one of my testers was installing caveman 3 and got an error that d3dx9_43.dll is missing.
a google search revealed that win10 only has the runtime files for dx 10, 11, and 12, but not older versions, and one must DL the "directx end user runtime files" for win10 to get true DX capabilites for all versions of DX.
all true eh?
D3DX has never been a part of the operating system. All versions of D3D are supported by Win10, and all versions of D3DX still need be installed with the end-user redistributable package, just like it's been on every OS since Vista (at least).
d3dx9_43.dll
As above, this is not a D3D DLL. It's a D3DX DLL (note the bolded "x"). You've always needed to bundle the redistributable installer for this (not the actual DLLs, that's not legal). Chances are you may have no noticed it before because you picked up a version that some other game or program installed as part of its installation process.
D3DX has never been a part of the operating system
ah! d3dx! good point!
actually in the past, i've simply stated dx9 compatable PC as a system requirement, and left it to the user to DL and install the runtime themselves. typically the troubleshooting support info contained info about installing the Dx runtime.
actually in the past, i've simply stated dx9 compatable PC as a system requirement, and left it to the user to DL and install the runtime themselves. typically the troubleshooting support info contained info about installing the Dx runtime.
An you really think thats a good idea. I'm going to go out on a limb and say the regular user just want to install a game a play, not have to go download some redist or some other requirement imposed by YOUR game. With that said other's have already mentioned the best practice where things are concerned. Stating that DX9 compatible PC has nothing to do with that error as any user can have a DX9 compatible PC and experience the issue you've mentioned.
until windows 8, you had to install dx to get both the d3d and d3dx files. this was usually done by installing some game that included the redistributable. as a consequence, pretty much everyone who had ever installed a dx game had dx installed already. so there was almost never a need to install dx. instead of increasing the game size by adding the dx redistributables which were almost never needed, and slowing down the install by running the dx install, which basically did nothing because it was already installed, i would simply provide links to the redistributable for those very few users who didn't already have dx installed. things haven't really changed much with win8 and win10. anyone who's ever run a dx9 game has the runtime installed already. and for the few who haven't, the choices are to provide a link to the files, or to increase the file size and add an extra setup step unnecessarily for everyone else. as dx9 games become less common, and win 8 and later become more common, adding the runtime setup to the game would probably be a good idea. but at this point in time, i think we're still at the point where including it would be an inconvenience for the majority of users - as they've installed a dx9 game before.
That's not necessarily true, as there are many different versions of the D3DX runtimes that do not sync up with the D3D runtimes. Just because you have versions 1, 3, 8, and 15 doesn't help if your game needs version 11.
That was why each time a new D3D/D3DX SDK was released it had a matching redistribution module. You had to match what you compiled against and if you linked to the generic download it might not work once they updated it. You made installing your game a serious hurdle to playing it for technically challenged people. Unless that was part of a puzzle game, then that would be a bit devious.
Though I have not read up on recent versions as I'm using Vulkan/OpenGL.
D3DX has not been updated since version 47, which I believe came out around the time of Windows 8 or 8.1.
one of my testers was installing caveman 3 and got an error that d3dx9_43.dll is missing.
a google search revealed that win10 only has the runtime files for dx 10, 11, and 12, but not older versions, and one must DL the "directx end user runtime files" for win10 to get true DX capabilites for all versions of DX.
all true eh?
It is up to you to supply all needed dlls for your game to run, if you need the DX end user runtime you should supply it with your download. This is what all tripple A games do, although nowadays this is hidden by steam installing these components for you if you are a steam game.
