5 comments about Beginning DirectX 9 (Game Development Series).

1. Miserable and frustrating. I wasted an entire weekend trying to learn from this book. I seriously think they outsourced the actual coding in the CD, because there are so many ridiculous inconsistencies.
   
   For one thing, the in-book code samples and example(from CD) code samples are completely different. The example code is written in a bizarre style that overuses uses spaces and parentheses in a way not used by the book and generally atypical to American code. There's also a number of devastating errors with both the book AND CD which made this a frustrating learning experience:
   
   - Book code for a basic Windows program has error that causes program to not close properly. (have to ctrl-alt-delete) CD code for this actually works, but it's uncommented and very ugly.
   - CD code for the entire third chapter does not execute. It compiles, but it doesn't run.
   - CD code has this dxManager structure that is simply not explained.
   - Book doesn't tell you that you need to add .lib files until far too late. Sometimes it doesn't tell you what .lib files you need to add at all.
   - No VC++ 6.0 project/workspace files are provided. This is sheer laziness...it'd take them 10 minutes to add these.
   
   I spent my whole weekend trying to use their base code, then trying to use the DirectX SDK's base code, then experimenting until I finally figured out a way to get their ransom-note HELLO WORLD program to work. I wasted an entire weekend on this. I had to hollow out chapter 4 example 1 code and plug in the chapter 3 example 3 code in to work with it. I've never had this much difficulty coding in my life.
   
   Waste of time, waste of money. Find something else.



2. What can I say people have said it in these other reviews this book gives you a bigger headach then ever. I first bought the C# version, which this book turn out to be liek that the code it self is full of holes and it's a big mess. This book is not for beginners as the title stated it will just bring you down into a bigger hole.



3. This is a book that teaches you directX 9b NOT 9c or 10. If you use the new 2005 Visual Studio the code may not compile, but with a few fixes it is still possible. The code on the CD is understandable if you read the chapter, but you need at least a good understanding of C++. So I recommend you look for a newer edition and get a book on beginning C++ as well.



4. I can understand some of the bad reviews because a few of the variable names are inconsistent from text to source code; but that is really the only thing wrong with the book. The code is very clear and follows the chapters well. The explanations of code are adequate for a 300pg book and you really don't need to go more in-depth if you are a beginner. I feel that most of the bad reviews are by people who let small inaccuracies cloud their mind, who cannot problem-solve very well, or who feel like they should be able to read the book once through and understand everything. There are no actual errors that I could find in the code since it compiled fine, they are simply typos. The reason I can say this is actually a good beginner book is because I read through the book thoroughly. Every time I start one of the sections I read the section while I type the whole program from the beginning and then I repeat the section several times keeping good coding practices in mind.
   
   MISCONCEPTIONS UNRAVELED...
   
   The source code is not written using the best practices, it is written with readability in mind. So feel free to throw all the DirectX stuff into its own singleton class.
   
   The whole message loop fiasco that a couple of others wrote about is explained in the book (maybe try reading instead of skimming). It was very clear to me what the author did.
   
   The code solutions are for VS7 which was standard at the time of publishing. So you need to use VS7 or later, I have VS8.
   
   The book is only 300 pages so you will have to use the CD source code.
   
   You have to compile the source code to use it, no executables are provided. And I can assure you the code _WILL_ compile.
   
   CONCLUSION...
   
   This is a good book to learn DirectX9.0c if you are a beginner. Skip it if you are more advanced. I haven't found any better books to learn DirectX since I really don't like the Wordware collections.



5. In some ways this book appears to have been written as a classroom textbook but you can learn a lot about DirectX 9 from it even without a classroom teacher to guide you.
   
   The best thing about the book might be the chapter exercises. Ultimately, the author builds up to a final project for the reader, a user controlled spaceship in flight near a planet. Solutions are provided for all reader exercises including the final project.
   
   All code and examples are in C++. A variety of example programs are provided on the disk and some of the code could be used as the foundation for a 3D game engine. FYI, you can also download updated source code for this book from the publishers website course.cengage.com. I had only a few small problems compiling and running them in Visual Studio Express 2008. One caveat: the author seems fairly comfortable and adept with C++ classing and assumes you are, too, so be prepared to do a little additional study if you're not up to speed on C++.
   
   This book does not really discuss game programming in any significant way and pretty much sticks to teaching a number of the most important DirectX concepts and functions, like vertex buffers, point sprites, transformations, textures, DirectInput, and DirectSound. One unfortunate omission is the subject of 3D character animation.
   
