Introduction to 3D Game Programming with DirectX 9.0 provides an introduction to programming interactive 3D computer graphics using DirectX 9.0, with an emphasis on game development. The book begins with an explanation of mathematical tools and moves on to general 3D concepts. Other topics include performing basic operations in Direct3D such as primitive drawing, lighting, texturing, alpha blending, and stenciling, and using Direct3D to implement techniques that could be required in a game. Chapters on vertex and pixel shaders, including the effects framework and the new High-Level Shading Language, wraps up the discussion.

* Understand basic mathematical and 3D concepts.
* Learn how to describe and draw interactive 3D scenes using the Direct3D 9.0 API.
* Use Direct3D and the D3DX utility library to implement a variety of techniques and applications, such as transparency, shadows, reflections, fonts, meshes, using XFiles, progressive meshes, terrain rendering, particle systems, picking, cartoon rendering, and multitexturing.
* Find out how to write vertex and pixel shader programs with the High-Level Shading Language.
* Discover how to write and use effect files with the Direct3D effects framework.These files include full source code for every sample application.

This title is available in a book and CD format. This book provides a thorough tutorial of the DirectX 2002 API and a solid introduction to 3D programming concepts. Special effects and useful algorithms are discussed and implemented. The book also covers specifics like DirectInput, integrating DirectAudio, key components of the D3DX utility library, and more. By the end of the book the reader will have a powerful class library that can be reused again and again in future 3D applications.

This book instructs the reader from the beginning by teaching the underlying mathematics and 3D theory necessary to make sense of the DirectX 9 API.

Really worth the buy if you want to digg into Direct3D

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.

The best book I have found so far

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.

A very good introductory book

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.

An introduction. Nothing more, nothing less.

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.

Great book to get started. Clear and Concise

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.

One of the BEST!

this Series of books is the best DX9 book i read, it covers all the bits with good examples of a large proportion of the graphics needed to make wonderfull games.

You should get the Advanced book of this as well, its just as good as this one.

Very easy to follow

This book is written very well, and it is written in a way that allows the reader to follow without getting lost in the terminology. Everything is explained very well. I use the book constantly as a reference when programming. Pick this book up if your serious about learning DirectX.

Very easy to follow

This book is written very well, and it is written in a way that allows the reader to follow without getting lost in the terminology. Everything is explained very well. I use the book constantly as a reference when programming. Pick this book up if your serious about learning DirectX.

Great Book -- Misleading title. :(

While I agree with all the other reviews on how this book is EXCELLENT for learning the introduction (and some advanced) concepts and applications of Direct 3D it is severely lacking one thing: game programming mechanics.

Frank D. Luna has an awesome ability to teach Direct 3D in an easy to understand and fun way but this is not a book to buy if you want to learn how game systems and mechanics interface with direct 3d. There is no game project nor is there any helpful information on animation/sound/or comprehensive explanation of DirectInput (though there is a really nice camera class you create in the book).

Anyway...I give this book 2 stars not because it lacks validity or helpful notes, as was stated earlier its really well organized and easy-to-understand. But don’t expect to come out of this book without any questions about D3D games because there is a lot that he doesnt cover. I still recommend this book to anybody interested in graphics programming and back it up with full support in that respect.

Great Book -- Misleading title. :(

While I agree with all the other reviews on how this book is EXCELLENT for learning the introduction (and some advanced) concepts and applications of Direct 3D it is severely lacking one thing: game programming mechanics.

Frank D. Luna has an awesome ability to teach Direct 3D in an easy to understand and fun way but this is not a book to buy if you want to learn how game systems and mechanics interface with direct 3d. There is no game project nor is there any helpful information on animation/sound/or comprehensive explanation of DirectInput (though there is a really nice camera class you create in the book).

Anyway...I give this book 2 stars not because it lacks validity or helpful notes, as was stated earlier its really well organized and easy-to-understand. But don’t expect to come out of this book without any questions about D3D games because there is a lot that he doesnt cover. I still recommend this book to anybody interested in graphics programming and back it up with full support in that respect.

