DirectX 10: The Future of PC Gaming

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Blade_Runner

Blade_Runner

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DirectX 10: The Future of PC Gaming

DirectX 10 is probably the most important revolution in games development, at least since the introduction of the programmable shader in DirectX 8.0. Because of the way that Microsoft has designed the new driver model, DirectX 10 will only be available for Windows Vista users and there will not be a version released for Windows XP. Along with DirectX 10, Windows Vista will come with DirectX 9.0Ex – this is because pre-DirectX 10 hardware will not work under the new API due to the complete overhaul.

NVIDIA’s DirectX 10 compliant GeForce 8800 series has been the talk of the town since its launch on November 8th and while the chip performs incredibly well in DirectX 9.0 games, DirectX 10 performance is a rather large unknown at the moment. We’re not going to be able to answer that question today, but over the course of this article, we will cover the key decisions made by Microsoft during the development of its new API and then expand into what DirectX 10 is going to mean for gamers.
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Conclusion:

I don’t think that there is much doubting the fact that Microsoft has made some significant steps in the right direction with DirectX 10. Although there are a lot of new ideas to get your head around, the impact it will have on the future of PC gaming could be phenomenal. However, the true potential will not be realised until we start to see games developed using DirectX 10.

There is the potential to up the ante on the visual front – from what we have seen so far, games are going to look amazing when developed using DirectX 10. However, that’s not to say that most of the features in DirectX 10 couldn’t be achieved using DirectX 9, but there would be outrageous performance consequences as a result of the large API overheads.

All of the developers we have spoken to about DirectX 10 have greeted it with open arms. Many of those developers are working towards either porting an existing game to DirectX 10 or are in the process of creating a new game using the new API and acknowledge that the lower overheads associated with many heavily used functions will allow them to create scenes with more visual complexity and richness. Both AMD’s and NVIDIA’s developer relations teams are working with games developers to ensure that they have the necessary tools to make efficient use of DirectX 10’s capabilities.
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Dx10, XNA, Games for Windows and Vista might be the redemption PC gaming is looking for giving it a new leash of life..........

Rest of the article bit-tech.net | DirectX 10: The Future of PC Gaming
 
DirectX 10: The Future of PC Gaming

DirectX 10 is a major inflection point for Windows graphics, so Microsoft wanted to make sure that it laid solid foundations – this is where Microsoft’s new driver model comes into play. Although it’s not directly part of DirectX 10, it’s a backgrounder that’s worth covering. Microsoft claims that the Windows Display Driver Model (WDDM) offers “unprecedented stability and performanceâ€. It is a new way of designing drivers - meaning an end to ForceWare and Catalyst Control Center as we know them. Whilst the applications might stay similar on the surface, the backend of display drivers will now be significantly different.
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Complete Detailed Article:- bit-tech.net | DirectX 10: The Future of PC Gaming
 
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