   Call for FAQ Submissions
  While Jim is otherwise indisposed, I've taken it upon myself to rewrite this forum's FAQ.The current FAQ can be found here, and the current state of my updated one can be found here.What I'd really like you guys to help me out with, aside from the obvious comments and criticisms about what is already there, is with new questions - especially for the 'Component Specific' section at the end.If you've seen a question crop up frequently - irrespective of whether you personally can provide an answer - then I'd like to hear about it. (Post it here so that people can see what's already been put forward).(BTW, all the questions in the new FAQ will have HTML anchors attached to them, so you should be able to link people to specific questions without too much trouble).   Richard "Superpig" FineSmoother than a greased baby[TBRF|GP&T|Enginuity1|Enginuity2|Enginuity3|Enginuity4|Enginuity5][edited by - Superpig on February 15, 2004 12:44:44 PM]
  It''d be good to update references to DX8 and 9 so that they use the correct tense.John B ;  Could you point me to exactly where the problem is (in my version)? I''ve fixed what I could find... ;  * Probably much more about 2D/DirectDraw/Sprites/etc.* more about .x files both in terms of .x specific info (animation, etc.) and in formats->data general (.x files do not "render more slowly* than any other file)* more about Draw...UP functions and, in general, the difference between DrawPrim, DrawIndexedPrim, and DrawPrimUP functions.* Maybe (and this might be hard) some sort of deconstruction of the SDK docs or a "How to use the SDK docs" section. There are many questions that are answered extremely clearly in the docs, but the poster doesn't know how to find them.   EDIT: * Something about when it is and isn't a good idea to use an older version (or something like DirectDraw). Also, this is getting onto dangerous ground, but something about when it is and isn't a good idea to worry about whether or not you should be "cross platform".Author, "Real Time Rendering Tricks and Techniques in DirectX", "Focus on Curves and Surfaces", A third book on advanced lighting and materials   [edited by - crazedgenius on February 15, 2004 1:14:50 PM];  Is this going to be only DirectX specific, or things covered by DirectX (index buffers, vertex shader vs pixel shader, etc) that are always asked here but should technically be in graphics programming and theory?Anyway, you must must have this one:Why did my performance go down so much when switching from DirectX 8 to DirectX 9?I'm so tired of that question .[edit] Oh yes, definitely explain the UP calls. The answer: don't use them.Explaining HAL vs REF would be great, too.   [edited by - Raloth on February 15, 2004 1:14:16 PM];  Direct3D- Quaternion-based camera code - Explanation of how x-files can be used for animation.  Also, present some other options (such as md2, md3, 3ds)- Explain the concept that D3D does not support or use a certain file format.  Rather, it provides a loader that feeds it the information in a useable manner- New or improved DX9 interfaces: ID3DXSprite, ID3DXFont- Device resettingDirectInput- Buffered keyboard input   Dustin Franklin   Mircrosoft DirectX MVP ;  -linker error in DirectInput with c_dfDIKeyboard or c_dfDIMouse (link dxguid.lib)-how to use DirectX with Dev-C++-DirectX debug output and D3DSpy-hardware transforms vs software transforms, HAL vs REF-links to the few tutorials out there on skinned meshes[edit] Also:-transformed vertices and ortho mode to get 2D-the NOOVERWRITE and DISCARD lock pattern for dynamic vertex buffers   [edited by - Raloth on February 15, 2004 6:04:48 PM];quote:Original post by superpig  Could you point me to exactly where the problem is (in my version)? I''ve fixed what I could find...Well, you found what I had seen, anyway.John B ;  Updated it a little. I hope I''ve got the new entries right.Folks, I''m not a DirectX guru, by any means. I don''t read this forum all that regularly (well, not up till now...). I don''t know which questions get frequently asked, and which answers are usually given, etc.So while comments like "do more about 2D and DirectDraw" are helpful in a way - telling me which sections need more content - they don''t tell me what that content is. Which questions about 2D and DirectDraw need answering? How to set it up? Advantages/Disadvantages? Links to tutorials for it? How to make a GUI in it? Should I just give up with this and convert the entire DXSDK docs into a list of questions?Please be a little more specific. And if you can answer the question you''re ten times as helpful. (Yes, I''ll credit you with the answer).   Richard "Superpig" Fine    Smoother than a greased baby[TBRF|GP&T|Enginuity1|Enginuity2|Enginuity3|Enginuity4|Enginuity5];  This might not be necessary, but you should say that there is no DirectInput v9, since it wasn''t updated with DirectX 9. It''s still in version 8, and I wasted at least an hour figuring that out at first..Also, this may not be Direct3D-specific, but I see many threads where people #include the wrong version of the D3D headers.  Maybe a pointer that you should put the DXSDK directory first in the include list (usually I''ve seen MSVC directions provided). 