A depth buffer is a property of the device. To create a depth buffer that is managed by Microsoft® Direct3D®, set the appropriate members of the D3DPRESENT_PARAMETERS structure as shown in the following code example.

Dim d3dpp As D3DPRESENT_PARAMETERS

d3dpp.Windowed = 1
d3dpp.SwapEffect = D3DSWAPEFFECT_COPY_VSYNC
d3dpp.EnableAutoDepthStencil = 1
d3dpp.AutoDepthStencilFormat = D3DFMT_D16

By setting the EnableAutoDepthStencil member to a nonzero value (True), you instruct Direct3D to manage depth buffers for the application. Note that AutoDepthStencilFormat must be set to a valid depth buffer format. The D3DFMT_D16 flag specifies a 16-bit depth buffer, if one is available.

The following call to the Direct3D8.CreateDevice method creates a device that then creates a depth buffer.

Set d3dDevice = g_D3D.CreateDevice(D3DADAPTER_DEFAULT, D3DDEVTYPE_HAL, hWnd, _
                                     D3DCREATE_SOFTWARE_VERTEXPROCESSING, d3dpp)
If d3dDevice Is Nothing Then Exit Function

The depth buffer is automatically set as the render target of the device. When the device is reset, the depth buffer is automatically destroyed and recreated in the new size.

To create a new depth buffer surface, use the Direct3DDevice8.CreateDepthStencilSurface method.

To set a new depth-buffer surface for the device, use the Direct3DDevice8.SetRenderTarget method.