> > Yes i think that was the main thing i was thinking as well, I just didn't
> > realise it had a name "front-to-back" ;-)
>
> Front-to-back rendering is _not_ an optimization. It's actually quite a bit
> slower because for each pixel, you need to check to make sure there's nothing in
> the frame buffer with a higher priority. It's almost like Z-buffering except
> that you don't necessarily need a separate occlusion buffer (though I think Stef
> mentioned Gens uses one.)
>
> Genecyst encoded priority information into the upper 2 bits of each pixel and it
> used that to determine whether something was already there (because obviously
> the color data alone tells you nothing.)
>
> Front-to-back rendering is required for complete accuracy, though.


How come - do you mean like the intro to Sonic 2 with the low priority sprite masking?


You learn something old everyday...