Computers : Entertainment & Games

The heart of any system that simulates the physical interaction between objects is collision detection—the ability to detect when two objects have come into contact. This system is also one of the most difficult aspects of a physical simulation to implement correctly, and invariably it is the main consumer of CPU cycles. Practitioners, new to the field or otherwise, quickly discover that the attempt to build a fast, accurate, and robust collision detection system takes them down a long path fraught with perils and pitfalls unlike most they have ever encountered. Without in-depth knowledge and understanding of the issues associated with engineering a collision detection system, the end of that path is an abyss that has swallowed many a good programmer! Gino van den Bergen's new book is the story of his successful journey down that path. The outcome is his well-known collision detection system, the SOftware Library for Interference Detection (SOLID). Along the way, he covers the topics of vector algebra and geometry, the various geometric primitives of interest in a collision system, the powerful method of separating axes for the purposes of intersection testing, and the equally powerful Gilbert-Johnson-Keerthi (GJK) algorithm for computing the distance between convex objects. But this book provides much more than a good compendium of the ideas that go into building a collision system. The curse of practical computational geometry is floating-point arithmetic. Algorithms with straightforward implementations when using exact arithmetic can have catastrophic failures in a floating-point system. Specifically, intersection and distance algorithms implemented in a floating-point system tend to fail exactly in the most important case in a collision system—when two objects are just touching. Great care must be taken to properly handle floating-point round off errors. Gino's ultimate accomplishment in this book is his presentation on how to correctly implement the G more...

Price: $73.95

Favorable media coverage and heightened awareness of emergency and disaster preparedness are increasing public interest in amateur or "ham" radio In a disaster situation, ham radio is often the only reliable method of communication; ham operators handle messages for police and other public service organizations during hurricanes, earthquakes, search-and-rescue operations, and events such as the Oklahoma City bombing, the space shuttle recovery effort, and the 2003 blackout Material thoroughly explains what ham radio is, what readers need to get started, and how to become a licensed operator Author Ward Silver has been a licensed amateur radio operator for thirty-one years; he is a contributing editor to QST (the American Radio Relay League’s national ham radio magazine), where he writes a new monthly column for beginners called "Hands-On Radio" more...

Price: $21.99

Create your own Flash games for the Wii. Whip up awesome Wii games using Flash and ActionScript. Nintendo Wii Flash Game Creator's Guide lays out each next-generation technique alongside real-world examples and cut-and-paste code samples. Learn how to design exciting Flash animations, create cool characters, simulate realistic motion, and use the Wii remote control in innovative ways . Plus, you'll get the latest tricks for supercharging your games and tips for distributing them on the Web.: Build Flash-based objects, layers, and controls; Work with timelines, keyframes, and .SWF files; Develop and animate original characters, backgrounds, and landscapes; Integrate unconventional mouse and Wii controller interactivity; Create, modify, and control movie clips using ActionScript 2.0; Design radical enemies, custom cursors, and invisible buttons; Incorporate audio, game timers, and score tracking; Publish your games to the Web and share them via the Wii's online connection service more...

Price: $29.99

A tutorial for beginning game artists and enthusiasts to learn how to create textures at the professional level. more...

Price: $51.95

You can start game programming in a flash Here's how to create five different cool games - no experience necessary! Ever think you could come up with a better computer game? Then this book is for you! No boring programming theory here, just the stuff you need to know to actually make something happen, and all in plain English. more...

Price: $24.99