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DirectX 8.0a Developer Runtime + other stuff


cov3rt

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I'm sure this would have had to been in the programming section of the forum but i thought it would be ok to ask here and felt so to have a higher likelihood of someone answering my specific question(s) properly. i was wondering if the DirectX 8.0a Developer Runtime with name of "DX8a_DevRT.exe" would be needed for game programming on a system or would simply having the normal directx 8.0a "DX80eng.exe" + the 8.0a sdk "DX8a_SDK" would be all i need ( excluding any other software / api / programming languages that would be needed for creation of my game ). the ""DX8a_DevRT.exe" update says "This is specifically designed for developers and should not be installed by end users" but what does that exactly mean, for developing what exactly. 

I already still don't get the directx 8.0b inplementation instructions, in my honest opinion, the directions are confusing and not really worded clearly / clarified enough for most people to understand, and i have not found one source online anywhere of someone posting the complete instructions and how to implement it with directx 8.0a sdk installed. from my understanding, if how and what they describe of implementing directx 8.0b is that way, then why couldn't one just simply replace the older directx 8.0a files with the newer libraries / dll files of the directx 8.0b package to make an unofficial directx 8.0b full system update which i had already made a thread about. i understand that it would be an unofficial mod, but it doesn't seem like it would be too difficult to do or time consuming, and if someone could do so, then they can just make a directx 8.0b sdk too, so now you don't have to worry about the whole manually adding the libraries or whatever that's need to be done. 

the only OS that this would be necessary on would be windows 95 i guess as that is why it would be a necessity / important thing for me, but again, it wouldn't be too much time or difficulty to do, and one can benefit from a little bit better usability on windows 95, it would be nice for legacy compatibility and / or projects like mine which are a mix of nostalgia and wanting to do something unique

just a thought...

Edited by cov3rt
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I was unable to find "DX8a_DevRT.exe", but its content is probably part of the "DX8a_SDK.exe", so the latter should be everything that's needed. The setup program gives the option to install either retail or debug runtime, I guess "DevRT" refers to the latter. Debug runtime is meant to ease finding and fixing bugs in your code, it consists of DLLs your game loads to utilize DirectX functionality.

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3 hours ago, UCyborg said:

I was unable to find "DX8a_DevRT.exe", but its content is probably part of the "DX8a_SDK.exe", so the latter should be everything that's needed. The setup program gives the option to install either retail or debug runtime, I guess "DevRT" refers to the latter. Debug runtime is meant to ease finding and fixing bugs in your code, it consists of DLLs your game loads to utilize DirectX functionality.

thanks for responding, it's difficult enough getting answers for older operating systems or software, especially in the field of programming. so i guess then i'm fine with the directx 8.0a sdk. i have seemed to find the answer to this question actually just now from one site, how it mentions the directx sdk has debugging tools, and so therefore the "dx8a_devrt.exe" is sort of obsolete unless you do not want to specifically install the directx 8.0a sdk. 

could you also answer some of my other questions? i wanted to know if one would need to install directx 8.0a sdk AND visual studio 6.0 AND the microsoft platform SDK all in the same system.

according to my understanding from the below thread, since they all seem to do different things and function differently, it would seem that i would need to install all of them in order to complete my project of game development or application, however, i was hoping i can get a repsonse here to clarify things in a way that makes more sense and is more clear on what i have to do -

https://ubuntuforums.org/archive/index.php/t-426509.html

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7 hours ago, cov3rt said:

i wanted to know if one would need to install directx 8.0a sdk AND visual studio 6.0 AND the microsoft platform SDK all in the same system.

yes, but ONLY IF u want DEVELOP NEW DX8.0 Application, or RECOMPILE old DX8.0 example.

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On 3/15/2019 at 3:14 AM, MERCURY127 said:

yes, but ONLY IF u want DEVELOP NEW DX8.0 Application, or RECOMPILE old DX8.0 example.

yes, i guess that would mean i need them all since my game would be based off DX8.0A+8.0B included libraries. also from what i observed, you do not need to install visual basic 6.0 if installing visual studio 6.0 because visual studio 6.0 already includes visual basic 6.0, unless there is something missing specifically from the separate VB6.0 program that is not part of VS 6.0? 

