3 comments about Postmortems from Game Developer: Insights from the Developers of Unreal Tournament, Black and White, Age of Empires, and Other Top-Selling Games.

1. Love this book. Each postmortem is full of advice about designing, producing, and shipping a video game - advice from the developers themselves - allowing YOU to learn from THEIR mistakes. Techincal gaffes, hiring snafus, political missteps, project management mistakes; anything that can go wrong in a software project HAS gone wrong in one of these stories.
   
   When you get to the end of this book, you'll feel like a battle-hardened veteran that can take anything a project throws at you; and most of minefields mapped out are surpisingly appicable to ALL software development, not just video games.
   
   Beware: this book may have you rummaging through discount bins to find the games mentioned- good or bad, you feel affection for a game once you've shared the trials and tribs of the creators.



2. I've read several game design books, including Mike McShaffry's Game Coding Complete. While reading architecture and design is good and many of the books reflect the author's experience on several projects, Game Developer Postmortems provides the actual triumphs and stumbling blocks each game project went through.
   
   A quick read and the best way to get insight into these projects without actually having worked on the teams, it's a book I'd recommend to anyone looking to understand game design projects.



3. Both my partner and I treasure the wealth of information available between the covers of this book. We are making the difficult shift from TV production to game production and it is fascinating to see where other teams and their leaders got things wrong and right. With great examples from a wide variety of games (Some that we personally love playing) there is a well rounded selection.
   
   I hate to use the term "must have" but... this book is a must have for anybody in or wanting to be in the game industry.

4 comments about Resistance: Fall of Man Signature Series Guide (Bradygames Signature) (Bradygames Signature).

1. THIS GAME ROCKS--REAL WAR FOLKS--HALO IS BUPKIS NEXT TO THIS. HAVE BEEN PLAYING F.P.S. GAMES FROM 486-C 64 DAYS. YOU WILL NOT BE SORRY..ADP..
   
   I AM 60 YEARS YOUNG..



2. RFOM is an extremely difficult game to master (for me), so I found this guide has helped me through some tough spots. Still, the game is a major challenge so do not think the guide is your instant savior. You will still have to fight and die many...many...many times before you are finished.
   
   Happy Holidays,
   Smacka



3. Book was laid out in great detail to help you thru.
   Well worth it.
   Awesome game.
   Must have for you rPS3 collection.



4. this game gives u never-ending fun. the store is what i love the most.the weapons are unique and have there own feel to them.the levels are well detailed, well designed & have just the rite anoumt of enimes.ive played this game over 4 times & still find different way to have fun...........hey its a sony game so u should kno that it would live up to the standard of expextations

5 comments about Gran Turismo 4 (Prima Official Game Guide).

1. Whoever wrote this book, the group that did, should be made to do it over again! I'm not kidding, it is this horrible. I've been a gamer, for a very long time and know what I'm doing; not saying I'm the best or anything like that, but I know when I see a crap strategy guide.
   
   This guide is only a guide pertinent towards real life racing and not the game, as it speaks volumes on real technique and real cars, while neglecting the fact that we aren't driving real cars (while close), but a driving simulator game! I want to know (see), like the previous guides each and every task and how to beat them; for instance, there is not one good piece of info on the driving missions, nor for any of the races. The license section, on how to aquire them is great, but still lacking. Check out the old Verus game guides, they did the last Gran Turismo guide, and you won't find nearly any complaints towards it... Geezz, if we wanted a thick collectible Gran Turismo book we could have waited and gone to Ebay and gotten it cheaper. This book is a ripp off for what you get, do not buy it, if you do you'll know why I said don't. Make your own strategy or look one up online, their are plenty of legitimate online strategies, so dig in. Take care and all the best to you...



2. If what you want is a handy reference for some cars, an index of all cars that can be unlocked, and something very light to thumb through at your leisure, buy this book.
   
   If what you want is what is advertised on the book -- "The best racing lines for all tracks" "Expert racing lessons to help you dust your competition" -- you'll be sorely disappointed.
   
   The closest they come to including "racing lines" is brief mentions of a fraction of the turns on each track. Particularly bad is the Nurburgring Nordschleife coverage. Here's an example of how they describe one vast section of the course: "The third section of the course is also highly technical, with many difficult chicanes and hairpins connected to one another." That's all they say for what is approximately 3 to 4 miles of track.
   