An Intro D3D book written by developers, not dev wannabees

This is a solid book covering the basics of Direct 3D (and only Direct 3D...no Direct Input, Sound, etc). BTW there is no CD, but the web site has all the code as promised (and unlike other intro D3D books the samples actually compile and run). And unlike other intro books I’ve seen the code is clear & crisp and a joy to work with.
You will learn techniques in this book that you can use in real games. Sure, you will get the boring intro stuff like color and texturing but the coverage is more developer-oriented with detailed coverage of the API and an extensible code framework in real rather than butchered C++. And then its off to surfaces (terrain rendering) and a first-person camera to go along with it. In an intro book. Now, that just simply kicks butt. Not to mention an excellent particle class, and on to HLSL (even experienced DX folk can have an interesting lunch with this book).
About the only thing I didn’t agree with was the use of frustum diagrams in diagrams describing world-to-view space transformations. The frustum just goes along for the ride. The more important thing to show are the orthogonal axes in the transformation, and these were absent in some diagrams.
I was going to give this book 4 stars...but its more deserving with its excellent development of simpler concepts into more advanced constructs with major payoffs for your first games as to tilt the balance.
I can’t think of a better book for a developer with their act together about to rock with D3D.

An Intro D3D book written by developers, not dev wannabees

This is a solid book covering the basics of Direct 3D (and only Direct 3D...no Direct Input, Sound, etc). BTW there is no CD, but the web site has all the code as promised (and unlike other intro D3D books the samples actually compile and run). And unlike other intro books I’ve seen the code is clear & crisp and a joy to work with.
You will learn techniques in this book that you can use in real games. Sure, you will get the boring intro stuff like color and texturing but the coverage is more developer-oriented with detailed coverage of the API and an extensible code framework in real rather than butchered C++. And then its off to surfaces (terrain rendering) and a first-person camera to go along with it. In an intro book. Now, that just simply kicks butt. Not to mention an excellent particle class, and on to HLSL (even experienced DX folk can have an interesting lunch with this book).
About the only thing I didn’t agree with was the use of frustum diagrams in diagrams describing world-to-view space transformations. The frustum just goes along for the ride. The more important thing to show are the orthogonal axes in the transformation, and these were absent in some diagrams.
I was going to give this book 4 stars...but its more deserving with its excellent development of simpler concepts into more advanced constructs with major payoffs for your first games as to tilt the balance.
I can’t think of a better book for a developer with their act together about to rock with D3D.

Perfect book to ge started for the best foundation of 3D

When I started reading this book, I immediately skipped part I, because it’s a pure mathematical part. 30 Pages wasted for me, but probably because I have the basic mathematical knowledge.
Part II gets to the point. You set up a 3D environment with all the tricks basically available. After having done part II, you’ll be able to set up a scene with lighting and texturing, and stencilling (shadows and mirrors)
Part III goes into the additions of Microsoft in DirectX. These were not that interesting for me, because I’m a low-level kinda guy but I got a lot of tips from that chapter on how to improve things.
Part IV then gives you all the information you need about shaders. It even shows you how the built in shaders of rendering works by showing you examples of where you program to do the same! That’s really interesting if you wish to understand more about the pipeline!

Short: this book helped me a LOT to make me set up a great foundation of a 3D engine. Now I’m looking for a book that helps me with effects and stuff like that. This book helped me create a game with basic graphics (which means, the graphics are great (I mean, detail’s ok, framerate’s ok, base is ok), but the lack of effects make the graphics look old) (http://www.tears-of-betrayal.com if you wish to see what this book made me create)

Really! Buy this book and with the right spirit, you’ll do it!

