Customer Reviews

Windows 95 Games Programming

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

 

 

This is an absolutely awful book. Not only does all the code not work in any real way, but it doesn't teach you ANYTHING! It just gives you an engine, and a few examples of what it can do. Whoop Dee Doo. No code whatsoever. And this guy is a jerk to. I wrote a review for this earlier saying it was Ok. Well, it isn't. It's bad. Just buy 'Windows game programming for Dummies'. That is my bible for windows games. Anyway, don't waste you money, this book is absolutely awful.

I'm only halfway through this book, but I must say that when I had a problem with the raycasting programs the author (Stan Trujillo) was very willing to solve my problems. He provides a nice raycasting engine to develop 3-d games even if it is in more of a Wolfenstein 3d(not quake) style. It does allow an easy entry into the subject however. Be forewarned though, you should have atleast a small amount of c/c++ programming experience.

Bob - Chicago

The title of this book should rightly be Win 95 Game MAKING!! I could easily see why a book like this would tend to recieve polarized reviews. People who actually wish to learn more about the theoretical implementations of game components are likely to be disappointed in this title. On the other hand those who are intrigued with the idea of producing a game of their own design, but are perhaps only familiar with the rudiments of programming in general, are probably more likely to favor it. Personally, and for the former class, I would recommend the likes of Andre LaMothe's "Teach Yourself Game Programming in 21 days. A definate oldy-but-goody by any standard. Yeah it's a DOS based book but the theory of it all is very sound and easily ported with the proper supplements.

Reviews for this book have shown two extremes. Some show 5 stars, while others show only one. The truth about this book is that it is a good book which comes with 3 frameworks. I would strongly advise having knowledge of MFC and Visual C++ prior to making this purchase. The frameworks included are used to help the user produce his/her own games without the hassel of having to make extra code. This book includes numerous good demos, however you MUST be willing to study the source code of the demos to get anything from this book. This book is mostly useful for someone who wishes to get a kick-start into 2D and basic 3D game programming. The source code in this book will only work with Microsoft Visual C++ 4.0, if you have an older version, or different software I advise purchasing the newest version of VC++ out (as of now version 6.0)and then calling Microsoft and getting version 4 at no additional charge (its called downgrading). My advice, buy this book if you have never programmed games before, and you have some solid expierence with MFC and VC++.

This book is nice for the advanced programmer who would want to write *very* simple games. If you do not know C/C++/MFC code, learn it first! Furthermore: this book is too outdated because they (for example) refer to DirectX as the 'Microsoft Game SDK' and don't even mention the presence of Direct3D! Do not buy it: I did and I regret it!

The book has a lot of valuable content. The only problem that I had with it is the librarys. I could never get them to work. But that is just because I have no idea on how to use librarys. So if you don't know, then don't get it. But if you do know, or are willing to learn, then go for it. The metaphors that it uses are very effective, and it is organized very well. It covers many forms of games.

Just note that I am using VC4. The version that the book uses.

This book has some good info on basic game theory. GDKapp framework included uses DirectX. This book is better than any of the many books I have read by Andre' LaMothe. The only weaknesses are its almost total lack of AI info and the writer's obsesion with the 'Theatrix' framework, which tries to mutilate game disign into a theatricle metaphore. Also, the DOOM-style framework is more like Wolfenstein 3D; walls must be cubical.

If a reader use old version of Visual C++ like version 4.X, then the codes provided in the CD may work. But codes do not work with Visual C++ version 6. There seems no place where the authors provide a fix. People using only a new programming soft should avoid this book.

Explanation and organization of this book look good though.

This book enables the C++ programmer to bypass the MFC completely by providing you with a royalty free programming interface that enables you to easily handle graphics, sound, mouse, network controls in your professional games. This is a big improvement over the authors previous C++ book that required the purchase of an expensive third party library. They also include support for Microsofts SDK and a library for developing 3D(Doom style) games. This book is most strongly recommended for those with some C/C++ skills but little knowlege of the MFC and no game design experience.