Beginning Direct3D Game Programming, 2nd Ed by Wolfgang F. Engel
Published December 2003
List Price: $49.99, Your Amazon.com Price: $35.99
Course Technology PTR Price: $39.99
Average rating:
Amazon Sales Rank: 216,846
Summary With a detailed explanation of vertex and pixel shader programming, coverage of the new Microsoft HLSL (High Level Shader Language), and greater concentration of the fixed function pipeline, the second edition of this popular reference guide will take you farther than you ever imagined! Written by an industry expert, this book will put an end to your struggle to master the concepts. "Beginning Direct3D Game Programming, 2nd Edition" serves as a comprehensive guide for learning DirectX graphics programming. It allows you to start with the basics and ease your way into graphics and animation. As you work your way through the book, however, you'll get a chance to focus on some advanced shader effects to give your games that extra touch of realism.
This is a great book but it is definetly not a beginner book.
I buyed this book because of the "Beginning" in the title but I must admit it was a mistake. This is no beginner book, or at least, it is not a newbe book. At the half of the book, we're already in reflective mapping / bump mapping / stencil shadows. I'd recommand doing like I did : read "Introduction to 3D game programing using DirectX 9" (I think there is a second edition now), and then move to this book. That way, you'll end the "Introduction" book with toon shading and you'll be able to continue where you left in the "beginning" book.
And note that I think you need pixel/vertex shader version 2 to run the samples. I couldn't run them under my Radeon 9200 but now I'm alright with my GeForce 6600GT.
It deserves a higher rating but I don't want people to think it is a good beginner book.
I personally find this book pretty good. It touches on basic to intermediate stuff regarding Direct3D9.
However, as I'm only a beginner. I find it difficult to follow without referring to the code in the CD. The book itself only provides code snippet. In addition, there are several printing mistakes in the book. Therefore, when I tried to follow the directly from the book, I'm completely lost.
Frankly speaking, I read it once but I didn't manage to understand it well. Now, I'm reading it the second time, I find understanding it easier. It will be fun and useful when one is able to understand the message or knowledge the author tries to convey.
Thank you for this book though I can't give it a 5-star rating.
Southwest Gaming Expo
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