//-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
// Name: PointSprites Direct3D Sample
//
// Copyright (c) 1998-2001 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
//-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Description
===========
The PointSprites sample shows how to use the new Direct3D point sprites
feature. A point sprite is simply a forward-facing, textured quad that is
referenced only by (x,y,z) position coordinates. Point sprites are most
often used for particle systems and related effects.
Note that not all cards support all features for point sprites. For more
information on point sprites, refer to the DirectX SDK documentation.
Path
====
Source: DXSDK\Samples\Multimedia\D3D\PointSprites
Executable: DXSDK\Samples\Multimedia\D3D\Bin
User's Guide
============
The following keys are implemented. The dropdown menus can be used for the
same controls.
<Enter> Starts and stops the scene
<Space> Advances the scene by a small increment
<F1> Shows help or available commands.
<F2> Prompts user to select a new rendering device or display mode
<Alt+Enter> Toggles between fullscreen and windowed modes
<Esc> Exits the app.
Programming Notes
=================
Without Direct3D's support, point sprites can be implemented with four
vertices, that are oriented each frame towards the eyepoint (much like a
billboard). With Direct3D, though, you can refer to each point sprite by
just it's center position and a radius. This saves heavily on processor
computation time and on bandwidth uploading vertex information to the
graphics card.
In this sample, a particle system is implemented using point sprites. Each
particle is actually implemented using multiple alpha-blended point sprites,
giving the particle a motion-blur effect.
This sample makes use of common DirectX code (consisting of helper functions,
etc.) that is shared with other samples on the DirectX SDK. All common
headers and source code can be found in the following directory:
DXSDK\Samples\Multimedia\Common
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