make swaying grass from a single image?

[xyzzy]

Aren't graphic cards built to handle pixel shaders quickly too?

depends on how new it is

ones from 4-5 years ago (or even lower-end new cards) can't handle a lot of shading operations, while ones 2 years or newer don't have much issue being loaded with shaders

EDIT: with the same setup (Niffla's swaying grass with the blend shader), i get a solid 50 FPS

[BrandonC]

So lets say you find better results with shaders. This just proves that it's always a good idea to keep alternative solutions, and maintain an options screen for people who do have the capable power.

Cause I use a GeForce 7900gs and I have no issues with pixel shaders both MMF2 and even 3DMark benchmarking.

[Nifflas]

That's true, you should use whatever is the best solution for you. If pixel shaders looks better and consumes an acceptable amount of GPU, it should be used. I'm not against the use of pixel shaders. I just wanted to point out that rotations are more resource efficient. In a situation where resource usage is more important than looks (e.g. games intended to run on low-end graphics cards), it can be really important to know which is the fastest option.

[BrandonC]

This is true. At the same time, I try to pull the rope towards visual quality over performance whenever possible. I guess the combination of both types of people around here, lead to well information in both fields. :cool: