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<div class="header_notop">Hands On DarkBASIC Pro - Volume 1</div>
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<p>This book offers an easy-to-follow, self-study introduction to games software development using DarkBASIC Professional - a programming language designed specifically for creating video games on a PC.</p>
<p>If you are new to programming or just want to find out how to write computer games, this text will get you started.</p>
<p><strong>"Hands On DarkBASIC Pro delivers both detailed coverage and explanation of the commands, as well as essential development advice that will make your code cleaner, easier to debug and maintainable."</strong> -- <em>Lee Bamber, DarkBASIC Professional Developer</em></p>
<p>Find out how to produce anything from a simple guessing game to a two-player, animated sprite space game. Use 3D positional sound and video. Create games that use the mouse or a joystick.</p>
<p>Fundamental software design and implementation is also covered. Find out how to design and create modular programs, how to create test data and construct software using bottom-up and top-down methods. Use arrays, files, and record structures.</p>
<p>The hands-on approach used throughout the book means that most of your time is spent at the computer creating programs. The numerous examples and exercises (with solutions included) lead you through both the basics and subtleties of the language. There are several complete games for you to study and modify. The code media from the book is available to download from the publishers <a href="http://www.digital-skills.co.uk/DBProVol1Files.exe">web site</a>.</p>
<p>This book is truly massive, both in scope and in size. With over 740 large-format pages (the book measures 11.5" x 8") everything is explained through clear explanations, example code, notes, screen shots and illustrations.</p>
<h3>Sample Pages</h3>
<p>We have taken two pages from the book to demonstrate the layout, writing style and comprehensive nature of this title. You can view them on-line as JPEG files: <a href="%%IMAGEPATH%%handson_page572.jpg">Sample Page 1</a> (193 KB) and <a href="%%IMAGEPATH%%handson_page326.jpg">Sample Page 2</a> (147 KB). The print quality is of course far higher than the images displayed, correctly formatted by the type-setter and professionaly printed. </p>
<h3>Order Physical Book</h3>
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<h3>Order Digital Edition</h3>
<p>The digital edition comes in PDF format and can be downloaded and viewed on a variety of platforms.</p>
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<p><a href="#order"><img src="%%IMAGEPATH%%handson.jpg" width="240" height="189" alt="Click here to order this book" border=0></a></p>
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<td class="info_table_cell">Publisher:</td>
<td class="info_table_cell"><b>Digital Skills</b></td>
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<td class="info_table_cell">Author:</td>
<td class="info_table_cell"><b>Alistair Stewart</b></td>
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<td>ISBN:</td>
<td><b>1-874107-08-4</b></td>
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<div class="header_notop">Hands On DarkBASIC Pro - Volume 2</div>
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<p>This is Volume 2 in the acclaimed 'Hands On DarkBASIC Professional' series. Volume 1 concentrated on the fundamentals of software construction and all of the core and 2D facets of DarkBASIC Professional. Volume 2 takes it to the next stage offering an in-depth look at all of the 3D related command sets. Everything from 3D terminology and navigation, to Camera work, Lighting, Meshes and Limbs, Texturing, Collision and more.</p>
<p>The hands-on approach used throughout the book means that most of your time is spent at the computer creating programs. The numerous examples and exercises (with solutions included) lead you through both the basics and subtleties of the language. There are several complete games for you to study and modify. The code media from the book is available to download from the publishers <a href="http://www.digital-skills.co.uk/FilesForVol2.zip">web site</a>. The subjects this book covers are:</p>
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<li>3D Concepts and Terminology</li>
<li>3D Primitives</li>
<li>Texturing</li>
<li>Cameras</li>
<li>Lighting</li>
<li>Meshes and Limbs</li>
<li>Importing 3D Objects</li>
<li>Screen Control</li>
<li>Solitaire</li>
<li>Advanced Lighting and Texturing</li>
<li>Collisions</li>
<li>Particles</li>
<li>The Elevators Game</li>
<li>Handling BSP Models</li>
<li>Creating Terrain</li>
<li>Using Matrices</li>
<li>Manipulating Vertices</li>
<li>Accessing Memory</li>
<li>Open Dynamics Engine</li>
<li>Vectors and Matrices</li>
<li>Shaders</li>
<li>Network Programming</li>
<li>Using File Transfer Protocol</li>
<li>Dynamic Link Libraries</li>
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<p>You can <a href="http://files.thegamecreators.com/newsletter/HODBP2cont.pdf">Download a PDF</a> file containing the complete Table of Contents from this volume. Please note that the page numbers start from 744 (and the chapters from Chapter 30) because this is Volume 2 of a 2 volume set.</p>
<p>As with its predecessor this book is truly massive in both scope and in size. There are over 720 large-format pages (the book measures 11.5" x 8") and everything is explained through clear explanations, example code, notes, screen shots and illustrations.</p>
<h3>Sample Pages</h3>
<p>You can download an Adobe PDF file containing three pages from Volume 2. This will give you an idea of the layout, style of writing and detail this book goes into.</p>
<p><a href="http://files.thegamecreators.com/newsletter/HODBPro2sample.pdf">Download Sample Pages</a></p>
<h3>Order</h3>
%%[2162]ORDERBOX%%
<h3>Order Digital Edition</h3>
<p>The digital edition comes in PDF format and can be downloaded and viewed on a variety of platforms.</p>
%%[2325]ORDERBOX%%
</td>
<td width=250 align=center valign=top>
<p><a href="#order"><img src="%%IMAGEPATH%%handson.jpg" width="240" height="189" alt="Click here to order this book" border=0></a></p>
<p>
<table cellpadding=4 cellspacing=0 border=0 class="info_table">
<tr>
<td align=center colspan=2 class="info_table_header">Book Information</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="info_table_cell">Publisher:</td>
<td class="info_table_cell"><b>Digital Skills</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="info_table_cell">Author:</td>
<td class="info_table_cell"><b>Alistair Stewart</b></td>
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<td>ISBN:</td>
<td><b>1-874107-09-2</b></td>
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<div class="header_notop">Hands On Milkshape - Digital Edition</div>
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<p>Milkshape is a very simple yet very powerful 3D modelling package. It has been designed to help the absolute beginner create 3D models.</p>
<p>Its simplicity means that you can master the package in just a couple of weeks, creating anything from a box to a spaceship.</p>
<p>A great strength of the package is that it can import and export models in dozens of formats. You can even see your own models appear in commercial games such as The Sims3.
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<h3>Sample Pages</h3>
<p>You can download an Adobe PDF file containing chapters 3 and 8.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.digital-skills.co.uk/downloads/milkshape0308.pdf">Download Sample Pages</a></p>
<h3>Order Digital Edition</h3>
<p>The digital edition comes in PDF format and can be downloaded and viewed on a variety of platforms.</p>
%%[2326]ORDERBOX%%
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