Real-Time 3D Rendering with DirectX and HLSL: A Practical Guide to Graphics Programming

Get Started Quickly with DirectX 3D Programming: No 3D Experience Needed This step-by-step text demystifies modern graphics programming so you can quickly start writing professional code with DirectX and HLSL. Expert graphics instructor Paul Varcholik starts with the basics: a tour of the Direct3D graphics pipeline, a 3D math primer, and an introduction to the best tools and support libraries. Next, you’ll discover shader authoring with HLSL. You’ll implement basic lighting models, including ambient lighting, diffuse lighting, and specular highlighting. You’ll write shaders to support point lights, spotlights, environment mapping, fog, color blending, normal mapping, and more. Then you’ll employ C++ and the Direct3D API to develop a robust, extensible rendering engine. You’ll learn about virtual cameras, loading and rendering 3D models, mouse and keyboard input, and you’ll create a flexible effect and material system to integrate your shaders. Finally, you’ll extend your graphics knowledge with more advanced material, including post-processing techniques for color filtering, Gaussian blurring, bloom, and distortion mapping. You’ll develop shaders for casting shadows, work with geometry and tessellation shaders, and implement a complete skeletal animation system for importing and rendering animated models. You don’t need any experience with 3D graphics or the associated math: Everything’s taught hands-on, and all graphics-specific code is fully explained. Coverage includes •    The Direct3D API and graphics pipeline •    A 3D math primer: vectors, matrices, coordinate systems, transformations, and the DirectX Math library •    Free and low-cost tools for authoring, debugging, and profiling shaders •    Extensive treatment of HLSL shader authoring •    Development of a C++ rendering engine •    Cameras, 3D models, materials, and lighting •    Post-processing effects •    Device input, component-based architecture, and software services •    Shadow mapping, depth maps, and projective texture mapping •    Skeletal animation •    Geometry and tessellation shaders •    Survey of rendering optimization, global illumination, compute shaders, deferred shading, and data-driven engine architecture

Table of Contents:
Introduction     1 PART I:  AN INTRODUCTION TO 3D RENDERING     5 Chapter 1  Introducing DirectX     7 A Bit of History     8 The Direct3D 11 Graphics Pipeline     9 Summary     21 Chapter 2  A 3D/Math Primer     23 Vectors     24 Matrices     27 Transformations     31 DirectXMath     35 Summary     41 Chapter 3  Tools of the Trade     43 Microsoft Visual Studio     44 NVIDIA FX Composer     47 Visual Studio Graphics Debugger     53 Graphics Debugging Alternatives     55 Summary     56 Exercises     56 PART II:  SHADER AUTHORING WITH HLSL     57 Chapter 4  Hello, Shaders!     59 Your First Shader      60 Hello, Structs!     68 Summary     70 Exercises     71 Chapter 5  Texture Mapping     73 An Introduction to Texture Mapping     74 A Texture Mapping Effect     75 Texture Filtering     81 Texture Addressing Modes     86 Summary     89 Exercises     89 Chapter 6  Lighting Models     91 Ambient Lighting     92 Diffuse Lighting     97 Specular Highlights     105 Summary      114 Exercises     114 Chapter 7  Additional Lighting Models     115 Point Lights     116 Spotlights     124 Multiple Lights     130 Summary     139 Exercises     139 Chapter 8  Gleaming the Cube     141 Texture Cubes     142 Skyboxes     145 Environment Mapping     149 Fog     154 Color Blending     159 Summary     167 Exercises     168 Chapter 9  Normal Mapping and Displacement Mapping     169 Normal Mapping     170 Displacement Mapping     178 Summary     181 Exercises     181 PART III:  RENDERING WITH DIRECTX     183 Chapter 10  Project Setup and Window Initialization     185 A New Beginning     186 Project Setup     186 The Game Loop     195 Window Initialization     199 Summary     204 Exercise     204 Chapter 11  Direct3D Initialization      205 Initializing Direct3D     206 Putting It All Together     219 Summary     232 Exercise     232 Chapter 12  Supporting Systems     233 Game Components     234 Device Input     248 Software Services     265 Summary     268 Exercises     268 Chapter 13  Cameras     269 A Base Camera Component     270 A First-Person Camera     277 Summary     281 Exercise     281 Chapter 14  Hello, Rendering!      283 Your First Full Rendering Application     284 An Indexed Cube     306 Summary     314 Exercises     314 Chapter 15  Models     315 Motivation      316 Model File Formats    316 The Content Pipeline     317 The Open Asset Import Library     317 What’s in a Model?     318 Meshes     320 Model Materials     321 Asset Loading     323 A Model Rendering Demo     331 Texture Mapping     334 Summary     340 Exercises     340 Chapter 16  Materials     341 Motivation      342 The Effect Class     342 The Technique Class     347 The Pass Class     348 The Variable Class     350 The Material Class     352 A Basic Effect Material     357 A Skybox Material     364 Summary     369 Exercises     370 Chapter 17  Lights     371 Motivation      372 Light Data Types     372 A Diffuse Lighting Material     373 A Diffuse Lighting Demo     377 A Point Light Demo     383 A Spotlight Demo     386 Summary     387 Exercises     387 PART IV:  INTERMEDIATE-LEVEL RENDERING TOPICS     389 Chapter 18  Post-Processing     391 Render Targets     392 A Full-Screen Quad Component     396 Color Filtering     401 Gaussian Blurring     410 Bloom     419 Distortion Mapping     425 Summary     433 Exercises     433 Chapter 19  Shadow Mapping     435 Motivation      436 Projective Texture Mapping     436 Shadow Mapping     456 Summary     466 Exercises     467 Chapter 20  Skeletal Animation     469 Hierarchical Transformations     470 Skinning     472 Importing Animated Models      476 Animation Rendering     489 Summary     496 Exercises     496 Chapter 21  Geometry and Tessellation Shaders     497 Motivation: Geometry Shaders     498 Processing Primitives     498 A Point Sprite Shader     499 Primitive IDs     507 Motivation: Tessellation Shaders     508 The Hull Shader Stage     510 The Tessellation Stage     512 The Domain Shader Stage     514 A Basic Tessellation Demo     518 Displacing Tessellated Vertices     520 Dynamic Levels of Detail     524 Summary     527 Exercises     528 Chapter 22  Additional Topics in Modern Rendering     529 Rendering Optimization     530 Deferred Shading     543 Global Illumination     544 Compute Shaders     545 Data-Driven Engine Architecture     550 The End of the Beginning     553 Exercises     553 Index     555