DirectX 2D Tutorials For VB5/VB6/VB.NET

Also coming soon, I'm writing C# DirectX9 tutorials as well.

I've decided to go truely Massive and plan to dedicate my tutorials to a website with my own domain name which I haven't created yet. The following languages will be covered (and I'm not kidding):

• Visual C++ 6.0 - DirectX7 / DirectX8 / DirectX9
• Visual C++ 2008 - DirectX9
• Visual C++ 2010 - DirectX9
  
• Visual C# 2008 - DirectX9
• Visual C# 2010 - DirectX9
  
• Visual Basic 6.0 - DirectX7 / DirectX8
• Visual Basic.Net 2008 - DirectX9
• Visual Basic.Net 2010 - DirectX9

I have tons of tutorials made already in all these languages, with all of em being consistant in structure, variable names, functions, etc. I will also have a Word document explaining step by step on how to initialize DirectX to your IDE in all these languages. It's been a lot of hard work and there are no plans yet to include DirectX10 and DirectX11 or XNA but if I decide to, I'll include it. Also there are no plans whether I should include Visual Studio.Net 2003 / 2005, because the damn links have been removed by MS. So your wisest choice is to upgrade to VS 2008 or VS 2010. Each of these tutorials will be simplified and only have one file to work with. So there won't be no header files or anything in C++. Just one Main.cpp. C# will only have one Main.cs. VB6 only one Main.frm, etc. And each language will consist of a ton of tutorials to cover, but no idea on how many for each just yet, in both 2D and 3D, but not limited to just DirectDraw 2D, it'll have Direct3D 2D as well.

When I said consistantcy, I meant it. Compare these 2 languages for example:

c++ Code:

#include <windows.h>
#include <d3d8.h>
 
struct CUSTOM_VERTEX
{
    float X, Y, Z, RHW;
    DWORD Color;
};
 
#define CUSTOM_VERTEX_FORMAT (D3DFVF_XYZRHW | D3DFVF_DIFFUSE)
 
const D3DFORMAT COLOR_DEPTH_16_BIT = D3DFMT_R5G6B5;
const D3DFORMAT COLOR_DEPTH_24_BIT = D3DFMT_A8R8G8B8;
const D3DFORMAT COLOR_DEPTH_32_BIT = D3DFMT_X8R8G8B8;
 
LPDIRECT3D8 Direct3D = NULL;
LPDIRECT3DDEVICE8 Direct3D_Device = NULL;
D3DDISPLAYMODE Display_Mode;
D3DPRESENT_PARAMETERS Direct3D_Window;
HWND hWnd;
MSG msg;
bool Fullscreen_Enabled;
bool Running;
CUSTOM_VERTEX Vertex_List[3];
 
CUSTOM_VERTEX Create_Custom_Vertex();
void Create_Polygon();
void Draw_Polygon();
void Render();
void Game_Loop();
void Main();
void Shutdown();
void DirectX8_Initialize();
LRESULT CALLBACK WindowProcedure (HWND, UINT, WPARAM, LPARAM);
 
CUSTOM_VERTEX Create_Custom_Vertex(float X, float Y, float Z, float RHW, DWORD Color)
{
    CUSTOM_VERTEX Vertex;
 
    Vertex.X = X;
    Vertex.Y = Y;
    Vertex.Z = Z;
    Vertex.RHW = RHW;
    Vertex.Color = Color;
 
    return Vertex;
}
 
void DirectX8_Initialize()
{
    Direct3D = Direct3DCreate8(D3D_SDK_VERSION);
    memset(&Direct3D_Window, 0, sizeof(D3DPRESENT_PARAMETERS));
 
    if (Fullscreen_Enabled == true)
    {
       Display_Mode.Width = 800;
       Display_Mode.Height = 600;
       Display_Mode.Format = COLOR_DEPTH_16_BIT;
       Direct3D_Window.Windowed = FALSE;
       Direct3D_Window.BackBufferCount = 1;
       Direct3D_Window.BackBufferWidth = Display_Mode.Width;
       Direct3D_Window.BackBufferHeight = Display_Mode.Height;
       Direct3D_Window.hDeviceWindow = hWnd;
    }
    else
    {
       Direct3D->GetAdapterDisplayMode(D3DADAPTER_DEFAULT, &Display_Mode);
       Direct3D_Window.Windowed = TRUE;
    }
    Direct3D_Window.SwapEffect = D3DSWAPEFFECT_COPY;
    Direct3D_Window.BackBufferFormat = Display_Mode.Format;
    Direct3D->CreateDevice(D3DADAPTER_DEFAULT, D3DDEVTYPE_HAL, hWnd, D3DCREATE_SOFTWARE_VERTEXPROCESSING, &Direct3D_Window, &Direct3D_Device);
}
 
