Customer Reviews

Real-Time Rendering (2nd Edition)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This book is a great resource and collection of algorithms used in 3D graphics programming. It does make use of an academic style, both in mathematics and in style of writing - but that is something you will appreciate if you have some computer science or engineering background. Plenty of references to further literature and articles are given in order to facilitate in-depth research on particular topics of interest.

The second edition is up to date regarding available graphics technology. It covers the latest additions to current hardware regarding Pixel and Vertex Shaders. It also provides a technical summary of the latest graphics hardware, using the X-Box GPU and the KYRO II architecture as examples.

The book covers a variety of useful algorithms at a level of abstraction that will require some additional work in order to implement in software. So it is definitely not a basic "howto" guide for beginners who just want some sample code to get going.

The color plates in this book are well chosen and illustrate the state of the art in DirectX 8.1 pixel and vertex shaders. One illustration even shows the latest technology demo of NVidia's new NV30 chip which has just been officially introduced at Comdex in November 2002. It is the realtime rendering of a scene from Final Fantasy, the motion picture.

This is not a book of algorithms on computer graphics methods. Instead, it is a comprehensive high-level survey of rendering techniques for making the graphics appear to occur in real time. This book has a very academic tone to it, and with the exception of chapter 3 which is on matrix transforms, it has precious few implementation details. Some reviewers have called it a successor to Foley and Van Dam's classic text, but I find this misleading. That book is primarily about computer graphics techniques, and is not that concerned with real-time issues. The bibliography of this book is extensive and impressive, and if you are doing research on the subject it is probably essential, especially if you are interested in the subject of virtual reality where real-time presentation is a must. However, if you are just looking for pseudocode or more "cool effects" to insert into a game or graphics program you are writing/programming you would do best to look elsewhere.

This is a useful book for anyone writing graphics code regardless of their implementation language and API. It contains a wealth of information on dozens of topics in computer graphics and plenty of sources to find more information. It also reads easy and is organized so it's a breeze to find what you're looking for.

The chapter on acceleration algorithms is worth the price of this book alone. They do a great job motivating the need for culling and presenting several algorithms. I found their quad tree material particularly useful while working on one of my own.

The chapter on intersection test methods provides a handy reference. I find myself referring to it quite often. I also really liked the chapter on graphics hardware as it's hard to find a good source for this type of information at a high level.

This is probably the best computer graphics book out there right now and anyone working in the field or aspiring too should have a copy of it.

I acually read this book cover to cover theres alot of information in the book and its a great book to refer back to. Its really good as a companion with OpenGL. theres some directx stuff in it too but there seems to be more with OpenGL references.

I recently came across a copy of this book that my friend bought. I own a copy of the 1st edition, which was in itself a classic and definately recommended reading.

I was so surprised to find this 2nd addition such a worthy purchase to someone already familiar with the first. The topic updates are fabulous and very essential.

This book covers everything, introducing real-time rendering very well in an easy to read manner. I very much enjoy the numerous algorithms described in simple terms or even psuedo code.

This book is great for budding game graphics programmers. A must buy!

I was greatly disappointed with the first edition of this book. There is nothing new herein that cannot be culled from the latest presentations/whitepapers posted on NVIDIA/ATI websites, from the standpoint of real time graphics.

That being said, the book in conjunction with the book's online resources site is pretty much a stand alone reference on the state of the art in rendering techniques today.

Real-time rendering is a perfect resource to bring always :) with you and read something about this world.

I find it really useful and elegant and complete

This is a great book. It features in depth coverage of all areas of graphics programming of interest to game programmers,

The primarily reason to buy that book was reviews. There is no CD and no examples. So if you are a developer and want to see some code or examples, do not waste money on it. I think I am the only one who gave this book 1 star. This makes this book absolutely meaningless.