   Safe To Use D3DX?
  Is it safe to use the D3DX library in a game? I read that people should avoid using the D3DX structures as they may not be included in the average user's runtime. Is this correct? I'm just wondering if there is another way of doing shaders besides using the ID3DXEffect* class.   
  D3DX is perfectly fine. Recently, Microsoft switched d3dx from a staic library to a separate dll, so you must make sure the end user has the correct version of the d3dx dll. I'm not 100% on how the redistribution works, but it isn't complicated.   ;  And I'd complete that answer by saying that using the effect framework is not an obligation since you can just use IDirect3DDevice9::Set[Pixel/Vertex]Shader()I have never thought of using something else than D3DXAssembleShader() though, so you still use D3DX (but D3DX != FX framework)   ;  If all else fails, you can put d3dx9.dll in your game's installed directory and it'll work just fine.  (And it's legal.)   ;Quote:Original post by RenderTargetIf all else fails, you can put d3dx9.dll in your game's installed directory and it'll work just fine.  (And it's legal.)Unless Microsoft has updated its license agreement (unlikely), shipping D3DX DLLs in your game folder isn't legal. You have to use DirectSetup. See: Distributing DirectX Applications.Alternatively, you can point your users to the DirectX Web Installer, which will install everything they need. The downside is that it'll download a bucket-load of runtimes, which may not be needed.   ;  The biggest issue is when you use the latest SDK, but it is not yet available on the windows update site.  Then you gotta be sure to install the runtime when you install the SDK, along with the ability to have others install it when they install your app.  The SDK comes with a sample that show how to do this.