Use depth and effects on primitives

[This article is for Windows 8.x and Windows Phone 8.x developers writing Windows Runtime apps. If you’re developing for Windows 10, see the latest documentation]

Here we show you how to use depth, perspective, color, and other effects on primitives.

Objective: To create a 3D object and apply basic vertex lighting and coloring to it.

Prerequisites

We assume that you are familiar with C++. You also need basic experience with graphics programming concepts.

We also assume that you went through Quickstart: setting up DirectX resources and displaying an image and Creating shaders and drawing primitives.

Time to complete: 20 minutes.

Instructions

1. Defining cube variables

First, we need to define the SimpleCubeVertex and ConstantBuffer structures for the cube. These structures specify the vertex positions and colors for the cube and how the cube will be viewed. We declare ID3D11DepthStencilView and ID3D11Buffer with ComPtr and declare an instance of ConstantBuffer.

struct SimpleCubeVertex
{
    float3 pos;   // position
    float3 color; // color
};

struct ConstantBuffer
{
    float4x4 model;
    float4x4 view;
    float4x4 projection;
};

// This class defines the application as a whole.
ref class Direct3DTutorialFrameworkView : public IFrameworkView
{
private:
    Platform::Agile<CoreWindow> m_window;
    ComPtr<IDXGISwapChain1> m_swapChain;
    ComPtr<ID3D11Device1> m_d3dDevice;
    ComPtr<ID3D11DeviceContext1> m_d3dDeviceContext;
    ComPtr<ID3D11RenderTargetView> m_renderTargetView;
    ComPtr<ID3D11DepthStencilView> m_depthStencilView;
    ComPtr<ID3D11Buffer> m_constantBuffer;
    ConstantBuffer m_constantBufferData;

2. Creating a depth stencil view

In addition to creating the render-target view, we also create a depth-stencil view. The depth-stencil view enables Direct3D to efficiently render objects closer to the camera in front of objects further from the camera. Before we can create a view to a depth-stencil buffer, we must create the depth-stencil buffer. We populate a D3D11_TEXTURE2D_DESC to describe the depth-stencil buffer and then call ID3D11Device::CreateTexture2D to create the depth-stencil buffer. To create the depth-stencil view, we populate a D3D11_DEPTH_STENCIL_VIEW_DESC to describe the depth-stencil view and pass the depth-stencil view description and the depth-stencil buffer to ID3D11Device::CreateDepthStencilView.

        // Once the render target view is created, create a depth stencil view.  This
        // allows Direct3D to efficiently render objects closer to the camera in front
        // of objects further from the camera.

        D3D11_TEXTURE2D_DESC backBufferDesc = {0};
        backBuffer->GetDesc(&backBufferDesc);

        D3D11_TEXTURE2D_DESC depthStencilDesc;
        depthStencilDesc.Width = backBufferDesc.Width;
        depthStencilDesc.Height = backBufferDesc.Height;
        depthStencilDesc.MipLevels = 1;
        depthStencilDesc.ArraySize = 1;
        depthStencilDesc.Format = DXGI_FORMAT_D24_UNORM_S8_UINT;
        depthStencilDesc.SampleDesc.Count = 1;
        depthStencilDesc.SampleDesc.Quality = 0;
        depthStencilDesc.Usage = D3D11_USAGE_DEFAULT;
        depthStencilDesc.BindFlags = D3D11_BIND_DEPTH_STENCIL;
        depthStencilDesc.CPUAccessFlags = 0;
        depthStencilDesc.MiscFlags = 0;
        ComPtr<ID3D11Texture2D> depthStencil;
        DX::ThrowIfFailed(
            m_d3dDevice->CreateTexture2D(
                &depthStencilDesc,
                nullptr,
                &depthStencil
                )
            );

        D3D11_DEPTH_STENCIL_VIEW_DESC depthStencilViewDesc;
        depthStencilViewDesc.Format = depthStencilDesc.Format;
        depthStencilViewDesc.ViewDimension = D3D11_DSV_DIMENSION_TEXTURE2D;
        depthStencilViewDesc.Flags = 0;
        depthStencilViewDesc.Texture2D.MipSlice = 0;
        DX::ThrowIfFailed(
            m_d3dDevice->CreateDepthStencilView(
                depthStencil.Get(),
                &depthStencilViewDesc,
                &m_depthStencilView
                )
            );

3. Updating perspective with the window

We update the perspective projection parameters for the constant buffer depending on the window dimensions. We fix the parameters to a 70-degree field of view with a depth range of 0.01 to 100. For more info about projection, see Separating DirectX concepts into components for reuse that describes a generalized camera class.

