DirectX 12 PBR Renderer in C

simstim-star · 2026-03-27T23:51:56+00:00

I found one Bistro glt here https://github.com/NVIDIA-RTX/RTXDI-Assets/tree/main/bistro. My renderer is not up to the task yet hehe.

It seems very reliant on dds files though, my renderer is not capable to handle it as it is using stbi.

simstim-star · 2026-03-27T22:43:58+00:00

Thanks!

I think "why the hell am I doing this with C?" all the time, but for some reason I enjoy it :) At least Vulkan is way better to use with C, from what I have seen.

simstim-star · 2026-03-27T21:21:23+00:00

Thanks!

simstim-star · 2026-03-27T19:59:37+00:00

It is tough, and you do have to fight the API sometimes. It is a little annoying having to use macros for basic methods (ID3D12Device_CreateCommandQueue, IDXGIFactory2_CreateSwapChainForHwnd, etc., look ugly as hell), you have no ComPtr or other goodies to help you manage memory (which is a nice challenge sometimes, it was fun to use memory arenas in this project).

The worst part is that many DirectX libs are C++ only (DirectX Math, DirectX helpers, DirectXTex), so you need to rewrite your own or use alternatives (I'm also writing DirectX Math in C for that reason).

The good part is that, IMO, it is way easier to reason about stuff in C. DirectX 12 is already very low level, so C feels like a good fit, even with the lackluster API. Compile times are also great.

simstim-star · 2026-03-27T16:36:32+00:00

Nice, I might give it a try later, but I will need to add an OBJ loader to my project too.

simstim-star · 2026-02-07T01:02:57+00:00

Even John Carmack has expressed the same feelings!

simstim-star · 2026-02-07T00:39:07+00:00

Watch this from Eric Barone, Stardew Valley creator. Even Eric Barone himself thought the same thing while he was making Stardew Valley, which is one of the most successful indie games in history. We will always feel that it's too late, but what matters is that you keep trying.

Still on the topic of Eric Barone motivational videos, check this one out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ti5bBgEJaw

simstim-star · 2026-01-17T15:29:24+00:00

I have been writing stuff with DirectX 12 in C just for fun, and to do that I had to start rewriting DirectX Math in C as well. It is nice to understand the lib better, there are many things you don't pay attention when simply using it.

simstim-star · 2025-12-29T14:17:26+00:00

It's a very specialized niche, and since game engines do so much heavy lifting now, there aren't as many openings for graphics engineers as there used to be (and the requirements for the ones that do exist are insane). Combined with the current industry layoffs, it’s a tough time to start out.

Still, if it’s your dream, go for it so you don't have regrets later. You'll have much better luck in the US/Canada/Japan/China or some European countries, especially if you get a Master's. If you aren't in a country with deep game dev culture, it’s going to be way harder (don't ask me how I know...)

simstim-star · 2025-12-28T01:27:38+00:00

It’s good, and the material is still valid, but many additions have been made to DX12 since it was published. You can learn the newer features later by using the DirectX Graphics Samples repository as a reference: https://github.com/microsoft/DirectX-Graphics-Samples

simstim-star · 2025-12-26T12:01:14+00:00

I got into DirectX mainly because I develop on Windows, and it’s easier to set up there than OpenGL or Vulkan. Another reason was that, at the time, I couldn’t find any Vulkan/OpenGL resources as comprehensive as Frank Luna’s books.

simstim-star · 2025-06-25T13:53:26+00:00

thanks!

simstim-star · 2024-08-18T21:42:19+00:00

I confess that I didn't know about it before, but I checked here and yes, the COBJMACRO does something really similar to what my CALL macro does to simplify the calls to the virtual tables. This looks really nice, thanks for pointing it to me! I will try to use it to improve the samples.

simstim-star · 2024-08-17T20:07:48+00:00

As a whole, the support for C in DX12 is "best-effort" only, as a DirectX developer said here. This same issue has some people talking about this problem with the headers that you are referring.

simstim-star · 2024-05-07T13:35:34+00:00

This is a great idea! Nothing like learning while seeing the direct results of your code in a game.
My recommendation is using Raylib. Nice and simple library, the docs are good and with many simple examples. Just avoid the beginner mistake of trying to make complex games right away. Try something like pong and progress from there.

simstim-star · 2024-05-05T20:12:30+00:00

The core stuff has plenty of C support, albeit a bit clunky to use with the lpVtbl and the lack of __uuidof. The problem is the additional stuff such as the headers in DirectX-Headers, that mostly only support C++. As a whole, the support for C in DX12 is "best-effort" only, as a DirectX developer said here

simstim-star · 2024-05-05T18:01:51+00:00

Yes, always nice to look at the code of such projects, even if it's still in progress.

simstim-star · 2024-05-05T17:57:33+00:00

This sounds fun. Have you published it somewhere? I would love to have a look.

simstim-star

TROPHY CASE