Hidden lines vs Wireframe polygons

[|-|ahaha]

Can someone please point me how to render wireframe polygons with hidden lines? I’ve seen methods that involve first rendering the polygon as it is, them rendering it in wireframe. The reason I’m doing this is to improve performance on computers that don’t have a 3D accelerator, because that is the situation here on the third world universities. Anyway, it would be wonderful if somebody can help me on this.

I’m currently coding an application to predict protein structures through genetic algorithms, and the visualization is awful on computers that don’t have a 3D board. And rendering in "pure" wireframe (runs fine on any K6) is very difficult to understand the results.

 

[JasonM [ATI]]

You could simply fog the lines based on depth or distance from the viewer. That is, make them grayer (or change their color in some other way that is more suitable to your application) with distance. This serves to make nearer parts of a wireframe stand out and gives you a depth cue to distinguish from lines behind them. This kind of depth cueing is common in wireframe renderings and also in non-photorealistic renderings to aid in perception.

-Jason

 

[|-|ahaha]

Thanks for your reply! Actualy, I did something simpler:

glHint(GL_PERSPECTIVE_CORRECTION_HINT, GL_FASTEST);
glHint(GL_LINE_SMOOTH_HINT, GL_FASTEST);
glHint(GL_POLYGON_SMOOTH_HINT, GL_FASTEST);
glDisable(GL_POLYGON_SMOOTH);
glDisable(GL_LINE_SMOOTH);

now it runs ok on a K6-2 450 even with lighting.

Just to clarify things, I'm just a biologist who happens to know a bit of C++.