   If you can finish the book and work out the exercises you should have a much better grasp on the subject of DirectX 9 3D graphics programming (assuming your are a novice) and can probably take it to the next level using the SDK documentation and tutorials. That's my plan, anyway, after learning some OpenGL.
   
   Novices and non-professionals (like me) who don't have a lot of time on their hands to learn C++ low level graphics programming but who want to try their hand at 3D Games might be better off creating modules with the kits that come with some games or looking into some of the inexpensive game SDK's - in some cases free - that are on the market.

5 comments about Game Engine Toolset Development.

1. I bought this book thinking it would help me write a new tool for, say, building 3d models, or some other general tool. When it arrived I got excited just by the shear size of it, it's huge!
   
   However, I started flipping through it browsing each and every chapter (didn't read them all in detail of course, but quite a few) and it doesn't teach you how to make a NEW tool for your game, it teaches you how to make an EXISTING tool better. While that knowledge is extremely valuable (and the reason I gave it 4 stars instead of 3), it's not what the description of the book stated: "Readers are not required to have any experience developing game engine tools." If you have no experience developing a tool, you're going to have a little trouble getting started. If you know enough math and have good enough coding skills to get a game engine going, you'll be able to write a tool for your game, but you don't need this book to do it.
   
   Now, with that said, this book IS quite good and worth your money so long as you don't expect to read this book and then write a tool, you're going to need more info. Get the book anyway and use it as a guide, it's usefull in that aspect.
   
   This book is so good at making a tool better, most of it's "gems" can and should be applied to ANY application, game tool or not. Also, it covers some good highlevel (or lowlevel, depending on how you view it) .Net functionality such as interfacing with COM and code documentation, as well as few other excellent techniques. These "gems" are quite valuable on their own.
   
   So, in conclusion, if you know nothing about writing a tool, or you don't know C#, hold off on buying this book (make sure to put it in your wish list however). If you have a tool but find it's difficult to work with, or you want to broaden it's appeal, or just simply make it better, get this book, you won't regret it.



2. I just received my copy of Game Engine Toolset Development and I have been unable to put the book down. The author gives a good introduction to .NET 2.0 and relates it to toolset development for games. The chapters are easy to read and follow and he gives good advice on how to build good tools. He could have looked at other toolsets to make the book more complete, but I see this book as a way to introduce students to game programming who have a basic programming background (Java, C++, C, Alice 2.0, etc.).



3. Then, as a hobbyist, I'll just let you know that this book not only teaches, but flat you gives you some great modular code that you can work into many different types of tools.
   
   There's also some great design principles covered that have improved my workflow, even though i'm currently working solo.



4. This is an excellent book, which covers a lot of important aspects of game/engine tool development, but it is more like a recipe book, as each chapter subject is almost stands on its own - just like game programming gems series. My favorite is how to integrate native code into a managed application. The book is well written (one of the best I've read recently), and the only thing i missed is a few chapters on how-to integrate into an existing pipeline - like importer/exporter for a common 3d package at least. A better title for this book would be "(game)tool programming gems"



5. I admit that at first I was thinking this book would focus more on the game engine part of the toolset development in its title. I knew it wasn't REALLY about developing a game engine but even so, make sure you understand what you're getting.
   
   That said, I really liked this book. I'm halfway through it already (it's a very quick read given how discrete each chapter is and the clear and easy to read print and examples).
   
   I've read a number of game development books and you rarely get everything done right. This book gets close. The author describes the particular problem the chapter seeks to solve (e.g. encryption, batch processing, etc.) and goes through the steps of solving it.
   
   The book is similar to those programming gems types of books that aren't organized in some linear fashion but are discrete chapters on specific topics that can be picked and chosen as you see fit.
   
   The author does a very good job of putting the examples together and many of the chapters have been useful to me (I plan on implementing a number of the tools/frameworks he mentions).
   
   If you're working on a game engine, I really suggest trying this book out. This assumes you're not already an expert game programmer who already built a lot of these sorts of tools before.
   
   If you're looking for something that will help you build a full-fledged game engine, look for another book...then come back to this and get it to help you flesh out your toolset.

2 comments about GIS and Land Records: The Parcel Data Model.

1. I hold a bachelor's degree in Geomatics and a LSIT, and I used this book during school. The ArcGIS parcel data model is THE standard for creating and maintaining a GIS for cadastral records. If you work for the County please take note!



