🔒 Locked

DirectX Book...

Started by id Nut Aug 9, 2002 at 1:10 PM 7 replies 900+ views

Original Post

Aug 9, 2002 at 1:10 PM

This is a trivial post I know but I can''t seem to find the perfect book for learning DirectX. I need one that is descripitive as hell and somewhat up-to-date. I have (will be selling) Introduction to Computer Game Programming with DirectX 8.0 by Ian Parberry, Ph.D. but it sucks and is tough to learn.(His code is terribly messy)What are your recommendations on a good DirectX book that is for somewhat new programmers in C and C++? I''ve looked at Gamedev''s recommendations but I''d like to hear your opinion. Sorry if you''re tired of seeing these posts but I''m getting sort of desperate. I smell fear.

RegularKid

Aug 9, 2002 at 1:16 PM

Yeah, his code is really bad and hard to read. Plus he uses uneeded inheritance which just complicates things even more. Go for Andre Lamothe''s book. Its the best source for introductory DirectX programming that I have come across. Its called "Tricks of the Windows Game Programming Gurus". Or you can get a smaller version of this book called "Windows Game Programming for Dummies". Hope this helps.

FrikkaSoft

Aug 9, 2002 at 1:21 PM

Just finsished reading "Focus on 2D in Direct3D" by Ernest Pazera (tanstaafl) and it´s just great. Highly recommended.

ColdFace

Aug 9, 2002 at 1:30 PM

I highly recommend Game Programming All in One by
Bruno Miguel Teixeira de Sousa. This book starts out with an introduction to C++ and OOP. Then moves to Windows Programing and then right into directX 8. I read this book all the way throught and found it extremely usefully. I had already been programing with openGL but wanted to learn directX and this book was the best out of 4 that I read.

There are a few mistakes here and there but if you have any programming expereince you be able to work through them without to much effort.

id Nut

Aug 9, 2002 at 3:56 PM

A friend of mine has that book Game Programming All in One but doesn''t seem to be reading it a whole lot. I''ll try and pick it up, I think it''s $50 so I gotta get a job.

I smell fear.

AeroBLASTER

Aug 9, 2002 at 7:03 PM

I just got my copy in and it seems to be very good so far. It teaches just about everything you''ll need to know in C++ to get started (I had already known many things, but some others were unclear, so it''s nice that this section is in there). For the most part, he describes things nicely and shows a good, object-oriented approach. I haven''t really made it into the DirectX section yet, although I did browse through it a bit. Just from the beginning, I can tell that learning DirectX will be 100x easier with this book than with the articles @ gamedev - he actually tells you what everything does.

Cuchulainn

Aug 9, 2002 at 7:24 PM

does he go into 3d or stick with 2d when he is teaching dx8?
Tricks of the game programming gurus only teaches dx7 2d - should i steer clear from dx7 or use it. I have the dx8 sdk so i understand that i can do both - is it better to upgrade even though most books/articles cover dx7?

Kuroahiru

Aug 9, 2002 at 7:30 PM

quote:
"Focus on 2D in Direct3D" by Ernest Pazera (tanstaafl)

I highly recommend this book too. But, if you are looking for a book that covers all aspects of game programming(ie has source for a full game), this may not be the one you should get.

If you don''t need DX8, going with the 2nd edition of "Tricks of the Windows Game Programming Gurus" which seems to cover DX7 might be a good step.

Baka-san

Aug 9, 2002 at 9:12 PM

I personally like the ''game development series''
I have two of the books, ''programming role playing games with DX'' and ''special effects game programming with DX'' both of which cover 2-d,3-d graphics, both in DX 8. and the rpg programming book covers alot of the other stuff, but mostly just touching it. I know there are 6 or so books in the series, and the two I got are really nice.

Who says computer games affect kids, imagine if PacMan affected us as kids, we''''d all sit around in a darkened room munching pills and listening to repetitive music....uh oh!

Topic Locked

This topic has been locked by a moderator. New replies are not allowed.