Google Groups no longer supports new Usenet posts or subscriptions. Historical content remains viewable.
Dismiss

No more Direct Play SDK???

31 views
Skip to first unread message

Yuet

unread,
Dec 17, 2004, 2:37:04 PM12/17/04
to

Is it true that MS decide to drop support for DP?

This is bad since I built few applications base around DP and found them
very handy to use.


Phil Taylor

unread,
Dec 17, 2004, 7:11:18 PM12/17/04
to
DPlay will continue to be a component of the OS, but there is no active work
being done on DPlay anymore and would would imagine it will be hard to get
bugfixes.

so while you can continue to use DPlay for a while, the handwriting is on
the wall.

"Yuet" <Yu...@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:C1B137AB-B3BD-4A18...@microsoft.com...

J

unread,
Jan 6, 2005, 4:39:03 PM1/6/05
to
Could we see how Microsoft wrote the DPlay code since it won't really be used
anymore? Just a fun idea, but I understand it probably won't work.

I'm guessing I'm going to have to upgrade from XP Pro and also my new VS
2003 Architect. I wish I still had my connection with Microsoft for the the
new biggest and best VS version that is almost out.

[BRA]puc-sp

unread,
Jan 25, 2005, 2:33:04 PM1/25/05
to
I installed DirectX9.0 SDK (December 2004). Where is DirectPlay samples? Is
there a way to download these samples?? like StagedPeer sample and others...
??
I can't find in MSDN, please help me.

Chris P. [MVP]

unread,
Feb 10, 2005, 9:11:01 PM2/10/05
to
On Tue, 25 Jan 2005 11:33:04 -0800, [BRA]puc-sp wrote:

> I installed DirectX9.0 SDK (December 2004). Where is DirectPlay samples? Is
> there a way to download these samples?? like StagedPeer sample and others...
> ??
> I can't find in MSDN, please help me.

I believe you have to go back to the Summer 2003 SDK to get these.

(second link)
http://www.google.com/search?q=directx+9.0b+sdk+download

Phil Taylor

unread,
Apr 22, 2005, 10:35:52 AM4/22/05
to
what this means is no new work is happening on DPlay, what you see is what
you get.

its still available in older DX9 SDKs. download before they go away.

because so many titles use DPlay, the binary bits will be around for a
while.

at some point a replacement will appear, until then you have 3 choices:
write it all yourself at the socket level
use DPlay, understanding you will have to work around issues
find a 3rd party library.

"Alexei Sumila" <Alexei...@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:59BE04CF-3F43-4893...@microsoft.com...
> This is sad news for me. Anyone know the reason why this happend? DP had
> some
> great features which allowed quick use of some fancy features without
> swimming in the mire of writing your own networking with TCP/UDP or paying
> for commercial libs.


Chuck Walbourn [MSFT]

unread,
Apr 22, 2005, 5:35:59 PM4/22/05
to
DirectPlay has been deprecated. That means while you could use it for new
application development, we recommend against it. While support continues to
exist for it in current versions of the OS, we will be removing it at some
point in a future release. Older versions of deprecated DX interfaces, for
example, are not available in 64-bit versions of Windows to 64-bit native
applications. Therefore, relying on them means you are creating a future
application compatibility problem for yourself.

The reasons for it being deprecated are complicated. Security concerns
around its design are one issue. Another is the large amount of legacy
functionality that supports things like head-to-head serial play and IPX
networking that are no longer relevant in a world of ubiquitous TCP/IP
networking.

Third-party solutions are certainly possible, but there has also been work
on Windows APIs that enhance the core networking functionality of the OS
that you can use in your games. Features include async communication support
that was added as of Windows 2K to WinSock, and several APIs (P2P, PNRP,
Teredo) that take advantage of IPv6 technology via Windows XP's "Advancing
Networking Pack" (included as part of XP SP2). Live! technologies, when made
available on Windows, will build on this foundation. Investing in learning
how to program with the native Windows networking APIs rather than the DPlay
model is well worth the effort.

The headers and libs will remain in the SDK until DirectPlay is moved to the
Platform SDK. The docs are still available if you browse into the
Documentation\DirectX9 directory. Samples would require going to an older
SDK to get as they were dropped some time ago.

--
Chuck Walbourn
SDE, Windows Gaming & Graphics

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights


0 new messages