   Transparent color suddenly stopped working
  Hi, I've just started messing with DirectX programming. I'm learning from a not-so-great book...heh. I'm starting with a 2D game.Anyway, I have this bizarre problem where my transparent color stopped working for no apparent reason. It worked two nights ago, then I merely added code that reads the game's map from a file. (before I just used a non-pointer array as a test case) I haven't changed the code below, which to my knowledge is the only important code when it comes to transparency. I load all bitmaps with the following:IDirect3DSurface9* getSurfaceFromBitmap(std::string filename, int width, int height){HRESULT hResult;IDirect3DSurface9* surface = NULL;// verify that the image exists...the hard way.D3DXIMAGE_INFO imageInfo;hResult = D3DXGetImageInfoFromFile(filename.c_str(), &imageInfo);if (FAILED(hResult))return NULL;hResult = pd3dDevice->CreateOffscreenPlainSurface(width, height, D3DFMT_A8R8G8B8, D3DPOOL_DEFAULT, &surface, NULL);if (FAILED(hResult))return NULL;hResult = D3DXLoadSurfaceFromFile(surface, NULL, NULL, filename.c_str(), NULL, D3DX_DEFAULT, D3DCOLOR_XRGB(40, 0, 20), NULL);if (FAILED(hResult))return NULL;return surface;}Yesterday, the transparent color worked. Today, it turns black. So now sprites and tiles have the ugly "black box" effect. I tried setting the backbuffer to A8R8G8B8 instead of unknown, that didn't help either.Is there anything I'm missing? Was it just a fluke in DirectX's design that made it work fine before?One more question: Is there anywhere I can find a downloadable DirectX API listing?   
  Have you tried taking out the code that reads the game's map from a file to check if that change is actually what broke it?Quote:Is there anywhere I can find a downloadable DirectX API listing?You mean like the help docs for the API?  That is included with the SDK (or was the last time I downloaded it).  I think it ussually gets added to your start menu with the rest of the SDK stuff (sample browser etc).Matt   ;Quote:Original post by matthughsonHave you tried taking out the code that reads the game's map from a file to check if that change is actually what broke it?Quote:Is there anywhere I can find a downloadable DirectX API listing?You mean like the help docs for the API?  That is included with the SDK (or was the last time I downloaded it).  I think it ussually gets added to your start menu with the rest of the SDK stuff (sample browser etc).MattAh, it's there. :) I didn't notice it because it's like a typical help manual...I'm used to the web-based API's like Sun's for Java.I tried taking out the new code too...that didn't help at all. Is there anything else I need to do (besides the code I already posted) to make them properly transparent? I made sure that all the images do load with that code as well. I've also tested others' DirectX games to make sure it's not an issue with my system.I tried (also) to use D3DCOLOR_ARGB() and a variety of alpha settings...no dice.   ;  Ok, I tried making a test case exactly like the original one I thought worked, retracing my significant steps...it doesn't work. My transparent color turns black.Here's the entire code for the test case...runs off one .cpp file. I added d3d9.lib and d3dx9.lib. I tested with a image with some red (255,0,0) in it. The red turns black, it doesn't become the background sky blue color. I looked through the API and it didn't help explain why this won't work. What could possibly be wrong with this code? Is it a global feature with DirectX I've forgotten to do?