   The "expert lessons" appear to be completely missing. They do mention the license exams, but the text they include for each one might almost be as useful as the in-game text. They mention the driving missions, but only that they exist -- there are no tips for them here.
   
   I strongly recommend utilizing online resources instead of this book.



3. This book is simply not worth buying. I bought this book hoping for check times for gold medals in license tests, racing lines, and strategies for tuning, etc.
   
   This book has none of this. It's basically a history of all the car companies in the game, with listings of all of the cars available, and an unlock list.
   
   Go to (...)and don't waste your time with this book.



4. This is a completely useless strategy guide. Why? Because Gran Turismo is a racing game. What can a guide teach you that you can't possibly learn by playing the game. Now, I know what you're thinking: Why am I reviewing this if I think it's useless. Because I wasted my money on it, that's why, and I'm going to bash into the ground and attempt to scare others from wasting their money as well.
   
   Pros and Cons:
   + Pages 292-295, which contains a list of the cars you win racing certain events.
   
   - It "describes" driving techniques. How many have ever passed a driving test by only reading the driving manual and never actually getting behind the wheel?
   
   - It analyzes car manufacturers, which can be fun, but it's also something that's been found in car magazines throughout the world.
   
   - It gives you maps of the race course and the key turning points, once again "describing" how to take the turns.
   
   - The guide has a kind of "extras" section, that actually bores us with the past Gran Turismo titles and how they affected the industry. We know how it has affected the industry, because their have been FOUR titles.
   
   - Then, it tries to squeeze money from you by advertising, in a section all its own by the way, other GT items (hats, DVDs, a steering wheel). This wouldn't have bothered me had they placed it at the back of the book but it's closer to the middle.
   
   - Finally, it has all the websites of all the car manufacturers, another way of shamelessly advertising things most of us can't afford.
   
   Some of you may think that my "cons" are actually pros, but when you think about it, a strategy guide (which they cleverly titled "Game Guide") is supposed to aid you in the game. The cons listed are all the things I thought didn't help me. As you can see, I only liked four pages. Needless to say, I don't recommend this guide. You can learn more by actually experiencing the game than reading this guide.



5. The book did not give you tips on the special missions or much on car setup. The only thing of use was the car and prize check off list, but there is no information on Peugeot's Cars anywhere in the book.

5 comments about Mortal Kombat?: Deception Official Strategy Guide (Brady Games Signature).

1. stupid. $14.99 for nothing. It has maybe 4 fatalities, and like 2 hara-kiris. And the konquest guide is no help. "Go to location A-8." Like I know where A-8 is! And there is no help for side missions. Only primary missions. And there are many grammar mistakes. And it doen't cover anything about the krypt! Of all things, this is one of the most important. Nobody cares about every single little move a character has. We want their fatalities! And some of the special moves are not even right. Don't get it look on the internet.



2. This guide is missing secret character moves and how to unlock them. No other secrets or krypt info was listed either.



3. I've never written a review before, because I've never been impressed enough or upset enough to do so. Believe me, I'm very much the latter right now.
   
   Everyone that has played Mortal Kombat knows that the main thing that sets apart MK from every other fighting game on the market are the fatalities. So I bought the guide hoping to learn how to do these finishers... Boy, was I wrong! Not only is the print so small and the colors so similar that I could barely read them (and even then I still can't make out some of the directional arrows), but more than half of them aren't even listed! Sure, it lists every single move possible during kombat, but I could have checked the move list to learn them.
   
   Next, Konquest Mode. Ugh, what an utter waste this "guide" is. The only quests it walks you through a blind hamster with a learning disability could have figured out on its own! And what about the subquests? If it wasn't for the tiny printing at the top of each map (which, by the way, are useless as well as you can check the map in-game anytime you wish) stating how many sub-quests exist in that world, I wouldn't believe that the author even knew they existed.
   
   Third, the Krypt. I was not pleased when I plugged the game in to discover that I had to 'unlock' half of the playable characters. But hey, it gives inentive to play the Konquest Mode (which I likely wouldn't have touched otherwise). However, there is ~nothing~ in this guide that tells me which koffin contains which secret.
   
