I’m often amazed how much processing can be performed in a few milliseconds, even in the face of sloppy algorithms. Graphic processing, on the other hand, seems to be another story. Any excess painting can be significantly detrimental.
For the record, I’m developing this game in Linux (Debian) with no accelerated graphics drivers, and I am determined for it to run well on my platform of preference. Sun promises a vastly improved graphic pipeline with its upcoming Java update release, but this only helps with DirectX in Windows.
It’s easy to unjustly blame sluggish graphics on Java or Linux. So far in my burgeoning graphics experience, I’ve found that performance problems invariably indicate that I’ve done something horribly wrong. Reading an article on Swing animation last week inspired me to vastly improve my graphic processing.
Without getting into the technical details (unless there’s an interest), the conclusion is that Java on Linux can certainly drive graphic content, as long as you’re meticulous in your implementation. While Java’s general software performance is exceptional, only so much graphic excess can be swept under the rug.