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  Panda3D Features

Shader Generation

Many advanced rendering techniques now fully automatic:
  • Special Maps: Normal Map, Gloss Map, Glow Map
  • HDR Rendering: Tone Mapping, Bloom Filter
  • Cel Shading: Threshold Lighting, Inking
  • More to come

Performance Monitoring

Powerful performance monitoring and optimization tools:
  • Identifies bottlenecks, both CPU and GPU
  • CPU time use decomposed into more than 250 categories
  • Counts meshes, polygons, textures, transforms, state changes, etc
  • Allows user-defined CPU-usage categories
  • Tools for batching and state-change minimization
  • Toos to merge textures and minimize texture switches

Full Python Integration

Automatically-generated wrappers expose full functionality of engine.
  • Highly optimized: all core functionality in C++
  • Thoroughly-tested: two commercial MMOs in python
  • Panda3D structures garbage collected when using Python
  • Manual and sample programs use python

Just Works, Right out of the Box

No-hassle install:
  • Convenient installer package for Windows
  • Only one external dependency: working graphics driver
  • Sample programs run right out of Start Menu
  • No compilation step needed
  • Installers (rpm & deb) for Linux too

Exposes Full Power of Graphics API

Modern OpenGL features exposed directly to Panda3D user:
  • High-level shader language: Cg
  • Powerful interface between shaders and engine
  • Render-to-texture, with ARB_draw_buffers
  • Use of depth/shadow textures

Debugging Tools

Heavy emphasis on error tolerance and debuggable code:
  • Extreme resistance to crashing, even when errors are made
  • More than 5000 assertion-checks to catch errors early
  • Reference-counted data structures minimize memory leaks
  • Many tools to examine internal state (one shown here)

Mature, Complete System

Mature system used to deliver several commercial games.
Contains everything you need, not just the "sexy" stuff:
  • Converters for older file formats
  • Font file importers
  • Tool to package games into redistributables
  • Means to pack art assets into encrypted bundles
  • Lots of other boring but essential stuff
screenshot
Psychedelic Flythrough of the Mind of a Computer
screenshot
Student Recreation of "Colossus"
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Blackout: a game using high-end lighting for ambiance.