Flash 3D Cheats Most Wanted

Book Description

Why is this book called "3D Cheats"? Unlike committed 3D applications (like Maya, 3D Studio Max, Swift 3D), Flash MX doesn’t have an internal 3D engine, and therefore if a designer wants include realistic 3D effects in their Flash designs they must either import from one of these other 3D applications (can be complex, expensive, and time-consuming), or rely on "pseudo-3D" effects – 2D graphics rendered to mimic realistic 3D imagery. This book teaches users how to employ 3D principles without having to learn the official names for everything. Digital 3D is a tricky area – and until the day someone makes 3D TV commercially viable, it’s going to remain a tricky area. What is 3D? Can you genuinely render 3D on a flat screen? Do you have to spend a year’s wages to get a dedicated piece of 3D software? Do you have to conjure up a bunch of complex math techniques to make the grade? Is anyone going to answer these interminable questions? Well, listen: we’re not out to work ourselves into the ground here. We want 3D and we want it fast, and we want to use Flash to get it. In a series of clear and concise demonstrations, this book shows you exactly what can be achieved in Web 3D. Some of the most cunning designers around have put their heads together to present these: the most wanted 3D cheats in Flash.
This book will show you that you can:
- Lie your way into 3D with simple drawing techniques.
- Cheat a 3D interface with cunning use of light and shadow.
- Fool Flash into thinking it can render genuine 3D, and con the Internet into delivering it for us in double-quick time.
- Hoodwink visitors into thinking they’re witnessing focus and depth of field.
- Improve your depth of deception with an innovative slice engine to create convincing 3D objects.
- Trick users into thinking they’re moving through a 3D space.

Customer Reviews:

I'm lovin it!.......2007-01-24

I didnt buy this book to learn about flash coding, or web development. I bought this book because I am interested in Software rendered graphics. That is, applications that dont utalize OpenGL or Direct 3D for rendering to the screen. I bought this book for the techniques it discusses in "faking" 3d, and also producing real 3d. So far it has done a perfect job in giving me ideas and techniques that I can use in my applications. For anybody interested in producing anything that is real time, and 3d, I would reccomend this book.

A work of art! Opens all new possibilities to script builders.......2005-09-12

This is the best book I have read in years! If you know the basics of ActionScript and you know sine and cosine, this book opens up whole dimensions of possibilities for both games and business applications of Flash.

It is clearly written and reads more smoothly than most programming books. While it does assume a basic literacy with ActionScript, it does not leave you flailing with complex 3D concepts. You may have to pull out your definitions of sine and cosine, but beyond that, it is pretty light lifting.

The genious of the book is that it violates commmon assumptions, and this results in simple, elegant techniques that are also powerful for a wide range of problems. The common assumption is that Flash doesn't do 3D. Don't believe it anymore. If you are willing to use some basic limitations to your application (such as keeping your polygon count down), you can have some smoothly flowing, useful 3D applications with relatively little effort. And unless I'm mistaken, those applications will run equally well on a browser running on a Mac, Windows or Linux.

The solutions are simple and eclectic. The authors have created a variety of 3D engines - each optimized for a given purpose. The engines are simple enough that (in theory) you can take the source and enhance it to your needs. Each technique is backed up by source code that you can download from the publisher's web site. But don't shortchange yourself with only the sample code - the explanations in the text are worth the cost of the paper book.

Here are my favorite techniques:

* ch 8 (P 195) - Drawing API and Math for 3D - here they explain and provide a working polygon 3D engine. The demos work smoothly (at least 20-30 frames per second) on my cheap Dell laptop. The demos include a oragami bird and a rocket ship with at least 10-20 polgons each. It doesn't support bitmapped textures, but it does offer fill color and shading support.

* ch 9 - 3D Slice Engine - this is the more clever, powerful and non-obvious technique of the book. Check out "dad.swf" in the binary samples from the web site to get an idea of the power of this approach - the author has made a 3D talking head of his father from a photograph! The idea here is that if you can view your 3D world as a topographical map, then you can model it with a set of parallel planes, where each plane represents a certain cut through the entire 3D model. This approach, though not immediately intuitive, is extremely powerful in Flash because it plays on the strenghths of Flash. Each plane is represented by two "movieclip" objects, with one embedded in the other. The first one handles scaling, and the second handles rotation, within the scaled clip. The hidden surface problem is finessed because the planes are parallel - so you only reverse the rendering order once every 180 degrees of change in viewer angle. This enables you to handle full bitmap detail of your scenes, and the result is pretty dazzling! The basic rendering engine requires only about 50 lines of ActionScript!

* Ch 6 - Parallax Scrolling - This name is misleading - it really goes beyond a scrolling 2D game model. In the Wyvern's Claw" example, it explores the idea of building a 3D world like a movie set - with a set of strategically placed flat surfaces (like the fronts of buildings in the studio sets). Each surface is a movieclip, and your script manages the proper scaling and shading as the viewer moves through. The demo then shows an animated walk-through of a small town rendering in such a way. This seems very cool for a potential game.

I'm already using the Chapter 9 slice engine for a work-related project - multidimensional data browsing. So for me, the book was not only stimulating to read but valuable!

Trigonometry background required in some chapters.......2005-02-23

TOC:

Chapter 1 Introduction to Flash 3D
Chapter 2 Light and Shadow
Chapter 3 Scaling for 3D
Chapter 4 Isometric 3D
Chapter 5 Focus and Depth of Field
Chapter 6 Parallax Scrolling
Chapter 7 Text Effects in 3D Space
Chapter 8 Drawing API and Math for 3D
Chapter 9 3D Slice Engine
Chapter 10 Departure Lounge: Moving beyond Flash 3D

Chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 and 10 don't require a trigonometry
background. One of Chapter 6 topics uses XML though.