   In short, this guide is hardly worth the pages it was printed on. Save your money, get your guide on-line. To those of you who I've saved $15 with this warning, you're welcome. To those who already bought it, my condolences.



4. I'm so glad I bought this guide at Wal-Mart as opposed to an actual videogame store. I bought it for the Fatalities, the Konquest mode, and the Krypt. This strategy guide had NO INFORMATION!!!! It actually said to look up info online! I even went to the website listed and it still had no info. Besides, I have gamefaqs.com if I want to get guides online. DO NOT BUY THIS BOOK!!!



5. One think I can say is that it sucks!It didn't help me finish the konquest game of mortal Kombat deception. Don't even waste your money on this!

5 comments about Devil May Cry Official Strategy Guide.

1. This guide is absolutely brilliant in ways that can't all be described! This guide is very detailed with some brilliant things to offer. Detailed maps, great walkthrough, and some bonus material make this DMC guide a must own.

   Anyway, the guide really seems to live up to my expectations. Detailed maps of EVERY AREA unlike some of the other guides, and they pin-point the location of items and blue orb fragment. Not to mention that the strategy is very good as well. The maps are colorful and very detailed.

   The walkthrough is well done giving you a brief details on bosses. For each boss they show you a suggested Life Gauge and a suggested Devil Trigger. Now thats something that I found really helpful in this guide.

   The guide covers all the secrets including how to lock hidden characters and game modes! The guide also features an art gallery and exclusive Interviews! Again, it doesn't hurt to read them!

   Overall, this is probably the best DMC guide out there. Much more detail and organization went into the walkthrough. Forget VERSUS BOOKS, this is your perfect guide to DMC!




2. Addressing the previous reviewer: Dan Birlew didn't even write the Xenogears guide, someone else named David Cassidy did. And why would you compare Mr. Birlew to Casey Lowe who writes guides for Pokemon? That's comparing apples to apples seeds. As for the maps, they were obviously not done by the author, just read the credits. Now for a more mature and observant review: This particular Devil May Cry guide is concise and thorough. It's written for an audience that is intelligent and sharp, a compliment to all gamers. The writing style does not talk down to the reader, as some guides tend to do. The slick design and stylized cover are done in such a way that it attracts gamers like me--adults with jobs and money to spend on toys. Overall, this guide is perfect for those gamers who do not fall into the "living in my parent's basement" stereotype. Kudos to BradyGames for targeting mature gamers with jobs!



3. Even I have to admit that Dan Birlew is getting much better. After that FFIX guide I thought this guy would be bad. Anyways, to start off. I've been a HUGE collector of video game guides (I may be 15 and have high expectations for a guide such as they do need to help me a give me a gaming experience in the process) and I know a good guide when I see it.

   This guide is defenitely good. Anyways, I read the other reviews, and Dan Birlew didn't do the Xenogears guide nor did David Cassady, it was Ronald Wartow, its right there on the fron cover. The maps are easy to read while I do admit they get tiresome every guide does. I know the maps aren't done by Dan Birlew but still they could use a little work. I look more at the detail in the walkthrough rather than how flashy the maps and screenshots are.

   The walkthrough helps you out a lot and doesn't give off any spoilers at all and gets right to the point. I like this guide because the walkthrough is put together organized and doesn't look like it was rushed to get out. Its 160 pages and the guide has extremely good detail to it. Unlike the Prima (only 90 pages) and VERSUS BOOKS (112 pages) this guide has a ton of info.

   I'd recomend this guide for anybody who likes strategy guides as much as I do.




4. Dan Birlew (better known to survival horror fans on the web as "President Evil") penned this easy-to-follow strategy guide.

   I'm one of those players who doesn't have great reflexes and normally gets sliced to ribbons playing a game like this. But thanks to Birlew's guide, I was able to survive some of the toughest bosses, bad reflexes and all. The book points out the bosses's strengths and weaknesses, how to attack them and how to avoid them, as every good game guide should.

   Oh, yeah, I did find one mistake in Birlew's guide: he states that you can't purchase untouchables (items that temporarily make you invincible). In fact, untouchables can be purchased at any time, though it'll cost you. Perhaps this was a change in the game that was implemented after Birlew's guide went to press.




