• Author:
  • Murdock, Kelly L.
• Subject:
  Business Applications
• Published by:
  John Wiley & Sons Inc (US)
• Published:
  28/03/2003
• Price:
  $67.99
• <  Buy this book  >

"gmax Bible covers every detail that a wannabe game designer could need."
-Rob Smith, Editor-in-Chief, PC Gamer

If gmax can do it, you can do it too . . .

If you delight in mod-building, want to tweak your favorite games for ongoing challenges, or dream of a career in game-making, this book and gmax are your dream team. gmax provides a "lite" version of the tools found in the high-priced 3ds max suite, and this comprehensive guide teaches you how to use all their cool tricks. You'll soon become adept at building characters, terrain, basic animation, textures, and light sources, and exporting them directly to supported game formats.

Inside, you'll find complete coverage of gmax
* Discover the gmax interface and learn how to transform, group, and link objects
* Build custom game content with modeling methods including splines, shapes, meshes, patches, and compound objects
* Learn to change an object's look with modifiers
* Create and animate characters using Bones, Inverse Kinematics, and Skin
* Use the Material Editor to apply materials and texture maps to objects
* Learn the basics of animating with keyframes and achieve complex animations with controllers
* Explore the gmax game packs and create custom content for Dungeon Siege, Flight Simulator, Quake III Arena, and Trainz


Bonus CD-ROM
* Freeware copy of gmax
* The Ultimate Trainz Collection Demo and Combat Flight Simulator 3 Demo, plus other game demos and game packs
* Game content created with gmax by other users
* A collection of 3D models
* All examples and content from the book

Kelly Murdock has been involved with more computer books than he cares to count—so many that he gets very nostalgic when visiting the computer book section of the bookstore. His book credits include a host of Web, graphics, and multimedia titles, including three editions of 3ds max Bible, Adobe Atmosphere Bible, Master HTML and XHTML Visually, JavaScript Blueprints, and co-authoring two editions of Illustrator Bible. Kelly also co-authored Laura Lemay’s Web Workshop: 3D Graphics and VRML 2 at a time when we all thought VRML was going somewhere.
With a background in engineering and computer graphics, Kelly has been all over the 3D industry from high-level CAD workstations and large-scale visualization projects to creating 3D models for feature films, working as a freelance 3D artist, and even some 3D programming.
Kelly’s been using 3D Studio since version 3 for DOS and has been a serious gamer even longer. His favorite games are first person shooters, and he can stand his own in most deathmatches.

Foreword.

Preface.

Acknowledgments.

Part I: Attacking gmax Hard and Fast.

Chapter 1: gmax—The Possibilities.

Chapter 2: Using the In-Your-Face Interface.

Chapter 3: Making a Custom Face, er, Interface.

Chapter 4: Getting Files In and Out of gmax.

Chapter 5: Choosing Your Poison—Selecting Objects.

Chapter 6: Cloning, Grouping, and Linking Objects, and Other –ings.

Chapter 7: Moving, Rotating, and Scaling Objects—Return of the –ings.

Chapter 8: Placing gmax on Autopilot with MAXScript.

Part II: Building an Empire of Objects.

Chapter 9: Beginning with the Basic Building Blocks.

Chapter 10: Starting with Simple Splines and Shapes.

Chapter 11: Moving On with Marvelous Meshes.

Chapter 12: Performing with Perfect Patches.

Chapter 13: Continuing with Crazy Compound Objects.

Part III: Changing Object Appearance Inside and Out.

Chapter 14: Controlled Destruction with Modifiers.

Chapter 15: Skeletons Rule: Building with Bones and IK.

Chapter 16: Putting on the Ritz with the gmax Material Editor.

Part IV: Lights, Camera, Action.

Chapter 17: Creating Ambiance and Mood with Lights.

Chapter 18: If You Could See What I See—Controlling Cameras.

Chapter 19: Getting the Prop to Spin—Animation Basics.

Chapter 20: Graphing Animations with the Track View.

Chapter 21: Whoa, Betty! Constraining Motion.

Chapter 22: Creating Automatic Actions with Controllers.

Part V: Creating Mods with the gmax Game Packs.

Chapter 23: Making Worlds with Tempest for Quake III Arena.

Chapter 24: Creating Custom Content for Flight Simulator 2002.

Chapter 25: Creating Adventures with Dungeon Siege®.

Chapter 26: Creating New Scenery for Trainz.

Part VI: Appendixes.

Appendix A: Installing and Configuring gmax.

Appendix B: gmax Keyboard Shortcuts.

Appendix C: What’s on the CD-ROM.

Glossary.

Index.