Vector Class Discussion

inline float stats::weight() {
   // load val into vector
   Vec8s val_s = Vec8s().load(val);
   // replace first element by current_hit
   Vec8s total_s = blend<0,9,10,11,12,13,14,15>(Vec8s(current_hit), val_s);
   // convert short to int
   Vec8i total_i = Vec8i(extend_low(total_s),extend_high(total_s));
   // convert to float
   Vec8f total_f = to_float(total_i);
   // find overcap values
   Vec8f over_cap = select(total_f > weight_cap_f, weight_cap_f - total_f, 0.0f);
   // weight it
   Vec8f sum = ( total_f + over_cap ) * weights - over_cap * cap_weights;
   // sum it all up
   return horizontal_add( sum );
}

You may consider using the same type throughout to avoid the many type conversions - they are expensive. I havent tested this code but I think you get the idea.

And don't expect me to solve all your programming problems...