Advanced Visual Effects with Direct3D [Paperback]

Peter Walsh (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 23, 2005

Are you ready to take your game development skills to the cutting edge? Advanced Visual Effects with Direct3D takes you on an incredible journey through the world of advanced game development. Learn the hottest topics and newest techniques to make your games a step above the rest. Using the Direct3D programming language, Advanced Visual Effects with Direct3D combines production-quality and fully optimized code with simple language so that you can quickly and easily expand your game development knowledge without being bogged down in confusing jargon or game development basics. This book covers the high-level skills that you are required to know in the competitive game development industry. You will learn everything from how to implement HLSL shaders into an engine to how to write an advanced particle system, how to use volumetric shadowing, and how to develop advanced vertex skinned animations-and everything in between! A sample application at the end of this book shows you the incredible results that come from combining these advanced level game development skills and techniques. Are you ready to be unstoppable?

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Peter has five years experience working in the games industry as a software engineer. Previous titles include F1 Career Challenge, Harry Potter and the chamber of secrets, Medal of Honor: Rising Sun, Disney?s Action Figure Face Off, and an upcoming Microsoft title. The author has several books and derivations on the market, The Zen of Direct 3D Game Programming, Advanced 3D Game Programming with DirectX 8.0, Advanced 3D Game Programming with DirectX 9.0, Advanced 3D Game Programming with DirectX 9.0 Chinese Edition, and The Zen of Direct 3D Game Programming IRK.
Peter has worked with many publishers on technical authoring projects in the past including Prima Press, Course Technology, and Wordware.

Product Details

• Paperback: 520 pages
• Publisher: Course Technology PTR; 1 edition (November 23, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1592009611
• ISBN-13: 978-1592009619
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.5 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,817,573 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #66 in Books > Computers & Technology > Programming > Graphics & Multimedia > DirectX

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Code does not compile, March 18, 2009

By 

J. S. Harbour (Arizona) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Advanced Visual Effects with Direct3D (Paperback)

This is my biggest pet peeve of any programming book. This book by Peter Walsh has a copyright date of 2006, and yet the projects are all in Visual Studio 2003 format--and they will not build in VS 2005 or 2008 without HUGE modifications. Granted, this is Microsoft's fault, not Walsh's, for changing the compiler, BUT, this book is very recent, so I would expect a source code update at www.charlesriver.com. The book does NOT come with a CD so this is necessary anyway. But the code for this book is just one large solution containing the author's engine, and not a single small example program anywhere in sight. That the engine will not build means I have a useless book. Yes, there is much to be learned from the book, but I start with the sources to build confidence in the material contained in the book. If the #%@#^% sources do not compile, I won't waste my time with buggy code in print either. I want to give this author the benefit of the doubt, but there's no excuse for 1) Not providing a CD with the book, and 2) Not providing a working version of the code on the web site either!!! This could be remedied VERY EASILY by the author, by simply providing an update to the publisher. That the author has not shows me he is not concerned about it, and cares not for his readership.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Introduction to Shaders, May 8, 2008

By 

Blaine (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Advanced Visual Effects with Direct3D (Paperback)

I'm not a huge fan of Walsh's coding techniques, and I would certainly never duplicate them in my own code. His books, however, are very easy to understand and read. Advanced Visual Effects with Direct3D was no exception. I think this book was written when Direct3D 8.0 was the standard, but it is still a good introduction none-the-less. You'll need to be familiar with the graphics pipeline before reading this, and a lot of experience with using D3D without shaders will be helpfull.

What I don't like is that Walsh relies heavily upon the D3DX library, especially for things like mesh loading. While certainly this makes it easier for a beginner to follow his code, this book isn't exactly for beginners. I don't think .x mesh files are widely used in the professional industry, so he might have been better of describing vertex use and loading in generic terms rather than specifically using D3DX sample code. Experienced D3D users will be able to look past this, but it might be a crutch for novices.