5 comments about The gmax Handbook (Game Development Series) (Game Development Series).

1. I had tried doing some work on my own, but the installation instructions for gmax and tutorials that already exist are not very good. This book fixed everything for me!!!!!



2. This book is more on general modding of software than actually using gmax. This book spends too much time showing you how to install and update the games that support gmax, when it could be showing you how to use gmax itself.

   It covers very very basic aspects of gmax, then spends a lot of time talking about the individual games. The topics covered about the individual games are mostly how to install and update the game and whatever additional resources that are provided by the game developers, and are not really valuable.

   This book will not teach you anything about modeling or animating in gmax, it will only expose you to the concept of using gmax to edit various games, and give you some ideas of what can be edited in each game.

   I recommend The gmax Bible, which is a much richer book for learning gmax modeling and animation techniques, and how to use them in modifying games.

   This is a very very basic book, and your time would be better spent reading a few tutorials off the net than purchasing this book. You can't really use it as a printed reference for anything either.




3. I can't believe Discreet put their name on this product. Only to the most novice might this software appear amazing but it is fairly worthless. I have taught 3d animation to high school students for the past 8 years using a varaity of free 3d packages and thought...wow...free from Discreet!!! It's crap!

   I bought the book, its crap! There is no user base for the software, no support, very little feedback from the forums. Don't bother. I had hopes, bought the book, it gives some basics about modeling in the program bit gives no help with integrating the models into a game environment. I was able to get Static Meshes into UT2003 and a few others but that was about it. Sure, you can box model a character and add a bone structure...but then how do you get it into a game? No answer to be found! The only reason I gave it the time of day I did was because the Admin at my school didn't want to cough up the cash for a proper 3d program. Hah, after showing them what the free stuff COULDN'T do, they did!!!!

   If you are starting out, maybe the free version of Softimage that comes with HL2 will be better, it can't be worse.

   I would be emabarassed if I were Discreet.

   Steve




4. This book give a good introduction on game modding for Quake, Flight Simulator using gmax and a very thorough installation procedure. But in many cases, this book only refer to the URL instead of providing the installation file on the CDROM. There are only a few tutorial provided about the gmax itself and there are a lot more and better tutorial found on the net.



5. The author spends too much time inadequately glossing over addons and plugins for specific games, and too little time talking about the title program itself, gMax. As a result, very little of this book is worth a purchase. Much better resources are availble in the gMax help tutorials and on the web through forums and free additional tutorials. I've learned a great deal through gMax's documentation and free tutorials, much more than this book offers.

No comments about Sudan in Pictures (Visual Geography. Second Series).

No comments about Multimedia Systems (X.media.publishing).

5 comments about ActionScript Zero to Hero.

1. This book makes Actionscript easy to learn. It provides three things necessary to learning and remembering - Simplicity, excellent real life associations, and practicality. This is the book you can bring with you on your ride to work and understand what's being said, even though you are not in front of your screen. When you do go home, you'll have memory aids to make what you've learned stick. Also, you won't be doing things that you won't use, but rather the examples are on things you can put to immediate use. My experience is that Friends of Ed books are by knowledgeable professionals that love to teach.



2. I was very excited to read this book after browsing the contents at the bookstore. But when I tried to follow along, I was lost. I only got through chapter 2 and I couldn't get the example tutorials to work. I am not a Flash Beginner, so I don't think that was the problem.

   Unfortunatly, I am returning this book. I felt lost within the "fast paced tutorials" and I couldn't understand how the code was supposed to work. I felt like some additional explanation was missing.

   I am a tutorial writer myself, and I know how hard it is to write, so I feel bad for giving a bad review.




3. I have only animated with Flash before, and had never really used much actionscript with my designs. This book really covered a lot, and explained it very easily. I read this thing in around 2 weeks, and feel I really understand what it is all about now. It doesn't assume anything of the reader, luckily for me!! If you want a book that is very clear and easy to understand, and is pretty funny too, I recommend this book highly.



4. Looks and sounds like it might be a good book to learn actionscript, but like another reader, I was very quickly lost. How can you name a book "zero to hero", when the book doesn't start at zero? In fact it assumes you know stuff about actionscript, and then moves along way too fast with these assumptions. It just doesn't clearly explain actionscript. Find another book. This one doesn't make sense.



5. For someone who has been working with flash for several years now, I wouldn't think a beginner's book would have been so helpful. It gives good, thorough examples and tips I haven't read from any other sources.
   
   No, it's not very big and it doesn't cover every aspect of Flash - but it DOES give you enough information to create complete interactive interfaces, plus it puts scripting in terms easy to understand for those of us who struggle with code.

2 comments about Illustrating with Macromedia Flash Professional 8 (Graphics Series).

