good books

[tom]

Hello chiili I am new to the forum.
You are doing great work to do a tutorial about programming games.

If I could recommend a good books on how to create in c++ and directx from the beginning until the end of the game 3D
how to import 3d models.
How to create a 3d terrain sky etc
I hope you understand all because my English is not to good I'm from Polish
When can we expect the next tutorials?

see you

[simplicity]

http://www.rastertek.com/tutindex.html

Try this instead of books. It covers a lot of stuff and builds a framework.

[Xanderxavier]

Books are how I learned things mostly but they are unfortunately expensive, given limited production runs and higher pricing to make the whole thing worthwhile.

However I started C++ with Beginning C++ through Game Programming, which teaches C++ with console games.

However if you did chile tutorials no need for such a book, an advanced book you might be interested in to further your C++ is :

C++ for Game Programmers, which covers a wide variety of subjects and is quite useful, allot of theory and only some implementation tho, you will likely also want an API specific book such as Beginner DirectX 11 Game Programming, which teaches specific API stuff, obv there is a DX10 and DX9 version should you wish it.

At this time there is no whole in one book, you'll need a whole bunch, and video tutorials alongside books are ideal, there is a book called 3D Game Engine Programming, however it was originally written in 2003 in german and first published in english in 2004, so its quite out of date, however the code base has been updated more than once since and now exists as: https://github.com/kimkulling/zfxce2.

However if you did not go through C++ for Game Programmers or 3D Game engine programming or possibly both, as the project has only implementation documentation, you'll have a hard time following along the code, and given its open source making your own version will be difficult.

The publishers latest 3D Game engine book is 3D Game Programming using DirectX10 and Open GL, which seems to be only available direct from their website (link below), which is similar, but its but one subject and only relevant to make your own engine.

As for art, first you need to choose a 3d modelling program, your choices are between Autodesk 3dsmax, Autodesk Maya (currently both 2013, though new edition every year), Blender which is free, unlike the other two 3 thousand pounds + apps, but is not well known by professionals, there's also Cinema4D, which isn't to cheap either, and as one more alternative Silo 2 (available for £29.99 on steam) however Silo 2 hasn't been updated in years, has numerous bugs, and has only a small number of features in comparison with the other programs listed, additionally its file support is limited so you'd need to use blender as a file converter just to get most files in and out of silo 2, err there's also "Lightwave" don't know much about it, for full list of modelling programs see the 1st wiki entry below.

Personally I use 3dsmax, however this is just one of your many programs you'll need, you'll also need a digital sculpting tool, the industry standard here is Zbrush however it ways in at about 800 pounds, Silo 2 actually contains many digital sculpting features, and can be used as one, though it pales in comparison with Zbrush, and is not feature complete enough for use as a full modelling program to, you may be able to do most things through it, also the same company that makes Zbrush also owns something called Scupltris currently in v alpha 6, (made by some other guy who sold it to them), and its available for free and whilst again it pales in comparison with zbrush you can do a bunch of interesting things using it, so with clever use you may be able to make use of it.

Oh yeah other then Zbrush and above, one more option is Autodesk Mudbox, not very familiar with it, so cant advise you on it, but it costs allot so likely to have allot of features, one would hope, but its not as well used, so less people will no how to use it, but it should have full docs being from autodesk, for all the others I dont know much about (err other than makehuman, but i wont mention it other than this bracket) see the 2nd wiki link.

However those two are both 3D.

You also need a 2d tool, now the industry standard 2D proggie is Adobe Photoshop, usually used in conjunction with a Wacom Intuos Tablet of some kind (i have a Intuos 5 XL) but any intuos will do (err ignore the bamboo not good enough for professional purposes), photoshop will allow you to cook up textures for your programs, and draw concept art, digital matte painting, and so on along with a whole bunch of other things, but again it costs cash.

The only real alternative to photoshop is GIMP, a cross-platform proggie, that does support the wacom's though its harder to setup, however learning GIMP takes time away from learning photoshop and most people know how to use photoshop whilst gimp is free, its not well supported by professional's, specially as most dedicated artists have poor technical skills, learning photoshop (who's interface never changes and only grows) may have taken them a long time and they have no wish to learn another interface as long as photoshop has more versions, so sure on your own GIMP may be a way to save a few hundred bucks, however if you ever want to hire artists etc they'll work on photoshop and if your studio ever expands you'll have to re-train in photoshop rather then expect professional artists to retrain to use GIMP, so such things must be considered.

For full list see:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3D_compute ... s_software
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_sculpting

Also you'll want to buy an Wacom Intuos Tablet(any v)
and may well like a 3DConnexions Spacenavigator left-handed mouse(or if your left handed it becomes a right handed mouse)(real handy for modelling proggies, alas dont work on zbrush or silo, see its site for full support list)

Other programs you'll likely need in your asset chain include xNormal (free) best to google it and TopoGun 2 (google it) by the time you need to know about it you'll understand what there for.

As for sound most simple sounds, like sound effects tend to get worked on in Adobe Audition, which is ideal for such things, you can also use it to record voices etc, however for compositing music you'll want Steinberg Cubase 7, the latter ways in at £488 pounds and the former 329 pounds.