The best chapters for me were 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6.

I gave the book 5 stars because it has something for everyone.
Some people use Flash to create digital art while others use it
for practical purposes. This book delivers to both people.
Unfortunately, I belong to the latter kind and some of the topics
aren't for me.

I also think that some chapters are impractical unless you're
really a math geek. For example, I think Chapter 8 - Drawing
API and Math for 3D -- is unnecessary because you can import
Swift 3D files.

Some of the authors also show you Actionscript without really
explaining what it does (I think they assume you do know trig).
I work for a software engineering firm (not as an engineer
though) but I do know that it's bad practice to embed magic
numbers -- literals that don't have apparent meaning -- in
any code. It's better to put them in constants.

One of the authors (the Chapter 4 author I think) said to get
a good book on trigo. I don't think I will because there are
plenty of free trigo tutorials on the web. I agree though that
to get the most out of Flash and this book, learning trigo is a
must.

Good golly.......2003-12-02

This has to be about the best book I have ever seen. The 3D cheats in it are amazing -- and you surely wouldn't know you were cheating. There are some incredibly insightful techniques, and some more staple things if you're not quite steady on your feet yet.

Book Description

A betrayed wife and dedicated mother suddenly forced to raise her six-month-old daughter alone, Melanie Vargas is also an ambitious, hard-working professional who has had to bite and claw for recognition in the federal prosecutor's office. Then, while strolling with her baby girl on a steamy New York night, Melanie stumbles onto the kind of high-profile case that could make a career: the burning townhouse of a wealthy former prosecutor, its owner's tortured, murdered corpse smoldering within. Melanie Vargas wants this chance -- she needs it -- and she'll do whatever it takes to get it.

But a headline-grabbing opportunity of a lifetime could cost Melanie more than she ever imagined, as it pulls her closer to a dangerous affair with a secretive, enigmatic FBI agent -- and closer still to a sadistic human monster moving expertly through the city's darkest shadows.

Download Description

Customer Reviews:

Did the audio version - Entertaining Crime Story.......2007-06-21

Nice to have a Hispanic heroine and that the men didn't dominate the heroics. Just wish Michele like many writers would get an education on firearms. Her description of what happened with the Glock that ran out of ammo is laughable. But then this particular area is a failing of many writers.

Cover Up.......2007-05-24

Martinez did an excellent job creating a mystery with a prolonged ending. She combines an action packed plot with believable human beings. She cleverly hides the ending to her mysteries.

Fun read!.......2007-03-07

Michele Martinez does a great job at inventing a protagonist who can balance motherhood, a marriage in trouble, a new found love interest, and a career that is just getting good. I loved every part of this novel and I cannot wait until I get my hands on the second one!

Not bad for a debut novel.......2006-10-23

Melanie Vargas gets her big chance to prove that she is worthy of prosecuting a high profile murder case. The only problem is that her boss wants a suspect in custody within the week. Yet not even the cops know who committed the brutal crime. With the help of a sexy FBI guy named Dan O'Reilly who has information of his own concerning the case, she must dig deep to find the answers. Melanie is definitely attacted to Dan, but she is also in the middle of an ugly seperation from her cheating husband and now raising her baby girl on her own and trying to still make her marriage work.
With her tyrant of a boss breathing down her neck to solve the case, Melanie puts aside emotional feelings to work with Dan to find the killer before he strikes again. But can she trust him, or is he the very person she is being warned to watch out for?

As a first novel, Michele Martinez has potential. The suspense is fairly consistant as well as the budding relationship that leaves you hanging like a Janet Evanovich novel (Stephanie Plum series) wanting to read the next in the series "The Finishing School." The most annoying part of the entire novel was when the author wrote the killer's thoughts in third person and his lack of education making those sections extremely difficult to follow. I can understand if it was written in first person, or even in dialect, but I found myself trying to correct the grammatical errors just to understand what was going on.

Is it worth buying?
As I said before, this author has potential and I look forward to checking out her other novels as they become available. It isn't bad especiallly for the paperback price, but I don't think I would buy the hard cover. Maybe future novels will be more worthy.

Most Wanted...NOT!.......2006-08-29

How did this get published?!? For someone who attended and graduated both Harvard and Standford Law Schools I expected the author to have a clue when it came to grammar. Is this really too much to ask?
I could not make it through Chapter 5; it's only two pages long. I'm sure this is the killer's internal dialoge, but it would be nice to have sometype of prompting to that effect. Instead, the reader is plunge into writing that reminds me of reading "Incidence Reports" of D.O.C. juveniles! Yes, 12-18 year old kids with minimal education.
Needless to say, I will never buy or even try to read anything else from this author. "Most Wanted" it is not!