5. The guide is a wonderful addition to the game. Adds a great deal to the fun of the game. Also adds backstory to the sometimes confusing game story. I read it once while doing the story and again after finishing the game the first time. A real treasure.

5 comments about Visual Basic Game Programming For Teens.

1. Helloooo! VB 6 is dead! <--------- You are in denial.
   First off VB will never leave you in the dry.
   1. VB is owned by Microsoft and will never be ported to Linux or Mac.
   2. VB has continued to have new releases.
   3. C++ uses directx just like the rest of programming languages for games.
   4. VB dominates in database programming. [MMO] Game DataBase!
   5. It is possible to code in VB, that can run faster than C++.
   6. Most people who bash VB do not know how to code in it and claim it to be for beginners when they only seen the dev. Fact is VB can do anything C++ can if you know how to code it.
   7. So i say read and know what you are talking about before shooting off at the lips about something you have no clue about. Try looking at the development and then retract your comment.



2. Just started programming and VB seems like a good place.
   Johnathan rambles on a bit to much about maps but I learned alot. Rich D



3. Don't believe those that tell you VB is dead, vb is still alive and well! Just look at Microsoft Access 2003(A database program)when you build advance coding in it you are using vb language,even in the latest Access edition, VB is still there. Just visit your local book store, you will still see VB books out there. Another proof that VB is still alive, look at many E-commerce shopping carts, many of them are build in VB, and they are functioning with great precision.
   The book is intended for the teenager that wants to explore programming in a fun, and easy method, and Vb can deliver that without advance codes that will make a teenage kid left in the dark. It will give them the opportunity to learn to write simple executable codes, once they do that, then they can move on to Vb.net or C++. And with that, the author would accomplish his/her mission, and that is teaching a young mind.
   Go ahead buy the book, play with the codes, and have fun!



4. Overall I find this book good at what it advertises to be, a tour through the process of making a DirectX game in VB that would be very interesting and appealing to a novice programmer (teen). The game is a simplified 2d rpg/adventure game, called `Celtic Crusader'. While functional, in the interest of simplicity and time by the author's own words it isn't a fully featured game, it lacks features such as character inventory or network play.
   
   If you are looking for detailed information on DirectX, this is not the book. This book does not explain the DirectX methods used, or even display their signatures, it just tells you what the routine you are coding does as a whole, and gives you the code.
   
   I currently work in VB.Net, but I am experienced in the last few incarnations of VB, so the conversion of the provided code examples into VB.Net is not much of a problem. I would say someone familiar with VB.Net but without experience in VB6 will not have much problem; in fact the DirectX method calls in VB.Net are more logical than in VB6.
   
   For example
   d3ddev.Present(ByVal 0, ByVal 0, 0, ByVal 0)
   becomes
   d3ddev.Present(Handle.zero,Handle.zero, 0, Handle.zero)
   
   If you pay attention to the intellisense balloons then the DirectX method calls are fairly easy to figure out.
   
   The author doesn't fully qualify all his references, so be aware and supply the appropriate qualifacation for the constants. Be sure to Imports DxVBLibA
   
   For example
   d3dpp.SwapEffect = D3DSWAPEFFECT_DISCARD
   becomes
   d3dpp.SwapEffect = CONST_D3DSWAPEFFECT.D3DSWAPEFFECT_DISCARD
   
   The VB side of the code is the same (an If-Then is still If-Then) except that you will need to recognize form events as such by their names instead of their handles keyword.
   
   The DirectX8 for Visual Basic type library reference is still available with DirectX9.0c in VB.Net (just look under the Com tab when adding the reference) and seems to work fine in XP (I have tried it on 3 different machines.) I have not worked through the entire book yet, but so far I have not had any problems with compatibility.
   
   This book is thinner than the typical programming book (tome) you normally find. It leads the reader directly through the creation of this adventure game, cutting out many side details as mentioned earlier. However, I find it delivers enough to create a decent working game, and a nice resource for a programmer looking for straightforward code examples.



5. Ok, yes, 2005? VB6??? Are you aware that Microsoft has discontinued selling and supporting this software?? This software was first published in 1999!!! Find a book that is using a little bit more of state of the art technology. This one is a waste of time and money.

5 comments about iLife '05: The Missing Manual.

