Direct X Resource? Is there anywhere to find...

Is there anywhere I can go to find a resource for Direct X coding in both C++ and Visual Basic. I was wondering if there was also a place to find 3D models that are distributed freely, or maybe a freeware 3D modeling tool.Any help would be greatly appreciated!~Tim

If I were you, I'd steer clear of DirectX. I'd use OpenGL instead. OGL prggys are more portable and can be much easier to create Mac and Linux versions of.

Is there anywhere I can go to find a resource for Direct X coding in both C++ and Visual Basic.  I was wondering if there was also a place to find 3D models that are distributed freely, or maybe a freeware 3D modeling tool.

 

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

~Tim

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I've done some searching around and found some great sites that will help you learn DirectX and get some free models:

 

FlipCode - Great articles on extras for your program/game.

 

anim8or - Freeware 3D Modeling Software.

 

DirectX Tutorials - A tutorial page that shows you how to create a simple DirectX program

 

3D Cafe - Provides free resources and resource tutorials (Photoshop, 3DS Max, Maya, etc.)

 

...there are more pages out there, I just gave you a few to start you out! Good luck!

For 3-D models, you might want to check out milkshape. I really like it, although it isn't free. It does have a 30-day trial, I believe, so you could give it a try.

I remember back when I started learning Directx that there weren't alot of good DX tutorials on the internet. One thing I learned was you can often look at OpenGL tutorials for the concepts and then just change the code to use DX instead. There really aren't alot of differences between to two, at least conceptually. GameDev.net is another good website with alot of tutorials on it.