Military History's Most Wanted: The Top 10 Book of Improbable Victories, Unlikely Heroes, and Other Martial Oddities (Brassey's Most Wanted Series) (Most Wanted)

Average customer rating:

Great Book, except for
A Treasure Trove of Trivia [And Much More]
Informative, Challenging, and Witty History
Improbable Fun

Military History's Most Wanted: The Top 10 Book of Improbable Victories, Unlikely Heroes, and Other Martial Oddities (Brassey's Most Wanted Series) (Most Wanted)
M. Evan Brooks
Manufacturer: Potomac Books Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Military | History | Subjects | Books

Strategy | Military | History | Subjects | Books

Military Science | History | Subjects | Books

Trivia | Fun Facts | Reference | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

The Greatest War Stories Never Told: 100 Tales from Military History to Astonish, Bewilder, and Stupefy (History Channel)
Turning Points In Military History
Military History's Top 10 Lists
The Greatest Stories Never Told: 100 Tales from History to Astonish, Bewilder, and Stupefy
Aviation's Most Wanted: The Top 10 Book of Winged Wonders, Lucky Landings, and Other Aerial Oddities (Most Wanted)

ASIN: 157488509X

Book Description

In 1944 U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Leslie J. McNair was accidentally killed by USAAF bombers that dropped their bombs short of the target, thus becoming the highest-ranking American casualty of World War II. Union Gen. Daniel Sickels was the first person to be successfully acquitted of murder by pleading temporary insanity after he shot and killed the son of “Star-Spangled Banner” composer Francis Scott Key in cold blood. Ten years before Custer’s infamous last stand, U.S. cavalry Capt. William J. Fetterman disobeyed orders and led his eighty-man detachment in pursuit of a band of Sioux Indians. Neither he nor his men returned. In the United States, Benedict Arnold’s name is synonymous with treason, but in Russia Andrei Vlasov holds that dubious distinction. After being captured by the Germans during World War II, he led an army of former Soviet POWs against the Red Army. Famous men of the arts and letters, such as Maurice Chevalier and Jean-Paul Sartre, openly collaborated with the Axis during World War II yet managed to escape punishment after the war. Entertainer Martha Raye was so beloved by the troops that she earned an honorary commission as “Colonel Maggie” and was allowed to be buried in Fort Bragg’s military cemetery. James Bond creator Ian Fleming graduated from Sandhurst and was a naval intelligence officer in World War II. During the Thirty Years’ War, Count Tilly lost control of his troops after capturing Magdeburg. After three days of looting, they had killed 25,000 of the city’s 30,000 inhabitants.

Military History's Most Wanted™ chronicles 700 of the most outlandish commanders, battles, and accomplishments in military history. Its seventy lists include warfare's top ten winners, losers, traitors, entertainers, war novels, and movies. Military historians, buffs, and enthusiasts will enjoy this often irreverent and controversial look at the profession of arms.

Customer Reviews:

Great Book, except for.......2007-07-06

Lt.Col.Brooks shot himself in the foot on his overated commanders chapter. As most modern war college and west point grads, the new mind set is that the Virginia son's General Lee and Jackson were fair generals at best. For a brief year in France in 1944-1945 the U.S. Army with their allied forces fought offensive battles that involved an a well trained and talented enemy. General Lee led his army for four grueling years against a difficult opponent, The U.S. army and Stonewall Jacksons valley campaign was one of Gen. Edwin Rommel (another fair commander) watch words. As with most U.S. miltary minds General Giap( another fair commander) did not defeat the Japanese, French or American forces in Southeast Asia. But the book is a great read, with details on strange and odd folks on the stage of World History and I will keep this book in my library.

A Treasure Trove of Trivia [And Much More].......2002-12-14

This book easily earns five stars, because it's accurate, well-written, and witty. Don't let the format fool you. The author is well-read and has done an impressive amount of research, so much so that I believe high school and undergraduate students in history or military science could use it as a reference. It's a fun read.

Informative, Challenging, and Witty History.......2002-06-25

Normally I find top ten military lists like those on MILHST-L fun to read, but not very informative. This book is superb because it combines insightful commentary and fun lists.

What Brooks has done is assemble 70+ top ten lists, but each entry has one or more paragraphs of explanation. And it is clear that he has thought very carefully and researched his choices on his lists.

More specifically, why is this such a good book?

First, the author is well-read and informed. You may not agree with his opinions, I know I have more than a few disagreements, but they are based on a solid understanding of military history and the literature. (BTW, the author is a decorated veteran of the Gulf War, so he has first-hand knowledge of war.)

Second, he has created great categories, not just the obvious ones, like the Great Captains of History, Overrated Commanders, Underrated Commanders, and Decisive Battles. Here are some of the 70+ ones that I found quite facinating: Military Myths, Chaplains, Murder (and Death) Most Foul, Retrograde Operations, Mutinies, Entertainers, Cavalry Charges, POW Camps, Courts-Martial, Military Web Sites, Lopsided Victories (more than 30,000 casualties), Lopsided Victories (less than 30,000 casualties), and Last Stands. I love his four War Movie categories: Operational, Nonoperational, Testosterone, and Estrogen. Also, his suggestions on the ten books with which to begin building a military library are quite sound, especially when combined with his four other military book categories. Finally, Brooks has a great category that will challenge the serious historian -- he canvasses several thousand years of history to create the greatest Command Staff in History.

Third, Brooks has a good sense of wit. The book is fun to read! Again, the seriousness of the book is not compromised by his witty and at times, sarcastic, comments, rather it is enhanced. This book does challenge the serious historian to think about his own opinions.

Fourth, the book is a useful reference. He has some top ten lists that are straight reference, e.g., air aces, sub aces, Marshal-Generals of France. And for each person in the book, he has their dates of birth and death (when known). There is a twelve-page bibliography and an index.

Informative and fun, and a great way to get a conversation amongst historians going -- what more can you ask for in a book?

