Complete Guide to Torque X question
by Mike G. · in Torque X 2D · 02/26/2010 (10:15 am) · 7 replies
The excerpts I read from "The Complete Guide to Torque X" lead me to believe that it was based on a much older version than the current Torque X 2D version. How much information is still relevant (of the 2D and GUI sections) in the book.
Would you recommend the book not only considering the engines current version, but in the depth and readability of the book in general? By the end of the 2D section are you able to go from the "new user" state to being able to transition between levels and working with the GUI with a solid foundation of the engine in general?
In other words, is this book where all the "good" documentation and tutorials went, and is it still relevant and worth the money?
Would you recommend the book not only considering the engines current version, but in the depth and readability of the book in general? By the end of the 2D section are you able to go from the "new user" state to being able to transition between levels and working with the GUI with a solid foundation of the engine in general?
In other words, is this book where all the "good" documentation and tutorials went, and is it still relevant and worth the money?
#2
Also, can you give me the address to his site that works? http://www.torquexbook.com/ is not loading for me (just stalling with no error and no displayed page).
02/26/2010 (1:51 pm)
If he doesn't cover stuff like transitioning levels, what exactly does he cover that you find worth the money?Also, can you give me the address to his site that works? http://www.torquexbook.com/ is not loading for me (just stalling with no error and no displayed page).
#3
Just because it doesn't address your specific question does not lessen its validity. Right now its the best documentation for TX. Since John is now the developer for TX I would say his book is the most valid. It's not out of date, he has updated all the examples on his website, he explains the hows and whys in a very accessible manner. There are a number of threads here in the forums on transitioning levels maybe try doing a search?
02/26/2010 (2:12 pm)
it should redirect to this page www.envygames.com/content/?page_id=219Just because it doesn't address your specific question does not lessen its validity. Right now its the best documentation for TX. Since John is now the developer for TX I would say his book is the most valid. It's not out of date, he has updated all the examples on his website, he explains the hows and whys in a very accessible manner. There are a number of threads here in the forums on transitioning levels maybe try doing a search?
#4
A.K.A What am I missing out on if I don't have this book?
02/26/2010 (2:47 pm)
I'm just using that as an example, but I meant more like if it doesn't even cover something as commonly used as level transitions, then how deep past the basics and the current public documentation does it really get (if at all)?A.K.A What am I missing out on if I don't have this book?
#5
02/26/2010 (4:05 pm)
In my view the book is basically a big help document on the basic api and covers some stuff the online help misses. And in that sense it's valuable as a quick desk reference when starting out. But, it really doesn't go into much beyond that.
Torque Owner Josh Neider
There are quite a few forum topics on transitioning between levels (he doesn't go much into that in the book). Also, the new demo that comes with 3.1.4.0 has some basic game state management (which was really needed in a demo). He does explain the options in Torque X Builder and just a few of the tips in there really help out.
So far I've pretty much skipped the 3D sections - as that's not really my focus atm. However, I thought there was a lot of 2D content.
IMO it's still relevant.