VB with websites

[Adron]

Well, I don't have AIM....

[Camel]

ICQ? MSN? Yahoo?

[Adron]

Couldn't you just simply post a link to it? That way everyone can see an example too...

[Camel]

Well here's an extremely simple project I did to prove a friend wrong and win $5. He wrote a Boids! program (simulates flocking birds) with Java, and argued that it would be easier to do it in C with OpenGL.
This really doesnt do justice to the power of OpenGL, but it does prove a point: OpenGL isn't that hard to use.

There was no need to add any special effects such as those one might use in a winamp plugin.



[edit] Here's another screenshot -- each color is a "team" of birds that is avoiding eachother:

[Adron]

Hmm, it isn't immediately obvious how it would apply to Winamp? Of course, I could make generic graphics, but I can do that just using GDI - no need for OpenGL to do that?

[Camel]

Hmm, it isn't immediately obvious how it would apply to Winamp? Of course, I could make generic graphics, but I can do that just using GDI - no need for OpenGL to do that?

You could, but it would be much easier to do it using OpenGL. One of the things it does rather well is "glowing orbs" which can be used to produce a huge variety of effects.

[edit] Oh yeah, and it can do teapots. I mean, come on...teapots! Resistance is futile!

[Adron]

I used to mess around with 3d studio max, but .. it got boring. What's a "glowing orb"?

[Adron]

Do you have any more info for that birds program btw? It would be interesting to see the algorithm for how they fly...

[Camel]

I used to mess around with 3d studio max, but .. it got boring. What's a "glowing orb"?

It's like a luminous ball of light. They are extremely over-used in Unreal Tournament. If you've ever tried to set up a PLBot in counterstrike, you might recognize them as the yellow "nodes" used to tell the bots where they can go. I'll see if I can get you a screenshot.

Do you have any more info for that birds program btw? It would be interesting to see the algorithm for how they fly...

I dont do it properly as I was just proving him wrong on the OpenGL part. I only glanced at his code, but it looked like it went through a loop for every bird and then another loop to find out all of the birds within a pact or something. It would then locate the centermost bird of the pact, and follow it around. The white circle represents a barrier that the birds must avoid.
With my code, the birds just turn based on obstacles and the direction of birds immediately surrounding them.

[Adron]

Ah. I like doing simulations. I might make a streaming simulation of flying birds instead, if I get the right algorithm....

The slowdown is a rather serious problem though. Trying to see if it works with Refresh will be interesting.

[Camel]

Ah. I like doing simulations. I might make a streaming simulation of flying birds instead, if I get the right algorithm....

The slowdown is a rather serious problem though. Trying to see if it works with Refresh will be interesting.

Right, that's sort of what I was thinking of. I was a little more interested in having the picture reacting to the music though. It's not imperative to update immedately. Imagine having it update really quickly, but only taking one in every, say, 50 frames and sending that. Then stop drawing the other 49 frames.

[CaBAM]

Wow, i just noticed how much the subject changed...