Special Effects Game Programming with DirectX w/CD (The Premier Press Game Development Series)

I mostly referenced this book for specific effects as I needed them, each chapter is kind of like a stand alone tutorial, very easy to follow and actually implement in your own code.

You can make a 3d game with this, I did.


GOOD BOOK!   May 24, 2003
 3 out of 5 found this review helpful

But!!!
alot of mistakes!
all the code is wrong!
you need to look at the examples on the cd to be able to run even the first program.
this is the ONLY disadvatage...
everything else is GREAT!!!
you should buy the book if you are intrested in RPG.
it explain preety good about almost all you need, except meshes...
but Jim Adams got another new book about meshes and skeletal animation.
buy both of them :)
enjoy


Another PrimaTech Blunder   December 22, 2002
 12 out of 14 found this review helpful

Every book in the prima tech series, this one included, spends an unnecessary amount of pages on the basics that you learn when you first start programming. I knew all the basics that are talked about for 100s of pages in these prima tech books after reading my very first book on game programming, titled "Windows Game Programming For Dummies" by Andre LaMonthe. Prima Tech has been complained about by a huge percentage of people for not putting enough of what the book title suggests into thier books, while putting way too much about what their book title should imply that the readers already know. Those things include: Win32 API basics (such as making a window, menus, buttons, dialog boxes, and a half a dozen other things), introduction to COM architecture, introduction to DirectDraw, DirectSound, DirectInput, DirectPlay, DirectX Graphics, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc.... When someone like me wants to buy a book that focuses on Special Effects programming, why should I have to expect 500 pages of useless information that I learned 25 books ago, and expect only 300+ pages of actual content. And none, and I do mean NONE, of the prima tech books actual "content" goes beyond the classification of BASICS. Most basics can be figured out by the programmer, advanced topics, yeah the ones programmers actually buy the books for, are almost never covered.

However, the two best books by far in the Prima Tech series are "Multiplayer Game Programming" by Todd Baren and "Programming Role Playing Games with DirectX" by Jim Adams. If you combine what you learn in those two books, you will have enough knowledge to construct a Direct3D application, like an RPG, that has multiplayer support. Todd Baren's book even covers MMORPGs like EverQuest, Anarchy Online, Ultima Online, & Asheron's Call. MMORPGs are some, if not THE, most popular PC games on the market right now.


Not bad...........   December 6, 2002
 5 out of 6 found this review helpful

This book is halfway decent. It reminds me a lot of back in the day programming little tricks in dos to make cool effects on the screen. Actually, it reminds me a lot of my high school computer science class when I already knew the language, so the teacher let me sit and make a graphics demo to teach the graphics portion of the class. I made a whole ton of demos of neat little tricks that were simple to do but had a good effect.

That is what this book is like. You get a few neat tricks, but the problem I have with this is the same as all the others: too much beginner garbage. On top of that, the content does not allow you as much room for expansion beyond what it gives you.

Bottom line:

It's a buy next to many of the other books out there. But it's still not near the top dog, Programming Role-Playing games with DIrectX by Jim Adams is the best one.