Ok, I really like Irrlicht so far, but well, it seems kinda retro. Direct3D 9, OpenGL 1.5 (OGLSlang) and the current new graphic chipsets introduce possibilities which are only rarely covered by Irrlicht.
I.e The Parallax / Offset Mapping, a 'new' technique which would require ARB_vertex_program and ARB_fragment_program (=>new gfx chipset like the FX series support them), now some guys have been able to 'port' it to shi**ier cards. This way of bumpmapping just looks incredebly smooth and is rather fast: http://www.reallyslick.com/pictures/offsetmapping.jpg
The whole technique is extensively covered at: http://www.opengl.org/discussion_boards ... 11292.html
Mathematical background: http://www.infiscape.com/doc/parallax_mapping.pdf
Now my question is, with not even Anti-Aliasing currently supported by Irrlicht, how long will it take to have some kind of competetive 3d engine. Heh well I know you can't give us any timeline/schedule (which are here to be broken anyways) but is it your goal to implement such 'advanced' shader stuff or will you be satisfied with a more lo-tek engine?
Any input appreciated...
As I already wrote in lots of threads before, I first would like to cover the basics in the engine. Not everything works the way I would like it to do. Once we've got all the basic functionality in there, I focus on more advanced things like displacement mapping.