2. This is really great data model, unless you have inherited a mess; then, it is a good model for a new approach to rebuilding that mess. I definitely recommend it for anyone interested in how it all SHOULD be put together.

5 comments about iWork '05: The Missing Manual.

1. The mini manuals out of the box were ok, but this book is great. I was able to finish a project that was "stuck". The beauty of the book is that it explains terms and ideas without being a "beginners" book. A lot of detailed ideas to use and apply to your projects or just how to use the program more powerfully. iWork is a great little program (less than 80 dollars) that is made even better with this book.



2. The iWorks'05 Missing Manual is truly a missing manual for Apple Computer's word processor/page-layout software and presentation software Keynote 2. If you are in a hurry to use either Pages or Keynote 2 or a very visual learner, I would recommend looking into a different manual. In the 379 pages, this book has a lot of detail on the two programs which is truly a manual. You can easy skip to the sections you need and do not have to read the entire book to use it. The author has chapters in both Pages and Keynote 2 and are very basic. In the beginning of some of the chapter he lets the reader know you can skip the chapter if you are experienced user. At the end of the book the author gives you resources to help you go beyond the book for additional help and ideas for using Pages and Keynote 2.
   
   Pages
   
   The book covers the basics of word-processing in case your are new to computers and word processing. The book then covers the layout features to Pages. The author gives you advice on different fonts and layouts. He covers why you would use certain fonts in the headers and body of the text. In addition the book covers creating tables, charts and working with objects. Objects include text, pictures and graphic in your document and how to place them in the document.
   
   The author also covers how to use iTunes, iMove in Pages and why you might not want to use Pages to add in iTunes and iMove in to your document. He recommends using Keynote 2 instead. The book also covers exporting Pages to other word processors such as Microsoft Word and publishing the document to a web. The author also gives you example of what will happen if you export to various programs from Pages.
   
   Keynote 2
   
   The book covers the basics of how to develop and give a presentation in case you have forgotten or have never given a presentation before.
   
   The author also spends some time on using Keynote 2 with laptops. He covers the reason why you might want to consider purchasing the PowerBook over an iBook. For instance, iBooks can only perform video mirroring which shows the same image on the screen as the external monitor and PowerBooks can be used in the dual-display mode which can show a different image than the PowerBook's screen. Keynote 2 can display to your audience the normal view of your slides on the external display and on your PowerBook you can show the current slide and the next slide, a speaker's notes, a clock, and time.
   
   The book also goes in to using iTunes, iPhoto, and iMove with Keynote 2. They all integrate nicely together. The author also covers exporting Keynote 2 files to other formats. He discusses exporting to Microsoft PowerPoint, into a PDF, and into QuickTime in case the machine you are using does not have Keynote 2. The book also discussed how to publish a Keynote 2 presentation on a website.
   
   I would recommend this book as a manual for Pages and Keynote 2. If you want use the program right way I would look for another manual if you are not willing to put some time in to the necessary reading.



3. Jim Elferdink's iWork 05: The Missing Manual covers Pages and Keynote 2 as it provides all the basics of how to create documents and produce presentations with iWork's latest, powerful features. Mac users receive a solid reference which will appeal to beginners and advanced users alike: particularly appealing when covering such new functions as Keynote, which has gone through a major update to make it a formidable competitor to PowerPoint. Business users, especially, will find iWork 05: The Missing Manual an essential reference to maintaining professional standards.



4. Would you like to create documents with classy and colorful Pages templates that make you appear like you have the art department on your payroll? If you would, you're in luck! Author Jim Elferdink, has done an outstanding job of writing a book that introduces iWork '05, a brand-new software suite that'll eventually replace the venerable but aged AppleWorks.
   
   Elferdink, begins by showing you how to create a basic document. Then, he covers everything you need to know about formatting your documents and introduces you to Pages' built-in spell checker. The author continues by describing how to use Find & Replace, an editing tool that can make short work of sifting through long documents. Next, he shows you how to lay out pages. Then, the author guides you through table and chart creation and formatting--starting with tables. The author continues by exploring the next step in the life of a Pages document: delivering it from your computer into the hands and in front of the eyeballs of your intended audience. Next, he shows you how to make your own templates so you can add them to Pages' built-in templates roster. Then, the author shows you how to plan, prepare for and deliver a better presentation. He also shows you how to build a basic presentation. The author continues by showing you how to add to your slides everything from text boxes and pictures, to tables, charts, and fancy transitions. Next, he shows you how to import presentations created with PowerPoint or AppleWorks, so that you can continue editing with Keynote. Finally, he shows you how to customize Keynote.
   
