1 - What is Hardwired/Hybrid?

Hardwired/Hybrid is Ploppy's hugely ambitious go at a more modern an up to date version of Blitz3D(DX7) and more. Basically it's the long awaited, wished for overhaul and extension to it, which brings in DX9, DX11 and lots of aditional stuff such as currently, PhysX. Aim is also to make Blitz more easily updatable so it retains compatibility with future versions of DX to come. Also the possibility of a 64bit version is currently being investigated/prepared.

2 - What is the difference between Hardwired and Hybrid / How to setup?

Hardwired is an extension to standard Blitz3, BlitzPlus (and even BlitzMax)in the form of a DLL that needs to be put in the Blitz userlibs folder, together with the accompanying DECLS file. E.g for Windows 7 x64, the "hardwired.decls" and "hardwired.dll" files go in here: "C:\Program Files (x86)\Blitz3D\userlibs"
The Hardwired commands have a prefix of "dx" to distinguish between regular Blitz commands. Standard Blitz commands are still in place, along side the upgraded versions. The DLL has the advantage that it can be used by all languages that support this. There are initiatives for adding it to BlitzMax(see threadsVI and X), but also people who have an interest for usage in Pure/Dark Basic. These spin-offs at the moment have a lower priority for Ploppy though. Once the project has been completed it's possible this will change.

Hybrid is basically a merger of a reworked Blitz3D source, modernly recompiled overhauled, adjusted and extended with the functionality of Hardwired integrated. 
For installation just take the "Hybrid" folder and place it where you like, such as: "C:\Program Files (x86)\Hybrid". It can live right beside the Blitz3d folder.
*)Note: it currently doesn't come with an installer yet, so if put in a system folder such as above, it could in some Windows versions(for instance Windows 7), lead to write permission issues. 
Hybrid commands do not have the "dx" prefix and programs have their own ".hb" extension. E.g: "test.hb"


3 - Is it just another DLL extension?

It is not just a 'little addon', but rather a whole new world, which shows when you take a look at the already huge list of Hybrid commands*, which o.a. gives us:
-DX9/DX11.
-Shaders.
-Double precision calculations.
-NVidia's PhysX engine.
-VideoPlayback via the VLC dll.
-Instancers.
-3D fonts.
-Shadows.
-Bones.
-Webcam capture.
-Touchscreen.
-Collisions.
-Particles.
-64bit variable types. Just as 32bits are defined by % for integer,# for floats and $ for ASCII strings, they are defined by: %%, ## and $$ for Unicode characters strings. See Unicode character table. Note: currently only in 3d mode(after a graphics3d command), the 2d commands still need conversion. 
-Lots of additional stuff and fixes.

*) List of commands and their functionality is not final and subject to change with or without notice from the author(Ploppy) as this is very much a work in progress with lots of development going on. Also the hardwired.dll contains more commands as there are a lot of reworked and upgraded standard blitz commands. Also note that some commands may be temporarily disabled for development purposes or not yet fully opperational.

For list of current commands and Ploppy's latest downloads << click here.
***Also: if you want to support the brilliant author and can spare a dime, do not hesitate to reward him for his hard work(he has a donation button) or like him on facebook.***

System Requirements: 
- Window: XP, Vista, 7, Windows 8.X (32 or 64bit)
- DirectX Capable GPU
- DirextX: DirectX 9.0c End-User Runtime and for other versions: How to install the latest version of DirectX
- For Hardwired(DLL version) Blitz3D or BlitzPlus (Hybrid is the standalone version, which doesn't need Blitz)
- VLC libraries(only required for video playback of all media types): libvlc 32bit


List of Forum Threads: 
Direct x 9 Userlib
Blitz Hardwired - DirectX 9 Userlib (Part II)
Blitz Hardwired - DirectX 9 Userlib (Part III)
Blitz Hardwired - DirectX 9 Userlib (Part IV)
Blitz Hardwired - DirectX 9 Userlib (Part V)
Blitz Hardwired - DX9 and DX11 Userlib (Part VI)
Blitz Hardwired - DX9 and DX11 Userlib (Part VII)
Blitz Hardwired - DX9 and DX11 Userlib (Part VIII)
Blitz Hardwired - DX9 and DX11 Userlib (Part IX)
Blitz Hardwired - DX9 and DX11 Userlib (Part X)
Blitz Hardwired - DX9 and DX11 Userlib (Part XI)
Blitz Hardwired - DX9 and DX11 Userlib (Part XII)

Hardwired/Hybrid - DX9 and DX11 Userlib (Part XIII)  <<< current

Some more FAQ's:

4 - Is it free?

Yes. Ploppy stated it is and will be free.(Initial release at least. He's free to change is mind of course.)


5 - Is it open source/can I collaborate -help the author?

No and yes. Ploppy doesn't want this to be an open source collaborative project, but his own personal achievement. He has stated that if for some reason he has to give up, he will release the source to the community for someone else to pick it up. Not to worry though: Ploppy is very committed and not very likely to throw the towel into the ring. He likes feedback though from testers and is open to suggestions as long as reasonable. However please do not harass the guy with too many requests as it is a massive task already.


6 - How do I make use of the video playback feature?

Libvlc is a free library, available on http://www.videolan.org/, and is the core of the popular VLC Media Player. To be able to use this, you will need to copy the files 'libvlc.dll' and 'libvlccore.dll' together with the whole of the plugins folder (copy folder and its contents) from the installed libvlc folder to your bb project folder(for example where you unzipped the latest release: D:\Coding\Blitz\Release\ ) Please note that these files and folder are *not* to be copied to the userlibs folder, but to the folder where your compiled exe/blitz .bb file is located.
*)Note: I couldn't play any video until I copied the video file into the same directory as the release, but that may just be at my system. 

You'll have to install these files only in order to get the video functions to work. If you do not wish use these functions, the files do NOT need to be installed, and hardwired will behave as normal. If you use these funtions, and these files are not installed the video functions will not work, but should not stop your program from running otherwize.

*)Note: The 64bit version of VLC is not currently supported! To make the installation of the video capabilities of hardwired easier, Ploppy has supplied the libvlc 32-bit dll files in a separate zip file (28MB), if you wish you can download and extract the files directly to your bb app folder. This archive file includes *ONLY* the required dll files & plugins folder, and not the whole VLC Media Player thing(handy if you already have the x64 version installed and don't want the 32bit also: Download libvlc 32bit