Programming a Multiplayer FPS in DirectX (Charles River Media Game Development) [Paperback]

Vaughan Young (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 20, 2004 | ISBN-10: 1584503637 | ISBN-13: 978-1584503637 | Edition: 1

If you have experience with C++ and DirectX and have always wanted to program your own game, this is the book for you. Programming a Multiplayer FPS in DirectX takes you from the basic game design to a fully functioning game! All of the source code, assets, and tools are included- you just work through the tutorial-based chapters and watch the game come to life as you develop it. And as new features are added, you can begin playing with them to see them in action. Following a typical game development process, the book is separated into two distinct parts: Part One focuses on the design and development of the game engine, and Part Two concentrates on putting the game together using the engine. The theory has been kept to a minimum, so that you are following a hands-on approach and adding new functionality to your engine as you proceed. In the first part, you'll learn about the many facets of DirectX, C++, and object-oriented programming. You'll also learn how to design the engine and put the infrastructure into place. The next chapters will each add a new module to your engine including input, scripting, 3D rendering, sound, networking, and scene management. The second part covers the final development stages, including everything from game play to player management; it culminates with the complete multiplayer FPS game. Throughout the book you'll learn key topics that will bring you up to speed with industry proven techniques, while improving your confidence as a developer. And because DirectX is the most prevalent game development tool available, once you master this project, you'll have the skills you need to create a variety of games!

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Vaughan Young (Queensland, Australia) has had five years of experience programming in C++ and six years in DirectX. His undergraduate degree in IT is complemented by further studies in software development, focusing primarily on game development. Young repairs and installs technology for large educational institutions.

Product Details

• Paperback: 496 pages
• Publisher: Charles River Media; 1 edition (December 20, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1584503637
• ISBN-13: 978-1584503637
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #630,614 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #14 in Books > Computers & Technology > Programming > Graphics & Multimedia > DirectX

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Introduction, April 4, 2005

By 

P. H. Mason (South Africa) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Programming a Multiplayer FPS in DirectX (Charles River Media Game Development) (Paperback)

When I first found out about this book I thought it had a snowball's change in hell of being even a half decent book (being a pretty ambitious topic). I've changed my mind after actually reading the book, and found it to be an excellent introduction to writing a FPS game engine. Granted, it's not DOOM3 but the end result is a simple, complete working engine; which is quite an achievement in my opinion.

One caveat though, even though the book is fairly simple and not exactly taxing (a tribute to the author) it is certainly not a beginners book. You should already be fairly comfortable with C++ and DirectX 9 to get the most out of it and be prepared to study the source and MSDN documentation (a good habit to get into anyway).

The book covers most of the major parts of a FPS engine at a reasonable level, resulting in a well designed, modular engine that can be expanded on quite easily. The main value of the book, however, is the design of the engine which should help a lot in developing your own engine (since most books cover the therory in exhausting detail but ignore the overall engine design - if you're looking for detail, this may not be the book for you).

After reading this book, the following books may be useful:

1. Introduction to 3D Game Programming with DirectX 9.0 (excellent intro to DX9).

2. 3D Game Engine Architecture : Engineering Real-Time Applications with Wild Magic (nice and detailed - I recommend all David Eberly's books).

3. Real-Time Rendering (doesn't get better than this).

4. Game Programming Gems (buy all of them, now).

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Top Notch Code, February 16, 2005

By 

Jason (Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Programming a Multiplayer FPS in DirectX (Charles River Media Game Development) (Paperback)

I'm about half way through the book now and the code that comes with the book is top notch. I even heard the author saying he went through all of the code removing the error checking before releasing as to make it easier to read. Its well maintained, simple and clever. The code is also definitly encapsulated well so you can bring it to other projects easily if you'd like with little dependencies.

Warning to those who are intermediate directx users - the first 2-7 are mostly directx basics and you will most likely skip this to get to the meat.

Although there's nothing incredibly complicated in this book, I think it gave me a healthy dose of not over estimating myself. The author only spends time on the what is required to complete the project and reuses his code a lot (i think the initial linked list was reused about 100 times in total) So if you ever find yourself making projects that always fail half way through - this is a good book for you.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars First Person Shooter Using DirectX 9, July 19, 2005

By 

Stuart Pennington "Stu" (Preston, UK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Programming a Multiplayer FPS in DirectX (Charles River Media Game Development) (Paperback)

At last, a book on 3D gaming that isn't an excuse for re-iterating the DirectX SDK/Help docs.

Yes, it's the real deal.

I'm sure that anyone with an interest in this subject will know that it isn't for the faint hearted.
If you want to "understand the code" and not simply use the complete project for your own levels, you certainly have your work cut out.

That said, the author takes you on a well guided and informative tour of all the aspects required to create an "outdoor" multiplayer (LAN) shooter.

A great introduction to what really goes into it all.

Recommended.