Planetarion Forums

Structural Integrity · 16 Nov 2002, 19:20

I've started learning openGL last week from a few online tutorials and I must say that I've come to that point where I need more maths to get further.
So, I'm looking for a site now that gives a CLEAR explanation of 3D formulas and practical uses, preferably with examples and pictures to explain how it works. Sites which explain 3D maths in programmign are fine too.

I've found a few generic math sites but none of them concentrates on 3D maths, nor do they give any good examples.

Ragnarak · 16 Nov 2002, 19:56

can you explain what you mean by 3d maths?

vectors, cross products, matrices, div, grad, curl differential functions etc?

no idea about openGL but i do know maths (kinda)

Structural Integrity · 16 Nov 2002, 20:09

Quote:

Originally posted by Ragnarak
can you explain what you mean by 3d maths?

vectors, cross products, matrices, div, grad, curl differential functions etc?

no idea about openGL but i do know maths (kinda)

you hit the nail on it's head....

I got accross the cross product formula in some example code yesterday, and I didn't quite understood what it did (now I do tho, even tho I still don't know WHY) and I want to learn the basics of 3D maths.

So yes, basics on Vectors, cross product, matrices, nominals, and everything that has to do with calculating polygons/lines/points in 3D space is great! (preferably with clear examples).

Atamur · 16 Nov 2002, 21:07

Quote:

Originally posted by Structural Integrity
I've started learning openGL last week from a few online tutorials and I must say that I've come to that point where I need more maths to get further.
So, I'm looking for a site now that gives a CLEAR explanation of 3D formulas and practical uses, preferably with examples and pictures to explain how it works. Sites which explain 3D maths in programmign are fine too.

I've found a few generic math sites but none of them concentrates on 3D maths, nor do they give any good examples.

this tutorial seems decent.
http://chortle.ccsu.edu/vectorLessons/vectorIndex.html

There were a few more links produced by http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&l...=Google+Search but i only looked at that first one...

MT · 16 Nov 2002, 21:16

Not exactly my cup of tea, but i remember reading what seemed to be a very nice tutorial about BSPs (Binary Space Partitions, expensive and slow 3d (the original)) and iirc it went on further from that.

www.theparticle.com

in particular

Data structures because if you dont understand how to store the info efficiently, you are screwed.

A real fkload of FAQ's

Quote:

3dgpl.zip This is the best 3D graphics programming tutorial We've seen, It comes with sample source which is very portable. Great for novice and pro alike.(~95k)
3dgpl2.zip
3dgpl2_doc.zip This is the 2nd version of the 3D graphics programming tutorial. Haven't looked at it much, but judging from the original, this one should be quite good and educational. It appears to be using PostScript for it's file formats (something we don't particularly like) There is also a Microsoft Word version now available. (3dgpl2.zip (PostScript): ~1.91MB; 3dgpl2_doc.zip (DOC): ~2.15MB)
zed3d095.zip This is the ZED 3D document. It is the best resource for 3D graphics you can find. It covers most of the popular problems of graphics, including rotation, vector math, matrix math, shading, and much more...(~350k)
3dfaq.zip This is a 3D FAQ, it's very good for learning about 3D graphics programming, 3D games, etc.. (~15k)
graphfaq.zip This is the FAQ from a very good graphics newsgroup... comp.graphics.algorithms It has a lot of the basic graphics questions in it. (~30k)
bspfaq.zip This is the BSP FAQ, a BSP is Binary Space Partition tree, and is used in games like doom, quake, quake 2, etc. to pre-sort the universe before the actual play. If you're a graphics programmer, this txt is a must have.(~24k)

Ragnarak · 16 Nov 2002, 22:18

Quote:

Originally posted by Structural Integrity

you hit the nail on it's head....

I got accross the cross product formula in some example code yesterday, and I didn't quite understood what it did (now I do tho, even tho I still don't know WHY) and I want to learn the basics of 3D maths.

So yes, basics on Vectors, cross product, matrices, nominals, and everything that has to do with calculating polygons/lines/points in 3D space is great! (preferably with clear examples).

i'd suggest just going and getting a maths textbook

if you're in the UK, the standard is about A-Level Furthermaths or First Year of university maths based subject (maths/physics)

there is nothing hard about it, anyone with the right kinda mind to program should be fine with it

Structural Integrity · 16 Nov 2002, 22:33

Quote:

Originally posted by Ragnarak

i'd suggest just going and getting a maths textbook

if you're in the UK, the standard is about A-Level Furthermaths or First Year of university maths based subject (maths/physics)

there is nothing hard about it, anyone with the right kinda mind to program should be fine with it

I do have a maths book, and I followed two courses of maths at school (never paid attention tho) but I found the maths in those lessons and that book of little to no use with programming. It didn't have any connection to the other courses in school and was just boring letter-maths, and had no practical use regarding 3D programming.
I am actually looking more for something I can directly bring into practise in 3D programming and has concrete examples of where and when to apply (like that site Amatur posted, tho I only looked into it briefly).

W · 17 Nov 2002, 06:54

Og god, I remember learning this stuff back when SVGA was on the drawing board, and 320x200 was still hot because you had 256 colors! I prolly have the old asm tutorials somewhere, which included a fair bit of practical math without all the theoretical stuff, but doubt they'd be of much use to you compared to what you can find on google.