update OpenGL requirements for Blender 2.8 #49012

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Mike Erwin · 2016-08-03T22:47:00+02:00

Mike Erwin commented

2016-08-03 22:47:00 +02:00

OpenGL 3.3 core profile will be our final target on all platforms. Until all our code is ready we can use 3.3 compatibility profile or "legacy" GL on platforms that don't support compatibility profile.

What can we do today to prepare? Set minimum requirements as close to 3.3 as possible.

platform	OpenGL	GLSL	extensions
Windows	3.3 compat profile	3.3 compat
Linux	3.3 compat profile	3.3 compat
Linux (Mesa)	3.0	1.3	ARB_draw_elements_base_vertex
Mac	2.1	1.2	ARB_draw_elements_base_vertex, EXT_gpu_shader4, ARB_framebuffer_object, APPLE_flush_buffer_range

This lets us simplify context setup code, guarantee certain features on certain platforms, and alert testers that "hey your GPU is old, you'll need to upgrade". I'd like to do this early in development to minimize surprises later on.

Eventually we'll get to this:

platform	OpenGL	GLSL
all	3.3 core profile	3.3
and life will be good!

OpenGL 3.3 core profile will be our final target on all platforms. Until all our code is ready we can use 3.3 compatibility profile or "legacy" GL on platforms that don't support compatibility profile. What can we do today to prepare? Set minimum requirements as close to 3.3 as possible. |**platform**|**OpenGL**|**GLSL**|**extensions**| | -- | -- | -- | -- | |Windows|3.3 compat profile|3.3 compat| |Linux|3.3 compat profile|3.3 compat| |Linux (Mesa)|3.0|1.3|ARB_draw_elements_base_vertex| |Mac|2.1|1.2|ARB_draw_elements_base_vertex, EXT_gpu_shader4, ARB_framebuffer_object, APPLE_flush_buffer_range| This lets us simplify context setup code, guarantee certain features on certain platforms, and alert testers that "hey your GPU is old, you'll need to upgrade". I'd like to do this early in development to minimize surprises later on. Eventually we'll get to this: |**platform**|**OpenGL**|**GLSL**| | -- | -- | -- | |all|3.3 core profile|3.3| and life will be good!

Mike Erwin self-assigned this 2016-08-03 22:47:00 +02:00

Mike Erwin commented

2016-08-03 22:47:00 +02:00

Changed status to: 'Open'

Mike Erwin commented

2016-08-03 22:47:00 +02:00

Added subscriber: @MikeErwin

Mike Erwin commented

2016-08-05 00:12:23 +02:00

According to Apple's OpenGL matrix the following helpful extensions are available on all GPUs that are capable of running Blender 2.8:

EXT_gpu_shader4
ARB_framebuffer_object

I added these to our Mac minimum requirements. Linux and Windows use GL 3.x which absorbs these extensions. This will keep our shaders and GL code from diverging too much during development.

According to [Apple's OpenGL matrix ](https://developer.apple.com/opengl/capabilities/GLInfo_1075.html) the following helpful extensions are available on all GPUs that are capable of running Blender 2.8: - EXT_gpu_shader4 - ARB_framebuffer_object I added these to our Mac minimum requirements. Linux and Windows use GL 3.x which absorbs these extensions. This will keep our shaders and GL code from diverging too much during development.

Mike Erwin commented

2016-08-07 06:11:24 +02:00

Added APPLE_flush_buffer_range to Mac requirements. Useful when updating part of a buffer (OpenGL 3 has glMapBufferRange). This extension has been around a long time and all GPUs support it.

Added APPLE_flush_buffer_range to Mac requirements. Useful when updating **part** of a buffer (OpenGL 3 has glMapBufferRange). This extension has been around a long time and all GPUs support it.

Aaron Carlisle commented

2016-08-08 18:07:45 +02:00

Added subscriber: @Blendify

Bartosz Moniewski commented

2016-08-23 22:28:23 +02:00

Added subscriber: @BartekMoniewski

Mike Erwin commented

2016-09-04 20:03:48 +02:00

Added ARB_draw_elements_base_vertex to Mac & Mesa requirements. Specifically for these functions:

glDrawElementsBaseVertex
glDrawRangeElementsBaseVertex

This allows us to make compact index buffers, conserving VRAM (mostly inside Gawain). Also can be used to store multiple similar parts in a vertex buffer, then select which part to draw without reindexing.

