Q277012: DirectX: List of New Features Included in Microsoft DirectX 8.0
Article: Q277012
Product(s): Microsoft Home Games
Version(s): 2000
Operating System(s):
Keyword(s): kbimu msgame
Last Modified: 13-JUN-2001
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The information in this article applies to:
- the operating system: Microsoft Windows 95
- the operating system: Microsoft Windows 98
- the operating system: Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition
- the operating system: Microsoft Windows 2000
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SUMMARY
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This article describes some of the new features that are included in the
Microsoft DirectX 8.0 SDK. This list is by no means complete. For additional
information, please refer to the documentation included in the DirectX SDK.
MORE INFORMATION
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DirectX 8.0 is composed of the following five components:
- DirectX Audio - an accelerated audio/music interface
- DirectX Graphics - an accelerated graphics interface
- DirectInput - a streamlined input device interface
- DirectPlay - a multi-player gaming interface
- DirectShow - an accelerated media playback interface
New DirectX Audio features include:
Microsoft DirectX Audio version 8.0 provides a new architecture for integrated
music and sound effects playback. Although the names Microsoft DirectSound and
Microsoft DirectMusic are still used, there is no longer a clear distinction
between the two, and it is expected that the DirectMusic APIs will be the APIs
of choice for creating interactive sound effects.
- The new audio architecture treats the DirectMusic synthesizer as the main
sound generator for DirectX Audio. This highly optimized DLS2 synthesizer
creates all the sounds, sub-mixes them and sends the result to DirectSound
buffers for further processing.
The DirectSound buffer can apply audio effects processing as well as 3-D
positioning on each sound. The DirectMusic synthesizer can also sub-mix
multiple individual voices prior to output. This allows several individual
sounds to be processed by the same audio effects and positioned in the same
location in 3-D space and use only one DirectSound3D buffer, minimizing CPU
usage and 3-D hardware requirements.
- DirectMusic Producer will provide authoring capabilities for all new
DirectMusic features, as well as some enhancements that do not affect the
APIs but allow for a more flexible and comprehensive authoring environment.
New DirectX Graphics features include:
- Migration of Microsoft DirectDraw into Microsoft Direct3D:
In version 8.0 of DirectX, DirectDraw is fully integrated into Direct3D to
enable drastically simplified application initialization, improved data
allocation and management performance, and reduced memory footprint.
The new Direct3D infrastructure provides the services that are called at
relatively low frequency.
- Creation of Direct3D.
- Creation of resources such as textures and vertex buffers.
- Display mode selection.
- Presentation of rendered images to the display.
New DirectX 8.0 Graphics features include:
- Parallel vertex input streams for more flexible mapping to dynamic
application data structures.
- Programmable vertex processing language enables programmers to write hardware
shaders for
- General environment mapping
- Matrix palette skinning
- Morphing/tweening animation
- Procedural geometry
- User-defined lighting models
as well as for any other developer-defined algorithm.
- Programmable Pixel processing language enables programmers to write hardware
shaders for
- Per-pixel environment mapping
- Per-pixel lighting/bump mapping
as well as for any other developer-defined algorithm.
- MultiSample Rendering support enables:
- Full-scene antialiasing
- Multisample effects such as depth-of-field and motion blur
- Sprite Points enable:
- High-performance rendering of particle systems
- 3-D Volume textures enable:
- Easy texturing of very complex geometry
- Range-attenuation in per-pixel lighting
- Volume atmospheric effects
- Higher-Order Primitive Support:
- Enhances the appearance of 3-D content
- Facilitates the mapping of content from major 3-D authoring tools
- Higher-Level Technologies:
- 3-D content creation tool plug-ins for export into Direct3D of skinned meshes
using a variety of Direct3D techniques such as higher order surface data and
multi-resolution LOD geometry
New DirectInput features include:
- DirectInput Mapper, including a default user interface that enables users to
configure devices quickly and easily. This standard API is complimented by a
low-level user interface API that enables applications to directly access
device images for use in their own custom user interfaces.
- Better support for international applications. DirectInput devices in DirectX
8.0 support a new property to retrieve the localized key name string for an
international keyboard. This feature will be useful to most any
DirectInput-based application that ships internationally.
New DirectPlay features include:
- DirectPlay 8 interfaces, IDirectPlay8, represent a rewrite of the DirectPlay
layer designed for simplicity, performance, and scalability.
- IDirectPlay 8 is designed to be scalable for the massive multiplayer
environment of thousands of users.
- The provision of Voice channels. This is implemented across both the old APIs
and the IDirectPlay8 APIs in a single, common interface.
- DirectPlay Voice allows for a voice-prompted user interface.
- DirectPlay Voice provides for multiple topologies: peer to peer,
client/server, and client/mixing server.
- A rich suite of low and high bandwidth compression/decompression algorithms
are available in support of DirectPlay Voice.
- Takes advantage of I/O completion ports in Windows 2000, increasing the
potential number of clients/server, reducing server deployment costs.
- A revised addressing scheme based on URL naming convention to be more
intuitive to work with. An additional benefit is allowing for easily-created,
one-click game launching from a Web page.
- A simplified API scheme allows easier setup and connection for the developer.
- Thread management implemented to reduce thread count, thus lowering the cost
to implement servers.
- The lobby/client dependency is removed, allowing the developer to pick and
choose the components that suit the job requirement.
New DirectShow features include:
- A single setup program for graphics, audio and streaming.
- Integrated documentation and samples.
- Easier dependency testing DirectShow-based applications because DirectX 8.0
will always be installed.
In addition to the benefits of improved integration, DirectShow 8.0 adds the
following features:
- Dynamic Graph Building, allowing filter chains to be added and removed from
the graph while it is still running.
- Dynamic Format Change support, allowing the graph to reconfigure on the fly
for changes in the source data.
- DirectShow Editing Services, a complete timeline and switching system for
non-linear editing.
- Improved startup performance and filter caching to reduce enumeration time.
- Improved DVD Support. The DVD Navigator now implements the complete DVD
Annex-J command set and can play karaoke as well as video discs. The MSWebDVD
ActiveX control enables the development of full-featured scripting-based DVD
player applications.
For information about how to download and install DirectX 8.0, please see the
following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
Q179113 How to Download and Install DirectX
REFERENCES
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The information in this article was copied directly from the DirectX 8.0 for
Visual C++ and the DirectX 8.0 for Visual Basic documentation.
Additional query words: msgame direct-x dx8 improvements update versions winme
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Keywords : kbimu msgame
Technology : kbOSWin2000 kbOSWin98 kbOSWin95 kbOSWinME kbOSWinSearch
Version : :2000
Issue type : kbinfo
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