The world around us is filled with subtle lighting effects, but until recently it was not possible to duplicate these real-world effects in computer games because of the limits of consumer graphics hardware. Advanced Lighting and Materials with Shaders explains the principles of lighting theory and discusses how to create realistic lighting that takes full advantage of the capabilities of modern hardware. Topics include the physics of light, raytracing and related techniques, objects and materials, lighting and reflectance models, implementing lights in shaders, spherical harmonic lighting, spherical harmonics in DirectX, and real-time radiosity.Upon reading this text, you will understand the underlying physics of light and energy; learn about the visual features of different materials and how they can be modeled for real-time graphics; find out about the different lighting models; discover how real-time techniques compare to ray tracing; learn to use the provided shader implementations to implement lights and realistic materials in real time.Accompanying CD-ROM includes all the code in the book with resources (models, textures, probes, etc.) needed to run the programs, along with the SDKs and libraries needed to build the programs and luminance Radiosity Studio, an advanced radiosity program.
Companion CD included with Paint Shop Pro 8 evaluation edition!Interfaces strongly affect how an application or game is received by a user, no matter which cutting-edge features it may boast. This unique book presents a comprehensive solution for creating good interfaces using the latest version of DirectX. This involves building an interface library from the ground up. Divided into three sections, the book discusses the foundations of interface design, the construction of a feature-rich interface library, and the creation of a fully functional media player in DirectShow.
Making a Game Demo: From Concept to Demo Gold provides a detailed and comprehensive guide to getting started in the computer game industry. Written by professional game designers and developers, this book combines the fields of design, art, scripting, and programming in one book to help you take your first steps toward creating a game demo. Discover how the use of documentation can help you organize the game design process; understand how to model and animate a variety of objects, including human characters; explore the basics of scripting with Lua; learn about texturing, vertex lighting, light mapping, motion capture, and collision checking. The companion CD contains all the code and other files needed for the tutorials, the Ka3D game engine, the Zax demo, all the images in the book, demo software, and more!
This book is the only book of its kind on the market covering how to use the basic, intermediate, and advanced search modifiers Google makes available to users.
The step-by-step instructions make it easy to create, edit, and distribute your Flash files. Each chapter includes sample screen shots as well as tips for making your work more efficient and avoiding common pitfalls.
This advanced game-development book is targeted at the developer with a sophisticated understanding of C++ who wants to use vertex and pixel shaders in graphics or games.
This book details how the unique Butterfly Grid can be implemented in existing and new game projects to minimise the complexity of network programming, allowing the game developer to concentrate on game design and programming. It also highlights the unique Butterfly grid technologies from the basics to more advanced features such as server-scripted game logic using Python and how player syncronisation works using the Dead Reckoning process. CD-ROM included.
Thoroughly revised, this third edition focuses on modern techniques used to generate synthetic three-dimensional images in a fraction of a second. With the advent of programmable shaders, a wide variety of new algorithms have arisen and evolved over the past few years. This edition discusses current, practical rendering methods used in games and other applications. It also presents a solid theoretical framework and relevant mathematics for the field of interactive computer graphics, all in an approachable style. The authors have made the figures used in the book available for download for fair use.:Download Figures. Reviews Rendering has been a required reference for professional graphics practitioners for nearly a decade. This latest edition is as relevant as ever, covering topics from essential mathematical foundations to advanced techniques used by today’s cutting edge games. -- Gabe Newell, President, Valve, May 2008 Rendering ... has been completely revised and revamped for its updated third edition, which focuses on modern techniques used to generate three-dimensional images in a fraction of the time old processes took. From practical rendering for games to math and details for better interactive applications, it's not to be missed. -- The Bookwatch, November 2008 You'll get brilliantly lucid explanations of concepts like vertex morphing and variance shadow mapping—as well as a new respect for the incredible craftsmanship that goes into today's PC games. -- Logan Decker, PC Gamer Magazine , February 2009