It's available on all Macs running OS 10.7.x.
Also available on Mesa, tested on Fedora 24.

Transition to OpenGL 3.2 will be instant, since this extension doesn't add ARB suffix to the new functions.

Added ARB_draw_elements_base_vertex to Mac & Mesa requirements. Specifically for these functions: glDrawElementsBaseVertex glDrawRangeElementsBaseVertex This allows us to make compact index buffers, conserving VRAM (mostly inside Gawain). Also can be used to store multiple similar parts in a vertex buffer, then select which part to draw without reindexing. It's available on all Macs running OS 10.7.x. Also available on Mesa, tested on Fedora 24. Transition to OpenGL 3.2 will be instant, since this extension doesn't add ARB suffix to the new functions.

Mike Erwin commented

2016-10-14 23:45:14 +02:00

We decided to bump system requirements to Mac OS 10.9 "Mavericks". Mostly for its improved C++11 runtime. This also lets us bump OpenGL version to 3.3 on all platforms!

Francesco Sorrentino commented

2016-10-16 23:43:13 +02:00

Added subscriber: @Zeirus

Francesco Sorrentino commented

2016-10-16 23:44:02 +02:00

Removed subscriber: @Zeirus

Anthony Edlin commented

2016-10-17 23:28:25 +02:00

Added subscriber: @AnthonyEdlin

Stefan Werner commented

2017-04-26 23:36:07 +02:00

Added subscriber: @Stefan_Werner

Mike Erwin commented

2017-05-12 00:37:25 +02:00

Changed status from 'Open' to: 'Resolved'

Mike Erwin closed this issue

2017-05-12 00:37:25 +02:00

Mike Erwin commented

2017-05-12 00:37:25 +02:00

As of c8ab7d4656 we use OpenGL 3.3 core profile on all platforms. We still have some implementation and cleanup work ahead, but this milestone is effectively done.

As of c8ab7d46566c4a65c6176cd2ebe27778512f7fef we use OpenGL 3.3 core profile on all platforms. We still have some implementation and cleanup work ahead, but this milestone is effectively *done*.

noki paike commented

2018-08-20 19:07:58 +02:00

Added subscriber: @nokipaike

noki paike commented

2018-08-20 19:07:58 +02:00

hi I tried to start on linux blender on an old laptop that mounts a radeon hd 2600 XT with 512 mb video ram but blender crash on startup.
on ubuntu 18.04 second glxinfo with the latest mesa drivers in development is this card supports opengl 3.3 and shading language 3.3

this gpu turns blender 2.79 which is a beauty and even today manages to safely handle scenes full of heavy models

the glx info:
OpenGL renderer string: AMD RV630 (DRM 2.50.0 / 4.15.0-32-generic, LLVM 8.0.0)
OpenGL core profile version string: 3.3 (Core Profile) Mesa 18.3.0-devel - padoka PPA
OpenGL core profile shading language version string: 3.30

I certainly do not pretend it does turn eevee's advanced shading
but at least blender 2.8 should start keeping the old gl skills of blender 2.79

the blender version i have tested is blender-2.80-4a3348cfe04-linux-glibc219-x86_64
I made an apitrace to see where the problem appears
can be opened with apitrace viewer

Traceblender.zip

hi I tried to start on linux blender on an old laptop that mounts a radeon hd 2600 XT with 512 mb video ram but blender crash on startup. on ubuntu 18.04 second glxinfo with the latest mesa drivers in development is this card supports opengl 3.3 and shading language 3.3 this gpu turns blender 2.79 which is a beauty and even today manages to safely handle scenes full of heavy models the glx info: OpenGL renderer string: AMD RV630 (DRM 2.50.0 / 4.15.0-32-generic, LLVM 8.0.0) OpenGL core profile version string: 3.3 (Core Profile) Mesa 18.3.0-devel - padoka PPA OpenGL core profile shading language version string: 3.30 I certainly do not pretend it does turn eevee's advanced shading but at least blender 2.8 should start keeping the old gl skills of blender 2.79 the blender version i have tested is blender-2.80-4a3348cfe04-linux-glibc219-x86_64 I made an apitrace to see where the problem appears can be opened with apitrace viewer [Traceblender.zip](https://archive.blender.org/developer/F4304464/Traceblender.zip)

Damien Monteillard commented

2018-10-31 16:16:17 +01:00

Added subscriber: @lastrodamo

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update OpenGL requirements for Blender 2.8 #49012