1. Micromedia Flash, now part of the Adobe family, has long been thought of as an annimation tool for web sites. This book stresses that Flash is also capable of producing high-quality photorealistic illustrations. To get the most out of the book you should have some experience with Flash. As such, I consider it an intermediate level book.
   
   This is the second edition of this book, with the new edition focusing on more advanced illustrating projects, covering the new features built into Flash Professional 8, and covering points discovered since the first edition appeared.
   
   The format of the book is basically a tutorial. It starts with simple line art, like you might use to illustrate assembly instructions for a bookcase. From there it goes on to more complex items eventually getting up to what the author calls 'photorealistic.' The images are close to photo quality. As some of these illustrations are quite complex, they are included on a CD supplied with the book.
   
   Using Flash as the way to generate illustrations increases the utility of the program, their data storage formats are smaller than those of many other programs, and of course animation is available.



2. I'm not a fan of Charles River Media's books. They don't have color illustrations, aren't well proofread and just generally seem cheaply put together.
   
   Despite all that, Illustrating with Macromedia Flash Professional 8 is a must-have book for anyone using Flash. Firebaugh's use of Flash as an illustration tool is mind blowing, using simple vector tools to create photo-realistic images.
   
   The problems of being published by CRM are evident though. The black & white pictures make it hard to judge what's going on and there are a few confusing typos and mis-wordings. (he often says "delete" when he really means "cut") You end up stuck having to have the FLA files right in front of you while you read. It's a good way to learn, but rather inconvenient.
   
   I don't want to come off as down on this book just because I don't like the publisher. There's tons of great learning in this book. The source files are set up so you can poke through each step and see how things are put together. Also there are exercises at the end of each chapter to practice what you've learned.
   
   All in all, Illustrating with Macromedia Flash Professional 8 puts you on the path the to do things with Flash you never thought were possible.

5 comments about Fontographer: Type by Design.

1. I could not agree more, gret software lousy documentation. This is an essential tool in the graphic arts/design arsenal, it is only appropriate to have high quality documentation to go with it! Stephen Moye is at the top of his game on this, I have seen it and want it!



2. There are no other book to replace this one. If the publisher cannot re-print it, then maybe he could make it available for downloading in PDF format? I would readily pay a full price!



3. In my day job as program manager for western language fonts at Adobe Systems, I'm often asked about books for people wanting to learn how to make their own digital fonts. This is the one I recommend first every time.

   Stephen Moye has quite simply written the best and at this time the only complete guide to making your own fonts. Information on how to construct outlines properly, spacing, kerning and more is all here. Importantly, this book is NOT only useful for people using Fontographer (which is a sadly out of date tool now); most of the information is equally useful for those working with FontLab or other modern font creation tools.

   Other books worth checking out for the would-be font-maker include Michael Harvey's Creative Lettering Today, Walter Tracy's Letters of Credit, and Alexander Lawson's Anatomy of a Typeface. Of course there's also Robert Bringhurst's classic Elements of Typographic Style, which should be owned and read by anyone who cares about type.

   I liked this book so much that I personally hand-bound mine as a hardcover, to make it last. In retrospect, with used softcover copies going for $300 each, it seems like I had the right idea!




4. I really want this book and would jump for joy if it was in print again!! I have heard that this is the best book for understanding how to use and master Fontographer. I have the software and am really struggling with the undesirable manuel!! PLEASE BRING IT BACK?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!



5. Negative Remarks: While this book maybe full of useful information, it is difficult to read. The type is set 14/18 with half inch indents on paragraphs. Rule of thumb, 14 point type, 14 point indent. I felt like I was junping to the next page when I started a new paragraph. It would be easier reading to have set the book in 12 point type, with 14 point leading, and 12 point indents.

   Positive Remarks: If the typesetting weren't so bad, the font chosen for the book was very nice.

No comments about Lives of Famous Romans.

2 comments about Physically-Based Modeling for Computer Graphics: A Structured Approach.

1. The ideas described in this book should be described in a much shorter and more coherent form. Neither computer graphics people nor physicists nor engineers are used to reading books of this type and therefore I fear that most book bought will never really be read.



2. This book is a complete and rigorous description of how to build a software library for computing the 3-dimensional motion of solid objects. It uses a unified mechanism for describing objects and the constraints between them. The book is very dense and the language is formal; don't expect it to be a quick read. On the other hand, if you have the kind of interest in this subject that is appropriate for this book, you can get a lot out of it. As a software developer, I was very impressed with the cleanliness and organization of the components of the library.

   If you are interested more in the concepts than in the details of an implementation, read a more general physics book with a good chapter or two on dynamics. For a detailed study, try 'Computational Dynamics' by Ahmed A Shabana.

   ...

5 comments about Building Great Flash MX Games.

