---

Enhancements - D3D8
[3.2]

RenderWare Graphics for D3D8 on PC

In addition to providing the same feature set across the supported platforms, RenderWare Graphics 3.2 benefits from these specific enhancements using D3D8 on the PC.

Pixel and Vertex Shader interface exposed

RenderWare Graphics for D3D8 allows the programmers to use vertex and pixel shaders in their code (results only available on cards that support them). We have provided a version of RpMatFX which is implemented using a Pixel shaders.

Optimized Rendering

Batching of render and texture states has been optimized, which through its efficiency offers increased performance.

Vertex Buffer Manager

This provides effective re-use and sharing of vertex buffers, reducing spatial and temporal memory costs and the cost of switching between different vertex buffers.

General Considerations using RenderWare Graphics with D3D8

Performance is dependent on the video card - special features of each card are taken into account to make RenderWare Graphics more efficient. For example, RenderWare Graphics running on a GeForce3 will make use of pixel shaders where appropriate.

For video cards with Transform and Lighting hardware support, RenderWare Graphics with D3D8 will always be faster than with D3D7.

For video cards without Transform and Lighting hardware support, RenderWare Graphics with D3D8 will be faster than D3D7 in most cases.

The implementations of D3D8, D3D7 and OpenGL will be available at this release.

Curved Surfaces

The design of RpPatch and the architecture of one of the consoles is particularly well suited. The implementation on PC does not benefit from any elements of the PC architecture, and so the implementation relies on the high powered CPU to do the tessellation. On PC, Patches are excellent at representing smoothed surfaces, and for games that will benefit from this, either for terrain or character rendering.

---