Can't forget design either so here is a list of books which will cover the basic of what you'll need to know to solo make 3D game of decent quality, or 2D of/c.

BASIC LIST for making games(assumed you use someone elses engine, if not add list 2 to it):
C++ for Game Programmer's
GAME CODING COMPLETE (3rd edition) (Reference)
Game Programming Gems 8 (sort of Reference/tips book)
(beginner)Beginners guide to Digital Painting in Photoshop ( some crossover - ) (3DTOTAL)
Photoshop for 3D Artists ( but worth it) (3DTOTAL)
Zbrush Character Sculpting(3DTOTAL)
The Digital Matte Painting Handbook( optional ) (may come in handy however)
3D Game Textures (assumes Photoshop but the only real decent book on texture creation about)
Rules of Play - Game Design Fundamentals(Theory - Design)
Game Design Reader (A rules of play anthology) (Advanced Theory - Design)
Game Level Design (Specific Theory Level Design)
Patterns in Game Design (highly optional - if you own Game Design Reader & Rules of play you don't need this)
The Complete Guide to Game Audio: For Composers, Musicians, Sound Designers, Game Developers
Introducing 3ds Max: 3D for Beginners (Beginner) (covers 3DSmax 9 which is old now but same principals apply (err 2008,2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 since v09))
3ds Max Modeling for Games (Intermediate) (covers 3dsmax 2012)
Autodesk 3ds Max 2013 Bible (Reference)

+(optional for making game in some else's engine)at least one book on whatever engine you plan on using:
For Cryengine: Cryengine 3 Cookbook
For Unreal engine(UDK): UDK Game Development
For Unity: Beginning 3D Game Development with Unity: All-in-One, Multi-Platform Game Development
(if you wait till Jun 2013 the 2nd Edition is coming out, which covers Unity 4)
For Realmcrafter Professional:
Wizards and Warriors: Massively Multiplayer Online Game Creation
For Torque3D:
Torque 3D Game Development Cookbook
For Heroengine:
Heroengine (http://books.google.co.uk/books/about/H ... edir_esc=y), only book on heroengine written by the look of it, prob better of with videos and official tutorials but you'll prob want Massively Multiplayer Game Development: v1 & v2 books to help you for both heroengine and Realmcrafter Professional(or any mmo)
For Ogre3D:
OGRE 3D 1.7 Application Development Cookbook (also ogre is less tools and more well engine, so you may well need many of the below books, sans the DirectX ones to make anything useful out of it)
For Blender Game Engine:
Blender Game Engine: Beginner's Guide.

Obv there are other books for each, choose whichever has best reviews, some of the above books I own others I just chose the highest recommended option on amazon.co.uk as my choice.

Probably better beginner ones for 3dsmax on 3dtotal or amazon, but thats the only one I own so idk on others, obv those 3 last books are 3dsmax only, 3dsmax interface does change but most of the major bits stay the same, replace those 3 as neccessary with books and or videos of your chosen modelling tools,

However if you plan on making your own engine skip the specific engine book and buy these additional books:

LIST of Books needed to code your own 3D Graphics Engine from scratch. (add to basic list for full list of books needed and or desired to go from nothing to making fully featured games) :
Mathematics for 3D Game Programming and Computer Graphics
3D Game Programming using DirectX10 and Open GL (http://edu.cengage.co.uk/catalogue/prod ... 1844808777)
3D Game Engine Programming (optional - superseded by the above book and old (2003/04) code but neverthless may prove useful due to excellent explanations of everything that goes into game engine programming (if back in 03))
Game Engine Architecture (theory how to design your engine)
Beginning DirectX 11 Game Programming (practical how to use api)
Practical Rendering and Computation with Direct3D11 (advanced api use)
Visual C# 2010 Step by Step (needed for below book)
Game Engine Toolset Development (theory & practice make your own SDK/Editor/tools in C#)
AI Game Programming
Physically Based Rendering: From Theory To Implementation
Game Physics Engine Development: How to Build a Robust Commercial-Grad​e Physics Engine for your Game
GPU Pro v3
Real-Time Shadows
Shader X7 (optional)
Real-Time Collision Detection
FUNDAMENTALS OF NETWORK GAME DEVELOPMENT (Theory)
Programming Multiplayer FPS Direct X (Practical networking, but old code (2005), have to use your own skills to make modern v) (+ making your own 3d engine doesn't preclude using someone else's networking engine, in whole or in part, one good one open source allowing commercial use is : http://enet.bespin.org/index.html however much you will still have to write allot yourself. that's really a communication layer )

or possibly if you need open gl :
Beginning OpenGL Game Programming, Second Edition
OpenGL SuperBible: Comprehensive Tutorial and Reference

Shader X7, Real time shadows and GPU Pro V3 have some crossover, you may get away with just GPU Pro V3 or possibly it and Real time shadows, obv crossover on the physics books to but given the difficulty of subject buying both wont harm you, all above books have their own references for additional books covering their subjects if you really want or need them.