1. After trying to cope with this chapter on collision detection for over two weeks, I have decided that this book needs to be revised immensely. On page 47 you give a chunk of code to "Define the ball". The chunk of code you give lacks any commenting whatsoever, and worse yet, when I turned to page 48 I was given ONE SENTANCE to explain SEVEN FUNCTIONS. The sentance wasn't even helpful. "The instnace of the ball mocie clip moves down the stage to collide with the rectangle movie clip". Great, I have no idea which one of these functions does each. I know JS and C++ but AS is still new to me so wading through it is a bloody chore. Later on page 48 you have a chunk of code, this time with a comment. More helpful indeed, I understood this chunk, but you told me to insert it into line 19. That did all of nothing. A friend and senior programmer had to look at my code, and implement it much farther down, more like line 39 if I recall, plus change some of the code. That is rediculous. 48 goes on more. Defining boundries. You give me this line of code:

   gBallBaseLoc[200,300];
   gGameRect = [0,0,400,500];
   gHMax = pGameRect[2] - 5;

   You then explain gGameRect, the easies of all the variables to figure out, and omit to tell me the other two descriptions. I assume that BallBaseLoc is where the ball starts on screen and gHMax is the ceiling, but assuming isn't much good for me. Once again this code doens't work at the place you indstructed to put it in either.

   What I'm trying to say is I got burned badly by this book. I am a college student, paying my tuition, transportation, and books on my own minimum wage part time job. I parted with my FIFTY DOLLARS [which is a LOT of money to me] for your book, and it hads caused me nothing but headaches. If this is only chapter four, I can't imagine what else lies in wait for me.

   I'd think that I could solve my problems by looking at your downloadable source, but the truth is that this particular movie isnt even in your source. There are several games like pacman that you don't even mention in this chapter, but somehow the source is included, yet not this. I am upset.

   The purpose of this email is to let you know that your integrity is comming into question from the poor work you have released. I recommend you revise this book ASAP, because your work is a reflection of you, and it isn't looking great to me. You did not respond to my earlier email, which is fine. I wanted to let you know that I am copying this email and putting it in every review of your book online that I can find, just to warn off other people in my situation. I hope you seriously consider the points I have brought up. Thanks,

   -Zach Atkinson




2. A must not buy. Perfect example of juggling between poor dictating and bad spelling. Combined, it makes it almost impossible to understand what he means or figure out where you misspelled the non working scripts provided by the book.
   Went halfway through it and knew I couldn't return it because of it's discount.
   257 pages, binding included. Weights about 300 grams. It's printing process must have been way more exciting then it's content is.

   0 ou of 10
   #1 Hall of Shame




3. There's not much to say. This book sucks! Many code-errors and bad explanation. I think that the writer of this book searched for popular flash-words and made a book out of these words.
   There's a whole chapter on 3d... But not one sentense in the chapter is about making 3d. Well.. The author tells you what programs you make 3d with.
   
   It's the same with the website to the book. A nice un-updated site!
   
   But I'm impressed that such a book actually can be printed.



4. I assume that's what happened anyway.
   I am a decent flash coder - and this book confounds me.
   Not because its too complex because the authors just try and make everything harder than it really is.
   
   Multiple code errors - and often you just get snippets followed by plain language.
   
   
   I never use this book.



5. There are so many problems with this book it defies understanding how it made it onto the shelves in it's current form. While I do not claim to be any sort of Actionscript guru, I have done an appreciable amount of work in Flash MX and with actionscript. Still, now 3/4 through the book I have found myself frequently frustrated and disappointed.
   
   First, there are numerous code errors. As an example, in discussing server side includes, the author states 'note that the file name is enclosed by parenthesis'. Then he presents the finished code as '#include "file.as"'. In other places, variable names suddenly change. For example, in one place you are instructed to enter a line using the variable 'content'. Then a short time later when he presents the complete code, he has replaced that name with 'i'.
   
   In addition to the errors are confusing omissions. In the section where preloaders are discussed, he gives instructions for creating the preloader graphics. Then finishes by saying the preloader is complete. Yet there is no actionscript to make it work - only the graphics are done.
   
   I also feel there is not enough commentary on much of the most important code. Largish chunks are thrown out to the user to be used with little or no explaination. Any comments there are are so general that while you may know what the code does, you have no explainantion as to how it is doing it. In one section on databases, the reader is presented with two solid pages of asp code and no explaination whatsoever of why or how it works. I realize this is not an asp book, but at the same time, what good is a huge slab of code, which while it may work, you have no true idea how it works?
   
   Overall, I feel the book was rushed and not well edited. It reads as though it was written quickly and shipped out with no real attention to making sure the information was accurate or well presented. Too much of the book talks about pleasant generalities, how great sound is in a game, how wonderful 3D is, etc., and not enough focused on actually creating the components or making it work.
   
   Also, I strongly feel that there is too large a chunk of the book given over to "[X] in games is really great, but Flash can't do [X], so you need to buy [some third party software]". This sort of thing can be covered in 3 pages, max. I'd rather skip the 15 page ad for another software package (albeit which may be a great package) and hear more about actually working in Flash.
   
