regard to Charan's question), I'd be in. More so if they ditched DX in favour of OpenGL and/ or Cross Platform (Linux/ SteamOS) support.
64Bit would also be nice. I mean, it's 2015, XP isn't supported any longer so there's actually no reason NOT to have a 64Bit OS.

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Charanjaydemyr wrote:

...At a larger remove, my query remains. Would people be willing to support a major patch that adds nothing content-wise?

personally, only if it involved a new trade system. not even an auction house, something that just automated currency trades would do it for me. (sure, that'd be rough on currency flippers, but it'd be a godsend for everyone that prefers to spend their time actually playing.)

I'd support a particle intensity slider, rain toggle & party MTX toggle or party particle intensity slider. All of which shouldn't take years of development to complete.

I'd support an upgrade to DX 12. Put up a Kickstarter and I'll throw in 50 bucks.

I’m pretty sure they could work on a DX10/11/12 version on the game while simultaneously make new content. The Graphic programmers are not the ones making the new colorful MTXes after all.

Sure it will take time, but if GGG is planning to keep PoE relevant for years to come, I’d say major engine improvement are necessary. But they don’t need to stop everything else while they work on it.