Great Book

This book is probably the best book I’ve seen at explaining Direct 3D. It’s straight to the point, clear, and goes from simple DirectX initialization to some pretty complex stuff. It gets into vertex and pixel shaders which is very rare and does a good job. I wish I’d found it earlier. It’s not really an introduction though and it only covers 3D graphics and you have to know C/C++ to understand this book. There is no sound, input, 2D, or networking but what it explains its material well enough that you can put it to use immediately.

Great Book

This book is probably the best book I’ve seen at explaining Direct 3D. It’s straight to the point, clear, and goes from simple DirectX initialization to some pretty complex stuff. It gets into vertex and pixel shaders which is very rare and does a good job. I wish I’d found it earlier. It’s not really an introduction though and it only covers 3D graphics and you have to know C/C++ to understand this book. There is no sound, input, 2D, or networking but what it explains its material well enough that you can put it to use immediately.

A good book for start

When I decided to buy this book,I was in a doubt if this book can help me in an easy way?
Now I know that it Can.
I found this book a good one for beginning,because it’s a very good book about direct3d but not about 3d games.Although Frank Luna has a reliable and also easy to read way of writing texts,but because the subject is hard by it’s nature,a beginner may find it hard at the beginning.

A good book for start

When I decided to buy this book,I was in a doubt if this book can help me in an easy way?
Now I know that it Can.
I found this book a good one for beginning,because it’s a very good book about direct3d but not about 3d games.Although Frank Luna has a reliable and also easy to read way of writing texts,but because the subject is hard by it’s nature,a beginner may find it hard at the beginning.

An excellent book to use as a reference

We used this book in my advanced graphics class at college as more of a reference than a main textbook, and I admit i used this book much more than the textbook. It seems split nicely into sections so as I found myself in a fix to implement a new topic I hadn’t touched, it gave a nice explanation of just how to use it.

It does focus heavily on graphics, so if your main goal is to learn DirectInput and general game programming, this probably isn’t the text for you. But if your main goal is to learn DirectX Graphics, this is an excellent help.

Not a bad book as a starter

The subject matter is dealt with in an orderly way, although sometimes the explanations could be better. For example, stencilling was something I wanted better info on. But all in all, its pretty good, opens with a chapter on vector algebra and then goes on to other topics gradually building in complexity. Its certainly a very good starting step. After that you can read other advanced books or the Direct X Micrsoft literature (which sucks) to hone your skills better. If you are a beginner to DirectX, this is certainly a nice book to start with

Misleading title

The book title is little bit misleading ,
considering that Luna will not teach you anything
about DirectInput ,DirectSound, & Networking also
he won’t teach you to make even a smallest complete game
the best title would be something like :
Introduction to 3D Graphics Programming with DirectX 9.0.

distills the basics of DX9

This book is not for everybody. The ideal reader is a person who wants to know the key Direct3D9 interfaces, without having to get lost in the vastness of D3D. The reader must have a experience with basic C++ programming, and COM is a bonus.

Readers that are likely to complain include those who (a) want to understand the mathematical principles behind 3D graphics, (b) want tutorial-style handholding for code snippets, (c) want a comprehensive view of a game engine’s architecture, (d) want a book to drive a learning project (e.g. build a graphics engine or a complete game), (e) want a reference manual for DirectX/Direct3D.

I give the book 4 stars because (a) the text meets the claims of the back cover, (b) the author provides practical insights into using Direct3D, (c) the author provides a good balance of illustrations, code snippets, and explanatory text. Although the information and style are good, it doesn’t provide a lot of context on how to apply the knowledge in the bigger picture of a 3d game. The MSRP of the book also seems high for the amount you can get out of it.

Great book for beginner

I’ve been trying to learn Direct3d for long time and this book really helped me a lot. Great Author’s website and active community makes this book worthwhile.

Top class

Well i recived this book as a gift. When i started to reading it i didnt know anythig abaut directx. I must say its a exelent book, it explains everything u need to know abaut d3d. its a great introduction to begginers but is also great for advanced users. It has a part on win programming so u dont need to also know theat before buying, but u need to know c++.

just a taste...

