While I've not had the book for long, or had the chance to really dive into it. I did read over it to see how it was laid out, if I enjoyed the writing style, and did the information make sense. I was very happy with my purchase, and the site here was a big perk outside of just having a great book.

Thank you Rez and Mike for working so hard, and delivering a solid product. I've purchased around 10 books within the past 5 months to learn from, none of them are current with DirectX or using VS 2010. The only thing that kept me from returning them was that they still hold some information that is useful.

With that said, I did leave a review just now. I feel it's fair and deserving for the quality of work, and the attention to detail you both gave the new revision.

Thanks dude! Your post made my day.

-Rez

When I order a book on Amazon I always have this anxiety while it's getting shipped to my house because I get so excited, when I finally get a book I have to crack it open and give it a quick read through. When I finished going over GCC4 I was very satisfied with my purchase, and with other books I've never gotten that 'I'm so glad I purchased this book' feeling.

So you both made my day too!

I've posted a review! Should show within 48 hours. I hope the writing is ok, I am not a native English speaker after all

Thank you guys for the awesome book, and even better - the support on the forums!

Mr. Mike are you aware of any differences between the printed edition v.s the kindle version that's supposed to be coming in April?

Good, to hear. I have a few technical and math books that are missing figures, have mangled symbols etc.
Think i'll order the kindle version then. I'm sure a positive review will follow..

Hey guys, just got my copy of your book in the mail today! I read the very first edition a friend had back in 2005, and when I saw you had a new edition out, I knew I had to get it!

I noticed that your copyright page says this book is '© 2013'. Does that mean it's public domain until then... haha.

Anyway, I'll likely post a review soon, I'm going to go through it a little first so I sound like I know what I'm talking about. The source code online... wow! What a resource for a new programmer!

Thanks for all your hard work!

Though I've only had the book for about two weeks now, I have only been able to skim through it... I havnt had time to delve into it like i want due to work overload... but I will leave on once i get time.

Somebody really blasted the book on Amazon, critiquing the casual way you explain things, I've got to say that the casual way you explain and joke in the book is what made me love it.

When you go to a GDC lecture, you get a questionnaire at the end that asks you to rate the speaker. You're also given the opportunity to leave comments. The speaker is shown each score along with all the comments. I've given a number of talks at GDC and every time I do, I get conflicting information. For example, I generally talk really fast and energetically, with lots of gesticulation. Some feedback I get is that I talk too fast, but I also get feedback saying that my energy and pacing is perfect.

The reality is that you can't please everyone. Personally, I can't stand books like Knuth's The Art of Programming or most advanced-level CS books. They are dry, uninteresting, and a nightmare to slog through. By the first couple of chapters, I've completely lost interest. Even Design Patterns can be a bit dry for my tastes. Take in contrast a book like Effective C++ or Artificial Intelligence in games or even Dave Mark's excellent book Behavioral Mathematics for Game AI. The tone is completely different, even though the material is just as complex. I find that I absorb that stuff much more quickly. About 10 or 12 years ago, I was teaching myself about data structures. I could understand how hash maps worked until I read Data Structures for Game Programmers. It showed me visually what was happening and it clicked instantly. Hash tables are actually a very simple concept, they were just never explained to me in a way that caused it to click.

I saw an interview with Monty Python where they talked about their success. They said something that's always stuck with me. They said that it was never been about being successful, it was always just about making the five of them laugh. When creating large bodies of work that will be consumed by a large amount of people, you have to remain true to yourself. You can't worry too much about how it will be received. If you try to go against your own grain, you'll end up with something sub-par.

Mike and I wrote this book in a casual format because we wanted it to be accessible. We both prefer books that have a more conversational tone than ones that sound like you're reading statistics off of a spreadsheet. I don't think either of us could have written a Knuth-style book if we wanted to, we're just not that kind of author. The fact that we were able to reach all of you makes it worth the effort.

-Rez

Thats true, I guess you can't 100% please everyone

Originally posted by mrmike
Oh, and my publisher assures me the copyright year is valid, the book is not public domain....give it another, what, 25 years?

Isn't public domain "life of the author plus 25 years" or so? That seems like kind of an foreboding thing to say...

James

I just posted the first review on Amazon.co.uk! It'll probably take a couple of days to show up, but needless to say, it was 5/5.

I tried to picture what a cowbacca would look like...something like Barf from Spaceballs maybe lol