What's New in DirectInput

New Features for DirectInput 8.1

Microsoft® DirectX® 8.1 is a major release primarily for DirectX graphics. The improvements for Microsoft DirectInput® are primarily performance enhancements.

To find out more about the new features in DirectX, see What's New in DirectX 8.1.

New Features for DirectInput 8.0

The following are some of the new features in DirectInput.

Action mapping

DirectInput for DirectX 8.0 introduces a major new feature: action mapping. Action mapping enables you to establish a connection between input actions and input devices that does not depend on the existence of particular device objects (such as specific buttons or axes). Action mapping simplifies the input loop and reduces the need for custom game drivers, custom device profilers, and custom configuration user interfaces in games.

For more information, see Action Mapping.

New DirectInput object features

The DirectInput object is now represented by the DirectInput8 class, which is obtained by using the DirectX8.DirectInputCreate method.

New keyboard properties

Two keyboard properties have been added: DIPROP_KEYNAME, which retrieves a localized key name, and DIPROP_SCANCODE, which retrieves the scan code.

Joystick slider data in rglSlider array

Joystick slider data that was assigned to the z-axis of a DIJOYSTATE or DIJOYSTATE2 type under earlier DirectX versions will now be found in the slider array of those same types.

Improved support for pedal on wheels

In DirectX 7.0, pedal data was placed in several different locations, based on IHV preference. In DirectX 8.1, we attempt to place all combined wheel data on Y and all separate pedal data on Y (Accel) and Rz (Brake). This makes programming for wheels much simpler when using the DirectX 8 interfaces.