Remove XOR effect?

Hi all,

One of the two differences between Canvas 2D and WebGL is there is no immediate replacement for the XOR effect. We can add it via a shader in future, but doing full shader effects is probably some way off. The easiest way to solve the incompatibility before then is simply to remove the XOR effect.

I don't think it's a very useful effect, it looks very weird, so I wouldn't imagine many people have used it. Has anyone used it? Vote in the poll to let me know!

If I am not mistaken, XOR effect is used for masking, for example fog of war. You could use an opaque layer and a sprite that reveals layers below.

Suggestion: Why not add a message alert (with a "don't show again" option) so the user learns that the XOR effect has limitations?

If webgl is to be an option, as it may have to be with the power of two textures being an issue, I would say no to removing xor.

Is there another way to do the whole Fog-Of-War effect? If there is, sure, kill it. Otherwise, that's an option I'd like to have.

Heh, I'm actually using it right now in my prototype, but really just so I could use the same sprite to generate two different effects (normal look and xor). I could always choose another effect, but doesn't matter much to me as my Asus EEE can't run WebGL.

Ultimately I don't know enough to say whether it's needed or not...any artists want to chime in on that note? Still, if it was me I wouldn't out and out remove it; maybe a notice when you export or run layout, like 'warning: you are using the xor effect, which is not supported by WebGL. WebGL users will not see XOR sprite correctly.'

Well 3 people say they currently use it, I guess that makes it worth leaving in anyway.