Focus On 3D Models

Rating:
Summary: Good as a reference
Review: Although all of the information in this book is available for free on various sites online, it's worth the small price to have it all in one bound hardcopy.

A few chapters go over the basics of matrix and vector math, and the concepts behind animating models: not essential stuff for what is essentially a model format reference book.

The core of the book describes in detail the following formats: Quake2 (MD2), Maya (OBJ), Autodesk (3DS), Half-Life (MDL) and Quake3 (MD3). All the formats except Half-Life MDL's are described in detail. The author really dropped the ball in the "Half-Life MDL" chapter: Instead of describing the format from scratch, he just tells you to use the Half-Life SDK, because "the Half-Life format is very, very complex."

One minor nit-pick: There is no mention that 16-bit and 32-bit data in binary formats are stored in little-endian format, and must be byte swapped on non-Intel machines.

Even with all this criticism, I rate the book 4 stars, because overall I am happy with the level of detail presented in the file format chapters.

Rating:
Summary: Good beginners intro
Review: An excellent starting point for somebody that knows nothing at all about 3D models, but can only be considered a stepping stone to other books that gloss over the basics.

He starts with a good intro to matrices and quaternions, followed by a good intro to modeling concepts, and then describes a few formats in detail. Unfortunately, he doesn't go into any more advanced discussion on how to put things together... i.e. how to *use* the models. A few pages are wasted explaining how to use some basic "C", but I've seen worse...

Overall, I give it four stars because, if you know nothing of the topic, it is an excellent jump start. If you do have knowledge of the topic, then you aren't the target audience.

Rating:
Summary: Fulfills its stated purpose well
Review: This book covers the loading and handling of 3D models from the programmer's point of view (not the artist's, which may not be immediately obvious from the title). Like other Focus On books, it's short (checking in at just under 200 pages), but doesn't spend a lot of time on introductory material or subjects not related to the main topic.

The model formats covered by this book are Quake 2 (.md2), .obj, MilkShape, 3D Studio Max (.3ds), Half-life (.mdl), and Quake 3 (.md3). All of these formats are covered quite well, with sample code showing how to load, display and (when applicable) animate them. The exception is the Half-life format, for which he just uses the SDK, so there's no real information on the format itself. In addition to the specific formats, there are chapters on skeletal animation and useful tips on working with models.

My only real complaint is that about 1/4 of the book's pages are spent on covering vectors, matrices, quaternions, and STL vectors. Although knowledge of these topics is important for understanding the rest of the book, I'd suspect most readers will already be familiar with them. I would have preferred to have these chapters included on the CD instead, freeing up space for more useful information (detailed coverage of the Half-life format, perhaps?).

Overall, though, I was happy with the book. It's compact, inexpensive, an easy read, and it's nice to have the most common formats covered in one convenient volume. If you're looking for an introduction to using 3D models, or just want a physical reference for these formats to keep on your desk, I'd recommend it.