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How many people in here have Read tricks of the windows game.....

General and Gameplay Programming Programming

Started by GameDev.net November 17, 1999 12:42 AM

7 comments, last by GameDev.net 24 years, 5 months ago

1,035

November 16, 1999 11:44 AM

I bought it and have read most of it. It has some good info in it. I skipped most of the beginning as it was review for me.

Former Microsoft XNA and Xbox MVP | Check out my blog for random ramblings on game development

ZomeonE

122

November 16, 1999 12:40 PM

I'm going to read the first chapters when I get the book, cause I've not done much windows programming in C++.

By the way, how long has the book been available to buy in the us? It hasn't come to europe yet!

Machaira

1,035

November 16, 1999 12:52 PM

It's been at least a month, maybe two.

Former Microsoft XNA and Xbox MVP | Check out my blog for random ramblings on game development

ZomeonE

122

November 16, 1999 12:57 PM

Ok, I've been at DirectX programming for a month now, is the book any good. Would i learn alot from it?

Bracket

240

November 16, 1999 02:28 PM

I thought the book was excellent. The first few chapters cover the basics of Windows programming. Unless you are skilled with COM and Win32 in general I'd not advise skipping it, because it gives quite a bit of theoretical insight into how this stuff works as opposed to simply spoon-feeding you code (which would be useless as soon as you wanted to do something slightly differently). Believe it or not, this section is invaluable if you ever plan to write something that isn't a DirectX game - or want to use nice Windowsy features, possibly in a map editor. If all you want to do is jump into DirectX mode and do everything else the hard way without ever knowing what Windows can do for you - ignore these chapters. [Personally, I'd recommend picking up a Win32 programming tome as well as LaMothes book if you are serious about writing general programs].

LaMothe's DirectX chapters (book part 2) are pretty good, although the library he builds could be a lot cleaner - I spent a few days turning into a nice C++ class-based wrapper; not much speed difference, definitely cleaner to work with.

Part 3 of the book is excellent general theory that could be applied to just about any sort of gaming environment - algorithms, memory management, and all the other things that people should learn in class (but rarely seem to - my opinion of the American Education system is off topic, however). AI, and Physics modeling are also covered in a general sort of manner.

[This message has been edited by Bracket (edited November 16, 1999).]

Machaira

1,035

November 16, 1999 11:34 PM

ZomeonE: I think you would get a lot out of the book. It's a good starting point.

Former Microsoft XNA and Xbox MVP | Check out my blog for random ramblings on game development

Qoy

127

November 17, 1999 12:28 AM

I would say the book is good. I learned all I know about DirectX and stuff from it and the SDK, but it helped the most. By the way, Maudib, I love the name. Dune rules

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http://qoy.tripod.com

Anonymous

November 17, 1999 12:42 AM

Andre Lamothes latest book, i was just wondering how many people brought and am i the only one who skipped the first 4 chapters that dealt with Windows Programming

Anonymous

November 17, 1999 12:42 AM

I am reading Andres Windows Game Programming for Dummies book, and I have heard this new one is similar. is that true?

How many people in here have Read tricks of the windows game.....

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