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in generic, here is two veriants building process:

DEBUG - for development. when u write own app, u use DEBUG version of ALL - windows kernel API libs, MS CRT libs, DX libs, etc. if and when u use debug libs, u can use VS internal or any other debugger at souce level, do step-by-step trace, trap exceptions, and see value any vers in properly type. its fast and cool. but these DEBUG libs contains many debug info, they big and slow, why they not include in usual windows redist.

RELEASE - when app succefully writed and debugged, u recompile it w/o using degub versions libs. then app will use only standart libs, non dev, appear lesser and faster, and also cointains NO dubeg info, which can help end user crack or revesre app...

Edited by MERCURY127
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You don't need to bother with Platform SDK if you don't intend to use Windows API functions that only exist in Windows 98 and later. Visual Studio 6.0 and DirectX 8.0a SDK would be a good start.

So, install things in the following order:

  1. Microsoft Visual Studio 6.0 (picking both Microsoft Visual C++ 6.0 and Microsoft Visual Basic 6.0 will let you study all example projects that come with DirectX 8 SDK)
  2. Microsoft Visual Studio Service Pack 6 (vs6sp6.exe)
  3. Microsoft DirectX 8.0a SDK (DX8a_SDK.exe)

You're not done yet:

  1. Go to Start->Programs->Microsoft Visual Studio 6.0->Microsoft Visual C++ 6.0
  2. From there, go to Tools->Options... and open Directories tab.
  3. In the right drop-down menu, pick Include files and then the New button under it (it's the very first one).
  4. In the empty line that appears, browse to the include folder of DirectX header files, it'll be C:\mssdk\include if you've installed DirectX SDK in the default folder.
  5. Move the new entry to the top with the up arrow button.
  6. Now repeat the previous steps for library files, choose Library files in the drop-down menu, browse to C:\mssdk\lib and move it to the top.

That's it for Microsoft Visual C++, you should be able to open and build example projects under C:\mssdk\samples\Multimedia.

In Microsoft Visual Basic, you have to go to Project->References... and tick DirectX 8 for Visual Basic Type Library after you create a new project to be able to use DirectX 8 functionality. The example stuff is in C:\mssdk\samples\Multimedia\VBSamples.

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21 hours ago, UCyborg said:

You don't need to bother with Platform SDK if you don't intend to use Windows API functions that only exist in Windows 98 and later. Visual Studio 6.0 and DirectX 8.0a SDK would be a good start.

So, install things in the following order:

  1. Microsoft Visual Studio 6.0 (picking both Microsoft Visual C++ 6.0 and Microsoft Visual Basic 6.0 will let you study all example projects that come with DirectX 8 SDK)
  2. Microsoft Visual Studio Service Pack 6 (vs6sp6.exe)
  3. Microsoft DirectX 8.0a SDK (DX8a_SDK.exe)

You're not done yet:

  1. Go to Start->Programs->Microsoft Visual Studio 6.0->Microsoft Visual C++ 6.0
  2. From there, go to Tools->Options... and open Directories tab.
  3. In the right drop-down menu, pick Include files and then the New button under it (it's the very first one).
  4. In the empty line that appears, browse to the include folder of DirectX header files, it'll be C:\mssdk\include if you've installed DirectX SDK in the default folder.
  5. Move the new entry to the top with the up arrow button.
  6. Now repeat the previous steps for library files, choose Library files in the drop-down menu, browse to C:\mssdk\lib and move it to the top.

That's it for Microsoft Visual C++, you should be able to open and build example projects under C:\mssdk\samples\Multimedia.

In Microsoft Visual Basic, you have to go to Project->References... and tick DirectX 8 for Visual Basic Type Library after you create a new project to be able to use DirectX 8 functionality. The example stuff is in C:\mssdk\samples\Multimedia\VBSamples.

would it hurt to install directx 8.0a sdk before visual studio service pack 6? i like to install things in order of date released, the 8.0a sdk was released 2001 and the vs6sp6.exe was released 2004. i also want to copy over the directx 8.0b libaries into the install 8.0a sdk, would that be ok too or should i configure directx 8.0a sdk and 8.0b after vs6sp6.exe? also am i right that visual studio already includes visual basic 6.0, so your instructions for the project references area are from visual studio 6.0? and for the platform sdk, the one i was gonna install is called msdn development platform april 1999 and it had windows 95 listed on it, i downloaded it off some archived site, i do not know if this was even the "platform sdk", but it seems like you said, i probably will not need it. as long as the developed application or program will work all the way till windows 10, then that's fine to me if i don't use the platform sdk. 