   In the end I believe this book will be nearly useless to anyone with a general knowledge of Actionscript and Flash, telling them not much more than they probably already knew or suspected. If the reader has little or no experience, it will undoubtedly leave them more confused than before, and may even do them a disservice with the botched code they will be led to believe is accurate.
   
   I'm not normally given to taking the time to write a bad review. However the obvious lack of care taken with this book coupled with the price was more than enough motivation.

5 comments about The Animation Master Handbook, Second Edition.

1. This is more for the beginners. If you've read and understood the manual, then you don't need this book. It's just the same again more in depth and with more tutorials. The special features not mentioned in the manual (like flocking..) are kept very short in here. The online help of the software should often be enough. If you didn't catch the idea with the manuals explenations then.. buy it!



2. The only reason I bought this book was to learn how to use Animation Master. I have the Book that came with the software which is about a "2 ½ star" book. After much research and review of other animation programs, I have concluded that Animation Master is a "5 star" program with "2 ½ star support".

   Here is a simple analogy. A person needs to get to a street called "E street" and in order to get there they must know that there is an A,B,C,D, street. In comparison the author of this book constantly gives directions like take A,B,D, or A,C,D leaving out essential details thus leaving the student of this excellent animation program frustrated and confused. Basically the author of this book is probably an excellent animator and story teller. As a writer myself I remind the author that if the details of a story are left out a percentage of the audience will bail thus creating inappropriate and negative views about the potential of becoming animators and I believe that the author is trying to help people to become animation enthusiast not discourage them.

   If you want to be as good in writing your tutorials as you are hopfully an animator then please take the time to avoid assumptions about your readers. If on the other hand you have written the book to get quick cash because of very little competition. Then I will ask that someone who has more tolerance of beginners and understands the essential nature of including all of the steps A,B,C,D,E please take the challenge.

   In conclusion I believe that this is a program well worth the price of admission . I only ask for a larger group of us who are newer and can learn well with a more detailed tutorial book that someone please take on this needed to be done task.

   P.S. to Jeff Paries I an not trying to insult you. I'm simply asking for a more complete and linear set of tutorials from you or anyone else. There is a business need at this graphic revolutionary time even if you write two books. Beginning to Intermediate book one followed by Intermediate to Advance. Then we are happier to give the writer more money that they deserve and word of mouth advertising is expanded to a higher level.

   Thank you for your time. renzai@pdai.com




3. Its not a question whether I can recommend this book or not. Why do I say this? Its because the original manual that comes with Animation Master is so awful that you have to buy this book to make sense of it all.

   Now in the case of reviewing the book, there is some good things to say and some bad things to say:

   First of all, Jeff Paries is extremely knowledgable on the subject matter. The book is packed with so much information (600 pages worth) so that makes it a valuable tool.

   The biggest complaint is that some of the tutorials need clarification. I went through a lot of them and I find bits of essential information missing. Somethings I have to improvise and experiment (which is not necessarily a bad thing but it can be frustrating). I think the author (and the editors too) should take some test subjects and let them go through the tutorials and point out any inconstancies in the text.





4. I purchased the Animation Master 98 Handbook almost 2 years ago and found it to be very benificial to increasing my skills with Animation Master... to a degree.

   I recently purchased the AM2000 Handbook in hopes that it would cover/correct problems in the first book. Yet the incomplete, vauge, and at times, unreliable instructions that the 98 Handbook had left me with returned in the AM2000 Handbook

   99.9% of all my problems stem from the modeling tutorials, especially the Advanced Modeling section. At times you are left to "figure it out for yourself" instead of being walked through each step in the process. The most disappointing is the modeling tutorial of the female body. Where Mr. Paries spends 10 pages on how to model a simple fish, he spends only 11 pages describing how to model the "intricate" human female.

   If you own the AM98 Handbook, see if you can find this "updated" version at your local library, borrow it from a friend, or just don't worry about it. There's really not much new in this edition and very few problems were fixed from the preceding edition.

   If you are just learning AM, pick it up. It may not be the most complete and/or detailed book that it should be, but it will give you a good idea of some of the things you can do with AM.




5. I had some of the same problems using this aftermarket manual as I did trying to use the original, worthless A:M manual-and then it created some new problems of its own. Example: neither book includes anything resembling a "quick-start" guide, that is, a straightforward no-options approach to get a quick, trouble-free 3D result right off the bat. Oh no. Too simple. The official manual doesn't even reveal how to draw a line onscreen until page 199. The Paries book starts its modeling tutorial earlier, on page 47, but does it by handing the reader a prebuilt model off the included CD-ROM. How does that teach anyone how to design a 3D model?
   If I ever learn how to use this software, I'm going to write my own doggone handbook.