How to Choose Camshafts and Time Them for Maximum Power (SpeedPro Series) Review

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(More customer reviews)This is a great book for engine builders or amature mechanics that are looking into purchasing a new camshaft for their engine. It first starts out by explaining the basics of how a camshaft works and all the terminology that is used. It is very complete in this section and most people would have to read it a few times to understand it. Then it goes into duration of camshafts which tells the reader how to select the right camshaft for their desired operating RPM ranges. I feel that there was almost too much information on this subject for it goes way into the physics of why camshafts build power in these ranges. The plus part of this is that it goes into all types of engines, overhead cams, duel valves, four valves, etc. The most helpful section to me was the checking the camshaft section. It explains how to take an exsisting camshaft and pull it from the engine then inspect it to see if you need a new camshaft or if you can work with what is exsisting, thus saving money! The book then goes into timing principles which help in understanding what goes on but it is a little too simple to derive enough information to time a camshaft in the engine before assemlby and running. But the book then explains many of the problems with camshafts that can be solved, not by the home mechanic...but instead by his/her credit card. The last few chapters go into great detail on timing a camshaft using a degree wheel and by finding TDC using various methods. The final chapter is about testing the engine after its running and in the vehicle. This is a vague chapter as not all of the problems it explains can only be the camshaft, this could be misleading to an amature mechanic. I would definetly recommend this book to anyone building an engine for the first time, or anyone looking to do a camshaft swap into an exsisting engine.

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Providing advice on how to find optimum timing for maximum power, this text aims to help readers to choose the right camshaft for their individual application. It applies to all four stroke car-type engines.

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Game Engine Architecture Review

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(More customer reviews)Jason Gregory's book offers a 10,000-foot view of game engine architecture, covering every system found in modern game engines, and detailing how those systems interact. It details the subjects at a level easily understood by anyone with a modest level of programming experience -- even non-programmers can gain a solid understanding of engine design from the book. This would make a great first book for anyone interested in programming game engines, either as a hobby or a future career.
However, it is important to clarify the limits of the book. I do not consider this to be a programming book, since it does not present the material at a sufficiently low-level that would permit an inexperienced programmer to implement a game engine from the ground-up. It describes how the algorithms work in enough detail that you can understand the idea, but does not present complete code examples that would demonstrate exactly how the algorithms would be implemented. There are occasional code snippets, and brief examples from engines like Ogre, Unreal, and idtech. But most of the content is entirely prose.
Experienced programmers/game devs have the coding background to implement many of the designs described in the book from the level at which they are presented. But neophyte programmers will not find enough details in this book to implement a full game engine on their own. However, no one book could do an adequate job of detailing how to implement an entire game engine: learning to program a game engine from the ground-up requires a very large stack of books (especially for physics and AI). So it would be unfair to fault this book for what it is not.
The value of the book is in providing clear, prose descriptions of the functional blocks found in a game engine, covering alternate ways different engines implement certain features, and cross-referencing how those blocks interact.
Another positive is that the book benefits from a mature writing style. Unlike the "Oh wow! Cool! Dude! Whew, math is hard! {BG}" style of writing inflicted upon many intro/for-teens books, this book can be read by adults (and most teens) without any undue eye-rolling due to bad writing. Which, sad to say, is why I feel inclined to remark on this point. Granted, this book was written for a course a SoCal, so a more mature writing still is required. I do wish more games-related books would follow this convention, instead of assuming the reader is mentally bereft or a pre-teen.

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A 2009 Game Developer Magazine Front Line Award Finalist, this book covers both the theory and practice of game engine software development, bringing together complete coverage of a wide range of topics. The concepts and techniques described are the actual ones used by real game studios like Electronic Arts and Naughty Dog. The examples are often grounded in specific technologies, but the discussion extends way beyond any particular engine or API. The references and citations make it a great jumping off point for those who wish to dig deeper into any particular aspect of the game development process. Intended as the text for a college level series in game programming, this book can also be used by amateur software engineers, hobbyists, self-taught game programmers, and existing members of the game industry. Junior game engineers can use it to solidify their understanding of game technology and engine architecture. Even senior engineers who specialize in one particular field of game development can benefit from the bigger picture presented in these pages.

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