Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!lll-winken!uwm.edu!rpi!julius.cs.uiuc.edu!apple!metaphor!neuromancer!djh
From: djh@neuromancer.metaphor.com (Dallas J. Hodgson)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: VSprite Performance - Good or Bad?
Keywords: VSprites, gels
Message-ID: <1470@metaphor.Metaphor.COM>
Date: 28 Sep 90 20:27:11 GMT
References: <8615@helios.TAMU.EDU>
Sender: news@metaphor.Metaphor.COM
Reply-To: djh@neuromancer.metaphor.com (Dallas J. Hodgson)
Organization: Metaphor Computer Systems, Mountain View, CA
Lines: 20

I've been hacking on VSprites after a long VSprite hiatus, and I'm becoming
more and more convinced that VSprites are just plain slow. The
SortGList,DrawGList,MrgCop,LoadView sequence necessary whenever you move a
sprite is simply high overhead - especially the MrgCop.

Who's using Gels? Does anybody take Gels seriously? I'm working on a very
large bitmap-scrolling game, which demands at least a MakeVPort/MrgCop/LoadView
on every display frame. Add a few simple VSprites and a couple of Bobs and
you're looking at <40 frames/sec max on an A-1000.

I'm trying to remain OS-friendly here, but only to the extent that performance
is satisfactory. (sound of the Hardware manual creaking open)
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Dallas J. Hodgson               |     "This here's the wattle,             |
| Metaphor Computer Systems       |      It's the emblem of our land.        |
| Mountain View, Ca.              |      You can put it in a bottle,         |
| USENET : djh@metaphor.com       |      You can hold it in your hand."      |
+============================================================================+
| "The views I express are my own, and not necessarily those of my employer" |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------+