Improbable Fun.......2002-06-11

Never thought reading about the military could be fun - or funny - until I read this little gem. The chapters are short, concise and interesting. You can skip chapters or read it straight through. Believe me, you'll never loose a history question in Trivial Pursuit again once you've finished with this book! Learn, laugh and educate yourself about the military with this great little book!

Iraq's Most Wanted Playing Cards (Authorized Edition) (Research Division Report, #30)

Average customer rating:

Great deck. Some qualms.
A novelty that will soon wear thin
A good deck of cards
The collectible of choice for the War with Iraq
Definitely An Authentic and High-Quality Set of Cards

Iraq's Most Wanted Playing Cards (Authorized Edition) (Research Division Report, #30)

Manufacturer: U.S. Playing Card Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Cards

General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 9995569876

Book Description

Our decks are the same as those supplied to troops in Kuwait and are produced by United States Playing Card Company, the leading playing card company in the world.

We are the only company licensed to print this deck, complete with "Hoyle® Joker" cards, as it appeared in the original 200 decks given to Coalition soldiers. No other company in the world can legally produce the exact deck given to Coalition soldiers.

Our decks consist of real, usable playing cards, printed on casino-quality stock. Don't be fooled by imitations!

Customer Reviews:

Great deck. Some qualms........2004-03-23

Excellent quality playing cards. Sturdy & smooth. Cool camouflage backing, too.

Main qualm: 11 of the 52 cards (25%) don't have photos, but rather blackened "no photo available" images. Kinda disappointing.

Note: My first deck was INCOMPLETE...no heart cards! (Amazon quickly replaced that defective deck). So, check your deck when it arrives.

A novelty that will soon wear thin.......2003-07-25

I notice some people refer to these cards as "collectors items"; I will only note that when a few million of an item have been produced , there isn't really that much collectable value! Sure, in 25 years they'll be a collectable novelty, and in 100 years, a fairly rare collectable on a par with a set of World War II ration cards, which is to say they'll be worth about $10 and you'll be dead ;-)

As the war drags on and people continue to die, these cards don't seem to have quite the amusement value they did a few months ago. I wouldn't be surprised if sales are way down.

A good deck of cards.......2003-06-15

These cards are a great idea! They are printed on Real card stock. Just like cards used in Vegas at the casinos! The printing is clear. Don't be fooled by counterfeit sets. They won't hold the same value as these authentic card sets.
They are a real piece of Americana and are a novel piece in the battle of effective propaganda.
During ALL wars in the past, both sides of a confrontation spent a lot of effort making fun of the enemy. It helped to keep up morale, in the field and on the home front, etc. The card set is a unique.
Bless our troops!

The collectible of choice for the War with Iraq.......2003-06-01

This the "Authorized Edition" of the Iraqui "Most Wanted Playing Cards" that we have seen on the news for the past month. Does that make them substantially different from the "original" Centcom sets? The answer is in the eye of the purchaser. Unless you can pick up a set of cards that were actually distributed to the troops in Iraq and prove that detail to your satisfaction, this set of playing cards will certainly suffice.
I collected the "trading cards" that were put out by a couple of companies duirng the Gulf War, and while there is something to be said for having cards of Colin Powell and a Stealth Bomber, there was always something odd about having Norman Schwarzkopf being displayed next to Michael Jordan in card shops. You also only have to make one reasonably priced purchase to get the entire deck, instead of having go through pack after pack. I would be curious to know if the profits from these cards are going to some sort of relief effort or something somewhat laudable.

Ironically, my only complaint is that while I appreciate having the Jokers and the camaflogued pack, it would be nice if there was a checklist, just like you get with baseball cards. Of course we do not need a checklist since you get the complete set of playing cards. But if would be helpful for checking off which cards have been captured. As of today half of the most wanted have been captured. For the record:

Spades: Q, J, 8, 6, 5
Hearts: 10, 9, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2

Clubs: Q, 9, 8, 6, 5, 4, 2
Diamonds: K, Q, 9, 8, 7, 2

So, the total is currently at five face cards, but no Aces, with three of a kind for Queens, 9s, 8s, 6s, 5s, and 2s. By the time you read this there might be four of a kind. If you do not put the cards back to back in sheets in a binder, which is the obvious way to display them, you can come up with some sort of arrangements, such as putting the captured cards face down, so distinguish them. The key card is the Ace of Spades: Do you want Saddam Hussein face up or face down? I went with face up for him and the others still at large.

Definitely An Authentic and High-Quality Set of Cards.......2003-05-31

For those skeptics out there, I assure you these are the real thing. I just received my set from Amazon and they are very good quality... very durable and coated in plastic to prevent damage. It says on the box they are from the maker of BICYCLE brand playing cards - a very well-known name brand.

The 2 jokers included in the set give you a list of Iraqi Military Ranks and Arab titles as well as a few other bits of trivia. I was very satisfied with my purchase and the camouflage backing makes the set look even more interesting.

Takedown: The Pursuit and Capture of Kevin Mitnick, America's Most Wanted Computer Outlaw-By the Man Who Did It
Average customer rating:

Tsutomu Shimomura is a Moron who Just Wanted Attention

tedious, self-indulgent subplots,

Great book, everybody here seems to be starstruck

If you want to know Mitnick's story, ask Mitnick.

My God, What a load of....

