   Is this book good?
  Hello guys!Im a beginner trying to learn game programming. I have recently finished the book called Programming a Multiplayer FPS and wanna try and expand the final game as much as possible. In my searches, the book called Special Effects Game Programming with DirectX 8.0 (http://www.gamedev.net/columns/books/bookdetails.asp?productid=165) caught my attention. I know it is about Directx 8 and its a bit old, but are the effects in this book worthy, and can i use the knowledge from this book to expand the game?Also is there any other book like this that does the same thing but is more updated than this?Thank you in advance!   
  It's probably too old to be of any practical use, unless you are actually using DX8. I would avoid it. If you're looking for books on assorted techniques for implementing visual effects, try the Shader X and GPU Gems books.   ;Quote:Original post by jpetrieIt's probably too old to be of any practical use, unless you are actually using DX8. I would avoid it. If you're looking for books on assorted techniques for implementing visual effects, try the Shader X and GPU Gems books.I thought I would chime in for the benefit of those who do not know, GPU Gems 1-3 are available free on the nVidia website:GPU Gems 1GPU Gems 2GPU Gems 3;  Thank both of you for your responses.1. Can i really use these books as tutorial to create simple effects?2. Do they use DX9 and are they suitable for a beginner?   ;  No replies?Anyway just wanted to add that I'm a begginer in this kind of stuff and i would need some book to get a grasp of it. What do you think about the book by Frank Luna? Is there any difference between the two versions: A shader approach and the normal one.  Cuz as i know even the normal one teaches you about the shader language and stuff.   ;Quote:Original post by Tiran InsideNo replies?Anyway just wanted to add that I'm a begginer in this kind of stuff and i would need some book to get a grasp of it. What do you think about the book by Frank Luna? Is there any difference between the two versions: A shader approach and the normal one.  Cuz as i know even the normal one teaches you about the shader language and stuff.I was actually going to reply saying about that but looks like I forgot, I had a quick peruse of the first book and personally own the shader approach and the difference is definately there. The original book covers the fixed function pipeline and the second one starts a fresh with the programmable pipeline all the way through it is an excellent book and personally I wouldn't refer anybody to anything else if they want to learn DirectX 9.0c.If you want to eventually progress to the newer versions of DirectX you will need to learn how to completely forget the Fixed Function Pipeline.   ;  There's also a D3D 10 version, but you'll need a D3D 10 capable card and Windows 7 or Vista.   ;  Thank you for your replies!One more question:Which one is better for a beginner:the shader approach for dx9or the dx10 version?I really wanna go for the newest version of d3d but im afraid it might be difficult for me to get a grasp of directx10 after reading at least 3 or 4 books for directx9.What do you think?   ;Quote:Original post by Tiran InsideThank you for your replies!One more question:Which one is better for a beginner:the shader approach for dx9or the dx10 version?I really wanna go for the newest version of d3d but im afraid it might be difficult for me to get a grasp of directx10 after reading at least 3 or 4 books for directx9.What do you think?Well it depends on what you plan on doing, since you said you wanted to expand on the game produced out of Programming a Multiplayer FPS, I thought it might have been best to suggest you to DirectX 9.0c.If you have DirectX 10 or 11 hardware and are on Windows Vista or Windows 7 then I suggest you pick up the DirectX 10 book, both will be fairly similar content to each other (with the DirectX 10 covering newer features of course), either way it is likely to be fairly different to what you currently know which is why now might be the best time to make the jump to DirectX 10 especially considering the latest results of the Steam hardware survey suggests that roughly 70% of gamers are capable of running DirectX 10 games even if 20% of those are stuck in the past (on XP).   ;  Thank you for your replies. Decided to go for the Directx 10 version :)Hope it will not be that difficult to understand.[Edited by - Tiran Inside on June 5, 2010 7:09:08 AM]