void Create_Polygon()
{
    Vertex_List[0] = Create_Custom_Vertex(0, 0, 0, 1, D3DCOLOR_RGBA(255, 255, 255, 255));
    Vertex_List[1] = Create_Custom_Vertex(100, 0, 0, 1, D3DCOLOR_RGBA(255, 255, 255, 255));
    Vertex_List[2] = Create_Custom_Vertex(0, 100, 0, 1, D3DCOLOR_RGBA(255, 255, 255, 255));
    Vertex_List[3] = Create_Custom_Vertex(100, 100, 0, 1, D3DCOLOR_RGBA(255, 255, 255, 255));
}
 
void Draw_Polygon()
{
    Direct3D_Device->SetVertexShader(CUSTOM_VERTEX_FORMAT);
    Direct3D_Device->DrawPrimitiveUP(D3DPT_TRIANGLESTRIP, 2, Vertex_List, sizeof(CUSTOM_VERTEX));
}
 
void Render()
{    
    Direct3D_Device->Clear(0, NULL, D3DCLEAR_TARGET, D3DCOLOR_RGBA(0, 0, 0, 255), 1.0f, 0); // clear frame
    Direct3D_Device->BeginScene();
    Create_Polygon();
    Draw_Polygon();
    Direct3D_Device->EndScene();
    Direct3D_Device->Present(NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL);
}
 
void Game_Loop()
{
    while (Running == true)
    {
        if (PeekMessage(&msg,NULL,0,0,PM_REMOVE) > 0)
        {
            if (WM_QUIT == msg.message) break;
            TranslateMessage (&msg);
            DispatchMessage (&msg);
        }
        else
            Render();
    }
}
 
void Main()
{
    DirectX8_Initialize();
    Running = true;
}
 
void Shutdown()
{
    Running = false;
    Direct3D_Device->Release();
    Direct3D->Release();
    PostQuitMessage (0);
    HANDLE Process;
    Process = OpenProcess(PROCESS_ALL_ACCESS , true , GetCurrentProcessId());
    TerminateProcess(Process , 0);
}
 
int WINAPI WinMain (HINSTANCE hInstance, HINSTANCE hPrevInstance, LPSTR lpszArgument, int nCmdShow)
{
    
    WNDCLASSEX wc = {sizeof(WNDCLASSEX), CS_VREDRAW|CS_HREDRAW|CS_OWNDC, WindowProcedure, 0, 0, hInstance, NULL, LoadCursor(NULL, IDC_ARROW), NULL, NULL, "DX_TUT", NULL};
    RegisterClassEx(&wc);
 
    if (MessageBox(hWnd, "Click Yes to go to fullscreen (Recommended)", "", MB_ICONQUESTION | MB_YESNO) == IDYES)
       Fullscreen_Enabled = true;
 
    if (Fullscreen_Enabled == true)
        hWnd = CreateWindowEx (0, "DX_TUT", "DirectX Tutorial", WS_VISIBLE | WS_POPUP | WS_CLIPSIBLINGS | WS_CLIPCHILDREN, CW_USEDEFAULT, CW_USEDEFAULT, 330, 250, HWND_DESKTOP, NULL, hInstance, NULL);
    else
        hWnd = CreateWindowEx (0, "DX_TUT", "DirectX Tutorial", WS_OVERLAPPEDWINDOW, CW_USEDEFAULT, CW_USEDEFAULT, 330, 250, HWND_DESKTOP, NULL, hInstance, NULL);
    ShowWindow (hWnd, nCmdShow);
    Main();
    Game_Loop();
    return msg.wParam;
}
 
LRESULT CALLBACK WindowProcedure (HWND hWnd, UINT msg, WPARAM wParam, LPARAM lParam)
{
    switch (msg)
    {
        case WM_DESTROY:
            Shutdown();
            break;
        case WM_KEYDOWN:
            if(wParam == VK_ESCAPE)
            {
                DestroyWindow(hWnd);
                return(0);
            }
        default:
            return DefWindowProc (hWnd, msg, wParam, lParam);
    }
    return 0;
}

vb Code:

Option Explicit
 
Private Type CUSTOM_VERTEX
 
    X As Single
    Y As Single
    Z As Single
    RHW As Single
    Color As Long
    
End Type
 
Private Const COLOR_DEPTH_16_BIT As Long = D3DFMT_R5G6B5
Private Const COLOR_DEPTH_24_BIT As Long = D3DFMT_A8R8G8B8
Private Const COLOR_DEPTH_32_BIT As Long = D3DFMT_X8R8G8B8
 
Private Const CUSTOM_VERTEX_FORMAT As Long = D3DFVF_XYZRHW Or D3DFVF_DIFFUSE
 
Private DX As DirectX8
Private Direct3D As Direct3D8
Private Direct3D_Device As Direct3DDevice8
Private Display_Mode As D3DDISPLAYMODE
Private Direct3D_Window As D3DPRESENT_PARAMETERS
    