Takedown: The Pursuit and Capture of Kevin Mitnick, America's Most Wanted Computer Outlaw-By the Man Who Did It
Tsutomu Shimomura , and John Markoff
Manufacturer: Hyperion Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Hacking | Business & Culture | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books
General | Oracle | Databases | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books
General | Sociology | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
True Crime | True Accounts | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
High-Tech | Industries & Professions | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
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The Fugitive Game: Online with Kevin Mitnick

The Art of Deception: Controlling the Human Element of Security

The Art of Intrusion: The Real Stories Behind the Exploits of Hackers, Intruders & Deceivers

The Watchman: The Twisted Life and Crimes of Serial Hacker Kevin Poulsen

CYBERPUNK: Outlaws and Hackers on the Computer Frontier, Revised

ASIN: 0786889136

Amazon.com

On Christmas Day 1995, a daring cybercriminal used a new, dangerous, and clever method to gain access to the home computer of the world's greatest computer security expert. The hero, as a matter of honor, set out to find the devious mastermind who violated his privacy and discovered that it was none other than cyberspace's Public Enemy Number One.

That's the classic version at least. Given all of the hype surrounding the capture of Kevin Mitnick (much of it created and sustained by the authors of this book), one would at least expect the version provided by "The Man Who Did It" to be entertaining. But Tsutomu Shimomura's writing (apparently not assisted enough by John Markoff) is somewhat dull. The details of Shimomura's personal life are probed in depth while technical, legal, and ethical questions are brushed over without commentary, such as the supposed proof of Mitnick's involvement in the break-in or Markoff's involvement in the capture. There may be some material of interest to the enthusiast, and those who read Jonathan Littman's The Fugitive Game should at least check out Takedown to see what all of the fuss is about.

Customer Reviews:

Tsutomu Shimomura is a Moron who Just Wanted Attention.......2006-07-20

Shimomura teamed up to write the most trivial, and boring details in this book about himself, and when he wasn't doing that, he was making up things about Kevin Mitnick. He never met Kevin Mitnick, he never knew Kevin Mitnick, he never had anything to do with Kevin Mitnick other than helping track him down because he was starved for attention and wanted to look like some super computer hero. Almost nothing in this book actually happened, I say almost because the only stuff that did actually happen were the trivial mundane details about Shumomura himself. Don't waste your time reading this sensationalist, tabloidian, garbage.

tedious, self-indulgent subplots,.......2005-12-06

Tedious, self-indulgent subplots. I dont care about Julia. No one cares about Julia. No one cares about where you eat or where you rent a car. These subplots REALLY screw-up the read. But the computer stuff is interesting enough. But somebody, please, toss Julia overboard.

Great book, everybody here seems to be starstruck.......2005-04-12

I have The Fugitive and Takedown (this book) sitting in my room now. I borrowed both of them simultaneously. I had only heard of Mitnick before in anecdotes, and I thought it would be interesting to get both viewpoints.

I started reading the Fugitive, but found it to read like a cheap B novel. The story jumped around in some sort of "stylistic" way that made it a bit incomprehensible and not very entertaining. There was a lack of coherence that made you wonder where it wwas going. The author also seemed to think that mentioning a lot of sex and drugs was the only way to keep the reader's attention.

So about 80 pages through, I switched to Takedown, and finished it. I found it to be much better written and very engaging.

All the negative reviews here are due to the fact that a lot of online people worship Mitnick, for some reason. I find him an interesting character, and definitely a skilled con-man. But he's no hero, no invincible genius.

Shimomura can definitely be egotistical depending on your viewpoint, but it didn't bother me. It doesn't get in the way of the story, which was told beautifully and naturally.

The story is engaging enough without having to dress it up in sensationalism. I'll have to go finish the Fugitive now to see if it can redeem itself.

If you want to know Mitnick's story, ask Mitnick........2005-03-05

Fans of the Kevin Mitnick mythos will have a ball with this book dissecting everything that's wrong here. In the process of tracking Mitnick, Shimomura (and another important name, Markoff, whose relationship with Mitnick would be laughable if it didn't violate every concievable rule of morality) basically took free leave of both the law and personal decency. Mitnick became a "thing", and the two of them pushed that image of Mitnick to cover up the legal mess they would have been in if they'd been tracking some average Joe instead of Kevin Mitnick: The Man, The Myth, The Legend (again, an image which these two men essentially created).

It's amazing to see how egotistical Shimomura is willing to be on the issue, and as noted by others, he shows this off in spades in this book. Shimomura and Markoff boh essentially believe that they are the lone men responsible for the takedown and capture of Mitnick, and that not even the dozens (hundreds?) of security firms and companies who spent millions of their own money tracking Mitnick deserve any credit at all. And in a sense, they are mostly correct- we wouldn't be talking about Mitnick today if Markoff and Shimomura weren't working so desperately hard to make money off of this story.

If you're a fan of Mitnick, skip this book just because you don't want to give this man any royalties. If you're a fan of reading, skip this book because it's core is a mess of egotism. The only real reason to pick this up is if you have an insatiable urge to know every detail of this story that you can possibly get your hands on- in which case, it is another piece to the puzzle.

I reccomend that interested parties check out Mitnick's own books: "Deception..." and "Intrusion...", as well as the fan favorite Jonathan Littman's "Fugitive Game".

My God, What a load of...........2004-08-24

This book was painful to read. It is poorly written drivel. If you are truly interested in the topic, there are much better books written on Mitnick, Hacking/Phreaking, and/or computer security issues. With every paragraph that Shimomura writes about his love life (and there are plenty of them,) the book, (although calling it that is insulting to other books) continues on a long downward spiral into the absolute load of poop that it is. I feel sorry that paper was wasted to create this mess. I cannot believe I wasted several hours of my life reading this.

