Customer Reviews

Building Interactive Worlds in 3D: Virtual Sets and Pre-visualization for Games, Film & the Web

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

It's nearly impossible to find Virtools books out there. So I was pleased to find this title. However, it has not been particularly useful.

There are plenty of demo files on the disc but very little discussion of what is going on. What I was hoping for was detail on how building blocks were selected, why they are connected the way they are, how they interact, etc. Instead the demo files are completed with little comment in the book. The instructions that are there are more of the "Drag this there. Then drag this there. Now press play." I find little insight in this method which is why I'd hoped for something more.

Many of the files on the CD are missing or not named the same as in the book. Some files that are to be downloaded from the Web were unavailable.

Also, there is quite a bit of content dedicated to creating your assets with Maya. That may be of interest to some, but I'm just in need of learning Virtools. Hence that material is of no assistance.

It is a dissapointment, but remains the only book available.

I am a 3D savvy person and I have been using 3D applications such as 3D Studio Max & Maya for several years but I have TROUBLE following the tutorials in this book - WHY? The reason is simple: there are errors, errors, and errors everywhere in this book. Since it's almost impossible to find a Virtools book, this would be the only choice for people who want to get a book about Virtools. However I found this book is very disappointing.

There is no logical explanation of how building blocks work (building blocks are what the pre-written scripts in Virtools are called) but merely poor direction of how to click and drag building blocks and press play. Most of the information about Virtools in this book you will be able to find in the Help menu from the software itself. There are very few (if there is any) new ideas and they are confusing and I get lost even by following the "step by step" instruction. I was doubting myself not following the tutorials correctly so I passed the book to one of my friends who is a 3D guru - and he has trouble to get things work following the tutorials in this book as well. Again: errors!!!

I'm very disappointed and frustrated.

The book is very well structured, it teaches how to implement Maya and Virtools, taking you through the creation of a character or a tree in Maya and configuring it later in Virtools. Also explains a number of behaviors and cameras, theory and practice. Im still hoping to test a few of the examples, such as the Nighthawk section, but so far it seems fairly good.

This book is a good reference for anyone interested in creating interactive installations, typically for museums, presentations, projects, digital artwork, and even games.

If you are completely new to Virtools and you are looking for a manual, then this may not be the appropriate book. However, if your goal is to produce rich experiences with a strong cinematographic feel, it's an ideal read. Gauthier often links virtual worlds to cinema, a natural connection; if you want to push your virtual content futher, some tricks of the 7th art trade are totally appropriate.

I'd recommend this to anyone willing to push the quality of an installation, or looking forward to adding lots of depth in a virtual experience.