Cool! I’m looking forward to the new book. I am really enjoying working through ICAWB!:yes:
I am learning a lot.
Will it include my “Neo rigid body method” (search for that post in the game engine forums)?
Will it include my “Neo rigid body method” (search for that post in the game engine forums)?
Ah! Good question. I got sidetracked from studying those .blends, so I’m actually still not 100 percent sure how that was working, but from what I saw it was really cool. I think I’d definitely like to include a mention of that technique. (If you want me to mention your real name rather than your blenderartists handle as the person who came up with the technique, feel free to PM me and let me know who you are!)
I typed up an advanced tutorial for the game physics, including efficient convex hull creation, collision margin compensation, and my Neo method.
http://uploader.polorix.net//files/52/tutorial.doc
The tutorial should have images when downloaded. Use M$ word or Open Office to view.
I would like someone to test it out (possibly improve it), it’s essentially a rough draft.
Hey Bugman I have a question. Are you going to include anything on the game engine in your new book, because I am having a really hard time finding a up to date complete tutorial and I think having something on using the game engine would be a big perk and get a lot more buyers, but thats just me. Bye.
wizkid20, yes, definitely. I have a chapter devoted to using Bullet physics, and a big part of that involves some use of the game engine, so that’s definitely in. Advanced game design stuff isn’t going to be covered, but there will definitely be enough to get people started with the game engine.
I hope the new book will have a stitched binding 
If you want to get a general idea of what the book will look like as a book, check out this one:
http://www.sybex.com/WileyCDA/SybexTitle/productCd-047179404X.html
This has the same dimensions, it’s in color, and I think the design pattern inside will be the same. This isn’t negotiable, so I hope it’s to everybody’s satisfaction.
I will of course also be making a small number of handcrafted copies available with etched platinum covers and diamond bindings, printed on virgin sheepskin with a delicate mixture of squid ink and my own blood. Watch this space for pricing details on those.
Please, please be sure that the images are readable in your book and not like those teeny, tiny unreadable ones in “The Essential Blender”.
Hi,
Please, please be sure that the images are readable in your book and not like those teeny, tiny unreadable ones in “The Essential Blender”.
I was not involved in the writing or production of Essential Blender, I’m afraid, so I can’t really comment one way or another about that book.
The new book will be published by Sybex, like my previous book Introducing Character Animation with Blender, which most people found very readable, in spite of being printed in black and white. The print quality is high and the images are laid out fairly large (although, admittedly, there’s only so big you can blow up a vertex). The even better news is that the new book will also be printed in full color, so there should be no problem at all with hard-to-see images.
If you want to have a peek at my previous book, Amazon’s website has a “Search Inside” function that enables you to see pages from the book.
Bugman 2000,
Your book was the standard by which I judged “The Essential Blender”. I bought your book some months ago.
3DUser
I’m glad you liked ICAWB. In that case, I think you’ll be very happy with the new one. It will be in full color and also printed in a slightly larger page format. I think it will turn out really well.
Also, when it was announced on BlenderNation, there were some crits about the temporary cover design. I’m pleased to say that the cover design is also being re-worked and I’ve received some new artwork that should help make the cover much nicer.
I will defiantly be buying this book I really enjoyed reading introduction to character animation. keep up the good work.
At the moment, what physical simulation aspects does the book cover?
I wanted to know as I may get the book for my birthday in December.
Also, when will it be released? Thanks for answering my previous questions.
@Sergeant_Oreo,
I’m afraid you might have to be satisfied with a gift certificate for your birthday in December, renewable later in the year :(. The book won’t be out by December. The book is being written to apply to 2.50, which will include at least Jahka’s particles and possibly Genscher’s cloth simulation.
It’s not possible to say 100 percent when this will be, but 2.50 will probably be released in the neighborhood of February. In order to be sure the writing and the technical editing is fully up to date, it won’t be possible to finalize the manuscript much sooner than that, obviously. But after that production should move pretty fast, since much of the book will already be copy edited and typeset.
The main things covered include rigid bodies (including rag dolls and basic game engine stuff), soft bodies, fluids, hair and fur, and all the new functionality of the upcoming particles (including boids, reactor particles, and a bunch of other new features). There’s also a chapter on plant and tree simulation, and a lot of information about general-purpose tools that haven’t been covered in other books. Some stuff on material nodes, a bit on using modifiers to fake various physical effects, and even a little bit on setting up a simple PyDriver. The book might include an overview of new interface functionality, but that’s not guaranteed. Depends on what the functionality is and how it will fit in with the book.
It’s geared to intermediate users, so I’m basically trying to avoid covering anything that you can already find in the books that are already out. You should already know how to move your vertices around and set your keyframes. If you’ve worked through Essential Blender or Introducing Character Animation you will have no problem.
Okay, thanks for answering my questions. I will have no trouble then as I have worked through
the Essential Blender once and am going through it again. And did you mean get a Sybex gift card?