I feel almost ashamed to post this because I feel like I already understand it I''m just kinda looking for clarification. I have seen 3d programming tutorials o''plenty. I''m not looking for any specific information here I''m just finding a starting point. So let''s say I understand the fundamental math behind 3d programming. How is that then applied into actual programming? Well, I suppose that depends on what you''re programming in, so in windows you could use Direct Draw. So where does Direct3d come in? It seems to do a good chunk of the math for you if i''m not mistaken. Just out of curiosity what do the big developers do that use directx? Please don''t mistake my ignorance for naivety. I''m not expecting a full tutorial just some friendly guidance. Thanks. -Captain Jack

all direct3d does is control the visualisation of your 3d world. you would still need 3d mathematical knowledge to provide the programming to make and control the world.

Yes, D3D can do a great deal of the math... pretty much all of it if you let it. (i.e. meshes), however, it''s still important to learn the fundamentals. I''d splurge for a good D3D book; hard to find, but if you go to Amazon, and check customer ratings, that should give you a good idea.

p.s. I haven''t learned D3d yet, so I''m really just talking out my a**.

Wow thanks for the prompt replies. The only problem I have (and it''s an irrational problem at that.. meaning it shouldn''t be a problem, but I just don''t like something about it) is the .x file format. I''ve just never seen it anywhere else. I''ve heard there''s a converter that will convert 3ds files to .x but what are my other options? My own file format and draw everything with the D3D calls? Thanks for your patience in this issue.

yup. you can use any other file format with dx, but you''ll have to write your own loaders for them (or find libraries that will do loading for you).

http://www.wotsit.org/ has a few document fileformats

If you want to use another format you need to import it in your project and write a loader for it. A simple format(because it''s just plain text) is the ASE format. 3dsmax does support this so if you own a coppy of that you can start experimenting with it.

Also the .3ds is a populair format or md2/3(the quake format). You could also write your own fileformat with an exporter for 3dsmax (or another package) and an importer.