        // Finally, update the constant buffer perspective projection parameters
        // to account for the size of the application window.  In this sample,
        // the parameters are fixed to a 70-degree field of view, with a depth
        // range of 0.01 to 100.  See Lesson 5 for a generalized camera class.

        float xScale = 1.42814801f;
        float yScale = 1.42814801f;
        if (backBufferDesc.Width > backBufferDesc.Height)
        {
            xScale = yScale *
                static_cast<float>(backBufferDesc.Height) /
                static_cast<float>(backBufferDesc.Width);
        }
        else
        {
            yScale = xScale *
                static_cast<float>(backBufferDesc.Width) /
                static_cast<float>(backBufferDesc.Height);
        }

        m_constantBufferData.projection = float4x4(
            xScale, 0.0f,    0.0f,  0.0f,
            0.0f,   yScale,  0.0f,  0.0f,
            0.0f,   0.0f,   -1.0f, -0.01f,
            0.0f,   0.0f,   -1.0f,  0.0f
            );

4. Creating vertex and pixel shaders with color elements

In this app we create more complex vertex and pixel shaders than what we described in the previous tutorial, Creating shaders and drawing primitives. The app's vertex shader transforms each vertex position into projection space and passes the vertex color through to the pixel shader.

The app's array of D3D11_INPUT_ELEMENT_DESC structures that describe the layout of the vertex shader code has two layout elements: one element defines the vertex position and the other element defines the color.

We create vertex, index, and constant buffers to define an orbiting cube.

To define an orbiting cube

  1. First, we define the cube. We assign each vertex a color in addition to a position. This allows the pixel shader to color each face differently so the face can be distinguished.
  2. Next, we describe the vertex and index buffers (D3D11_BUFFER_DESC and D3D11_SUBRESOURCE_DATA) using the cube definition. We call ID3D11Device::CreateBuffer once for each buffer.
  3. Next, we create a constant buffer (D3D11_BUFFER_DESC) for passing model, view, and projection matrices to the vertex shader. We can later use the constant buffer to rotate the cube and apply a perspective projection to it. We call ID3D11Device::CreateBuffer to create the constant buffer.
  4. Next, we specify the view transform that corresponds to a camera position of X = 0, Y = 1, Z = 2. For a generalized camera class, see Separating DirectX concepts into components for reuse.
  5. Finally, we declare a degree variable that we will use to animate the cube by rotating it every frame.
        auto vertexShaderBytecode = reader->ReadData("SimpleVertexShader.cso");
        ComPtr<ID3D11VertexShader> vertexShader;
        DX::ThrowIfFailed(
            m_d3dDevice->CreateVertexShader(
                vertexShaderBytecode->Data,
                vertexShaderBytecode->Length,
                nullptr,
                &vertexShader
                )
            );

        // Create an input layout that matches the layout defined in the vertex shader code.
        // For this lesson, this is simply a float3 vector defining the vertex position, and
        // a float3 vector defining the vertex color.
        const D3D11_INPUT_ELEMENT_DESC basicVertexLayoutDesc[] =
        {
            { "POSITION", 0, DXGI_FORMAT_R32G32B32_FLOAT, 0,  0, D3D11_INPUT_PER_VERTEX_DATA, 0 },
            { "COLOR",    0, DXGI_FORMAT_R32G32B32_FLOAT, 0, 12, D3D11_INPUT_PER_VERTEX_DATA, 0 },
        };

        ComPtr<ID3D11InputLayout> inputLayout;
        DX::ThrowIfFailed(
            m_d3dDevice->CreateInputLayout(
                basicVertexLayoutDesc,
                ARRAYSIZE(basicVertexLayoutDesc),
                vertexShaderBytecode->Data,
                vertexShaderBytecode->Length,
                &inputLayout
                )
            );

        // Load the raw pixel shader bytecode from disk and create a pixel shader with it.
        auto pixelShaderBytecode = reader->ReadData("SimplePixelShader.cso");
        ComPtr<ID3D11PixelShader> pixelShader;
        DX::ThrowIfFailed(
            m_d3dDevice->CreatePixelShader(
                pixelShaderBytecode->Data,
                pixelShaderBytecode->Length,
                nullptr,
                &pixelShader
                )
            );

        // Create vertex and index buffers that define a simple unit cube.

