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WebGL vs Java Applet (and LWJGL)

So I am debating which one I should do.

The thing is I really like the idea of being able to have the browser directly run a 3d game that I make using opengl via WebGL. At this point so many browsers support it. A while back I even took a peek at the Runescape site to see how that game has evolved (saw a video which triggered my nostalgia). Turns out Jagex is experimenting with a WebGL Runescape client.

So if I were to create a game, a demanding game within reason and with graphics settings, which could I get better performance from:

1) WebGL
2) Java Applet with LWJGL
3) Other (please specify)
"I shot a boy the other day, but it was in Florida so it was ok." -America
(Aug 3, 2016 07:37 PM)CheesyBread Wrote:  So I am debating which one I should do.

The thing is I really like the idea of being able to have the browser directly run a 3d game that I make using opengl via WebGL. At this point so many browsers support it. A while back I even took a peek at the Runescape site to see how that game has evolved (saw a video which triggered my nostalgia). Turns out Jagex is experimenting with a WebGL Runescape client.

So if I were to create a game, a demanding game within reason and with graphics settings, which could I get better performance from:

1) WebGL
2) Java Applet with LWJGL
3) Other (please specify)

Java applet with LWJGL, but Chrome no longer supports the embedded Java applets, and other browsers will probably fade them out in the future.

My recommendation if you're most familiar with Java is using libGDX which can use GWT to create a WebGL app from a Java game made with libGDX.
Well I am more familiar with Java than WebGL, but I am very familiar with OpenGL and LWJGL so learning WebGL will be intuitive for me.

The only reason I am questioning whether or not to use WebGL is because I wonder about the performance. Javascript is pretty slugish with execution in my experience, and that's not with a full-on game being ran. Obviously WebGL moves a lot of the processing from the Javascript interpreter to the GPU and native code, but it is still having some trouble.

However, I may have no choice but to use WebGL since browsers are fading out embedded Java applets. That is very sad and very disappointing. Why is this? Java applets are wonderful, but they just didn't gain as much popularity.
"I shot a boy the other day, but it was in Florida so it was ok." -America


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