   You'll find in this most excellent book, step-by-step instructions for using every Pages and Keynote 2 feature, including those you may not even have quite understood. This book's also designed to give you a thorough grounding in planning and pulling off effective presentations enhanced by Keynote.



5. The learning curve for Pages can be steep if coming from Word or new to word processing all together. (Actually, it's probably less frustrating if your new altogether.) That's not Pages fault. I think Pages is actually quite intuitive. It is just different than Word, and in my opinion, far superior. This text does a great job explaining Pages' ins and outs, and also offers great tips that will help when using Pages in projects. The tips captions give the text a real hands on feal. It is written from the perspective of someone who really uses and enjoys Pages, not just a lifeless manual like the one that comes with iWork. (Though the one included in the box serves as a good reference.) I have't read the section on Keynote, as I do not have a need for it. Great Book, and still very useful even if you are an 06' user.

No comments about In Silico: 3D Animation and Simulation of Cell Biology with Maya and MEL (The Morgan Kaufmann Series in Computer Graphics) (The Morgan Kaufmann Series in Computer Graphics).

5 comments about Macromedia Flash MX 2004 Beyond the Basics Hands-On Training.

1. Basically, this is a good book to get you from the initial HOT book on Flash to the more advanced tutorials found on the Macromedia Exchange site. The introduction to LoadVars and LoadMovieClip alone are worth the price of the book.
   
   My only complaint, if you can call it that, would be that if you are coming from a programmer's background, you will skim A LOT of pages. You've got to hand it to the author in how he really takes his time introducing programming to the neophytes, but I found myself actually reading only 1 page out of every 3-6.
   
   If you already know how to program in any language, you could probably find the tutorials online to get by without this book, but the expenditure in time probably wouldn't be worth the price of the book.



2. This is the first book on Flash and this is the first time I am learning Flash MX2004 Pro. So far I have gone through almost a half of the book and I am very pleased with how this book is structured and its CD which contains the project files as I am learning this program with this book. For any beginner, I feel this book will help get you started on learning and using Flash MX2004. I purchased this book's sister edition "Beyound the Basics" so that I can go one step further after I complete this book.



3. This book is perfect for the transformation from beginning to intermediate. The tutorials are incredibly thorough plus it guides you through making a whole web site with the most practical functions. I highly recommend this book. I wish they would make more!



4. Shane Rebenschied's Macromedia Flash MX 2004: Beyond the Basics Hands-On-Training (BTB:HOT) is the second book in a small series on teaching would-be developers how to effectively use Macromedia Flash in their web projects.
   
   BTB:HOT is very well written. The author uses very clear instructions and appropriate graphics(screenshots) to illustrate the points being made. It is a very easy read, especially if you are weary of computer programming style books. The HOT series is written as if the instructor is standing beside you and telling you what you need to do.
   
   This books was definitely written for the layman. This book was not written for someone who is looking to take Flash to the next level of professionalism. The book is very short (almost too short), and really doesn't include very much discussion about the possibilities that can happen with a particular project.
   
   After reading this book and working through the examples, I determined that there really isn't anything new in this book that a seasoned web developer couldn't figure out after reading the first book in the series.
   
   To finish, very good book, but just for novices.



5. The guy that does this book is phenomenal. It takes true talent to be able to simplify concepts in Flash to the point where they are finally understandable, especially for non-programmers such as myself. I highly recommend this book (and the learning DVD if you can swing it) to those who want to delve into the advanced stuff inside of Flash.

5 comments about Prepare to Board! Creating Story and Characters for Animation Features and Shorts.

1. Nancy Beiman's book "Prepare to Board" is a must-have for animators. If you're serious about working in the industry then this book is for you.
   
   The quick little lessons are excellent tools for practice and improving skills. This books helps to increase creativity and really gives great advice. No other animation book has achieved what "Prepare to Board" has.
   
   Nancy Beiman knows the ins and outs of the animation world and you can tell why she's worked on so many great projects - she's the best at what she's talking about. Nancy Beiman is a professional and this book will help you along your path to a career.
   
   If you're not lucky enough to know her and have her as a Professor (or even if you do), then it goes without saying BUY THIS BOOK!



