Rating: 
Summary: Great to learn the principles
Review: Although the book is a bit out of date as it covers only DOS, it's still great to learn some great tricks in DOS and a lot of the principles of programming in 2/3D. If you work with a compiler like Turbo C++ you might not be able to compile all examples well becouse the book uses a lot of inline assembly which I still can't get to work in my code.Overall a great book worth the money if you want to learn more about DOS programming!
Rating: 
Summary: Great book for learning game programming and 3D concepts
Review: Although the content of this book is rather outdated now, it still has a huge amount of useful information. If you want to move on to OpenGL or something similar, you'll need to first have a basic understanding of computer graphics. Black Art of 3D Game Programming goes beyond this and unveils the intricate details and nuances of writing your own 3D games, explaining complex math in-depth, and describing each element of a 2D and 3D game in an easily understood manner. You do not need to have any previous knowledge of graphics programming whatsoever. It explains everything...how to switch from text to graphics mode, how to plot pixels, etc. You will, however, need a fairly good knowledge of the C programming language. The only downside of this book is that it fails to explain texture mapping in 3D space, but I don't blame it. Besides, you can learn that anywhere. If you know C and you want a great book to get into graphics, get this book!
Rating:
Summary: excellent
Review: first: this is not outdated---you MUST know how to make the games and understand the concepts introduced in this book before you can make anything better... second: half the book is not wasted on 2D...1/2 the book is dedicated to developing a standard VGA library that will be used when the 3D engine is create---this is absolutely necessary to make sure that the reader is on the same level as the author in terms of code... third: every point made is throughouly followed with examples AND code fourth: if DOS were dead windows 95 would not run true, directx is advancing and will undoubtedly be the future of games on the windows platform, but you still need to know these basic principles when making any game... fifth: if you cant handle assembly then drop game programming... sixth: buy this book
Rating:
Summary: "...has no equal in the computer graphics programming genre"
Review: Have you learned C programming, but don't know what direction to take for your next project? Do you jealously covet the deeply-hidden secrets displayed in the latest version of your favorite graphics-intensive game, or admire the latest in animated art "they" somehow bring to your most recent awesome screen-saver ? Let your wonder be quenched and your wishes answered in The Waite Group's "Black Art of 3D Game Programming", authored by the double-buffering cyberwizard of black magic graphic sorcery himself, game-programming guru Andre LaMothe. From the essential basics of accessing the VGA graphics mode, to the complexities of 32-bit assembly language optimizations for an advanced real-time 3D-world-modelling, polygon-rendering graphics engine, this 1,100 page bible of C-language functions and utilities has no equal in the computer graphics programming genre. Presented in a step-by-step, building-from-the-ground-up style, LaMothe instructs in the arts of 256-color, 320x200 resolution displays, starting with the drawing fundamentals of points and lines, text, and color. From there, the reader is guided through the realms of 2D sprite animation, and deeper still into the internals of keyboard, mouse, and joystick controls, taming along the way the demons of sound programming, software and hardware interrupts, and multiplayer modem gaming. The novice reader need not fear this ambitious course, for along the way are generous helpings of diagrams and drawings, and most importantly, the listing of every function may be found printed right within the text, as a guide map to these dark initiations. Within the context of constructing a fast and effective game engine, the increasingly-confident cyber-apprentice soon finds himself immersed in the incantations of 3D fundamentals, wireframe and solid modelling, hidden-surface algorithms, image and space-clipping, and the magical spells of voxel graphics worlds. Though the witches brew of matrix math and fixed-point fixes may frighten, the master wields his wand to open the eyes of even the most arithmetically- challenged, and renders these mysteries with crystal clarity. Long though the road may be, shelters of sample programs are ever on the horizon, guiding the learner to higher heights of cyber insight. Truly the icing on the cake, and eat it too, the Black Art CD-rom included holds the keys to compilation wisdom, with separate and complete listings for both Microsoft and Borland compilers, including all the libraries and functions discussed, and then some, as well as shareware utilities and an array of games ready to be played. There is so much information in this book that anyone from the beginner to the more advanced programmer may find ample opportunity for months, if not years, of challenge and inspiration. I give this exceptional guide my most wholehearted recommendation, and many thanks to Mr. LaMothe (and Waite Group Press) for the year of excitement and challenge he has provided me. *** W.J. Baker *** Chapter Titles: The Genesis of 3d Games, Elements of the Game, The Mysterious VGA Card, Waking the Dead with Animation, Communicating with the Outside World, Dancing with Cyberdemons(Sound), The Magick of Thought(Artificial Intelligence), The Art of Possession(Interrupt Routines), Multiplayer Game Techniques, 3D Fundamentals, Building a 3D Graphics Engine, Solid Modelling and Shading, Universal Transformations, Hidden Surface and Object Removal, Clipping and Rendering the Final View, Voxel Graphics, Optimizing the 3D Engine, Kill Or Be Killed (3D Game and Observations on Its Development)
