Focus On 3D Models (Premier Press Game Development) [Paperback]

Evan Pipho (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 27, 2002 | ISBN-10: 1592000339 | ISBN-13: 978-1592000333 | Edition: 1

The book is a reference for developers using 3D models. Instead of simply showing a spec sheet, the book delves into the loading and rendering techniques of 3D models. The text is as API and platform independent as possible, so users of Direct3D, OpenGL, etc. will be able to interpret and use the information provided in the book.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

After programming for several years, Evan Pipho discovered gamedev.net in mid-2000 and immediately became a devoted gamer. At age 17, Evan has already tackled DirectDraw, Direct3D, and OpenGL in addition to co-creating Ngine.

Product Details

• Paperback: 232 pages
• Publisher: Course Technology PTR; 1 edition (December 27, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1592000339
• ISBN-13: 978-1592000333
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.7 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,039,897 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good as a reference, February 2, 2003

By 

RTD - See all my reviews

This review is from: Focus On 3D Models (Premier Press Game Development) (Paperback)

Although all of the information in this book is available for free on various sites online, it's worth the small price to have it all in one bound hardcopy.

A few chapters go over the basics of matrix and vector math, and the concepts behind animating models: not essential stuff for what is essentially a model format reference book.

The core of the book describes in detail the following formats: Quake2 (MD2), Maya (OBJ), Autodesk (3DS), Half-Life (MDL) and Quake3 (MD3). All the formats except Half-Life MDL's are described in detail. The author really dropped the ball in the "Half-Life MDL" chapter: Instead of describing the format from scratch, he just tells you to use the Half-Life SDK, because "the Half-Life format is very, very complex."

One minor nit-pick: There is no mention that 16-bit and 32-bit data in binary formats are stored in little-endian format, and must be byte swapped on non-Intel machines.

Even with all this criticism, I rate the book 4 stars, because overall I am happy with the level of detail presented in the file format chapters.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not bad, definately not great, July 13, 2005

By 

Johannes von Luck (US) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Focus On 3D Models (Premier Press Game Development) (Paperback)

This book is more of an overview on how to load 3D models from files more than anything else.

By overview, I do mean quite sketchy.

The file formats talked about are:
.obj (ASCII, poor coverage)
.3ds (3DS Max)
.md2 (Quake II)
.ms3d (Milkshape 3D)
.mdl (Half-Life)
.md3 (Quake III)

(Note that the .obj format was not discussed correctly. The code that comes on CD is actually a very poorly done .obj loader with minimal functionality. The library known as GLM is an .obj loader that is well written and outperforms the authors code by a large margin.)

The .md3 and .mdl coverage is somewhat skant of details.

Overall, this book is not a definitive model format book - you can get the same information on the web for free, with much better written loaders and the likes.

If you can pick this book up for under 5$ go for it, otherwise forget it.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fulfills its stated purpose well, May 12, 2003

By 

Dave Astle (San Diego, CA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Focus On 3D Models (Premier Press Game Development) (Paperback)

This book covers the loading and handling of 3D models from the programmer's point of view (not the artist's, which may not be immediately obvious from the title). Like other Focus On books, it's short (checking in at just under 200 pages), but doesn't spend a lot of time on introductory material or subjects not related to the main topic.

The model formats covered by this book are Quake 2 (.md2), .obj, MilkShape, 3D Studio Max (.3ds), Half-life (.mdl), and Quake 3 (.md3). All of these formats are covered quite well, with sample code showing how to load, display and (when applicable) animate them. The exception is the Half-life format, for which he just uses the SDK, so there's no real information on the format itself. In addition to the specific formats, there are chapters on skeletal animation and useful tips on working with models.

My only real complaint is that about 1/4 of the book's pages are spent on covering vectors, matrices, quaternions, and STL vectors. Although knowledge of these topics is important for understanding the rest of the book, I'd suspect most readers will already be familiar with them. I would have preferred to have these chapters included on the CD instead, freeing up space for more useful information (detailed coverage of the Half-life format, perhaps?).

Overall, though, I was happy with the book. It's compact, inexpensive, an easy read, and it's nice to have the most common formats covered in one convenient volume. If you're looking for an introduction to using 3D models, or just want a physical reference for these formats to keep on your desk, I'd recommend it.