[Bf-funboard] Re: Re: ShadowBuf name

[GSR]

Hi,
cbarton at metavr.com (2006-12-02 at 0735.06 +1100):
> GSR,
> Can we use tooltips in popup menu's even..?

They are in use now, just place mouse over the button ("closed menu"),
you can see part of proposed tooltips was inspired from current ones.

> We can have 1 tooltip for all 3 but Im not sure theres a way of having a 
> tooltip for each.

The tooltip changes as the menu item changes, just select each item
and read the updated tooltip. They do not appear with the menu open,
though time ago there were proposals to provide a context menu to
access things like help for each menu entry.

> if its a choice between algo and a descriptive name. Id opt for 
> descriptive. If people want to know the math behind it- they can look at 
> the source.

I would opt for unambiguous. Things can be precise but still with a
math level barely beyond Sesame Street's "far vs near" ("blame the
teacher, not the topic"). Legacy or sharp are broad terms that can
apply to many other techs, vary with time, and worse, that can not
hold true in some cases (in the right scene with the right settings a
classical / soft / minimum will give truly sharp shadows).

Proper names are way better for artists than the "learn to read code"
escape goat. Right name and a search engine or library wins anytime.
Try talking with a traditional media artist and say "slow drying
creamy paint" or just "cream" instead of "oils", then try to convince
him to drop such complex term and use the simpler one. For that
matter, try asking in a shop of any type (electronics, machinery,
clothes, furniture...) for something with the right word and in other
with some broad description but never the right name (and if
mentioned, stubbornly keep with the vague description anyway). If the
seller has patience you will get what you asked for, but if not...

> These names arnt well known like Phong...

They are ~5 years old while Phong is decades, but they are terms of 3D
trade as well as zbuffer and raytracing are, which are in the
interface too BTW (so try searching sharp shadow vs irregular shadow
buffer).

Make things simple, not simpler.

GSR