Customer Reviews

3D Game Programming With Directx 8.0 (Game Development Series)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

The title of this book is a total lie! This book does not cover programming at all. Instead, it teaches you how to use software like Paint Shop Pro or a 3D modeller. If you are reasonablly acquainted with these types of things (e.g. you know how to add noise to a grey background in Paint Shop Pro) then there is absolutely nothing you can learn from this book. True, there is a "programming" section but beware: you do not actually code anything. Instead of teaching you something the author says that building an engine is too hard and that you should give up now (isn't the whole point of this book to learn how to?) and gives you a pre-built engine to use as a COM interface in VB. So, you basically end up writing about 5 lines of code which are calls to the COM database (TrueVision.Initialize, TrueVision.LoadModel, TrueVision.GenerateTerrain) and you're done. Congradulations ! You've just learned, in this short review, how to program a game according to Crooks.

Pre-ordered this book after reading editorial but was a waste of money.

1. I'm half way through the book and not 1 like of DX code yet

2. Majority of book is screen shots - I counted over 50 pages of screen shots showing the setup wizard for the various tools!

3. Up to page 220 is simple tutorials for using the shareware tools: much better tutorials supplied in online help for the tools themselves.

4. Another load of pages dedicated to showing up how to put together a VB Form.

Don't buy it without previewing some of the content first.

The title of this book is kinda NOT true. This book has very little information about direct-x.

BUT this does not make this a bad book. If you want to learn to make games with VB this might be the book for you. The book explains about 3d programs, music programs. It also has the builders own 3d lib and stuff. That is why I gave it three stars.

Now for a book that really teaches VB-coders to work with Dirext-X.

Do not buy this book, not even if you are a newcomer to DirectX. The topics that covers DirectX starts from page 213 and ends on page 254. The rest of this "i wrote this just to make money" book covers 3d programs, music editors and a 3rd party 3d engine. Read the DirectX SDK instead, it offers much more info than this book.

I waited three months for this book as was totally disappointed. 20 small chapters of worthless info - all this book shows you is how to generally use programs like cool edit 2000, truevision 3D, milkshape, paint shop pro, etc... and VERY LITTLE on 3D programming with DirectX 8 and VB. WHAT A WASTE OF MONEY THIS WAS. If you buy this book, dont say I did not warn you!

The first half of this book deals mainly with the software that comes with it. It is a great basis for creating graphics, models, sound, and music for anything you might need them for, although it focuses on games. The second have shines some light on some 2D/3D theory and exemplifies this through source-code included on the CD. I give it 5 stars for thoroughness, clearnesss, conciseness, and diversity.

The first part of the book is a nice little tutorial on creating the different parts of a computer game. However, through the programming section of the book the author continually leaves out important lines of code that you need to make the samples work. Then when you dive into the source code that was provided on the CD he has changed the names of his variables and functions so that trying to find the error between your code and his extra difficult. If you are new to programming this can be extra frustrating. This is a perfect example of having someone write a book to cash in, without that person actually having the talent and determination that is need to put out a helpful and educational product.

more like a prompo for other software packages like milkshake, etc., and pages of pictures of dialogs if you want to buy other software. don't know what the point of this book is, not a reference book, not a tutorial. here's the contents and comments.
chapter 1: game programming overview.-- programmer, artist etc. so what else is new?
chapter 2: the design docment.
chapter 3: what language should you use? -- he's written another book on VB .
chapter 4: Intro to milkshake 3D -- mostly pictures of dialog boxes in the program, should you buy it.
chapter 5: Into to paintshop pro -- ditto
chapter 6. etc
etc. Wont bore you with the details.
if you want a reference or tutorial on directX or Direct3D this is not it. I can read more about DirectX, reading a few pages on the net. I dont usually take time to write reviews, but I waited so long (based on the title) that I was livid at the money I wasted.

I don't mean to be harsh, but all the other books I've read on DirectX have been far more comprehensive and all around educational. Although this is one of the few books out there that deals with DirectX using Visual BASIC, it didn't really explain anything about DirectX itself. It tells instead of teaches. Apart from that, right as Crooks drops you into Direct3D, he pulls you right back out and wraps it all in a library of his own called TrueVision, which looks _very_ familiar to the DirectX Common Files standard application skeleton. This book came in a package with Advanced 3D Game Programming with DirectX 8.0 by Peter Walsh (an incredible read 5 stars). I really don't suggest this to anyone except the complete and utter newcomer to DirectX who knows nothing but Visual BASIC.

While there is a little less programming than I would have liked, the book is pretty good overall. It teaches a great deal about other things such as modelling and graphics. Maybe a different title would be fitting for 2nd edition.