[sldev] branches/shadow-draft missing llrender.cpp

[Tateru Nino]

Considering how poorly SL can perform at quite a bit better than the 
minimum spec, I think that 2% figure could well be achieved by people 
departing in frustration. My last system was a solid gaming machine in 
its day - but could barely chug along in single-digit frame-rates on 
minimum settings once Windlight came along. Thank heavens for new hardware.

Dave Parks wrote:
> Exactly.  LL is ridiculously conservative with our minimum spec 
> (GeForce 2! come on!), and no one is talking about changing the 
> minimum spec, merely taking advantage of what many of our users 
> already have, and what all will have within several years.  We really 
> don't stop supporting a range of hardware until less than 2% of the 
> user base is using it or the company that makes the hardware asks us 
> to stop supporting it (yes, this has actually happened).
>
>
> Dante Tucker wrote:
>> Well really they have. All the same graphical options are available. 
>> WindLight and "DarkLight" (awesome name Darien) are just added 
>> optional things.
>>
>> On Tue, May 27, 2008 at 9:52 PM, Callum Lerwick <seg at haxxed.com 
>> <mailto:seg at haxxed.com>> wrote:
>>
>>     I think some thought needs to be put in to what exactly Second
>>     Life's target market is. I don't know what goes on inside the LL
>>     wall but I've not seen any such discussion outside it.
>>
>>     I see it as a "casual game". Its not for the hardcore gamers with
>>     seemingly unlimited disposable income. They're all playing WoW,
>>     Counterstrike, Call of Duty, Halo and whatnot. Second Life is the
>>     virtual world for the rest of us. Its for the casual computer
>>     user, who buys a new mid-range system every 5 years. Its for that
>>     family member who's using that spare box you gave them.
>>
>>     If you accept this view, this means LL must be much more
>>     conservative about pushing minimum requirements forward than most
>>     games. The target should be a mid-rangeish system from 5 years
>>     ago, the client should still run nicely on such a machine. All LL
>>     developers should be forced to do all testing on such a machine
>>     unless they're working on the new shinies.
>>
>>     Which isn't to say LL shouldn't be trying to keep the graphics
>>     engine current. It just means effort has to be put in to "graceful
>>     degredation". Or perhaps "progressive enhancement". All it takes
>>     is to bother to put the effort into it...
>>
>>
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