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Quan Chi2 - Mon Jun 26, 2006 6:33 pm
Post subject: Mathematics for Game Developers.. wtf?

So, I was browsing an ftp server, when I found an ebook called Mathematics for Game Developers. I browsed through it and I'm like - wtf? lol this is sick..

If game developers need to know all of this complicated stuff, I feel sorry for the game developers that spent millions of hours on a game that wasn't popular. lol

Why is so much math needed? lol

SuSE - Mon Jun 26, 2006 7:08 pm
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Oh dear sweet gebus. Math is key to about a bazillion different things that have to do with your computer. In the case of games, aside from just the obvious stuff, there is often a whole lot of positioning to calculate...a whole lot.

Next up: uber explanation by someone else.

Bak - Mon Jun 26, 2006 7:39 pm
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most of the stuff is done for you, I mean most people aren't coding the graphics engine themselves... trig is always handy to have but past that... I dunno.

Dr Brain - Mon Jun 26, 2006 7:51 pm
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In the words of Galileo, "Mathematics is the language with which God has written the universe."

Quan Chi2 - Mon Jun 26, 2006 8:13 pm
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Galileo was a programmer?
--

Anywayz, I know math is in everything, but I just didn't understand why there is soo much math involved in game programming. I thought its just basic case statements most of the time including basic math..

Mine GO BOOM - Mon Jun 26, 2006 9:33 pm
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What do computers do well? Numbers. What do games do a lot of? Number crunching. You need to do tons and tons of physics like calculations, such as figuring out where an object is after a certain delay, how far two objects are apart, when two objects collide what direction does each go, etc.

Take Subspace for example. Need to determine collisions of squares (ships/walls), collisions of a point with a square (bullets), circles with squares (prox bombs). When going around a black hole, have to understand that. Acceleration of a ship. Slowdown of soccer balls. Linear interpolation. And this is for a simple 2D space game.

Sure, you could get away with basic cases. But the idea is, to design and create those basic cases, you need to understand how objects work. Try and think of this problem: you are trying to design a robotic turret gun. You see an object, how do you aim at it? If it is stationary, you just find the angle between you and it, rotate, and shoot.

What if it is moving north of you? Moving at you? Moving at a weird angle near you? Need to work out the math for that. How about if it is making a sweeping angle? What if you want to plan on the object changing directions, and you want the largest probablity of where they'll go? How about if you record this previous actions of how they interacted with you, and you change your probablities based upon that?

You mind does this already. You get a feel for how the other object will act, and you predict where they'll be and shoot. Now you have to somehow convert this into equations. That requires knowing math, lots of it. When you are playing a FPS, you quickly understand the differences between stupid AI and one that was designed well.

(Deactived B l a h e r) - Mon Jun 26, 2006 10:16 pm
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The best way to start on mathematics, is to learn other number systems. From Decimal (which you already know), to Binary (the easiest), to Octal, to Hex (always practice safe hex), and to Roman Numerals (My least favorite, most people get a MD, just to learn how to divide in it).

Cyan~Fire - Tue Jun 27, 2006 12:10 am
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What is your problem, blah-er? Why do you always post about crap about which you have no clue?

Purge - Tue Jun 27, 2006 1:05 am
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blah-er wrote:

... and to Roman Numerals (My least favorite, most people get a MD, just to learn how to divide in it).

You can get an MD for Roman Numerals?!

BDwinsAlt - Tue Jun 27, 2006 1:15 am
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The athiest had nothing else to do. Since they didn't belive in God they just divided Roman Numerals all day and gave people degrees for it.

Muskrat - Tue Jun 27, 2006 1:24 am
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Quan Chi2 wrote:

Galileo was a programmer?

Perhaps not, but remember Pascal!

They say that mathematics is a way to represent some basic form of existence which is a faculty of reason. Math transcends your senses and perceptions to hold as its object what is.

SpecShip - Tue Jun 27, 2006 5:13 am
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I recall a story about how the ancient greeks calculated Pi 14 digits past the decimal point...the horror...

Bak - Tue Jun 27, 2006 12:15 pm
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Archimedes only got it to 2 digits http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_numerical_approximations_of_%CF%80

i88gerbils - Tue Jun 27, 2006 2:35 pm
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Archimedes was cool. He designed the Syracuse war machines.

SuSE - Tue Jun 27, 2006 3:11 pm
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ya, war machines are _so_ cool

hooray death, hooray Oppenheimer, Archimedes & co., boo responsibility

Cerium - Tue Jun 27, 2006 5:11 pm
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Ive never wanted to watch someone die as much as I want to see blah-er fall into a bonfire.

Quan Chi2 - Sun Jul 02, 2006 5:59 am
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lol sorry I haven't been on to reply. Thanks for the explainations. I think I'll start by making a dialogue based game in C or C++. Something like I used to do on mIRC back in 2002. I think it would be a good way to excersise my skills. Right now its just a thought.

Im on punishment so it will take time to respond to posts. (i have to find the right moment to sneak online from 5:30 to 7[maybe earlier] in the morning lol)

newb - Sun Jul 02, 2006 8:56 am
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Quan Chi2 wrote:

Im on punishment so it will take time to respond to posts. (i have to find the right moment to sneak online from 5:30 to 7[maybe earlier] in the morning lol)

HAHAHAHAHAHA, did Quany be a bad boy? Did his Mommy punish him?