DirectX 9c Rendering Engineer (C++ / Engine Optimization)

About the Project

We’re upgrading the rendering architecture of a legacy DirectX 9c game engine (PowerRender-based).
The game renders 100k–500k animated units (sprites) on terrain, plus particles.
Currently the engine is CPU-bound, extremely draw-call heavy, and not using the GPU effectively.

We need a low-level C++ rendering specialist who has real experience with:
• DirectX 9c
• Batching systems
• Hardware instancing
• Sprite-based animation pipelines
• GPU-side particle logic
• Performance optimization inside legacy engines

This is not gameplay work — this is deep engine-level rendering work.

Goal

Build a modern, GPU-efficient sprite + particle rendering pipeline inside an existing DX9c engine without modifying gameplay logic.

Target performance:
• 100k–500k sprites at ~60 FPS on modern hardware
• Stable performance under stress-test scenes
• Massive reduction in draw calls
• Leveraging GPU as much as DX9c allows

What You Will Build

1. New Sprite Rendering Architecture
• General batching system
• Geometry instancing (DX9c-compatible hardware instancing)
• Material-level batching
• Optimized texture/sprite sheet handling
• Support for animated UVs (unit animations)

2. Upgraded Particle System
• Batch-based particle rendering
• Move as much simulation/rendering to GPU as DX9c allows
• Reduce per-frame CPU overhead

3. Transparent Integration
• No gameplay logic changes
• Drop-in replacement for current sprite path
• Clean C++ integration with existing engine

4. Benchmark + Documentation
• Baseline FPS with provided test scenes
• After-optimization FPS comparison
• Clean technical documentation + code comments

Environment Setup (We Provide Everything)

You will receive:
• Full source code (C++ / DX9c)
• Test scenes including spritefest (200k+ sprites)
• Asset packs + /bin developer folder
• Steam developer access or a local asset copy
Debug view shows:
• FPS
• Sprite count
• Rendering stats
You Must Be Able To:
• Build the project in Visual Studio 2022
• Run custom EXEs with Steam running (client provided unlock file)
• Work with legacy codebases safely
• Make large improvements without breaking existing behavior

Ideal Experience

You should have strong experience in:
• DirectX 9 (must be 9c, not 9b)
• Graphics pipeline optimization
• Custom engine rendering
• Shader Model 3.0 era constraints
• Sprite animation systems (UV manipulation)
• GPU batching & instancing
• Particle system performance

If you’ve optimized large-scale RTS engines, MMO engines, or sprite-heavy simulations — perfect.

Before Starting

You’ll run the provided spritefest test scene and give:
• Baseline FPS
• Sprite count
• Initial performance notes

This defines the target metrics for the milestone.

Deliverables
• Updated rendering source code
• New batching & instancing pipeline
• Upgraded particle renderer
• Integration documentation
• Before/after benchmarks
Project Type
• One-time project
• Milestone-based
• Paid properly for senior-level technical work