        // In the array below, which will be used to initialize the cube vertex buffers,
        // each vertex is assigned a color in addition to a position.  This will allow
        // the pixel shader to color each face differently, enabling them to be distinguished.
        SimpleCubeVertex cubeVertices[] =
        {
            { float3(-0.5f, 0.5f, -0.5f), float3(0.0f, 1.0f, 0.0f) }, // +Y (top face)
            { float3( 0.5f, 0.5f, -0.5f), float3(1.0f, 1.0f, 0.0f) },
            { float3( 0.5f, 0.5f,  0.5f), float3(1.0f, 1.0f, 1.0f) },
            { float3(-0.5f, 0.5f,  0.5f), float3(0.0f, 1.0f, 1.0f) },

            { float3(-0.5f, -0.5f,  0.5f), float3(0.0f, 0.0f, 1.0f) }, // -Y (bottom face)
            { float3( 0.5f, -0.5f,  0.5f), float3(1.0f, 0.0f, 1.0f) },
            { float3( 0.5f, -0.5f, -0.5f), float3(1.0f, 0.0f, 0.0f) },
            { float3(-0.5f, -0.5f, -0.5f), float3(0.0f, 0.0f, 0.0f) },
        };

        unsigned short cubeIndices[] =
        {
            0, 1, 2,
            0, 2, 3,

            4, 5, 6,
            4, 6, 7,

            3, 2, 5,
            3, 5, 4,

            2, 1, 6,
            2, 6, 5,

            1, 7, 6,
            1, 0, 7,

            0, 3, 4,
            0, 4, 7
        };

        D3D11_BUFFER_DESC vertexBufferDesc = {0};
        vertexBufferDesc.ByteWidth = sizeof(SimpleCubeVertex) * ARRAYSIZE(cubeVertices);
        vertexBufferDesc.Usage = D3D11_USAGE_DEFAULT;
        vertexBufferDesc.BindFlags = D3D11_BIND_VERTEX_BUFFER;
        vertexBufferDesc.CPUAccessFlags = 0;
        vertexBufferDesc.MiscFlags = 0;
        vertexBufferDesc.StructureByteStride = 0;

        D3D11_SUBRESOURCE_DATA vertexBufferData;
        vertexBufferData.pSysMem = cubeVertices;
        vertexBufferData.SysMemPitch = 0;
        vertexBufferData.SysMemSlicePitch = 0;

        ComPtr<ID3D11Buffer> vertexBuffer;
        DX::ThrowIfFailed(
            m_d3dDevice->CreateBuffer(
                &vertexBufferDesc,
                &vertexBufferData,
                &vertexBuffer
                )
            );

        D3D11_BUFFER_DESC indexBufferDesc;
        indexBufferDesc.ByteWidth = sizeof(unsigned short) * ARRAYSIZE(cubeIndices);
        indexBufferDesc.Usage = D3D11_USAGE_DEFAULT;
        indexBufferDesc.BindFlags = D3D11_BIND_INDEX_BUFFER;
        indexBufferDesc.CPUAccessFlags = 0;
        indexBufferDesc.MiscFlags = 0;
        indexBufferDesc.StructureByteStride = 0;

        D3D11_SUBRESOURCE_DATA indexBufferData;
        indexBufferData.pSysMem = cubeIndices;
        indexBufferData.SysMemPitch = 0;
        indexBufferData.SysMemSlicePitch = 0;

        ComPtr<ID3D11Buffer> indexBuffer;
        DX::ThrowIfFailed(
            m_d3dDevice->CreateBuffer(
                &indexBufferDesc,
                &indexBufferData,
                &indexBuffer
                )
            );


        // Create a constant buffer for passing model, view, and projection matrices
        // to the vertex shader.  This will allow us to rotate the cube and apply
        // a perspective projection to it.

        D3D11_BUFFER_DESC constantBufferDesc = {0};
        constantBufferDesc.ByteWidth = sizeof(m_constantBufferData);
        constantBufferDesc.Usage = D3D11_USAGE_DEFAULT;
        constantBufferDesc.BindFlags = D3D11_BIND_CONSTANT_BUFFER;
        constantBufferDesc.CPUAccessFlags = 0;
        constantBufferDesc.MiscFlags = 0;
        constantBufferDesc.StructureByteStride = 0;
        DX::ThrowIfFailed(
            m_d3dDevice->CreateBuffer(
                &constantBufferDesc,
                nullptr,
                &m_constantBuffer
                )
            );

        // Specify the view transform corresponding to a camera position of
        // X = 0, Y = 1, Z = 2.  See Lesson 5 for a generalized camera class.

        m_constantBufferData.view = float4x4(
            -1.00000000f, 0.00000000f,  0.00000000f,  0.00000000f,
             0.00000000f, 0.89442718f,  0.44721359f,  0.00000000f,
             0.00000000f, 0.44721359f, -0.89442718f, -2.23606800f,
             0.00000000f, 0.00000000f,  0.00000000f,  1.00000000f
            );