I am an applications programmer who was interested in learning graphics API. I was interested in learning something I could use for 3D game development that skipped over the 2D garbage I endure with Javascript. After quite a bit of research on my part I discovered this book. And I enjoyed every page. Very professional for a programming book and very to the point, the author takes on a romp through basic techniques used in DirectX. Granted he stays completely in Direct3D and does not discuss DirectPlay or DirectSound, but this is a beginning DirectX book. He gets you to understand the meat of the subject, 3D. This book covers the essential math you’ll need to understand the following chapters. The chapters after that cover vertex buffering, programmable pipeline, vertex shaders, effects framework, transformations, ect. The only thing that wasn’t covered, that I was expecting, were the animation functions and charector animations. Other than that it was a fine text. All in all it took me one week to read this book, dedicating about an hour a night. Subsequently I followed up by reading through it again and taking notes. A follow-up book will be required to begin making games of any great substance. This title was a perfect INTRO to the topic of Direct3D.

Amazing introduction book

This book takes the starter programmer to a decent level of knowledge in a few pages.
Nice chapter about 3d math that bring you the basis needed to fully understand what you (will) do and don’t spoil the whole book.
Another perfect chapter is the one about pixel / vertex shaders, clear and consise.

Amazing introduction book

This book takes the starter programmer to a decent level of knowledge in a few pages.
Nice chapter about 3d math that bring you the basis needed to fully understand what you (will) do and don’t spoil the whole book.
Another perfect chapter is the one about pixel / vertex shaders, clear and consise.

An Excellent Introduction.

Firstly, let me say that this is a beginner book and even though it says "Game Programming" in the title it doesn’t have much to do with game programming. That said, it still gives you a better head start in game programming than most books that actually do cover game programming (if that makes any sense).

What I like about the book is that it has almost no coverage of Win32 and COM (there is a good appendix if needed, but you really should get books dedicated to the subject). The math overview is particulary good simply because the author relates it to Direct3D all the way, so you aren’t left to figure out how to implement the theory through the DirectX API.

The other topics are all solid introductions to the various parts of Direct3D (setting up, lighting, meshes (very good), vertex/index buffers, v/p shaders etc) and a very usable camera class and a nice simple introduction to terrains.

You certainly aren’t going to be able to write an AA title after reading this book but it gives a solid introduction that you can work from, which is sadly lacking in most other books.

THE beginner’s Direc3D API book

If you’re going to learn Direct3D, GET THIS BOOK.

I have other books (Beginning Direct3D Game Programming by Engel), and they don’t hold a candle to this book.

Not only does he explain everything you NEED to know, he tells you to look up whatever he doesn’t explain within DX’s SDK.

Everything he does in this book has a plan. The organization is top notch, with the starting point being a primer on how to set up visual studio to compile and run directx programs. The next step is a math primer which should be mandatory for any book that is about 3D graphics, but apparently other authors would rather spend their time talking about higher level stuff in a beginner’s book.

I have to say that without this book, I would have had a lot tougher time learning Direct3D.

Does exactly as it says on the tin

This book is one of my favourite purchases of the past few months. If you’re like me and you’ve been mooching around the game development scene for a few years then you’ve seen different versions of DirectX come and go; This book, being about DX9 will teach you some very important concepts which - like me - you may not have been able to glean from the Microsoft docs available, such as HLSL - Microsoft’s Pixel and Vertex shader language, and the programmable rendering pipeline. The author presents the information in a way that is logical and easy to digest. No CD but you can download all the samples off the books website.

So why 4 stars? It’s because the author does not go into as much detail as you may like in some of the chapters. Particularly, I feel that the pixel and vertex shader chapters could have been fleshed out with more information.

All in all, a great book for anybody looking to learn DX9. Plenty of information to get you well and truly stuck in though you’ll probably be going back to the Microsoft docs after finishing this book to look up some more advanced information. Definitely deserves 4 stars.