Product Description

Simulating physics helps cutting-edge games distinguish themselves by making virtual objects behave as we expect them to in the real world. Physics engines are the software programs that run these simulations. Building an engine is difficult, however. There are a large number of new developers (and hobbyists) coming into this market who need help through this complex process. Current introductory books are inadequate; they don't bring enough real-world programming experience to the task. There is a need for an introductory book on game physics with solid coding guidance but which limits the math content. Ian Millington brings his extensive professional programming experience to this problem. He has developed games since 1987, has studied AI and mathematics at the PhD level, and founded Mindlathe Ltd., a company that designed and built commercial physics engines. Physics Engine Development carefully describes each step in the creation of a robust, usable physics engine. It introduces the mathematical concepts in a clear and simple manner, keeping to high school level topics and building a physics code library as it goes. Each new concept is explained in diagrams and code to make sure that even the most novice of game programmers understands. The companion CD-ROM includes the source code for a complete physics engine of commercial quality. This book will serve as a introduction to more mathematically advanced books on game physics, such as Dave Eberly's Game Physics.

* Uses only high school algebra
* Shows how to build a complete system based on professional principles
* CD-ROM with C++ source code for a full commercial-quality physics engine

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #35900 in Books
• Published on: 2007-04-16
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 2
• Binding: Hardcover
• 480 pages

About the Author
Ian Millington is a partner of IPR Ventures, a consulting company developing next-generation AI technologies for entertainment, modeling, and simulation. Previously he founded Mindlathe Ltd, the largest specialist AI middleware company in computer games, working with on a huge range of game genres and technologies. He has a long background in AI, including PhD research in complexity theory and natural computing. He has published academic and professional papers and articles on topics ranging from paleontology to hypertext.

Customer Reviews

Tough initially, but excellent
Initially, this book is quite tough - there's no denying that. Even with knowledge of vectors etc. I did struggle to begin with -obviously this book is based very much on mathematics.

But once you see how the maths is used in code, this book starts to shine - if you're pro-efficient in C++, this is an excellent book, from the viewpoint of it creating a usable and quite sophisticated physics engine through the duration of the book; it also has a few extras that I was surprised (and pleased) to see in the book (although they are only lightly covered): ragdolls and fracture physics, as well as explosions.

The only place where this book is slightly weak, is that of collision detection. The book says the collision detection is fairly primitive, and covers a few methods for different shape types, but does recommend a stand alone collision engine, however this isn't terribly convenient seeing as though this is supposed to create a complete usable physics engine. Note however, that this is collision detection in general, not contact resolution; the latter is covered fully and very competently.

Overall, an excellent book; either to build your own, or to give you an insight on how other engines work (which is useful for when you wish to modify them, for example, or understanding the application of certain values, e.g. damping)

Nice but quite tricky for beginners.
Hi,

This is a very nice book for about the first 150 pages where it starts to become quite thin on the ground with regards to adequate explanations of what is going on. It is not really a book suitable for beginners. You will need alot more knowledge than the introductory pages lead you to believe such is the way with oh so many games books on the market today.

Personally I find the book quite frustrating although the author is clearly an absolute master both in theory and practice of his subject but he struggles to get his vast intellect and knowledge across to the reader.

I didn't want to rate it any less than three stars as it deserves respect because there is a clear attempt to help but it is over-shadowed by a far too brisk pace for beginners in the middle-late chapters. This is a shame really, perhaps if the same pace had been kept from the start it would have been a five star review.

Avoid this one if you are a novice, or like me are just very rusty at physics. If you are an experienced game developer you will probably love this book. Buy it, if your skill level is matched to it.

Everything what I wanted
This book shows how to build a high-quality physics engine from scratch starting from a simple particle engine and a physics primer. The writer clearly knows what he's talking about. Everything essential is covered. This book is exactly what I was searching for.