   DirectX 8 Wraps Up!!!
  Dx8 looks good but I get a wierd feeling that MS wrapped optimized RM code into D3DX. i dont know how many people agree with me, but do we need to migrate our dx7 code to dx8 immediatly. ppl please comment on this.    Raptor
  For a veteran in dx7, dx8 is the same... but you need to recreate all code .. sniff. The code is more simplified, but it is useless for we, because we known about dx7..I don''t see nothing special about dx8, only a few change in sdk samples (missing some alpha sample, and add another sample).Point about comment:1)The sample take some second in start (only me?).2)The better manager of ".x". But you can live without this.3)Union dx3d y directxdraw.. Stop rumours about directdraw dead!... But in the deep it is the same.4)I hope more bugs, we known about many dx7-bugs, and dx8 show a new-brand-bugs :-(5)Dx8 don''t change the world.. I hope more changes.6)Its good to separate dx8 help in c and vb!! my 15 pesos (=2cents).7)Dx8 impulsate the vertexbuffers, but it is not work fast in many graphics card.. so it is better to avoid this.8)DX8 is very good only for a dx-novice.;  Hey, just cause DX8 has improved D3DX stuff doesn''t mean you have to use it. But from what I''ve read through in the samples, you can do some really cool stuff without getting too complicated, and if you do have a TnL card, you can do some kick-ass effects with it that were impossible to do in real time before. Overall, I''m pretty impressed with it. Don''t really need it for my game, but if I ever decide to write a 3D engine, I''m definately using 8....then again, I am a D3D novice...    -Deku-chanDK Art (my site, which has little programming-related stuff on it, but you should go anyway^_^)"I''m dropping like flies!" - me, playing Super Smash Bros. (and losing)"What fun!" - me, playing Super Smash Bros. (and beating the crap out of somebody)  ;  D3DX has most of the functions fully documented if you want to see what they do.They don''t use old RM code.Mostly the D3DX lib is really no different than the D3DFramework wrapper, except for the fact that it has dlls you can link to instead of having to include the entire thing into your source code.Where is the damned nVidia driver update so I can use the volumetric textures at? grr...   ;  eng3d:I''d consider myself quite firm with DX7 and I think DX8 is pretty cool. You finally have support for volume textures, the pixel-shaders will give you much more control for specular effects, bump-mapping, gloss-mapping and god knows what else. T-Buffer support is in (Multi-Sample) and a host of utility functions which make fast prototyping very easy to do. The flexible vertex format is also pretty neat.I think DX8 makes things simpler not just for the novice, but also for professionals, which want the top feature-set for their products.- MK42  ;  Yep, is more easy, but if you known about dx7, you need to re-study many changed topics in dx8. And if you are some veteran, you need to change the code before use dx8 functions.. It is not seem to advantage (in time and loss work).Bump mapping, gloss, and more is cool, but it only run in new-and-expensive-graphics-card. For this the application in games is only optional. You cannot sell games that run only in tnl-video-cards. My tnt-2 don''t work many samples, and this cards is not bad at all.Ok, always have to translate to dx8, but there is not a revolutionary change.A professional in this era, need to apply two concept:1)good quality of product.2)good sells of product.If you only apply the 1) point so you are a hobbyst, not a professional. And many changes in dx8 don''t see to need to many games.But i find a cool application that is lower a polygon.. it''s must work for LOD shapes.And finish :i look the code sample and found some bugs.. start bad! :-(;  If a new project were to begin today using DirectX8, by the time everything was finished it would be perfectly reasonable to expect the "typical" gaming PC to support hardware TnL.Also I might add the very fact of the LOD model demo included in the SDK shows that they are considering lower end machines as well.You can''t develop for an 8 MB video card forever.  ;  Do you want to know why DirectX 8 is so much better than DirctX 7? I''ll show you:Dolphin Sample - DirectX 7Dolphin Sample - DirectX 8;  eng3d:You tend to forget, that within the next year many things will change. If you start development now on a professional product, chances are, it will take 1-2 years to finish (if you start from scratch). By that time, the X-Box will have hit the market ... probably establishing a ''standard'' platform for which software will be developed (even PC software). It will have TnL. No serious graphics card vendor dares to release a non TnL card. 3Dfx has missed that bus eons ago (also the 32-bit bus) and see what has become of the strongest hardware accelerator vendor 2 years ago...Scalability obviously has to be considered. The next-gen engine from id-software runs ''poorly'' on a GeForce 2 (maximum 25 FPS). It is possible to decrease the rendering quality, but you still want to offer the maximum quality for high-end hardware.You also had bugs in the DX7 samples (even in the SDK documentation). BTW, _you_ make the engine not DX ... it just offers more features and tries to make your life easier .... make your software run well on a TNT2 and make it superb on better hardware... that''s my philosophy ...MK42  