Advanced 3D Game Programming All in One (Paperback)

~ Kenneth C Finney (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Take your 3D game programming skills to the next level! Advanced 3D Game Programming All in One uses the Torque Game Engine to teach experienced 3D game programmers advanced concepts. You'll use the Torque Game Engine to learn each new skill, maximizing your game engine experience. Quickly conquer TorqueScript, simulation techniques, the ins and outs of the game engine, player control, and using applied artificial intelligence. Then take it up a notch and discover how to spice up your game with enhanced game modeling using character and shape modeling and dynamic skins. Advanced 3D Game Programming All in One reveals the techniques and mechanisms that will give you an insider's look into the realm of game development so you can create your own amazing games just like the pros.

About the Author

Kenneth C. Finney has been lead faculty member for the Game Art & Design program at the Art Institute of Toronto since 2004. He began programming in 1974 and his career as a software engineer included work on high-speed trading systems technology, armored fighting vehicle systems design, nuclear reactor safety and testing technology, robotic pharmaceutical systems and 3D game engine technology. In 1997 Ken was a recipient of the prestigious Conference Board of Canada ITX (Innovation in Technology Excellence) Award for his work on InScan[md]a high-speed document scanning system. At the turn of the millennium, Ken decided to pursue his passion for computer games, and began gradually moving out of the world of commercial and industrial technology and into the game development arena. Ken is the creator of the popular Tubettiworld online game and the ‘QuicknDirty’ game management tools for Novalogic’s Delta Force 2 game series. Ken is co-owner of Sprite House Games, a game company located in the Greater Toronto Area in Ontario, Canada, where he is working on producing several projects, including Juggernaut (in association with GarageGames), a 3D FPS tech demo for Torque 2.0 and Beast Forge, a TorqueX (XNA) game utilizing advanced AI techniques.

Product Details

• Paperback: 616 pages
• Publisher: Course Technology PTR; 1 edition (August 24, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1592007333
• ISBN-13: 978-1592007332
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7.4 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #641,857 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Resource... Picks up where the first one leaves off., October 7, 2005

By	S. Guthikonda (Columbus, OH) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I just got my copy in the mail. This book seems to pick up where the first one (3D Game Programming All in One) leaves off. There is no noteable overlap. It contains some great code and examples. It will get you started integrating AI into TGE, doors, database integration for online games (news systems, player accounts), and some more interesting topics. If you haven't read through the first book, though, you must do that first as you will probably be lost.

Much like the first book, this book focuses around the Torque Game Engine (TGE). If you do not work with the TGE, this book isn't very helpful. If you do work with the TGE, this book is an invaluable resource, much like the first one. The appendix contains great function/class reference tables.

The level of this book is definitely more advanced than the first book. Math is a bit more complicated here (vectors, matrices, AI, lighting, water, terrain, etc.). This is noted by the publisher as well (this book being Intermediate-Advanced, the first being Beginner-Intermediate). More accurate difficulties would be Intermediate for the 1st book, Intermediate + 2 for the 2nd book. It is more intense than the first book, but still pretty easy for a college CS major. The most difficult part of both of these books is the fact that they use TGE! As the engine is so massive, it can sometimes be difficult to follow the program flow (through scripts), and keeping track of all the functions/stubs/files.

Conclusion: Buy this book if you have already read through the first one, and you are using TGE. If you have not read through the first book but are using TGE, you should read through the first book before buying this book (unless you are already pretty familiar with the engine), as the two books overlap very nicely. If you don't use TGE, there is no need for you to purchase this book... (...)

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic book that goes beyond part 1, October 9, 2005

By	Jeffrey J. Osborn "Has Opposable Thumbs." (Broomfield, CO USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Part 1 was helpful, this one really answers a lot of questions. my only gripe? Most of the code has never been tested-- it's obvious from reading it that it won't work, and if you try to compile and run it, well-- if programmers were civil engineers, this code would make you an amputee. Aside from that, it's a good book.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Some Gripes, But Overall Good, October 11, 2005

By	Christina Nething - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I have a few gripes with the book. It falls short in some areas, has some broken code, descriptions could be a bit better in certain areas, and the accompanying CD is poorly laid out. Overall though it's easy to read with a good number of witty comments from the author and it covers a lot of areas of TGE programming. If you own TGE then this book is probably worth investing in.