3 replies to this topic

[Def Base]

Hey,

Little complaint about the DirectX FAQ you have pinned in the new coding forum. IMO it sucks. It seems to be aimed at addressing the common newbie questions, but it IMO confuses things more. For example, why introduce DrawPrimitiveUP? That should almost never be used, and a newbie certainly doesn't need to start bad habits like that.

If you're going to do a FAQ, do one that helps with the basic questions, not one that looks like a list of topics for a tutorial.

For example: 1 paragraph on these:

- COM and why reference counts are important.
- How to do 2D in D3D (difference between RHW, Ortho projection, normal world space)
- Basic app structure (message loop, initialisation, render loop etc)
- A list of the common functions needed to achieve stuff, so that people can quickly locate what they need in the SDK, for eg; CreateVertexBuffer, SetTextureStageState

Just some ideas. A general faq on "this is how to get started and these are things you need to learn more about" is more helpful than the random points in that FAQ.

IMO. YMMV. LOL. ROTFL. IOU. WTF.

[Dia]

I agree with you. It would be great to raise the level of threads posted here.
Could you write a FAQ for us? The questions you suggested are excellent.
I'll see if I have the time and try to answer the questions you suggested. Maybe some moderators (bladder?) can help as well.

The OpenGL FAQ needs rework as well

[bladder]

Quote

Maybe some moderators (bladder?) can help as well.

Bladder can indeed.


[edit]
Is there anyway to put bookmarks within pages. Like you know the linking to item on the same page thingy. That kind of feature is excellent for a FAQ, and the FAQ if maintained, will get pretty crowded and that internal linking will be a life saver. So any way to do that?
[/edit]


[edit2]
I thought this might make good topics for DirectX:

• What is DirectX
  
• Using DirectX
  
• DirectX Resources
  
• Direct3D
  General questions.
  How do I...
  2D in 3D
  Fonts
  
• DirectInput
  General questions
  How do I...
  
• DirectAudio
  General questions
  How do I...
  3D Audio.

[/edit2]

[Def Base]

Dia, here's my faq:

What is DX: www.32bits.co.uk
What is 3D: www.32bits.co.uk
2D in 3D: www.32bits.co.uk

:lol: just kidding :P ... I'd love to help, but I need to spend more time on my site before I help out you guys!


Bladder - good start. I'd also add:

- What is D3DX and why it's not part of D3D
- Why the DirectX samples and tutorials supplied in the SDK have a huge amount of code in them (ie: What is that common files framework)
- How to check and use the caps of a card (when you can't set options, eg texture clamping)

I'll think of some more...