1. David Pogue's iLife 05: The Missing Manual covers all the major features and functions of iLife: iTunes, iPhoto 5, Garage Band 2 and more. These are all key cornerstones of the Mac's popularity and here are revealed by a weekly computer columnist for the New York Times who is himself a Macintosh author. From producing polished music recordings with no prior experience to using information panels, effects panes, film rolls and other features of iLife 05, you simply can't be without this book if you own the program. The full color screen examples packed throughout make it hard to mess up.



2. This is a good book for understanding all of the applications included in iLife 05. Note, however, that iLife 06 has been released with a host of new features, and thus depending on whether or not you intend to upgrade, this book may have a limited lifespan of usefulness at this point in time. As of iLife '06, iLife consists of six components: iTunes, iPhoto, iMovie, iDVD, GarageBand, and iWeb. However, if you intend to stick with iLife 05 for awhile, you couldn't ask for a better guide. Basically, what the author has done is condense his Mac missing manual series of books- iMovie&DVD, iPhoto, iTunes&iPod, and GarageBand - into one volume. I have some of the missing manuals for the individual applications, and I compared the individual books with the applicable sections in this book, and they seem to be equitable in quality. The only thing you are really missing is some of Pogue's insight into using the applications - for example, some pointers on film-making in the case of the iMovie&iDVD book versus this book. There also seem to be more advanced user and customization information in the individual "Missing Manual" books versus this book, so perhaps power-users would be better off buying the individual missing manuals on the applications. I notice that Amazon does not show the table of contents, so I do that here for the purpose of completeness:
   PART 1: iTunes
   1. Getting Music into iTunes
   2. Getting Music out of iTunes
   3. Managing Your Music
   4. The iTunes Music Store
   5. The iPod Connection
   PART 2: iPhoto
   6. Camera Meets Mac
   7. The Digital Shoebox
   8. Editing Your Shots
   9. The iPhoto Slideshow
   10. Prints and Books
   11. Photos Online - and Your Network
   12. iPhoto File Management
   PART 3: iMovie
   13. Camcorder Meets Mac
   14. Building the Movie
   15. Transitions and Effects
   16. Titles, Captions, and Credits
   17. Narration, Music, and Sound
   18. Still Pictures and Quicktime Movies
   19. Finding Your Audience
   PART 4: iDVD
   20. From iMovie to iDVD
   21. iDVD Projects By Hand
   22. Advanced iDVD
   PART 5: GarageBand
   23. Setting Up the Garage
   24. Loops
   25. Regions
   26. Software Instruments (MIDI)
   27. Recording and Editing Live Audio
   28. Effects, Guitar Amps, and Instrument Models
   29. Mixing and Publishing
   PART 6: Troubleshooting
   30. Troubleshooting iTunes
   31. Troubleshooting iPhoto
   32. Troubleshooting iMovie
   33. Troubleshooting iDVD
   34. Troubleshooting GarageBand



3. iLife '05 is the fifth Missing Manual I've purchased. I find them helpful, informative, and fun to read. The chapter layout is logical and fluid, the index is thorough, and the entire manual is chock full of color (!) illustrations.
   
   The first few chapters will walk the beginner through iTunes and the iTunes Music store. There is even a chapter on managing your iPod.
   
   Next is iPhoto, Apple's image browser-librarian-editor. Like Apple's software, there is more than first meets the eye in these pages.
   
   Section three covers iMovie, from working with your camcorder through producing something worth burning to DVD...leading seamlessly to
   
   Section four, exploring iDVD. Both general concepts and insider-like tips abound.
   
   Section five covers GarageBand. All the above sections are much more accessable and thorough than Apple's Help system. This Missing Manual closes with more than 50 pages of troubleshooting tips for the 5 software titles, and an excellent index.
   
   The whole book is a pleasure to read, browse, or just to hold in the hand (though it's heavy--nothing skimpy about it). I find myself reading some sections completely and diving in for a just a few pages in others. A must have if you own iLife '05--whhich can be had for a song now that iLife '06 is out.



4. Do you need to harness cutting-edge technology for your own creative expression and entertainment? If you do, you're in luck! Author David Pogue, has done an outstanding job of writing a book that doesn't require you to be a professional working for a media conglomerate to read it.
   