2. Well written and well organized, "Prepare to Board!" is a wonderful source for learning the ins' and outs of animation boarding.
   
   Nary a step in the process is glossed over or a stone left unturned. I'm quite impressed with the book all around, and have learned a lot about the inner workings of animation.
   
   A definite recommendation.



3. This is a truly wonderful book filled with practical, concrete knowledge about how to plan for an animated production.
   
   In the past, I have seen a few somewhat superficial treatments of similar topics, and I was initially a little bit skeptical of this book. Suffice it to say that my expectations were vastly exceeded. Storyboarding is a central part of animated movie production, and it has finally gotten a definitive treatment in book form. This book is highly entertaining, beautifully illustrated, and really packed with information.
   
   Many readers of my own book Introducing Character Animation with Blender are interested in creating animated movies. I highly recommend that they take a look at this inspiring and informative book to ensure that they get off to a good start.



4. Ms. Beiman's book is exceptional; it not only discusses storyboarding, but also the entire pre-production process, from character design to art direction to using cinematic lighting and camera angles. I'm never boarding without using tonal drawings again!
   
   I'm going to be the Teaching Assistant for the Storyboarding class at UCLA's MFA Animation Workshop in the fall, and I'm going to tell all the newbies to GET THIS BOOK!!!



5. Prepare to Board! Creating Story and Characters for Animated Features and Shorts - does what it says.
   This book will help you create a story and the characters within. I've read other books on storyboarding, but this book should be the one to start with. Then move on to Ron Bluth's - Art of Storyboard & Wendy Tumminello's - Exploring Storyboarding

5 comments about Effective Tcl/Tk Programming: Writing Better Programs with Tcl and Tk (Addison-Wesley Professional Computing Series).

1. Once you have mastered tha basics of TCL/TK, then this book is a must read. It covers some very elegant programming techniques that are possible in an interpreted language, such as TCL.



2. TCL users look to the Welch or Ousterhout for a good TCL reference.



3. i find the title of this book, and its promise, to be a bit misleading. it focuses on tk with little about tcl specifics in there. i find myself not using this book very often except when i have to do something tricky in tk. i program in tcl every day, but i don't do much tk anymore.

   you wont learn tcl/tk from this, but you may pick up some great tk organization and features.

   i'd say this book is overpriced, too, so see if you can buy it used.

   if you're looking at getting a book to make you an advanced tcl programmer, i'd look elsewhere first.




4. You can quickly start creating window apps using tk/tcl. This tends to result in poorly structured non-reusable code.
   This books intention is not to teach you tk/tcl but to guide you to a style that will increase your productivity by an order of magnitude by showing how to create libraries that you can drop into any app (as a bonus it also includes many useful code examples which you can use to start this library.)
   
   It focuses more on the tk side as the authors demonstrate how to build cross-platform window apps with networking capability. A worthwhile addition to any tk/tcl proagrammers bookshelf.



5. I puchased this book because I was having a little trouble getting Tk to work. It really helped my understanding of the event loop. Reading this book gave me enough background to better understand the Tk sectins of the Welch book and points out a number of pitfalls and how to avoid them. The book also includes a library of useful widgets that can be faily easily modified. In two weeks time I was able to construct a GUI for long term testing set up and control. My main complaint with this book is that the index is very weak plus there is no comprehensive list of attributes so you still need a reference book or manpages.

1 comments about Powerpoint 2003 Just The Steps For Dummies.

1. I was going to take a course to learn powerpoint, but the times were all wrong for me, so I ordered this nifty book and with its help put together my first powerpoint lecture with an outline and graphics. It was a big hit with the audience and was easy to do. I think this book is terrific - and 2003 was fine for me - I still have Windows XP. Did this in May 2008.

5 comments about Introduction to 3D Game Programming with DirectX 9 (Wordware Game and Graphics Library).

1. I started DirectX programming recently. This book brings you upto speed very fast. It is well organized, written well, and is kept very simple. It's objective is to teach concepts and how to program specific concepts is C++. The examples and straightforward and illustrate whats in the text very well.
   
   Like all other reviewers, I should agree that the title of this book is misleading. There is very little, if any "Game development". The book is all about the basics of 3D drawing using drect X
   
   If you want to start programming DirectX over the weekend with some nice 3D graphics including textures, lights and terrains and even fireworks, this is the book for you. I highly recommend it.



