openGL vs direct3d

[Sheikah42]

hey i just installed the original half-life and under the configuration for the graphics there's direct3d and openGL. what's the difference between the two? should i just stick with opengl since i have a 256 mb ati radeon or should i choose direct3d?

 

[bam23]

Use OpenGL for HL1 and it's mods.

 

[Ames]

OpenGL allows for some graphical modifications/improvements like fog and blur and also provides an increase in speed over Direct3D.

 

[Sheikah42]

i see, what about "draw faster software sprites" what does that do?

will it hurt my graphics if i enable it?

and another question i have is do i need to register this with steam to play it online too?

 

[Ames]

Faster software sprites equals less detail. You have to register with Steam in order to play any multiplayer Valve game, it's required for HL2, CS:S, etc.

 

[Sheikah42]

i see, and one more problem i have - i just got the half-life platinum pack series 2. it came with blue shift, opposing force, tfc, and cs

one thing i noticed were my guns are all different from the half-life i played a long time ago! even the crowbar looks different... was this an update or something?

 

[Ames]

That's the Blue Shift HD pack. It's normal.

 

[Cole]

The HL1 engine(Pretty much the Quake 1.5 engine), was made around Open GL and therefor is faster with Open GL. It supports D3D but isn't extremely optimized for it.

 

[A True Canadian]

I never really noticed a difference with either of them in terms of performance, but I always used to think that Direct3D made the graphics look just a touch better for some reason. Now I'm hearing it's the other way around. Cool.

 

[Cole]

Canadian, it only matters what the engine is optimized for. Yes D3D can give better graphics but so can Open Gl(Though for shaders..open gl requires more coding). It all matters what the engine is optimized most for.