Advanced math

Uh, you''ll definitely understand everything with that much school but it sounds like overkill to me. A quad is just two triangles -- no big deal. (A square is a quad with four equal sides, if you change the length of any of the sides, it''s still a quad).

You need to understand vectors and matrices first. Try a Schaum''s Outline or an introductory text. I learned this stuff from robotics textbooks which was useful because robots give a concrete example in 3-dimensional space.

Once you understand vectors and matrices well, you can pick up on the other stuff as you go.

Hope this helps.

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Original post by DJ_House

I''ve been reading some of the messages here with a lot of confusion. I''ve seen some articles posted on quads and other highly advanced math theory. My question is, where did you guys learn all that stuff? My current plan is to complete my Computer Science diploma, then head off to major in Phsyics and minor in Algebra and Geometry. I feel this would give me a very solid foundation for creating 3D games...

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If you can learn that and understand it, all the better. For doing 3d computer graphics, at the least you should understand some linear algebra which will deal with basic vector and matrix algebra.

I think you meant "quats" (ie, quaternions) as opposed to "quads" (ie, two triangles). Quats is a little more advanced over vectors, but not much. There are other higher-level algebra concepts such as octonions, complex quaternions, clifford and geometric algebras which are great if you learn and understand them, but not necessary for doing graphics work.

I learned a bunch of the mathematics involved in high school and college, and some on the job, but also go to the net and find stuff to read on my own. Right now I''m soaking up geometric algebra...



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Blue programmer needs food badly. Blue programmer is about to die!

quote:

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Original post by DJ_House

I''ve been reading some of the messages here with a lot of confusion. I''ve seen some articles posted on quads and other highly advanced math theory. My question is, where did you guys learn all that stuff? My current plan is to complete my Computer Science diploma, then head off to major in Phsyics and minor in Algebra and Geometry. I feel this would give me a very solid foundation for creating 3D games...

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Myself, I learned most of the basis for what I use in college (linear algebra, calculus, etc), but I didn''t actually become any good with this stuff until I needed it for work.

You pick things up as you go. A few years back, I had to get good at 3d programming, so I brushed up my matrix math skills both by studying and by playing with example code. Once it came time to implement smooth animation, I picked up quaternions. In my particular line of work I spend a lot of time doing physical simulations (weather systems, fluid dynamics, particle systems), so I read, and try to understand, a good deal of scientific literature in these fields. Of course, I usually end up boiling it down to a "good enough for games" kind of thing, but it never hurts to know what you''re boiling.

It''s not like you spend your whole time poring over advanced math texts. Typically, I pick up maybe three or four really important math/programming skills a year. That adds up quickly.

Jason Shankel
Maxis