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• December 23, 2002 •

Microsoft Releases DirectX 9.0

DirectX Last week Microsoft released DirectX 9.0. Microsoft DirectX is a group of technologies designed to make Windows-based computers an ideal platform for running and displaying applications rich in multimedia elements such as full-color graphics, video, 3D animation, and rich audio. DirectX 9.0 includes security and performance updates, along with many new features across all technologies, which can be accessed by applications using the DirectX 9.0 APIs.

"DirectX 9.0 offers unparalleled advances in graphics technology," said Ted Hase, director of Windows® Third-Party Gaming and Entertainment at Microsoft. "Microsoft always has been a pioneer in the development of best-of-breed technologies and tools that facilitate the development of great gaming content. Developers will discover that the new capabilities built into DirectX 9.0 make it significantly easier to create content that demonstrates richness, robustness and totally immersive depth."

DirectX 9.0 offers the following new benefits for developers:

  • High-level shader language
  • library that supports patch meshes and traditional polygonal meshes
  • Improved real-time animation capabilities that allow separate animations on the same mesh to be blended
  • Enhanced low-level graphics programmability with new programmable vertex and pixel shader 2.0 models in the Direct3D® API
  • Full integration, including debugging, of new programmable shader models with the Microsoft Visual Studio® .NET development system
  • Enhanced DirectShow® video rendering hardware acceleration
  • A new version of DirectMusic® Producer, enabling support for DirectMusic enhancements such as low-latency playback
  • New wizards for creating DirectX Media Objects (DMOs) for audio effects and DirectMusic tools for MIDI processing
  • Improved DirectPlay® performance for multiplayer games
  • Availability of DirectPlay for Pocket PC 2002

DirectX 9.0 supports Windows 2000, Windows 98, Windows ME, Windows XP. The DirectX 9.0 runtime cannot be uninstalled. We recommend Windows Millennium and XP users create a "System Restore point" before installing.

The End-User Runtime is available in 15 languages here. If you want to redistribute DirectX 9 through your network, you can download the full Redist version (32 MB). The Software Development Kit (SDK) is a whopping 227 MB, and located here.

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Last Updated: December 23, 2002