DirectPlay is officially deprecated

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    • DirectPlay is officially deprecated

      I was trying to figure out why I can't find the sample source code and tutorials in the Summer 2004 DirectX SDK (9.0c) and I stumbled across this:

      msdn.microsoft.com/library/def…_m/directx/play/dplay.asp

      "Warning: Microsoft® DirectPlay® has been deprecated. Deprecated components of Microsoft DirectX® 9.0 for Managed Code are considered obsolete. While these components are still supported in this release of DirectX 9.0 for Managed Code, they may be removed in the future. When writing new applications, you should avoid using these deprecated components. When modifying existing applications, you are strongly encouraged to remove any dependency on these components."

      Go figure... I guess this puts an end to the long debate over Platform Independence/Flexibility versus Not Reinventing the wheel. Now we are all free to write platform independent TCP/IP socket code with maximum flexibility for optimizations... at the cost of time :(
    • Interesting. Essentially the same notice is given when you look up DirectDraw under the same section ("Introducing DirectX 9.0"). While it says that the components may be removed in future releases of DirectX for Managed Code, am I correct in assuming that the COM objects and interfaces for both DirectPlay and DirectDraw are still available in unmanaged/native C++?
    • yes, as far as I can tell, the only thing missing from the 9.0c SDK are the tutorials and sample projects.... everything else is there, and there is nothing to stop you from using it if you decided to use it anyway.

      One thing that really bugs me, though.... direct3D is not a suitable replacement for DirectDraw if you want 2D graphics without hardware acceleration available. GDI always seemed faster than DirectDraw, anyway, for some strange reason.

      It seems that DirectPlay and DirectDraw were in the same boat. Winsock and GDI did pretty much the same thing, but had the reputation of giving better performance.
    • It seemed to me that GDI and DirectPlay coexisted nicely. GDI was great for windows apps, since Windows was essentially hardcoded with how to draw windows and controls. DirectPlay was intend for games, so yeah, I can see how GDI would be faster for regular applications, but I don't see how even Duke3d would be all that quick in pure GDI.

      Of course, I never tried it...(and I never will).

      As for Winsock and DirectPlay, well I'm really not that familiar with either. But, given that I can't play Star Wars Rebellion with my friend over the internet entirely (seemingly) due to the ancient DirectPlay code, I do not hold in a high light.

      I definately see the depreciation of DirectPlay as a shame, though.
      -Larrik Jaerico

      www.LarrikJ.com
    • I think DirectPlay really only became a viable solution in DirectX 8/8.1. Prior to that, I seem to remember reading somewhere that one was better off just rolling their own network code due to perfomance issues with DirectPlay pre-DX8. By that time, developers may have just gotten accustomed to writing their own network code using sockets, and some probably had their own inhouse networking libraries in-place, so they probably weren't going to give DirectPlay a second look anyways.

      The post was edited 1 time, last by MRom ().

    • RE: DirectPlay is officially deprecated

      Go figure... I guess this puts an end to the long debate over Platform Independence/Flexibility versus Not Reinventing the wheel. Now we are all free to write platform independent TCP/IP socket code with maximum flexibility for optimizations... at the cost of time


      I think the reason might actually be found at the Microsoft XNA site microsoft.com/xna/ . The first of the bullet points at the bottom says:

      "In response to strong customer demand, Xbox Live development tools for functionality such as billing, security, login, friends and matchmaking will be made available to Windows developers. The tools will make it easier to create the same social, unified online gaming experiences on Windows that game players have come to expect on Xbox."

      I infer from this that they want to replace DirectPlay with Xbox Live style networking.
      Gamma Testing - Where testing is extended to the full user community (AKA Shipping the Program)