I personally use OpenGL, but if you want to use Direct3D, I would go for IM, it''s more difficult than RM but is much faster.

The Rock

Ignore RM, Microsoft no longer works on that and for that reason it doesn''t support a lot of features. You have more freedom with IM, it can be a little harder to learn at first but will get more out of it.

I don''t want to give any opinions at to wether you should learn OpenGL or Direct3D. But if you want to learn Direct3D, my belief is that you will have a lot of help by using Direct3DX at first since it lets you get going faster with no need for complex initializations. For this reason I have written a tutorial that shows you how to get started with D3DX, you can find it right here:

tutorials



- WitchLord

In Fact Retainer Mode is more complex was Inmediate Mode. The only advantage of RM is you cannot worry about HW caps. But you have to learn many functions and class and which work on another.
And you can learn easy directx starting with a framework (and you can use it for a next project).





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