2. I guess this book delivers what it promises, more or less. It effectively introduces you to directx. It devotes 20 or so pages to each of 20 or so topics (the dimensions of the book are real small though, so the page counts are somewhat misleading). By the end of the book you'll understand what directx is and what directx can do, but what I found is that there just isn't enough "meat" there to learn any part of directx well enough to do anything useful with this knowledge.



3. This review covers the first 13 chapters. It is a book that you will definitely learn from; however, beware that it is not written for users of C#. C# samples can be downloaded from the book's web site and I talk extensively about that in this review. This review is more a How-To than anything else - it documents my experience with the book and using the sample code from the book's web site. I am new to 3D game programming so I started out with giving myself a crash course in Linear Algebra (for this I studied the book, "3D Math Primer for Graphics and Game Development").
   
   In Part 1 the author could do a better job of explaining how a vector cross product is calculated. He refers to "formula (4)" which is a formula in final form (i.e. it does not show the steps). Furthermore, "formula (4)" comes seven pages after the first three formulas, so when you come to "(4)" (on page 13) you may have already forgotten about (1), (2) and (3) (which are on page 6) -- it is awkward. It should be highlighted and labeled as "FORMULA 4:" or something like that.
   
   In Part II, Chapter 1 (Direct3D Initialization), section 1.4.1 describes initializing a pointer to an IDirect3D9 interface as...
   IDirect3D9* _d3d9;
   however, in section 1.4.2 the code for checking the capabilities of the primary display adapter shows this code...
   d3d9->GetDeviceCaps...
   The underscore character is missing from the IDirect3D9 object. It should read...
   _d3d9->GetDeviceCaps
   
   The source code can be downloaded from http://www.moon-labs.com/ml_book_samples.htm. C# versions of the sample programs are available. The download instructions include a username/password but I was able to download the files without having to provide them. Should you be prompted for a username/password the author's instructions state, "The user name is exactly the second word on page 212 in the first paragraph of Chapter 13. The password is exactly the fourth word on page 213 in the first paragraph of section 13.1." Let's cut to the chase, its "terrain/heightmap" (without the quotation marks or forward slash).
   
   The code in the book is meant to be used in a C++ development environment. I use C# 2005 Express Edition therefore there wasn't anything I could do with the code in the book. When you open a sample code project (one from the C# versions available at the web site) in the C# 2005 Express Edition, a "Visual Studio Conversion Wizard" will prompt you to convert the project to the current edition's format. Just go ahead and click on "Finish." As I mentioned in a previous paragraph, there is a C# version of the sample programs provided on the web site.
   
   Beginning with Chapter 3's sample and in all of the samples I could not understand why the 'Window' parameter would not work the way I understood it to work. In Form1.cs, when a d3d object is instantiated with a 'true' instead of 'false' for the Window parameter (the 3rd parameter), nothing worked. This works...
   d3d = new D3DInit.D3DInit(800, 600, false, DeviceType.Hardware, ref device);
   but this does not...
   d3d = new D3DInit.D3DInit(800, 600, true, DeviceType.Hardware, ref device);
   
   I had trouble with the sample for Chapter 6 (Texturing). The problem was due to the sample program's inability to find the texture image. To fix it, all I had to do was change the source code to reflect the FULL path to the image file. I'll clarify... this is the original line 136 in D3DInit.cs...
   
   tex = Microsoft.DirectX.Direct3D.TextureLoader.FromFile(device, "dx5_logo.bmp");
   
   I modified it to...
   
   tex = Microsoft.DirectX.Direct3D.TextureLoader.FromFile(device, "D:\\david.emmith\\Books\\Intro to 3D Game Programming\\Part II CS\\Chapter6\\dx5_logo.bmp");
   (Note: Remember to escape backslashes in path names by making double-backslashes, otherwise you'll get an error.)
   
   The same problem occurred again in Chapter 7's sample.
   
   In Chapter 11's sample you may find a similar problem to the ones I described above for Chapter's 6 and 7. In Chapter 11 there is a line in D3DInit.cs (line #55) that reads...
   
   private string shipFilename = "bigship1.x";
   
   You may need to modify it to reflect the full path name.
   
   If you are writing your own app and using the .NET samples as a guide you may run into a few problems when you build the solution. You may see a "... has more than one entry point defined" error. This will happen if you have the following code in your Form1.cs file...
   