#include <windows.h>#include <mmsystem.h>#include <d3d9.h>#include <d3dx9tex.h>#include <string>using namespace std;HINSTANCE hInst;// holds the instance for this appHWND wndHandle;// global window handleLPDIRECT3D9   pD3D;LPDIRECT3DDEVICE9  pd3dDevice;////////////////////////////////////////////// forward declarationsbool    initWindow(HINSTANCE hInstance);LRESULT CALLBACK WndProc(HWND, UINT, WPARAM, LPARAM);IDirect3DSurface9* character;// direct3D functionsHRESULT SetupVB();bool initDirect3D(HWND hwnd);void shutdown(void);void render();IDirect3DSurface9* getSurfaceFromBitmap(std::string filename, int length, int width);IDirect3DSurface9* getSurfaceFromBitmap(std::string filename, int height, int width){HRESULT hResult;IDirect3DSurface9* surface = NULL;D3DXIMAGE_INFO imageInfo;hResult = D3DXGetImageInfoFromFile(filename.c_str(), &imageInfo);if FAILED(hResult)return NULL;hResult = pd3dDevice->CreateOffscreenPlainSurface(width, height,   D3DFMT_A8R8G8B8, D3DPOOL_DEFAULT, &surface, NULL);if FAILED(hResult)return NULL;hResult = D3DXLoadSurfaceFromFile(surface, NULL, NULL, filename.c_str(),  NULL, D3DX_DEFAULT, D3DCOLOR_ARGB(0xff, 255, 0, 0), NULL);if FAILED(hResult)return NULL;return surface;}int WINAPI WinMain(HINSTANCE hInstance, HINSTANCE hPrevInstance, LPTSTR lpCmdLine, int nCmdShow){// call our function to init and create our windowif (!initWindow(hInstance)){MessageBox(NULL, "Unable to create window", "ERROR", MB_OK);return false;}// init direct3dinitDirect3D(wndHandle);// setup the vertex buffer and add the triangle to it.SetupVB();character = getSurfaceFromBitmap("./char.bmp", 720, 192);// Main message loop:// Enter the message loop    MSG msg;ZeroMemory( &msg, sizeof(msg) );    while( msg.message!=WM_QUIT )    {// check for messagesif( PeekMessage( &msg, NULL, 0U, 0U, PM_REMOVE ) )   {TranslateMessage( &msg );  DispatchMessage( &msg );   }// this is called when no messages are pendingelse{// call our render functionpd3dDevice->Clear( 0, NULL, D3DCLEAR_TARGET,    D3DCOLOR_XRGB(0,255,255), 1.0f, 0 );pd3dDevice->BeginScene();// renderrender();pd3dDevice->EndScene();pd3dDevice->Present( NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL );}    }// shutdown the directx managershutdown();return (int) msg.wParam;}HRESULT SetupVB(){    return S_OK;}bool initDirect3D(HWND hwnd){HRESULT hr;if( NULL == ( pD3D = Direct3DCreate9( D3D_SDK_VERSION ) ) ){return false;}D3DPRESENT_PARAMETERS d3dpp;ZeroMemory( &d3dpp, sizeof(d3dpp) );    d3dpp.Windowed = TRUE;    d3dpp.SwapEffect = D3DSWAPEFFECT_DISCARD;    d3dpp.BackBufferFormat = D3DFMT_UNKNOWN;d3dpp.BackBufferCount  = 1;d3dpp.BackBufferHeight = 480;d3dpp.BackBufferWidth  = 640;d3dpp.hDeviceWindow    = hwnd;    hr = pD3D->CreateDevice( D3DADAPTER_DEFAULT, D3DDEVTYPE_HAL, hwnd,    D3DCREATE_SOFTWARE_VERTEXPROCESSING,    &d3dpp, &pd3dDevice );if FAILED (hr)    {   return false;    }return true;}void render(){//pd3dDevice->Clear(0, NULL, D3DCLEAR_TARGET, D3DCOLOR_XRGB(0, 255, 255), 1.0f, 0);RECT dest;RECT src;src.top = 0; src.left = 0; src.bottom = 72; src.right = 48;dest.top = 0; dest.left = 0; dest.bottom = 72; dest.right = 48;IDirect3DSurface9* backbuffer = NULL;pd3dDevice->GetBackBuffer(0, 0, D3DBACKBUFFER_TYPE_MONO, &backbuffer);pd3dDevice->StretchRect(character, &src, backbuffer, &dest, D3DTEXF_NONE);}void shutdown(void){    if( pd3dDevice != NULL) {   pd3dDevice->Release();pd3dDevice = NULL;}    if( pD3D != NULL){   pD3D->Release();pD3D = NULL;}}bool initWindow(HINSTANCE hInstance){WNDCLASSEX wcex;wcex.cbSize = sizeof(WNDCLASSEX);wcex.style= CS_HREDRAW | CS_VREDRAW;wcex.lpfnWndProc= (WNDPROC)WndProc;wcex.cbClsExtra= 0;wcex.cbWndExtra= 0;wcex.hInstance= hInstance;wcex.hIcon= 0;wcex.hCursor= LoadCursor(NULL, IDC_ARROW);wcex.hbrBackground= (HBRUSH)(COLOR_WINDOW+1);wcex.lpszMenuName= NULL;wcex.lpszClassName= "DirectXExample";wcex.hIconSm= 0;RegisterClassEx(&wcex);wndHandle = CreateWindow("DirectXExample",  "DirectXExample",  WS_OVERLAPPEDWINDOW, CW_USEDEFAULT,  CW_USEDEFAULT,  640,  480,  NULL,  NULL,  hInstance,  NULL);   if (!wndHandle) return false; ShowWindow(wndHandle, SW_SHOW);   UpdateWindow(wndHandle);   return true;}LRESULT CALLBACK WndProc(HWND hWnd, UINT message, WPARAM wParam, LPARAM lParam){switch (message) {case WM_DESTROY:PostQuitMessage(0);break;}return DefWindowProc(hWnd, message, wParam, lParam);}