if you’re at all a little curious about directx 8, i just
read a nice little primer on it at gamedev.net
http://www.gamedev.net/reference/programming/features/dx8freshstart/
the article is mainly more concerned with the 3d aspects,
but curious to see where MS is taking this stuff. it still
looks impossible to use directx without pages and pages of
online reference material to help with calling arguments,
flags, and a long list of whatnots
anyways, the curiousity that caught my eye was no more
color-keying. all transparancy is done with alpha.
nothing that’ll make me switch from sdl/opengl, but just
interesting to keep pace with what’s out there.
“Pete Shinners” wrote:
if you’re at all a little curious about directx 8, i just
read a nice little primer on it at gamedev.net
http://www.gamedev.net/reference/programming/features/dx8freshstart/
the article is mainly more concerned with the 3d aspects,
but curious to see where MS is taking this stuff. it still
looks impossible to use directx without pages and pages of
online reference material to help with calling arguments,
flags, and a long list of whatnots
msdn,microsoft.com is a very good resource for information and I found it much
easier to dig for wanted information than the way the OpenGL stuff is handled.
With D3D you can get all the information in one place whereof with OpenGL you
have to dig through the specification or blue book and then through supported
extensions to find out whether something is possible or not or to keep up to
date with latest changes… Oh well, a small price to pay 
nothing that’ll make me switch from sdl/opengl, but just
interesting to keep pace with what’s out there.
This is also important for OpenGL. Few people are aware of the features of
OpenGL 1.2 as they have the old red or blue book and don’t keep track of what
changes. Also there are many extensions that add quite some possibilites too.
Daniel Vogel, Programmer, Loki Software Inc.