NTFS vs. FAT32... games for which
When I was reading WGP (by LaMothe), he said that whatever game you make with DirectX you can play on 95, 98, and NT systems. Because they use the same API.
Yet on many boxes (or better, some boxes), they show needing DX drivers but only working on 98 NOT NT.
So why is that?
Is there any way to get them to work on both straight off?
Or do you have to do/code something special to the game to run both OSes?
It''s not a question of filesystem, it''s a question of "consumer-level" multimedia functions that only existed in the 9x branch and not the NT branch. Conversely, NT had Unicode support while 9x did not. And so on.
So yeah, there are compatibility issues between the different windows branches.
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So yeah, there are compatibility issues between the different windows branches.
Documents [ GDNet | MSDN | STL | OpenGL | Formats | RTFM | Asking Smart Questions ]
C++ Stuff [ MinGW | Loki | SDL | Boost. | STLport | FLTK | ACCU Recommended Books ]
Thanks Fruny.
So is there a way to add those "mulitmedia functions" to NT or the code so that won''t be an issue?
also how much could i code before there was an issue?
(or to be clearer what can''t i put in my code so there won''t be an issue?)
So is there a way to add those "mulitmedia functions" to NT or the code so that won''t be an issue?
also how much could i code before there was an issue?
(or to be clearer what can''t i put in my code so there won''t be an issue?)
It''s quite possible that MS has put system calls into newer versions of DX that are not available on W95. - and all that Fruny said too - I didn''t see his response. 
"Beautiful maiden," answered Candide, "when a man is in love, is jealous, and has been flogged by the Inquisition, he becomes lost to all reflection."
"Beautiful maiden," answered Candide, "when a man is in love, is jealous, and has been flogged by the Inquisition, he becomes lost to all reflection."
To my knowledge, WinNT only supports up to DX 3, though I think one of the later service packs gives you DX 5 (or part) support. I have WinNT with SP 3 and can only get DX 3 functions to work.
Supporting both NT and 9x (XP) is not as easy as just writing your game in DX 3 either. You will come up against some pretty serious performance issues with later version of DX on win9x machines, as DX 3 functionality will be emulated (software) - a big performance hit.
eg. Work - NT SP3, PIII 128MB RAM, on board video -> 21 FPS
Home - XP, AMD 1900 512MB RAM, GF4 128MB video -> 8 FPS
Unless you have specific reason to write for NT, I''d recommend going for supporting win9x with later versions of DX.
Just my experience.
Crow_knee.
*login won''t work*
Supporting both NT and 9x (XP) is not as easy as just writing your game in DX 3 either. You will come up against some pretty serious performance issues with later version of DX on win9x machines, as DX 3 functionality will be emulated (software) - a big performance hit.
eg. Work - NT SP3, PIII 128MB RAM, on board video -> 21 FPS
Home - XP, AMD 1900 512MB RAM, GF4 128MB video -> 8 FPS
Unless you have specific reason to write for NT, I''d recommend going for supporting win9x with later versions of DX.
Just my experience.
Crow_knee.
*login won''t work*
So I have the DX 6.1 SDK which also come with the runtime drivers (is that the right term?)
If I loaded that on an Win NT/2000 machine, it still would run my game (which i wrote with DX 6.1) with a software emulator?
that doesn''t sound right.
also since i read it..... (AP)
if i write my game with DX7 (DirectDraw) and run it on a machine with DX9 (directgraphics) i would get lower/slower performance?
even with the backward compatible capability?
If I loaded that on an Win NT/2000 machine, it still would run my game (which i wrote with DX 6.1) with a software emulator?
that doesn''t sound right.
also since i read it..... (AP)
quote:
Supporting both NT and 9x (XP) is not as easy as just writing your game in DX 3 either. You will come up against some pretty serious performance issues with later version of DX on win9x machines, as DX 3 functionality will be emulated (software) - a big performance hit.
eg. Work - NT SP3, PIII 128MB RAM, on board video -> 21 FPS
Home - XP, AMD 1900 512MB RAM, GF4 128MB video -> 8 FPS
if i write my game with DX7 (DirectDraw) and run it on a machine with DX9 (directgraphics) i would get lower/slower performance?
even with the backward compatible capability?
just wondering if anyone could explain the issue the AP talked about, and any of my question(s) too.
Sure.
Windows NT 4 (workstation, server, or whatever) can have DX3 installed (or DX 5 with the latest service pack).
Windows 2000/XP can have DX7+ installed, and thus supports each versions'' calls.
Windows 95 can have up to DX7 installed; support for 8 was dropped or strategically left out by Gates & Co.
Windows 98/Me come with DX5+ preinstalled, thus support the full range of calls appropriate to the installed version.
Since D3D from DX3 uses display lists (from my memory, could be wrong so someone please correct me if need be), and doesn''t necessarily use later-driver optimization for rendering stuff, you won''t get T&L acceleration (introduced with DX 6 I believe).
Some of the stuff Lamothe does, he uses the basic DX1 interface for, without QueryInterface()ing for later versions'' COM interfaces. This (QI()ing) can''t be done for DX8 (and possibly DX 7, can''t recall as I''ve not used it in a while) since you must use DirectX8Create() and the associated creation functions from that release, to be able to use features from that release.
MatrixCubed
http://MatrixCubed.cjb.net
Windows NT 4 (workstation, server, or whatever) can have DX3 installed (or DX 5 with the latest service pack).
Windows 2000/XP can have DX7+ installed, and thus supports each versions'' calls.
Windows 95 can have up to DX7 installed; support for 8 was dropped or strategically left out by Gates & Co.
Windows 98/Me come with DX5+ preinstalled, thus support the full range of calls appropriate to the installed version.
Since D3D from DX3 uses display lists (from my memory, could be wrong so someone please correct me if need be), and doesn''t necessarily use later-driver optimization for rendering stuff, you won''t get T&L acceleration (introduced with DX 6 I believe).
Some of the stuff Lamothe does, he uses the basic DX1 interface for, without QueryInterface()ing for later versions'' COM interfaces. This (QI()ing) can''t be done for DX8 (and possibly DX 7, can''t recall as I''ve not used it in a while) since you must use DirectX8Create() and the associated creation functions from that release, to be able to use features from that release.
MatrixCubed
http://MatrixCubed.cjb.net
so if i wrote a game using the DX 6.1 code, it will work on NT/2000/XP! Great!
Thanks alot guys; if anyone wants to add to the info please do.
Thanks alot guys; if anyone wants to add to the info please do.
No, it wont. Dx 6 is not supported on NT.
Care to read at least?
Now, why the **** should anyone use A Dx version below 9 - ups, 8 :-) I mean, NT was never meant to be a game system (or a multimedia system). Stick with 98, MR, 2000, XP. Forget about 95 - that is history.
Regards
Thomas Tomiczek
THONA Consulting Ltd.
(Microsoft MVP C#/.NET)
Care to read at least?
Now, why the **** should anyone use A Dx version below 9 - ups, 8 :-) I mean, NT was never meant to be a game system (or a multimedia system). Stick with 98, MR, 2000, XP. Forget about 95 - that is history.
Regards
Thomas Tomiczek
THONA Consulting Ltd.
(Microsoft MVP C#/.NET)
This topic is closed to new replies.
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