   Help me clear this up!
  I been told before that someday down the road I will want to code my own model format or this or that... I don't know why I would want to when I am making a RTS with tanks, buildings, ect... I am not sure if those people are assuming I am making Doom10 or what but from my stand point I don't understand the +/- to using .x vs. my own. I like the .x since I can calculate alot of data I need with DX library functions vs. I will have to do/figure them out myself. Mainly tangent vectors and the fun of having to code the rendering of your model code to be on the fast path. I am assuming .x will be on the fast path with Microsoft doing all the work under the hood, and with instancing showing up I still don't see why I need to make my own model format. But as I said I need help clearing this up due to I am new to DX and haven't been around the block like many others here. Thanks   
  It should become very clear if (not when) you need to write your own model format. Often your current model format may need specialized items that are not available in any current formats. Also, some formats can be very bloated, so it may be nice to have only the info you need. If you see no reason to write your own format, then there isn't one. Creating your own file format involves identifying all the features you need, finding a way to organize them, write complicated loaders and exporters for popular modelling packages, etc. I wouldn't recommend it unless you really need some feature that is not currently available in any format. It just wastes time you could use adding and perfecting your game.   ;  Thanks Sr_Guapo, glad you helped clear up my confusion. From a indie developer stand point I don't see any special needs beyond what .x can do. .X can animate so that's filled. I am sure .X is bloated compared to some, but in reality I don't want to waste time anymore thinking what's the fastest method to go about this or that I just want the game up and running and then see how it peforms and at that point one can evaluate the performance and make adjustments. Thanks again and thanks for the rating! :)   