Rogue Angel: The Spiritual Journey of One of the FBI's Ten Most Wanted

Average customer rating:

A Page Turner!
Great Account of Mary Kay Beard's Transformed Life
Rogue Angel is engaging, inspiring, compelling!!
Fascinating!
Leadership from imperfect people

Rogue Angel: The Spiritual Journey of One of the FBI's Ten Most Wanted
Jodi Werhanowicz
Manufacturer: Ezekiel Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 0977429407

Book Description

Now you can read the whole remarkable story of Mary Kay Beard who started Angel Tree, a ministry of Prison Fellowship.

As a young woman, Mary Kay Beard let the pain and anger from an abusive childhood drive her into a life of crime and danger. By the time she was 27, she was on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted List, wanted in four states, and was the target of a mafia contract. Finally captured, convicted of armed robbery, sentenced to 21 years, and thrown into solitary confinement in an Alabama prison, Mary Kay took stock of her life. She started reading the Bible. Thus began God's amazing transformation of a broken, bitter criminal into a beautiful woman of faith and service.

Customer Reviews:

A Page Turner!.......2006-08-20

Very well written. A true story of God's amazing grace & mercy. A wonderful tribute to those involved with the Gideon's and Prison Fellowship and all who obey God's leading. A wonderful book of encouragement for all of us. Thank you, Jodi.

Martha J. Craig

Great Account of Mary Kay Beard's Transformed Life.......2006-07-28

A great biography, I read this book in about 4 days. It is a fascinating story that shows the power of God's love and grace in a person's life. Below are four main points about this book, two negative and two positive.

On a negative note, I always am bothered by biographies and non-fiction books that quote 30 or 40 year old conversations as if they were word-for-word fact. I have a hard time believing that things happened just as they happened. The skeptic in me imagines the exaggerations and the "fill in the blanks" that have to occupy many nonfiction books. Secondly, I sometimes cringe at the continual use of phrases like "God told me...." God has talked to people in the past (the Bible records such divine exchanges), but I don't think this is the standard today. I personally have never been talked to by God (outside of His Word) and I think that many Christians feel discouraged about their relationship with God when they hear of some people getting "talked to" and then they never experience anything like that.

OK, on a positive note, I loved reading of how a life was changed by God. Mary Kay's story is amazing and it is always encouraging to see how people can go from a life of complete selfishness and then after becoming a Christian their lives take a turn towards love and service. Even the staunchest unbeliever has to be impressed by the change that comes over Christians. In this case a dishonest, thieving, deadbeat mother is transformed into a honest, serving, selfless citizen. Also encouraging about this book is the way that it shows the effectiveness of prison ministry. Mary Kay's life was changed because of the people who gave up their time and comfort to love people in prison. People in prison have often come to the end of themselves and are eager to start a new, different life. Christians who teach the bible, encourage, and spend time with prisoners have an amazing opportunity to see lives be changed for the better as Mary Kay's life was changed. This book serves as a reminder to all Christians that those who serve and love prisoners actually are serving and loving Christ himself (Matthew 25:36).

Rogue Angel is engaging, inspiring, compelling!!.......2006-06-27

A compelling story of an amazing, transformed life. This is one of those books that you must share with your friends, family, and everyone that you know! "Rogue Angel" demonstrates the incredible power of God to take a life most of us would consider "unredeemable", and a person many would describe as "unlovable" and mold them into one of His great instruments of truth and love. Mary Kay's story is engaging and inspiring (Once on the FBI's Most Wanted list, she is the founder of Prison Fellowship's Angel Tree Ministry to the children and families of prisoners). Do yourself a favor and warm your heart with this highly recommended true story of redemption and how the power of God's love works in our lives!

Fascinating!.......2006-05-30

This book held my attention, uninterruptedly until I manufactured time to finish it. It is hard to imagine such a tremendous change in one individual from the bottom of the pile to the top. Reading Rogue Angel is time well invested.

Leadership from imperfect people.......2006-05-29

What a compellimg story, told in masterful way. The fact that by the Grace of God, such an individual as Mary Kay was chosen to spearhead such a marvelous ministry gives me renewed strength. This inspiring story touched my heart!

Average customer rating:

The perfect title for a book about love, in all its forms
Fine writing marred by unbelievable plot developments...
Least of her books...
An amazing story
One of my favorite books of all time.

The Most Wanted
Jacquelyn Mitchard
Manufacturer: Signet
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

General | Romance | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0451196856

Amazon.com

Arley Mowbray is a drop-dead gorgeous 14-year-old, who, with her long, muscular frame and mature, collected manner could easily pass for 18. And pass she does. On a dare from her outspoken best friend, Elena Gutierrez, Arley writes to convict Dillon LeGrande in prison and convinces him she's a college student (though she hasn't made it out of junior high). Therein begins an ill-fated love story that myths are made of and men die for--except that's not what Dillon has in mind. Living in south Texas in a poor Tex-Mex community, Arley dreams of a less provincial life and secretly begins a love affair with Dillon via correspondence, which produces a flurry of poetry and achy-breaky love songs. Against the wishes of family and friends, Arley weds her amour, who promptly fathers her child, breaks out of prison, and mysteriously disappears. Fortunately for Arley, she has found a guardian angel in the form of Annie Singer, a straight-talking public defender from New York. Annie becomes the mother Arley never had, protecting her from Dillon and a love-starved home. Despite the strength of their bond, both underestimate Dillon's determination to get his child, no matter the cost. Jacquelyn Mitchard's first novel, The Deep End of the Ocean, was the first to receive Oprah's benediction, instantly making it a bestseller and thrusting Mitchard into the halls of literary stardom. Oprah's picks tend to stay within the thematic boundaries of overcoming dysfunction, harping on the nitty-gritty details of abuse. However, The Most Wanted boldly strides away from this and examines the many dimensions of motherhood, realistically depicting the ties that bind women, while supporting beyond debate that, yes, good girls do fall for bad boys. --Rebekah Warren