   Pogue, begins by discussing how to use iTunes 4 for managing, playing, buying and sharing digital music. Then, he discusses how to use the iPhoto 5 program for downloading photos from your digital camera, and organizing, sharing, and printing them. The author continues by describing how to use the iMoves HD program for editing footage from a digital camcorder, adding effects, sound, and credits, and then presenting the result. Next, he details how to use GarageBand 2 for composing and recording terrific-sounding songs of your own. Then, the author provides an overview of how to use the iDVD 5 program for burning DVDs containing the movies, music, and photos from iTunes, iPhotos, iMoves, and GarageBand. Finally, he explains how to troubleshoot the preceding programs.
   
   This most excellent book packages iDVD 5, iTunes, iPhotos, iMoves, and GarageBand come in a single package called iLife '05. In other words, if you've mastered all of the preceding information, you have all of the technical background you need to enjoy iLife '05: The Missing Manual.



5. All around, yet another hit from the Missing Manual series!
   
   I'm well versed in most things computer, so computer books often either are way under my interest level or are very technical in nature. This is a great mix of advanced techniques taught in a quick and understandable way.
   
   I'm actually using iLife '06, but haven't hit any major roadbumps between the content in the book and the '06 apps.
   
   Great stuff - now I'm drooling over the iPhoto specific book - I want to dig even deeper into that app now that I understand the basics!

5 comments about Richard Garriott's Tabula Rasa Official Strategy Guide (Bradygames Official Strategy Guide).

1. I enjoy this game immensely. I have played World of Warcraft and City of Heroes as online games and what I like about Tabula Rasa is the science fiction plot, the weaponry in the game (similar to a first person shooter game) that affects each target differently (for instance, some are immune to lasers, others to electricity, etc...) and that the game is easy to get back into the game after being away for a week as an example. The 8 major classes also play the game quite differently and I like the fact that every starts with the same character and then changes into others. The game also has a great feel for warfare where enemies teleport into a lot of places around you and the atatcks on bases are, well, very intense for about 10 minutes. Pray that you have a fair amount of people there with you otherwise you will be overrun quickly. Big thumbs up!



2. The first half of the guide is good when explaining the MMO basics (stats, how to move, interface commands, but my grip comes when they try to do a complete walk though.
   The 1st walk though: levels 1-10 is great good details and guidance as expected. The rest: levels 11-50 just show a proceeding lack of interest to the point you just get a map and a very brief description. The author tries to justify this laziness by saying something to the point of `well you made it this far, you can figure how to do the rest...here are the location you have to go to'. I don't like this because typically there are side interesting points in each level tiers and maps that you may not know if you just miss a spawn. Another point is that other guides have a listing of the main and side quests for each area; this guide fails to do so.
   Compare to other guides the publisher made (wow and eqII) they fail to do the standards of other guides do, guide people into making educated choices. The maps are details but failed to have the legend that has the name of NPCs and monsters for the quests in that area. The map details are found in other guides- what happened here? We expect a list with specs for all the different weapons and their rarity. Formulas for crafting are NOT present at all in this guide. Finally, the compendium of monsters and NPCs and zones bosses with specifics of damage potential and where can they be found is not found at all. All they give you is a picture with a brief description with sparce verbal points of strengths and weaknesses.
   This all shows that they got lazy in publishing this guide.
   In the decision to buy it or not you should consider if you want to have a physical guide or go the route of going to fan sites and getting a better picture. If you do not mind ALT + TAB to get info as you play, go the web site route.
   Disappointing attempt, if the game keeps getting popular, maybe they make a second edition that matches up with other guides.



3. There have been some updates to the game so it isn't entirely up to date. The maps aren't much better than the ones that come with the Collectors edition of the game and are not as good as those that are available in game. The break down of the basic armor and weapons is good but for items that you pick up in game lacking. For the price get the Collectors edition if you can it is a better value.



4. The manual is help full but does not have that good of details in the walk thru sections leaves a lot of features that would be helpful out as to the weakness of the enemies and their location. Shadowwalker



5. Just a short note as fair warning. It seems this guide was written during development and beta testing. Thus, it has many small and not a few large errors. Further, the 12 Deployments (read major patches) as of Sept 22, 2008 make the gap between what the guide says and what is in game all that much greater.
   
