Wave Issue 9701 1/17/96 Article 2-01

***Microsoft Focuses on Improvements to Direct3D
by John Latta

Microsoft is responding to concerns raised about Direct3D and is firm in
its resolve that this API is the best for game developers on the Windows
platform. In an exclusive to the WAVE Report Microsoft outlined its
initiatives. These improvements are coming rapidly and are being targeted
for the release of DirectX 5.0. As reported in QuickNews, Microsoft has
two major events in February. At Multimedia Strategy Day Microsoft will
describe how DirectX is the foundation for Unified Media Services, which
includes Direct 3D. Also coming is Meltdown 97 which has been expanded to
include a seminar on DirectX. The DirectX team will be present and the
first Beta version which supports the improvements in Direct3D will be
released.

According to Jay Torborg, Director of Graphics and Multimedia, Windows OS
Division: "We expected 3D hardware to be deployed faster than it has and
we also expected it to have a more parallel architecture than it
currently has. The ease of use portion of Direct3D was short of the mark
in our quest for optimal performance on the hardware we expected. We are
now addressing the ease of use issue and are, of course, focusing on
optimizing the code paths being used by actual hardware." Jay also states
that "A key strength of Direct3D is its integration with our overall
multimedia architecture, but it also must stand on its own as a high
quality product. Microsoft is committed to that objective."

Ty Graham, Technical Evangelist, PC Platform Team, is focused in working
with developers. Ty states that "Microsoft is concerned about the
performance of Direct3D and that this is not an issue which stands alone.
We have found that there are three components: Direct3D, the HAL and the
application. All three must be optimized to get the best performance." In
DirectX 5.0 Microsoft has made a significant improvement in Direct3D
usability with the incorporation of DrawTriangle. Originally Microsoft
expected that having developers create Execute Buffers would be the best
path to performance optimized 3D, however, this has not proven to be the
case. The complexity of setting up Execute buffers and limited
documentation created a barrier for game developers which Microsoft,
according to Ty, is committed to correcting. In early tests Microsoft has
seen significant performance improvements when developers use
DrawTriangle due to the ease with which developers can now understand
what is going on. On the other hand execute buffers are a very sharp
sword that allows developers to tailor their performance to the hardware
or the software rasterizers to the host processor. This is complex code.
A key difference with OpenGL is that this API does not allow one to find
out what is going on in the hardware or your software rasterizers. Using
DrawTriangle Ty feels that Microsoft is at parity in performance with
Glide, the 3Dfx API. Another area which Microsoft is focused on is
documentation. Ty Graham states "We are absolutely sensitive to the
documentation issue. In the DDK which will be rolled out at Meltdown,
there will be several orders of magnitude improvement in the
documentation. We believe we are part of the way towards making
developers happy with the new documentation."

Mark Kenworthy, Group Program Manager - DirectX Foundation, Windows OS,
is responsible for the implementation of DirectX 5.0. He states that "The
5.0 release will be a major step forward in fit and finish for DirectX;
our primary focus is usability for our developers, our secondary issue is
better integration with other Microsoft multimedia technologies." The
primary enhancement for Direct3D in DirectX 5.0 will be, according to
Mark, "The incorporation of the DrawTriangle API, which will mesh well
with the current crop of game engines. Many of the current game engines
rely on polygon sorting algorithms, which do not fit well with the
execute buffer paradigm, since they create unique polygon lists every
frame. The DrawTriangle API will allow these engines to achieve full
performance with Direct3D. We will also provide source level wrappers to
the immediate mode API, which encapsulate common sets of immediate mode
function calls in single function calls, thus significantly improving
ease of use for the vast majority of Direct3D users. The example programs
for Direct3D will be expanded to include a variety of small programs
which illustrate the use of individual Direct3D features, and the use of
the new API wrappers."

Eric Engstrom, Group Program Manager - DirectX, is forthright when he
states, "We hear our developers, we are doing what they asked. There is
no finish line in the race for performance and ease of use. There is a
continual quest to be the best and Microsoft will be there."

Kevin Dallas, Group Product Manager, emphasizes that "A major strength of
Direct3D is that it is not only part of the upcoming announcement of the
New Unified Media Services for the Active Platform - DirectX at Strategy
Day but that Direct3D is integrated with Microsoft's Internet strategy."