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Complicated geometry is usually modeled using 3-D modeling software, after which the model is saved to a file. An example of this is the .x file format. Microsoft Direct3D uses meshes to load the objects from these files. Meshes are somewhat complicated, but D3DX contains functions that make using meshes easier. The Meshes sample project introduces the topic of meshes and shows how to load, render, and unload a mesh.
This tutorial shows how to load, render, and unload a mesh using the following steps.
The path of the Meshes sample project is: (SDK root)\Samples\C++\Direct3D\Tutorials\Tut06_Meshes
The sample code in the Meshes project is nearly identical to the sample code in the Lights project, except that the code in the Meshes project does not create a material or a light. The Using Meshes tutorial focuses only on the code unique to meshes and does not cover setting up Direct3D, handling Microsoft Windows messages, rendering, or shutting down. For information about these tasks, see Tutorial 1: Creating a Device.
This tutorial uses custom vertices and a vertex buffer to display geometry. For more information about selecting a custom vertex type and implementing a vertex buffer, see Tutorial 2: Rendering Vertices.
This tutorial makes use of matrices to transform geometry. For more information about matrices and transformations, see Tutorial 3: Using Matrices.
This tutorial uses textures to cover the surface of the mesh. For more information about loading and using textures, see Tutorial 5: Using Texture Maps.