   Still the guide has a great deal of useful information and is worth the read for now. If you don't have friends already in game to explain some of the mechanics and background information purchase this guide, but purchase it knowing it has flaws.

2 comments about Star Wars Empire at War (Prima Official Game Guide).

1. I bought this book because the documentation that comes with Empire at War is so scanty, and unfortunately I must say I'm rather disappointed. The most important bit of info you'll need is a chart telling you the income, trade, value per mine and number of build slots per planet - something that took me about 1 - 1 1/2 hours to research on my own and manually enter in the planet entries. It would have been even simpler to count hardpoints, prices, etc. for the ships and list that up on the various ship entries, or even better, on a 1 or 2 page chart - again, something that would have been very simple and basic for a researcher to have done.
   
   There are some nice tips for the multiplayer game, but I wouldn't depend on them unless you fancy being eaten alive by the other players. Most of the tactical and strategic advice is basic, common sense stuff - get your income up, balance your unit and technology builds, etc - but again, the excellent charts and data tables that one expects in a Prima Guide and that one would use to make such decisions are entirely absent.
   
   Spending an hour or two collating important data like this into the book before publishing it would seem basic to me, but clearly not to whoever put this book out. The fact that it's about a third more expensive than other Prima Guides (probably because the game it covers is a hot Lucas Arts title) doesn't help matters.
   
   All in all, unless you're a collector or have money to burn, I wouldn't bother with it. If you really feel the need to get it, at least check any major bookstore or game shop and read the insides BEFORE you buy it. Because failing to do so is how this particular gamer got took.



2. Has some nice maps of the planets so when you cannot see what is there, you have a clue. It helped me get the most outof the game, but it is not necessary to play

5 comments about Game Audio Programming (Advances in Computer Graphics and Game Development Series).

1. I recently had the opportunity to be the sole programmer for a very cool project that was a combination of a music player and a comprehensive jukebox. Yet, this was my first experience with *serious* audio programming on the Windows platform.

   While doing my research on how I would meet the requirements for this project (including playback, sound mixing, crossfading, and conversions between the various standard audio formats - WAV, WMA, MP3, OGG Vorbis), I was very fortunate to stumble on this book while in a bookstore in Manhattan. At first I was thrown off by the title and assumed that this book was intended solely for 'game developers.' However, after picking it up and scanning it, I quickly realized that that was not the case. This book is for *anyone* interested in audio programming on the Windows platform.

   In my opinion, this book accomplishes several things VERY well:

   1) Provides the reader with a very good understanding about how audio works in general and the key components of any wave that you must understand when tackling a project such as mine (eg. sampling rate, bit depth, etc.)

   2) While geared towards using the DirectX Audio APIs, the author provides a sound explanation (no pun intended) of why this API should be seriously considered and how it compares to using other APIs (typically offered by a 3rd party)

   3) Perhaps most important, the author takes a very disciplined approach to the design of an audio system. This is extrememly helpful since many readers, like myself, will purchase this book not only because they have an interest in audio, but also because they need/want to build their own set of audio engines that they can use/reuse in present and future projects. This feature alone seperates this book from most, if not all others (that are typically reference books to a technology such as DirectX). This also demonstrates that the author has a very solid meta-level understanding of what he is writing about, pulling from many recognized and practical real-world projects.

   4) Serves as a very good reference to the DirectX Audio APIs (DirectSound and DirectMusic) and even the Windows Media Format SDK

   5) Discusses the main file formats (Raw PCM, WAV, WMA, MP3, OGG Vorbis) and how you can employ various codecs to get wave data from a file to a DirectSound buffer or vice versa. This is very useful because, on the Windows platform, you dont get some of these formats for free. So, an understanding of how you can design a system to support virtually any audio codec is therefore invaluable - and something the author does very well. He even walks you through the integration of the MP3 and OGG Vorbis formats into your audio engine.

   I really cant say enough about this book. In fact, even though I shop here ALL the time, this is the first book review I have ever written on Amazon's website. Anyone who is interested in audio programming, at ANY level, should purchase this book. You will NOT be disappointed.