You may have noticed 2 C# books there and wondering wtf bro?, well even with your C++ game engine, making your engine tools in C#, a rapid application development language under .NET will bring you many advantages, so Visual C# 2010 Step by step is a Microsoft Press book teaching you C#, and Game Engine Toolset Development is a wonderfully detailed guide to Game Engine toolset development using C# in .NET, sure its only up to date with .NET 2.0 but wont be to hard to bring yaself up to date, and the advantages to RAD tools are many, and you can use your engines render system or other systems in your tool even though your engine is in C++ and your tool in C#, with a properly designed engine, you can export the systems functionality in a library (which shouldn't be to difficult as it'll likely be in there in the first place) then create a managed wrapper in C# to make use of your C++ engines rendering engine inside the tool, and by a similar method use other bits to as necessary, everything you need to do this, is in the Tools book.

Everything with no link or name after it is available through http://www.amazon.co.uk (.co.uk but http://www.amazon.com as well your local amazon as well, no doubt will list them) everything that says 3D TOTAL you have to go to http://www.3dtotal.com/ theres a whole bunch of useful stuff there inc videos for learning, anything with a link is only available at that link.

Now 60% of this stuff is available free online via youtube videos and websites, however it wont be easy to find, or learn the books put them all together in an easy and logically progressions fashion, at a cost, doing it yourself you may find yourself lost at various points working out what goes next and searching for what you don't know your looking for is hard, on the plus side its free, while the above will probably cost you well over a grand just in books, and if you look at 3d total you'll see many videos you could buy alternatively there's a few good free series on youtube which can teach you most of the same, however its all about how much time you have to research how much money you have and how confused are you willing to be

There are some stuff in books you just don't find online in a way that remotely explains it however, so be warned, stuff like whats in GPU Pro v3 is nie a must, but only when (if) you get to that point(useless for a 2d game), if you buy all this you'll have allot less money but a perfect library for a new game studio, though some of it you wont need for basic indie games, but will come in handy making an advanced engine.

You can then add to it as needed for specific project (say MMO books for mmo, or rts books for rts etc), the above books cover most of the story but not all of it, you'll need to do a few tutorials on asset pipeline's and so on, and these will be video based, and theres a whole bunch of useful 3dsmax and photoshop videos on youtube for free, the more you know the easier it'll be to search for what you want to know next for free.

Gl to you

P.S. as a side note, one day I plan to write a combined e-book / video series covering everything above, and charge about 100 quid for it(like I've said before I'm not as cool as the chilly, and I like cash to much to do it for free, plus its a whole lot more work then what he's done , though i wholeheartedly support his series), which is a damn site better then thousands I payed for all the books, so I know there's market because would have wanted to buy it, however I'm busy working on my own games and engine atm, and don't have time for tutorials, but probably will have a few months to put into it after my next release, but you never know what life brings, so no guarantee's, not to mention it may well take more then just a few months to do.

P.S.2. You'll also need Visual Studio 2010 Professional (or above) for plugins and will want Visual Assist X (makes coding easier by auto-formatting stuff for you, highly customization) visual assist x is about 100 quid(wont work on visual express) but you can get copies of Windows Server and Visual Studio 2010 free if you make a brand new ltd or inc company or local equiv and sign up to microsoft bizspark), look at the ms website for details, but lots of free shit for 3 years with you getting to keep licenses afterwards, designed to help start-ups(get addicted to Microsoft software):D

You can just stick with express but the professional version will come in handy and as its free with bizspark why the hell not, and hopefully by 3 years time you'll have the cash flow for a new version else not care about versions of anything anymore(if your company goes tits up)

[tom]

Thanks for the reply it is almost a small library as someone wants be a game developer must fulfil it
I want learn do games for me (It is not enough know c++ directx?)


good luck with your tutorial

[Xanderxavier]

C++ directx handles the implementation of your games, however programming is but one part of any project indeed rarely is implementation more than small part 20-30% of an overall project(40% is possible if you make your own engine), most of your effort will go on art, quite a bit on design, some on testing(and big fixing that testing spawns which is also programming), and so on and so forth, C++ with directx allows those who know rest of how to make games, to make games, and sure you can make some simple games with precious few other skills, but anything complex, will require art and design, and that's just for 2d, for 3d it will require what is indicated above, maybe not all of it, but as you start with the beginner and move onto intermediate books, and try to do your 1st project you'll know if you can benefit from more books or not.

Making games is possible using C++ & DirectX, being a soul game developer however requires allot more, each of the many books above often in larger company has a Job position filling it, like AI programmer, Physics Programmer, Engine Coder, 3D modeller, 3D rigger, Game Designer, Level Designer, so and so forth, basically even these books above are only a small part of the overall many additional positions exist in large companies with specialists within sub-fields of sub-fields, doing everything yourself obviously necessitates a through understanding of the processes and working out how to do as much as possible for the least amount of your own work as possible, whilst simultaneously spending the least on 3rd party stuff to get it done, perfect for a smart but very lazy person like me, I always do that in everything , you could tell the chili knows at least a little something extra beyond programming as his doodles on Photoshop used his intuos tablet by the looks of it, and ty, gl to you on your endeavours as well.