   [STAThread]
   static void Main()
   {
   Application.Run(new Form1());
   }
   
   There is no need to have those lines in your Form1.cs (or whatever filename you are using in place of Form1.cs). A Program.cs file should have automatically been created in your project (click on the 'Show All Files' icon in Solution Explorer). You can do one of two things to rectify this problem:
   (1) Comment out or delete the code shown above in your Form1.cs (or its equivalent) file.
   *** OR ***
   (2) Exclude Program.cs from your project (right click the Program.cs icon and select 'Exclude From Project').
   
   There is a similar situation in the D3DInit.cs file. There is no need to include the Dispose() method - it will already be in the D3DInit.Designer.cs file (this file, like Program.cs, is automatically created by the Visual C# IDE).
   
   Another problem you may encounter if you are trying to use the Esc key to terminate your DirectX app is the Esc key not working. To solve this problem open your Form1.Designer.cs file and add the following line at the end of the InitializeComponent() method...
   this.KeyUp += new System.Windows.Forms.KeyEventHandler(this.Form1_KeyUp);
   Then make sure you have this method in your Form1.cs file...
   
   private void Form1_KeyUp(object sender, System.Windows.Forms.KeyEventArgs e)
   {
   d3d.CloseD3DInit();
   Close();
   }
   
   And of course your D3DInit.cs file should have the CloseD3DInit() method defined. If not it should look like this...
   
   public void CloseD3DInit()
   {
   displayThread.Abort();
   Close();
   }
   
   In Chapter 11, as I mentioned earlier, there is a reference to a file named bigship1.x which is provided in the sample project. This is a mesh file which is nothing more than a geometric description of an object - in this case, a spaceship. If you're like me and you want to workout your own example you would like to create your own mesh file and test it in your own application. To create a mesh of your own design you will need the aid of a program. DirectX uses the .x file format for its mesh files. Some of the more popular 3D design programs do not readily provide a method for turning their meshes into the .x format. I will describe as briefly as possible the steps I took to create a simple mesh, convert it to a .x file and use it in my own program. There is probably a better way but this is the way I did it.
   
   (1) Find a FREE 3D design program. I downloaded and installed two programs:
   
   (a) Maya 7.0 Personal Learning Edition
   
   (a.1) Can be found at the Autodesk web site.
   
   (b) Autodesk 3DS Max 9 (30-day trial)
   
   (b.1) Can be found at the Autodesk web site.
   I was more interested in 3DS Max because I have my eyes on some aircraft models I want to use and they were created in the .max file format. So this is the program I used to create a very simple model.
   
   (2) Create a model. I created a sphere with a green texture in 3DS Max. I won't go into the details of how I did that because it is not that difficult to figure out on your own. You may want to create something a little more 'elaborate' than a green sphere. Have at it.
   
   (3) Convert the model into an x-file. This sounds simple enough but try doing it on the cheap, i.e. $0.00.
   
   (a) If you want to pay for a conversion utility up front then check out two products from Okino Computer Graphics:
   
   (a.1) NuGraf
   
   (a.2) Polytrans (a simpler version of NuGraf)
   It should be noted that Robert Lansdale (lansd[at]okino.com) offered to do a one-time conversion for me. I emailed him my .max file and he sent me back a .x file. I had already done the conversion by the time he sent the file back but I certainly appreciated his kind gesture.
   
   (b) If your cheap like me you want to do this for free because afterall, you're just trying to learn how all this works. I contacted a 3D guru by the name of Chad Vernon. Chad was very helpful in pointing out a couple of free conversion tools:
   
   (b.1) kiloWatt X file Exporter
   
   (b.2) Pandasoft's Panda Xporter Tool
   
   (c) I used Panda Xporter. After you unzip the .zip file you have a file named PandaDirectXMaxExporter.dle. This is a 'plugin'. So what you need to do next is to make this file known to 3DS Max and the way you do that is place the file in 3DS Max's plugin folder. On my machine this folder is located at D:\Program Files\Autodesk\3ds Max 9\plugins. Now you are ready to convert your model to the .x file format.
   
   (d) Launch 3DS Max (close the Welcome Screen if it appears) and open your model file (File | Open Recent). The first time I did this with the Panda Xporter in place 3DS Max crashed. I removed the Xporter from the plugin folder and re-launched 3DS Max. It crashed again. I eventually got it to work and put the Xporter back in the plugin folder. 3DS Max did not crash after that. This remains a mystery. The problem appeared to have fixed itself.
   