2. I recently had the opportunity to be the sole programmer for a very cool project that was a combination of a music player and a comprehensive jukebox. Yet, this was my first experience with *serious* audio programming on the Windows platform.

   While doing my research on how I would meet the requirements for this project (including playback, sound mixing, crossfading, and conversions between the various standard audio formats - WAV, WMA, MP3, OGG Vorbis), I was very fortunate to stumble on this book while in a bookstore in Manhattan. At first I was thrown off by the title and assumed that this book was intended solely for 'game developers.' However, after picking it up and scanning it, I quickly realized that that was not the case. This book is for *anyone* interested in audio programming on the Windows platform.

   In my opinion, this book accomplishes several things VERY well:

   1) Provides the reader with a very good understanding about how audio works in general and the key components of any wave that you must understand when tackling a project such as mine (eg. sampling rate, bit depth, etc.)

   2) While geared towards using the DirectX Audio APIs, the author provides a sound explanation (no pun intended) of why this API should be seriously considered and how it compares to using other APIs (typically offered by a 3rd party)

   3) Perhaps most important, the author takes a very disciplined approach to the design of an audio system. This is extrememly helpful since many readers, like myself, will purchase this book not only because they have an interest in audio, but also because they need/want to build their own set of audio engines that they can use/reuse in present and future projects. This feature alone seperates this book from most, if not all others (that are typically reference books to a technology such as DirectX). This also demonstrates that the author has a very solid meta-level understanding of what he is writing about, pulling from many recognized and practical real-world projects.

   4) Serves as a very good reference to the DirectX Audio APIs (DirectSound and DirectMusic) and even the Windows Media Format SDK

   5) Discusses the main file formats (Raw PCM, WAV, WMA, MP3, OGG Vorbis) and how you can employ various codecs to get wave data from a file to a DirectSound buffer or vice versa. This is very useful because, on the Windows platform, you dont get some of these formats for free. So, an understanding of how you can design a system to support virtually any audio codec is therefore invaluable - and something the author does very well. He even walks you through the integration of the MP3 and OGG Vorbis formats into your audio engine.

   I really cant say enough about this book. In fact, even though I shop here ALL the time, this is the first book review I have ever written on Amazon[.com]'s website. Anyone who is interested in audio programming, at ANY level, should purchase this book. You will NOT be disappointed.




3. This book was very disappointing. It is a book about programming audio APIs, not programming audio algorithms. The section on Advanced 3D Techniques is mostly a description of how to use EAX. There is little here that could not be gleaned from the documentation and examples that come with the APIs in question.

   This has only the barest whisper of theory. Just enough for someone to understand what a certain function in the provided APIs might mean. DSP, FFT and DCT are not even mentioned in the index! In all, this book is pretty much useful only to someone who doesn't want to deal with the included SDK documentation with DirectX Audio. Anyone working upon a different platform, or wishing to go beyond the basics of merely playing back samples should look elsewhere. Do you really need a 640 page long book just to figure out how to play back a sample?




4. I agree with a previous reviewer that this book is dedicated to developing a high to mid level audio engine based on DirectSound and DirectMusic. This book is not about audio programming from scratch. It doesn't give any algorithms for implementing your own 3D audio engine. It does give pretty good explanation of the I3DL2 spec (but this can be gleaned from the AISIG site. It also has a good explanation of Occlusion and Obstruction.



5. For anyone actually doing practical audio programming for a game, this book is a great resource. No, it doesn't dig into academic minutia such as implementing your own software mixer, or explaining FFTs or writing custom DSPs, as those topics fall outside the realm of game programming (yes, audio compression uses these items, but no one writes their own audio compression codecs anymore, especially with good open-source alternatives available). Modern audio programming is all about taking advantage of hardware acceleration, and that means using APIs such as DirectX that can do this. The book is quite specialized, but digs into the APIs and gives a lot of good advice on practical implementation that you won't find anywhere else.

   It also contains a good deal of the meat and potatoes of game audio programming, such as developing and interactive music system, or creating compelling dynamic soundscapes. The APIs are a big part of that, but not the only part, as a good portion of the book is devoted to these higher-level programming concepts.

   I'd highly recommend this book to any game developer who needs to implement (or improve) an audio engine for their Windows PC game. It will give you a big head start, with lots of working source code to play with.