Turbine Games Q&A/Graphics/Q-61

Original Link (now dead) - http://www.turbinegames.com/qa/view_questions.html?id=2340

What is the engine so limited?

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Asked:	2000.11.15
Name:	?
Question Title:	What is the engine so limited?
Category:	Graphics
Question:	?

Answered:	2000.11.16
Name:	Sean.
Answer:	If you mean "why" is the engine so limited, well, when programming any system, you have to decide what you want it to do and what you do not want it to do. Everything is a tradeoff. For each feature you add, you sacrifice memory or speed. You try to maintain a balance of each. For the AC engine, we wanted it to be fast, because we need to maintain a decent framerate for even low-end machines. Keep in mind that I have seen screenshots with over 100 people in them. They all have to render. For the sake of speed we sacrificed certain features, but we manage to do a lot with the features we have. As graphic cards become more standard (they were NOT when the AC engine was written) and more powerful, you can count on our engine to improve for other games. A pretty vague question, considering you didn't mention any specific limitations, so forgive the pretty vague answer. Sean.