        // This value will be used to animate the cube by rotating it every frame;
        float degree = 0.0f;

5. Rotating and drawing the cube and presenting the rendered image

We enter an endless loop to continually render and display the scene. We call the rotationY inline function (BasicMath.h) with a rotation amount to set values that will rotate the cube’s model matrix around the Y axis. We then call ID3D11DeviceContext::UpdateSubresource to update the constant buffer and rotate the cube model. We call ID3D11DeviceContext::OMSetRenderTargets to specify the render target as the output target. In this OMSetRenderTargets call, we pass the depth-stencil view. We call ID3D11DeviceContext::ClearRenderTargetView to clear the render target to a solid blue color and call ID3D11DeviceContext::ClearDepthStencilView to clear the depth buffer.

In the endless loop, we also draw the cube on the blue surface.

To draw the cube

  1. First, we call ID3D11DeviceContext::IASetInputLayout to describe how vertex buffer data is streamed into the input-assembler stage.
  2. Next, we call ID3D11DeviceContext::IASetVertexBuffers and ID3D11DeviceContext::IASetIndexBuffer to bind the vertex and index buffers to the input-assembler stage.
  3. Next, we call ID3D11DeviceContext::IASetPrimitiveTopology with the D3D11_PRIMITIVE_TOPOLOGY_TRIANGLESTRIP value to specify for the input-assembler stage to interpret the vertex data as a triangle strip.
  4. Next, we call ID3D11DeviceContext::VSSetShader to initialize the vertex shader stage with the vertex shader code and ID3D11DeviceContext::PSSetShader to initialize the pixel shader stage with the pixel shader code.
  5. Next, we call ID3D11DeviceContext::VSSetConstantBuffers to set the constant buffer that is used by the vertex shader pipeline stage.
  6. Finally, we call ID3D11DeviceContext::DrawIndexed to draw the cube and submit it to the rendering pipeline.

We call IDXGISwapChain::Present to present the rendered image to the window.

            // Update the constant buffer to rotate the cube model.
            m_constantBufferData.model = rotationY(-degree);
            degree += 1.0f;

            m_d3dDeviceContext->UpdateSubresource(
                m_constantBuffer.Get(),
                0,
                nullptr,
                &m_constantBufferData,
                0,
                0
                );

            // Specify the render target and depth stencil we created as the output target.
            m_d3dDeviceContext->OMSetRenderTargets(
                1,
                m_renderTargetView.GetAddressOf(),
                m_depthStencilView.Get()
                );

            // Clear the render target to a solid color, and reset the depth stencil.
            const float clearColor[4] = { 0.071f, 0.04f, 0.561f, 1.0f };
            m_d3dDeviceContext->ClearRenderTargetView(
                m_renderTargetView.Get(),
                clearColor
                );

            m_d3dDeviceContext->ClearDepthStencilView(
                m_depthStencilView.Get(),
                D3D11_CLEAR_DEPTH,
                1.0f,
                0
                );

            m_d3dDeviceContext->IASetInputLayout(inputLayout.Get());

            // Set the vertex and index buffers, and specify the way they define geometry.
            UINT stride = sizeof(SimpleCubeVertex);
            UINT offset = 0;
            m_d3dDeviceContext->IASetVertexBuffers(
                0,
                1,
                vertexBuffer.GetAddressOf(),
                &stride,
                &offset
                );

            m_d3dDeviceContext->IASetIndexBuffer(
                indexBuffer.Get(),
                DXGI_FORMAT_R16_UINT,
                0
                );

            m_d3dDeviceContext->IASetPrimitiveTopology(D3D11_PRIMITIVE_TOPOLOGY_TRIANGLELIST);

            // Set the vertex and pixel shader stage state.
            m_d3dDeviceContext->VSSetShader(
                vertexShader.Get(),
                nullptr,
                0
                );

            m_d3dDeviceContext->VSSetConstantBuffers(
                0,
                1,
                m_constantBuffer.GetAddressOf()
                );

            m_d3dDeviceContext->PSSetShader(
                pixelShader.Get(),
                nullptr,
                0
                );

            // Draw the cube.
            m_d3dDeviceContext->DrawIndexed(
                ARRAYSIZE(cubeIndices),
                0,
                0
                );

            // Present the rendered image to the window.  Because the maximum frame latency is set to 1,
            // the render loop will generally be throttled to the screen refresh rate, typically around
            // 60Hz, by sleeping the application on Present until the screen is refreshed.
            DX::ThrowIfFailed(
                m_swapChain->Present(1, 0)
                );

Summary and next steps

We used depth, perspective, color, and other effects on primitives.

Next we apply textures to primitives.

Applying textures to primitives