Looking to use ID3DXSprite for a 2D project over textured quads (since the summer update made it uber-slick and sexy). Does it automatically setup an orthographic projection for you? I don't want it to anti-alias anything, and I don't want it to mipmap / distort anything. I want pixel perfect sprites to appear in my 2D game. Does ID3DXSprite do any of the above stuff mentioned? Is ID3DXSprite the way to go? I can't see a reason not to use it after 9.0b.

Yes and no. It does just what you want in other words. :) Call pSprite->Begin(D3DXSPRITE_DONOTMODIFY_RENDERSTATE) if you want to set your renderstates ahead of time.

It's the way to go.

Good luck,
Chris