Book Description

A naive teenage girl in south Texas falls in love with her prison pen pal. The object of her affection--a charming, dangerously handsome young felon who romances her through his letters to her. After a love affair that defies all conventions, they marry and have a child while the father is still imprisoned. But when he escapes prison to claim his wife and child, what started as a passionate romance turns into a terrifying ordeal of obsession and desire. The young girls only hope is a fiercely dedicated public aid lawyer who is more of a mother figure than the girl has ever known, and the only one who can avert disaster for mother and child!

Download Description

Arley Mowbray is young, smart, and lonely; Very lonely. And then she strikes up a correspondence with a prison inmate--and under the spell of his poetic, seductive letters, falls helplessly, stubbornly in love.

Customer Reviews:

The perfect title for a book about love, in all its forms.......2005-11-16

I never expected to enjoy this book. I bought it at goodwill for about ten cents because I had read The Deep End of the Ocean and thought it was ok. I was shocked by this book. Perhaps because at the time I read it I was only two years older than Arley, our 14 year old heroine, I was drawn in immediately to this book. But it wasn't just Arley's relationship with Dillon, her convict husband, I mean; goddess knows at 17 I've had my share of fantasies about an older man loving me, thats a normal thing for teenagers. But really, it was the loneliness that Arley felt, the sense of belonging to no one, and no one belonging to her that I identified with.

I also identified with Annie, Arley lawyer who is hired to get her and Dillon a conjugal visit, in this book. Her sense of loss from her long term relationship, her strange rush of mothering emotions for Arley, her wonder at buying her own home.

I do have to say that the love story with Dillon was odd, to say the least, and I wasn't unhappy that it ended the way it ended. Arely more than deserved a chance to be a kid, but she deserved to be loved as well, and that what Dillon did, besides, if she never met Dillon, she never would have met Annie, and that's what really changed her life.

I'm afraid I can't express my love of this book with words. I would just like to say that this book is about love in all its forms. It's about the beauty, danger, lust, wonderment and expectations that go along with love, and how they change our lives.

Jacquelyn Mitchard is a genius at expressing emotion with words. She can make you feel love, anger, hate, pain and rage. She can even confuse you, bewilder you and make you feel as tormented as her characters are.

The plot of this book has been summarized many times before, so I'll just say this. If you've ever been in love, or loved anything, a dog, a parent, another person, a plant, or if you've ever been lonely, you'll love this book.

I also found the poem at the very end of book that Arley wrote for her daughter to be incredibly beautiful, and I hope if I have a child one day I would read it to them

Fine writing marred by unbelievable plot developments..........2005-11-14

I wonder if many of the reviewers here even READ this book. The heroine, Arley, is not supposed to be a physically and emotionally mature young woman (at 14), but is in fact described as looking and acting much younger than her chronological age, being totally flatchested, inexperienced with boys (before Dillon) and otherwise suffering from a brutally deprived childhood with her cold, unfeeling single mother.

I think Ms.Mitchard wanted to contrast the lives of the two protagonists -- Annie, the "sensible" 40 year old lawyer who has postponed childbearing until the eleventh hour with her ambivalent boyfriend and Arley, the deeply romantic but totally irresponsible and impractical child-woman who rushes into both sex and motherhood before she can handle either. In other words, the two extremes of love, sexuality and pregnancy.

Unfortunately, somehow the mix does not work very well. It's not the fault of Ms. Mitchard's writing -- she's a fine and sensitive writer -- but the plot is a bit too unbelievable and extreme. Yes, it's certainly possible for a young teenage girl to fall into such an intense romantic relationship -- but such relationships are not glamorous or sexy. They usually involve manipulation from the much older male partner. This is NOT a "Romeo and Juliet" romance, as some reviewers have stated -- Romeo was a couple years older than Juliet. Dillon is an adult man in his mid-twenties, with a history of going after underage girls.

It's not credible to me that the State of Texas would hand over a 14 year old virgin to a convicted criminal, to be deflowered in a trailer, and this WOULD NOT MAKE THE NEWS or interest the media! I don't know what the minimum age of marriage is in Texas -- perhaps it's as low as 14, there are other states where you can marry at 13 -- but usually when such a thing occurs, it would generate some kind of public outrage. Handing a skinny, flat-chested little girl over to an imprisioned convict just is completely unbelievable to me, and it utterly invalidated the rest of the book. It only gets worse when Dillon and the virginal Arley have the kind of exposive, incendiary sex that can elude an experienced adult woman!

A number of serious issues are skirted, such as the fact that a young, very good looking guy like Dillon would have probably been homosexually raped numerous times while in prison for 8 years. Conveniently for the plot, this has not happened -- he's HIV negative and the years in prison have apparently given him the sexual skills of a Casanova.

On the other side of the plotline, we have 40-ish Annie, a career woman who can't get her boyfriend to commit to marriage and children, even though her biological clock is running out. Abruptly, Annie buys a run-down Victorian mansion (for $60,000, a not very believable fact in and of itself) and hires a handsome contractor to restore it. Fortunately for her biological clock, he turns out to be in love with her and eager to marry and start a family, so she dumps the ambivalent boyfriend. This is chick-lit at it's absolute worst, and the author entirely lost me with this over-used plotline. I'd like for once to read about a career woman who is HAPPY with her life, OK with being childless and who knows better than to hook up with wishy-washy guys. Jacquelyn Mitchard is too good a writer to be wallowing in chick-lit.

