I´ve been working on a 2D rendering engine using (C#) with SlimDx and Dx9 for a while. Performance is great, and everything works like a charm. The other day I started experimenting with different font settings, and found to my surprise that using different font properties doesn't change the output except in a few rare cases. I decided to delve into this, and have reduced my code to a bare-minimum sample. Basically I iterate in three nested loops the SlimDx.Direct3D9.FontQuality, SlimDx.Direct3D9.PitchAndFamily and SlimDx.Direct3D9.Precision enums, and print out the text "The quick brown fox...". This way I can see all combinations. My biggest issue is that there is no difference between using NonAntialiased and Antialiased. They are identical. The only ones that differ are ClearType and ClearTypeNatural. Has anyone else tried this? I'd be more than happy to provide my sample code and screenshots. There are of course many different configuration parameters that can be changed when setting up the device. But since I'm doing pure 2D, I have disabled most 3D effects like lighting, depth stencils and the like. I have tried with MultiSampleTypes and qualities also, but no difference. I'm instantiating a new SlimDx.Direct3D9.Font using the ctor like this: Font dx9Font = new Font(Context9.Device, 14, 0, FontWeight.Normal, 0, false, CharacterSet.Default, precision, quality, pitch, "Arial")); then I invoke dx9Font.DrawString(null, ...). Have I missed something obvious?

Thanks, I didn't think about which font I'm using. I'll experiment a little with different fonts, and see what happens. I have actually been experimenting with DirectWrite also, and like you say, the font styling is vastly superior.