Rating: 
Summary: Dated sample code, good content
Review: I bought this book when it first came out, and at that time it would have got 5 stars easy. At this point you'll have a hard time compiling any of the source example as they are designed for Borland C++/Visual C++ 1.0 (DOS version). The thing that saves this book is the wealth of infomation building your own 3D engine. I haven't seen another book come close. Sure you could go out and by books that specialize on key areas, but this book is still the only "one stop shop" kind'a deal for 3D engine design. You'll need to be at advanced level when you get this book, cause unless you're still running MS-DOS and have an old 16-bit DOS C/C++ compiler, you're going to have to port the code to Win32 & DirectDraw. I'd recommend reading this author's new book "Windows Game Programming for Dummies" and then buying this book and attempting to port the code to Win32/DirectDraw. One can only hope that Mr. LaMothe will bring us an updated version with source examples using Direct3D Immediate Mode or OpenGL.
Rating: 
Summary: No C compiler!
Review: I gave five stars for LaMothe's Windows Game Programming for Dummies book, but this has got to have only one star becaue I can't compile any of the code! I tried Visual C++, and I tried the gnu C compiler. Neither of them worked. I looked through the introduction and index of the book and could find no information on what compiler to use. I started reading the book from page one anyway and eventually came to a sentence in the middle of Chapter One that mentioned the code compiles using Microsoft C/C++ 7.0 or Borland 4.5. I immediately checked Microsoft's site for information on this compiler, but I could find none. I then tried compiling the very first, simplest code from the book in Borland 4.5. It didn't work! Apparently, I need a 'graph.h' header file to get the source code working! If anyone out there knows how I can get the right C compiler, I would love to know about it. My email address is h.hotelling@prodigy.net If you email me, I can send you my web site URL from which you can download a game I made from Andre LaMothe's "Windows Game Programming for Dummies". Andre LaMothe! You are still making money from selling this book! Please maintain your reputation and provide a site with information on how to get the right compiler! Thank you!
Rating:
Summary: This is still a good intro book
Review: I owned this book for a while but I didn't actually pick it up and start reading it until a few weeks ago... people will complain that this book is outdated and blah blah... well those people are people who want to be spoon fed everything and have no creativity... if you have any kind of brain, this book is an awesome intro to 3d graphics... just check out my site http://members.rogers.com/vetro I started coding a 3d graphics engine... I had to improvise, but the techniques are all based on the last half of this book V
Rating:
Summary: The Screen Savers say its "great!"
Review: I personally don't own this book but plan to soon. The Screen Savers a show on TECHtv(zdtv)have this book in there Geek Libery! Check out there review! ************************************************ If they say it is good. It's good! -kp4
Rating:
Summary: Giving credit where credit is due.
Review: I...originally gave it only one star because I was so shocked that none of the code could compile. Luckily, I plowed through the book and couldn't pull myself away. The explanations on 3D math and algorithms are superb. LaMothe's code from his Windows Game Programming For Dummies book contained a DrawLine function. All the code in his 3D book eventually boiled down to a DrawLine function. So I copied and pasted his 3D code into his Dummies game engine.....after some tweaking I got a pyramid to rotate and move in 3D. In my spare time over the past six months, I have finally been able to put together a 3D game in DirectX. It will probably be the last 3D game ever made for the PC that doesn't use Direct3D now that there seems to be a couple of good Direct3D books out...
Rating:
Summary: A still-valid intro to 3D graphics
Review: If you are just getting involved in game programming, this book is a good place to start. The first half of the book covers general game techniques in 2D, and then the last half covers many concepts of 3D games. The book is written for DOS, but most of the principles apply to any platform. The 3D engine André develops is quite primitive by today's standards, but it at least introduces you to the terminology and ideas used in 3D games. The lower rating is because the book IS old by game development standards, so you going to have to do quite a bit of work if you want to use any of the code, but if you are new to 3D graphics, this book covers them in a clear and easy to understand manner.
| 