Private Fullscreen_Enabled As Boolean
Private Running As Boolean
 
Private Vertex_List(3) As CUSTOM_VERTEX
 
Private Function Create_Custom_Vertex(X As Single, Y As Single, Z As Single, RHW As Single, Color As Long) As CUSTOM_VERTEX
 
    Create_Custom_Vertex.X = X
    Create_Custom_Vertex.Y = Y
    Create_Custom_Vertex.Z = Z
    Create_Custom_Vertex.RHW = RHW
    Create_Custom_Vertex.Color = Color
    
End Function
 
Private Sub DirectX_Initialize()
 
    Set DX = New DirectX8
    Set Direct3D = DX.Direct3DCreate()
    
    If Fullscreen_Enabled = True Then
        Display_Mode.Width = 800
        Display_Mode.Height = 600
        Display_Mode.Format = COLOR_DEPTH_16_BIT
        Direct3D_Window.Windowed = False
        Direct3D_Window.BackBufferCount = 1
        Direct3D_Window.BackBufferWidth = Display_Mode.Width
        Direct3D_Window.BackBufferHeight = Display_Mode.Height
        Direct3D_Window.hDeviceWindow = frmMain.hWnd
    Else
        Direct3D.GetAdapterDisplayMode D3DADAPTER_DEFAULT, Display_Mode
        Direct3D_Window.Windowed = True
    End If
    
    Direct3D_Window.SwapEffect = D3DSWAPEFFECT_COPY_VSYNC
    Direct3D_Window.BackBufferFormat = Display_Mode.Format
 
    Set Direct3D_Device = Direct3D.CreateDevice(D3DADAPTER_DEFAULT, D3DDEVTYPE_HAL, frmMain.hWnd, D3DCREATE_SOFTWARE_VERTEXPROCESSING, Direct3D_Window)
 
End Sub
 
Private Sub Create_Polygon()
 
    Vertex_List(0) = Create_Custom_Vertex(0, 0, 0, 1, D3DColorRGBA(255, 255, 255, 255))
    Vertex_List(1) = Create_Custom_Vertex(100, 0, 0, 1, D3DColorRGBA(255, 255, 255, 255))
    Vertex_List(2) = Create_Custom_Vertex(0, 100, 0, 1, D3DColorRGBA(255, 255, 255, 255))
    Vertex_List(3) = Create_Custom_Vertex(100, 100, 0, 1, D3DColorRGBA(255, 255, 255, 255))
 
End Sub
 
Private Sub Draw_Polygon()
 
    Direct3D_Device.SetVertexShader CUSTOM_VERTEX_FORMAT
    Direct3D_Device.DrawPrimitiveUP D3DPT_TRIANGLESTRIP, 2, Vertex_List(0), Len(Vertex_List(0))
 
End Sub
 
Private Sub Render()
 
    Direct3D_Device.Clear 0, ByVal 0, D3DCLEAR_TARGET, D3DColorRGBA(0, 0, 0, 255), 1#, 0
    Direct3D_Device.BeginScene
    Create_Polygon
    Draw_Polygon
    Direct3D_Device.EndScene
    Direct3D_Device.Present ByVal 0, ByVal 0, 0, ByVal 0
 
End Sub
 
Private Sub Game_Loop()
 
    Do While Running = True
        Render
        DoEvents
    Loop
 
End Sub
 
Private Sub Main()
 
    If MsgBox("Click Yes to go to fullscreen (Recommended)", vbQuestion Or vbYesNo, "Options") = vbYes Then Fullscreen_Enabled = True
    
    With Me
        .Show
        .Caption = "DirectX Tutorial"
        If Fullscreen_Enabled = True Then .BorderStyle = vbBSNone
    End With
    
    DirectX_Initialize
    Running = True
    Game_Loop
    
End Sub
 
Private Sub Shut_Down()
 
    Running = False
    Set Direct3D_Device = Nothing
    Set Direct3D = Nothing
    Set DX = Nothing
    Unload Me
    
End Sub
 
Private Sub Form_KeyDown(KeyCode As Integer, Shift As Integer)
 
    If KeyCode = vbKeyEscape Then Shut_Down
 
End Sub
 
Private Sub Form_Load()
 
    Main
 
End Sub
 
Private Sub Form_Unload(Cancel As Integer)
 
    Shut_Down
    
End Sub

Its official. DirectX7 - DirectX11 will be covered with whatever languages support them, along with XNA. I will be covering 2D, 3D, and DirectDraw. The websites up www.massivedirectxtutorial.com but is still undergoing construction since the sites relatively new. I will be covering every aspect of directX possible that no other tutorial has dared to cover, including handling the dreaded Alt Tab issue, which I have completed in C++, C#, VB6, and VB.Net. I hope for this to be the greatest DirectX tutorial online. Its been a hell of a learning process for me and I want to share it with the world.

Please allow me to translate your tutorial and publish it. Your name will be signed, but there is no money for you. Whether you agree or not, I will translate. This is your pleasure, you must accept it! (PS: I am a campus security from Greater China)