Game Engine Gems 3

This book, the third volume in the popular Game Engine Gems series, contains 22 new chapters that concisely present particular techniques, describe clever tricks, or offer practical advice within the subject of game engine development. Each chapter is filled with the expert knowledge and wisdom of seasoned professionals from both industry and academia.

The book is divided into four broad categories pertaining to game engine development:

• Graphics and rendering
• Physics
• General programming
• Character control and artificial intelligence

There is also a companion website, gameenginegems.com, where updates and supplementary materials are posted. Many chapters offer downloadable source code, demos, and examples.

Covering the latest developments and continuing to provide practical methods and tips for game engine development, Game Engine Gems 3 is indeed a new gem in the series. Not only does it aid professionals in their work, but it also shows students and others interested in game development how the pros tackle specific problems that arise during game engine development.

Table of Contents

Part I: Graphics and Rendering
Chapter 1: The Open Game Engine Exchange Format
Chapter 2: Realistic Blending of Skies, Water, and Terrain
Chapter 3: Fog with a Linear Density Function
Chapter 4: Vegetation Management in Leadwerks Game Engine 4
Chapter 5: Smooth Horizon Mapping
Chapter 6: Buffer-Free Generation of Triangle Strip Cube Vertices
Chapter 7: Edge-Preserving Smoothing Filter for Particle Based Rendering
Chapter 8: Variable Precision Pixel Shading for Improved Power Efficiency
Chapter 9: A Fast and High-Quality Texture Atlasing Algorithm

Part II: Physics
Chapter 10: Rotational Joint Limits in Quaternion Space
Chapter 11: Volumetric Hierarchical Approximate Convex Decomposition
Chapter 12: Simulating Soft Bodies Using Strain Based Dynamics

Part III: General Programming
Chapter 13: Generic, Lightweight, and Fast Delegates in C++
Chapter 14: Compile-Time String Hashing in C++
Chapter 15: Static Reflection in C++ Using Tuples
Chapter 16: Portable SIMD Programs Using ISPC
Chapter 17: Shared Network Arrays as an Abstraction of Network Code from Game Code Logic

Part IV: Character Control and Artificial Intelligence
Chapter 18: Vision Based Local Collision Avoidance
Chapter 19: A Programming Framework for Autonomous NPCs
Chapter 20: Beyond Smart Objects: Behavior-Oriented Programming for NPCs in Large Open Worlds
Chapter 21: A Control System for Enhancing Entity Behavior
Chapter 22: A Control System Based Approach to Entity Behavior