Edited by cov3rt
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5 hours ago, cov3rt said:

would it hurt to install directx 8.0a sdk before visual studio service pack 6?

No. In this case, it doesn't really matter as the SDK doesn't integrate tightly with Visual Studio. You could even install it before Visual Studio and everything would still work as expected.

5 hours ago, cov3rt said:

i also want to copy over the directx 8.0b libaries into the install 8.0a sdk, would that be ok too or should i configure directx 8.0a sdk and 8.0b after vs6sp6.exe?

Yes, that would be OK. We're talking about d3dx8_0b.exe, correct? Everything'll be fine if you follow instruction in its ReadMe. I found your other thread on this forum where you were concerned about this update and the OS stability. This update affects the utility library called D3DX8, which functionality is baked directly in your application in the end in the case you choose to use it, so your application specifically benefits. System stability would be compromised in the case your application managed to trigger some critical bug in your graphics card's driver.

5 hours ago, cov3rt said:

also am i right that visual studio already includes visual basic 6.0, so your instructions for the project references area are from visual studio 6.0?

Yes. Visual Studio 6.0 actually refers to the package of separate IDE (Integrated Development Environment) programs used to write programs, so you have one program for C/C++ and another for Visual Basic. In later versions, there's a single program for everything. Free Express editions are an exception.

So, my instructions were for Microsoft Visual Basic 6.0, that may have been obtained as part of Microsoft Visual Studio 6.0 (it was also sold separately in the old days).

5 hours ago, cov3rt said:

the one i was gonna install is called msdn development platform april 1999 and it had windows 95 listed on it

The one ISO I found under that name has Windows 98 Resource Kit and Microsoft Plus! 98 on it. :huh: There are apparently multiple discs.

5 hours ago, cov3rt said:

as long as the developed application or program will work all the way till windows 10

If you decide to write something in Visual Basic, you'll have dependency on dx8vb.dll. This library is not part the OS since Windows Vista, but it's possible to take it from an older OS (version from Windows XP SP3 is the latest and probably most popular), place it in C:\Windows\System32 (32-bit OS) or C:\Windows\SysWOW64 (64-bit OS) and register it with regsvr32 to make programs dependent on it functional.

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1 hour ago, UCyborg said:

No. In this case, it doesn't really matter as the SDK doesn't integrate tightly with Visual Studio. You could even install it before Visual Studio and everything would still work as expected.

Yes, that would be OK. We're talking about d3dx8_0b.exe, correct? Everything'll be fine if you follow instruction in its ReadMe. I found your other thread on this forum where you were concerned about this update and the OS stability. This update affects the utility library called D3DX8, which functionality is baked directly in your application in the end in the case you choose to use it, so your application specifically benefits. System stability would be compromised in the case your application managed to trigger some critical bug in your graphics card's driver.

Yes. Visual Studio 6.0 actually refers to the package of separate IDE (Integrated Development Environment) programs used to write programs, so you have one program for C/C++ and another for Visual Basic. In later versions, there's a single program for everything. Free Express editions are an exception.

So, my instructions were for Microsoft Visual Basic 6.0, that may have been obtained as part of Microsoft Visual Studio 6.0 (it was also sold separately in the old days).

The one ISO I found under that name has Windows 98 Resource Kit and Microsoft Plus! 98 on it. :huh: There are apparently multiple discs.

If you decide to write something in Visual Basic, you'll have dependency on dx8vb.dll. This library is not part the OS since Windows Vista, but it's possible to take it from an older OS (version from Windows XP SP3 is the latest and probably most popular), place it in C:\Windows\System32 (32-bit OS) or C:\Windows\SysWOW64 (64-bit OS) and register it with regsvr32 to make programs dependent on it functional.

wow, THANKS, this information helped tremendously. 

