DX7 vs DX8?

[igloo9]

I know technically DX8 is better, but is there anything that makes DX7 better?

The reason I ask is because I've noticed some people on here prefer a DX7 version of Eclipse.

What's so bad about DX8?

[Synergy]

DX7 is theoretically faster I believe, but not noticeably unless you're on a terribly old/bad machine.

People favour DX7 because it's a bit easier to use, more than anything else. DX8 is a bit more complicated (although hardly), but allows for some fancier effects, e.g. alpha blending.

It's worth mentioning that both are really old technology now, so both should run perfectly run on any reasonably modern machine.

That's a very broad comparison, and I'm sure someone else will counter-argue or add to it. 

[TheRexion]

Some people's computers are so old they can't run the DX8 Run-Time at all, which says they need an upgrade.

[abhi2011]

@Duke if you mean on the basis of Hardware all computers will support it. The only ones that won't would be the ones build in then 1990s

[Lavos]

Its funny how i find that DX8 is more easy for me to work with somehow. A reason for me not to choose DX7 is because of the alpha blending issue, I didn't like the fact that I had to create a hybrid for 3d rendering with DX7 in order for me to simulate dx8 features, this could really take up cpu/gpu power when doing this. I rather have .png support with DX8, don't get me wrong though some people just maybe choose to use DX7 because they have already learned most of how it works, they have a old bad machine w/ integrated graphics or they just don't know how to work with DX8….Hmm..

[Synergy]

Even with an old computer with integrated graphics, DX8 should still run.

[Exception]

Uhm…, here goes.

Anyway, when I hop onto my laptop later, I'll fully explain the differences including hardware, usage, and benchmarking. I have no intention of fully-explaining on an iPad.

In summary, the DX8 API was released in 2000\. Anything 2000+ will more than likely support DX8, provided it has a video card (naturally.). Can't remember about DX7, but really, if your target audience is using a pre-2000 machine, you need to reconsider.

DirectDraw7 is not "theoretically" faster in any shape or form, although, speed is dependent on how you handle rendering, graphic sizes, graphic cards, and tons of other variables.

A major key rendering method to remember is that EO2 blits [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bit_blit ] (which is the proper term for rendering a graphic to an empty space, or what's known as the backbuffer, and then copies that entire backbuffer, and renders it all in one go, in short.) and actually manages loaded graphics.

_EO3 does not manage loaded graphics, hence why it may be slower for some. In terms of how it renders, I can't completely remember, I've not used EO3 in a long while, but I think it just creates each individual vertex that makes up the sprite, makes up a rectangle, and puts that loaded memory into said vertex buffer. I cannot remember if there is any form of raster-pre allocation, although, considering it IS technically 3D, I have doubts about the validity of this paragraph. Read the last paragraph before you criticise me, and feel free to correct me.

Oh, and there's POT to consider. POT is annoying.

As for the other APIs…they're bloody useless to start! They either no longer have a practical use, or have better alternatives...Why would you consider DirectSound when you have FMOD/BASS, DirectInput when you have raw input, DirectPlay when you have Winsock, etc...

There's nothing bad about DX8\. In my opinion, there's unnecessary thoughts relating to compatibility and speed. Although there are valid cases where DX8 runs terribly, I can't blame them, but the reasoning is often more exaggerated than needed.

By the way, this is all from memory. As I said, I'll explain more in depth, and if I have made any, I'll correct any mistakes or misinformation here, and I'll also go do some research to back it up for you guys. Check back.

M'kay?_

[Guest]

Basically, the reason isn't technicalities but I'm sure it's a massive ego boost to be able to repeat the same things about DX7 and DX8 over and over.

The actual reason is because DX7 has been the default graphics engine in Eclipse engines for a while now. People are used to it - people made tutorials for it, people teach other people how to do DX7\. DX8 is a fairly recent addition to Eclipse and a lot of people tend to stay away from it for that reason (especially because there aren't nearly as many tutorials for DX8). People also find it inconvenient to render everything when you could just drag and drop stuff onto a form.

Also, from what I've seen, people might find it "difficult" simply from the way the DX8 code looks. EO's implementation looks messy as hell and even I personally wouldn't have a clue what was going on.