Review of Multiplayer Game Programming w/CD (Prima Tech's Game Development) (Paperback)

OK well I know many people who are really serious about game programming get turned off by the Lamothe books because they basically go over the same old 2d information over and over again, and never actually seem up to date.This book is up to date, and has good information.It uses DirectX 8.0, and actually goes into 3d programming which is nice.I personally do not care for the DirectPlay information, I like Sockets, but either way they are both there.I will go through the pro's and cons.

Pros:
Easy to read and understand
Has quite a bit of good information and history
Definately good as a reference book
Covers DPlay and Sockets
Covers D3D, which i believe is nice to have even though it doesnt pertain to the multiplayer end.
Great service, I emailed the author and he emailed back.Can be quite a useful thing

Cons:
The code is poorly documented in many spots.While it is explained afterward, it would be nice to have a lot more comments. (which is something that Lamothe does quite nicely in his books)
Not very much ACTUAL GAME SERVER type code.. I've practically read over the book already, and while I have a general idea of how I will get this going, I feel more like i'm adapting chat programs to make my game.
Not enough on sockets... The sockets information was just too vague to me.
The DirectPlay information seemed mostly like pasted information out of the SDK Documentation.Honestly, the reason I bought the book was because I didn't get what was in the documentation very well.
And lastly i'd like to see more information on actually obtaining and setting up your server for a MMORPG.Things like security, what type of connection to get and how to get it etc.

Well, the cons seem bigger than the pros, but its really not like that.Just be warned that there are only about 200 or 400 pages out of this 800 page book that really focus on the issue of writing your server.Really, i'd like to see a sequel that really delved into the advanced issues, and really layed out things like sockets.

OK well finally, i'm glad I bought this book.I enjoyed it, and still am.It's a good book definately, and the perks of it are nice.I just feel like I want more, and there is nowhere to get it as of now.Based on this book, I would buy a sequel if it was put out.If I had it to do again, i'd buy this book again.Enough said, if you want to program games, buy this book.It's one you need on your shelf, as well as "Tricks Of The Windows Programming Gurus", and your most MOST important resource, the DirectX SDK.Because most of these books out today are just people who read and interpret the samples from it, and just print em out in a book.I learned most of the stuff from the SDK.

Product Description
Multiplayer Game Programming enables you to write your own completely Internet-ready video games using DirectX and/or sockets.This book reveals techniques and secrets of online gaming technology and teaches you the skills necessary to get involved in the video game industry. This book is perfect for hobbyist programmers who want to learn how to write online video games, software programmers wanting to move to online game programming, and the millions of video game players who want to learn about the technologies used in online video games.

Some of the features of the book include:

Coverage of both DirectPlay and Sockets
DirectX 8 with DirectPlay, Direct3D, DirectInput, and DirectAudio
Network design theory and implementation
Introduction to Windows programming
Multithreading
Player management
Peer-to-peer development
Client-server development
MMORPG design and implementation
Source for two complete INternet-ready games!
History of game development
Hacking into multiplayer games

About the Author
Todd Barron is a lead software engineer at Acxiom, a billion dollar information company based in Little Rock, Arkansas. Previously Todd was a professional game developer and developed networking systems and created mulitplayer games for the Megatouch arcade line at Merit Industries. In his spare time he operates Lost Logic, a vehicle for his PC game creations. He is currently working on a 3D multiplayer game engine for use in future titles.

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Review of Isometric Game Programming with DirectX 7.0 w/CD (Premier Press Game Development (Software)) (Paperback)

What a incredibly well done book! I have followed Ernest Pazera's articles and work for a very long time in the Gamedev.Net community and I will say that this book is Ernest at his finest! And with the added touch of Andre' LaMothe, it makes this book a programmer's gem. I know that there are a great many aspiring game programmers who will find this book to be the book they have been waiting for. I'll explain what amazed me about this book:

It starts out giving a short review on Windows programming, and GDC (which is good, since sometimes it's easy to forget some of the basics). It's followed with a course in DirectX, and DirectSound, which are given in a way tailored toward our goal of making an isometric or tile-based game. Then the book just takes off. You'll find wonderful chapters on isometric game design, and the overview on how to create your game engine. The chapters that follow cover tile-based programming and tile-based AI and (my personal favorites of the book) chapters on how to handle objects and characters in your game. And it's all done in a very easy to understand and straight-forward manor. He completes the book with chapters on how to make your game's transition into the world of Direct3D.I've been doing tile-based games for years, and yet I found TONS of things in this book that I didn't know. And I think that's one of the main reasons this book is so well done: it's done by a man who loves iso-game programming with an incredible passion, and HE KNOWS HIS STUFF.

I do agree with Dino, though, that one would want to have at least a bit of understanding on game programming before delving in, as opposed to hitting it right at the start. And like Dino said, it makes a GREAT reference for all of those who may have been in the business for a while.

Ernest, you've done a wonderful job on this book. Doing a good book on iso-game programming is no easy task, but you have pulled it off perfectly.

Bottom line: THIS IS A DEFINATE MUST-BUY.

Product Description
Isometric game programming is an alternative to 3D programming, which is much more math intensive.However, isometric games often can achieve the same level of graphical aesthetics as 3D games.Isometric game development is great for real-time strategy games similar to Sim City 3000, Caesars III, and Age of Empires.Isometric Game Programming with DirectX 7.0 is a comprehensive book that is ideal for any serious game developer as well as any of the 250,000 game hobbyists worldwide.Readers will find valuable information on how to create and develop games using hexagonal images.This book will be most useful to game developers who are not new to programming, but are possibly new to DirectX. Series editor André LaMothe has published numerous magazine articles and is an international best-selling author with over six game programming and 3D graphics titles to his credit.He has been active in the computing industry for more than twenty years, during which he created one of the world's first commercially available virtual reality games, CyberGate.André is also the founder and CEO of Xtreme Games LLC.

About the Author
Ernest Pazera is a self-taught programmer, starting at age 13 with a TRS-80.He is a moderator of an isometric/hexagonal forum on the site and has extensive experience with game development. Ernest is the author of Isometric Game Programming with DirectX 7.0 from Premier Press.

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