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4 hours ago, UCyborg said:

If you decide to write something in Visual Basic, you'll have dependency on dx8vb.dll. This library is not part the OS since Windows Vista, but it's possible to take it from an older OS (version from Windows XP SP3 is the latest and probably most popular), place it in C:\Windows\System32 (32-bit OS) or C:\Windows\SysWOW64 (64-bit OS) and register it with regsvr32 to make programs dependent on it functional.

houston, we may have a problem here, i believe dx8vb.dll from my google searching is not supported under windows 7, 8 or 10 and many people are complaining that there applications would still not work, despite copying or registering the dx8vb.dll file into the system32 or syswow64 folder. 

i went from this -

https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_7-files/dx8vbdll-error/a4a148c3-91d5-4db9-9c9a-e7465dfcd7b1

to this - 

https://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/3f97b9bc-9055-4a1b-b2b5-f5f255c2c679/dx8vbdll-dx7vbdll-vb6-and-vista-compatibility?forum=gametechnologiesgeneral

 

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23 hours ago, cov3rt said:

houston, we may have a problem here, i believe dx8vb.dll from my google searching is not supported under windows 7, 8 or 10 and many people are complaining that there applications would still not work, despite copying or registering the dx8vb.dll file into the system32 or syswow64 folder.

Did I miss something there? There was one guy who failed to register DLL due to not running Command Prompt as administrator. Other than that, I only know about the game Survival Crisis Z with that dependency. The samples included with SDK also work, at least those that don't require comdlg32.ocx or mscomctl.ocx; I have yet to try to register those. I guess the chance of breaking something due to DirectX VB DLLs is minimal since they're just wrappers exposing Direct3D functions to Visual Basic.

17 hours ago, MERCURY127 said:

why just not install dx8 redistributables?

Its installer doesn't do much on newer Windows versions. The one for DirectX 9.0c released in 2004 actually installs dx8vb.dll and also dx7vb.dll, after working around obstacles preventing it from running in the first place. Interestingly, when I ran it, it registered dx8vb.dll, but not dx7vb.dll.

Edited by UCyborg
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On 3/17/2019 at 4:06 PM, UCyborg said:

In Microsoft Visual Basic, you have to go to Project->References... and tick DirectX 8 for Visual Basic Type Library after you create a new project to be able to use DirectX 8 functionality. The example stuff is in C:\mssdk\samples\Multimedia\VBSamples.

back to this part, i got stuck on the microsoft visual basic part. i didn't know what option to choose so i choose the standard exe for the new project window that first pops up, then i used your steps of going to project>references, and ticked the directx 8 for visual basic type library and pressed ok.  i guess i can confirm that visual basic 6.0 is included with visual studio 6.0 as the option in the program files of visual studio 6.0 shows it too. 

also, for the visual studio 6.0 install, i noticed a window that wanted to install msdn but i didn't know what this was or if i have it / need it, so i unchecked this option and installed everything else i believe. also from what we talked about, i wouldn't need the platform sdk, although it's unclear to me if this is included with visual studio 6.0 or not. could that msdn option perhaps be part of it that it was asking earlier? 

so now i was wondering if i can get a general starting point or tips on creating something basic in the directx sdk or visual studio. btw, the 8.0a sdk samples really look nice, especially the teapot they have, it looks very nice as well as some other samples such as point sprites, looking very realistic. i am using a dell latitude d800 which has limited support but the fx go 5650 gpu does work for one, i am using the forceware 45.23 driver, installed through the change vga display adapter way and selecting fx 5600, it has the fx 5650 go tab in the system properties tab, when specifying monitor, i choose the 1600x1200 one i think and i can set all the way to 1600x1020 or somewhere around there, currently i have it set at 1280x960 which i find to be reasonable resolution and probably one i would like my game to be in for optimal look and performance. 

i do have several books i ordered on directx 8.0 specifically, pixel and vertex shaders, etc. oh and i confirm that vs6sp6.exe installed successfully on windows 95, even though from what i checked, the documentation doesn't mention windows 95 or 98. the executable that actually you need to run is setupsp6.exe which is one of the extracted files. 

sorry for the blurry pic, i was only able to upload max of about 30 KB, just wanted to show that visual basic 6.0 is listed under visual studio 6.0

vb6.jpg

Edited by cov3rt
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