dated and dangerous

Though the final results are dated, this book contains quite a bit of information covering a range of useful techniques. Overall, I enjoy the book as a reference and jumping-off point for further investigation elsewhere.

I had already implemented his interlocking terrain tiles method prior to reading the text, but that was back in 2007, so this was a good refresher for that material. Unfortunately, he even admits that there is no way to smooth out the serious LOD popping that occurs using his method (something I was hoping to resolve). He suggests the chunked method as the best path toward a solution instead, so I can toss out my previous implementation :(

One problem with the book's age is that the text seeks to support older hardware, including "...those using pixel shader version 1.x". It is unlikely you need to do that (be honest, you aren't going to support anything prior to sm3), so some sections can be ignored entirely and many of the self-imposed limits in the methods he employs are no longer useful or informative.

I have never written a review before, but felt compelled to point out a danger lurking on the book's accompanying CD. I have a Dell XPS m1710 laptop with an nVidia GeForce Go 7950GTX. I use WinXP Pro with DirectX 9.0c. I ran the chapter 11 demo, which shows atmospheric effects and sunlight. I advanced the time of day until the sun set on the horizon and - bam - Windows locked up and the BSOD followed. My video card was permanently trashed. Bricked. Destroyed. I *strongly* urge readers not to run the samples! Look at the color screen-shots on the front and back covers of the book, because there isn't anything else to see in the demos anyway and you might destroy your computer trying.

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

Other Reviews

• dated and dangerous
• Programming is not for the lazy!!!!
• grinding code
• Excellent on theory, weak progression of examples
• Good book but fairly old