   (e) Select File | Export. Click on the down arrow for 'Save as type' and choose Panda DirectX (*.X). Click in the 'File name' textbox and enter a file name without a file extension. Note where the file is being saved to. You will need to know the full path to your .x file when you create your own 3D app. Click on 'Save'.
   
   (f) In the 'PandaSoft DirectX Exporter' dialog, '3DS Max Objects' tab, uncheck 'Include Animation' if your object is not animated. In the 'XFile Settings' tab, the 'DX File Type' of either 'Text' or 'Binary' worked for me. I believe the default is text. Click 'OK'.
   
   (4) Create your own 3D app. Again, I am using Visual C# 2005 Express Edition. Use the C# samples provided at the book's web site to guide you. Remember, as I have pointed above, that there are some differences that come into play between the samples and what you create in a Visual Studio 2005 environment. Read through my earlier comments.
   
   I hope this helps. Now on to the review.
   
   In Chapter 12's sample, line #138 of D3DInit.cs needs the full path to dx5_logo.bmp. I described this same problem in earlier chapter reviews.
   
   In Chapter 13's sample, line #601 of D3DInit.cs refers to a temp.raw file. This file, as far as I can tell, is not included in the managed (.NET) sample files. So I came up with my own work around which I describe below...
   
   (1) Download Terragen which is a free terrain generation tool. Look for the link labeled, "Install Terragen v0.9.43 (1.6Mb)" in the download page. Now install Terragen.
   
   The following steps are for once you have launched Terragen.
   
   (2) Click on the 'Landscape' icon in Terragen and then click on the 'Generate Terrain' button.
   
   (3) Click on the 'Export' button.
   
   (4) In the 'Terrain Export' dialog click on the 'Export Method' dropdown listbox and choose 'Raw 8 bits'.
   
   (5) Click on the 'Select File and Save' button and choose the name for your .raw file and its location.
   
   Now that you have your own raw file you can insert the file's full pathname into the Chapter 13 sample.
   
   If you have found or already have Terragen .ter files you can convert them to .raw files with a little free utility named 'Terrify'.
   
   The book's web site has some additional information pertaining to Chapter 13. You can go to the Resources page and scroll down to 'Basic Terrain Rendering Part II'. The 'Download Code' link will give you a file named 'TexBlendTerrain.zip' which, according to my WinZip utility, is not a recognized Zip file. The links in 'Remark 2' do not work (they take you to some useless page).
   
   This is the extent of my review. This is a very good book but I wish it were geared towards .NET developers.



4. This is the best intro to Direct3d book I have. For the game programming aspect, it sucks, but there are so many books that tell you how to make a certain type of game (Premier Press come to mind).
   
   The first section is purely math! This surprised me since it's the only Direct3d book I have found that covered that much math.
   
   The reasons why I gave it 4 out of 5: could be better. It needs more complete sample code. I mean, there's sample code on his web page, but the sample code starts at chapter 9! However, the (incomplete) code before chapter 9 is pretty easy to follow. Whenever he omits a piece of information, it's minor details like
   
   int stuff[10] = { ... }; // fill stuff in with stuff
   
   The book provides a very detailed explanation on how Direct3d works. Sure, there are times where he puts "see the MSDN for this struct", but that's usually when there's not much explaining he could do that's not in the MSDN already. I like that it feels like the author took a good deal of time to figure out how to explain every topic. The information is incredibly clear.
   
   If you are like me and look at a bunch of DirectX books and just have no idea what the author(s) is talking about, you should try this book, especially if you have a good math background. And if this dude releases a book on DirectX 10, I'll definitely get it. If you know DirectX and are looking for a book on game programming, look for another book.



5. Recently i decided to get a little into Direct3D Programming. I had absolutely no background on 3D Programming, because i am developing Business Software on a daily basis. I reviewed a few other Books on the Thematic but stayed with this one - and it was a good decision, basically because of:
   
   *) It explains the Mathematics necessary for understanding the inner workings in a simple and easy understandable way. The last time i did Vector and Matrix Algebra was over ten years ago in school and i had no problems following.
   
   *) It explains the necessary Terms (like Vertices, Transformations) very detailed and also understandable.
   
   *) It does not use a Framework throughout the Book like others do. You are doing all the Stuff by yourself (ok, there is a little framework: The one which initializes a Win32 Window DirectX draws into...)
   
   *) It's not written in a Kiddy Beginner Style. You have to know the Language and how to use your Tools to follow.
   
   If you have a good understanding of C++ and want to join the Microsoft side of doing 3D Graphics this Book is for you.