The entire plot revolves around the impregnation of Arley by Dillon during their one-time conjugal visit. Just prior to the visit, Annie gives Arley some condoms, but without any serious instructions on their use, just to use them "every time." Not surprisingly for a teenager, Arley fails to use them correctly and is pressured by the selfish Dillon to have unprotected intercourse, resulting in her pregnancy. Since Annie is so sophisticated, I am astonished that she wouldn't figure something like this would be likely to happen. Why doesn't she take Arley to a clinic and get her on the pill? or another method that would not require discipline, maturity and judgment (all notably lacking in most teenagers)? Why wouldn't she get one of those over-the-counter ovulation testers to be sure that Arley wasn't fertile during the time she was handed over to Dillon? Annie's behavior is pretty stupid, considering that she eventually has to become a surrogant parent to the pregnant Arley.

And this is the most unbelievable and disturbing part of the book -- attorneys, even really nice pro-bono legal aid attorneys, don't get this involved in their clients lives. Sympathetic, perhaps -- maybe to the point of offering extra help or money. But allow a teenager to move into your (fabulous restored Victorian) house? Help deliver and raise her baby? Sorry, that's a pipe dream and any teenager who is foolish enough to think she can acquire a "second mom" this way is headed for worse disappointment than when she hooks up with a manipulation older man who likes sex with teens.

In conclusion: poor plot, unbelievable characters and situations marr otherwise skillful writing. Ms. Mitchard needs to do more research next time, and hopefully will re-consider the wisdom of glorifying the "maturity" and poetry of extremely underage girls and glamorizing their sexuality.

(A last note: the poetry included in the novel, which is written by a professional poet, is well done but utterly unconvincing as the work of a junior high student and/or an uneducated prisoner.)

Least of her books..........2005-05-01

I did not enjoy this book. Even though 12 Times Blessed had flaws at least it was engaging and I got wrapped up in it. This book was just depressing, and I didn't like any of the characters. Read 'A Theory of Relativity' instead or if you haven't already the unforgettable 'Deep End of the Ocean'.

An amazing story.......2004-12-22

This is the wonderful story of Arley, a smart teenager who falls in love with a convinct ten years her senior, marries him and falls pregnant. It's also the story of her protective lawyer Annie, who is also at a turning point in her life, wanting to settle down but whose long-term fiance does not share her aspirations.

Mitchard lets her characters grow and make mistakes, and she is never patronising, which make the story more realistic. This book is captivating and it will make you laugh and cry. It's a great story for anyone who's taken the chance to turn things around after making the wrong choices in life.

One of my favorite books of all time........2004-03-31

I read the Deep End of the Ocean, and I must admit, it didn't touch me, as this book did. The Most Wanted is a title that fits the book for many reasons, but mostly for the reason this book is all about being wanted: as a daughter, a criminal, a lover, a mother, and a wife. To where you feel the most wanted, and who you feel the most wanted by is where you'll be the happiest. The main message is if you're not the most wanted, find somewhere you will be. I must say again HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Hockey's Most Wanted: The Top 10 Book of Wicked Slapshots, Bruising Goons and Ice Oddities (Most Wanted)

Average customer rating:

Hockey's Most Wanted: The Top 10 Book of Wicked Slapshots, Bruising Goons and Ice Oddities (Most Wanted)
Floyd Conner
Manufacturer: Potomac Books Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Hockey | Sports | Subjects | Books

General | Sports | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 157488364X

Book Description

The history of hockey is filled with the bizarre, the unexpected, and the hard to believe. Hockey's Most Wanted™ chronicles 700 of the most outrageous players, coaches, and owners in hockey history. In humorous detail, Floyd Conner describes hockey’s top-ten strange plays, inept players, bizarre nicknames, craziest fans, colorful characters, unlikely heroes, odious owners, worst coaches, beleaguered officials, most brutal fights, and more. Learn why Dave Reece was nicknamed “the Human Sieve,” and find out which goalie once gave up fifteen goals in a game. Meet the player who was whistled for a record sixty-seven penalty minutes in a single game and another who played in the National Hockey League for five years before scoring his first goal. Imagine scoring the winning goal in the seventh and deciding game of the Stanley Cup—for the opposing team—or how it felt to be the defenseman traded for a net. You can find all this and more in Hockey's Most Wanted™, a book that every hockey fan will enjoy.

Flash MX Most Wanted: Effects and Movies

Average customer rating:

!
Very disappointing
A real professional
orox
inspiring projects

Flash MX Most Wanted: Effects and Movies
Adam Phillips , David Doull , Jordan Stone , Keith Peters , Sham Bhangal , Todd Yard , and Chad Corbin
Manufacturer: Peer Information Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Graphic Design | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

General | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

General | Software | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books
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Macromedia Flash MX 2004 Games Most Wanted
Macromedia Flash MX Components Most Wanted
Macromedia Flash MX Video
Flash 3D Cheats Most Wanted
Flash Math Creativity: Second Edition

ASIN: 1903450942

Book Description

Some friends of ED books concentrate on more serious aspects of Flash - this one concentrates on the fun. Flash can be used for many purposes, but making visually stunning effects to impress your boss, your friends, and anyone who looks at your site is one of the most rewarding.

friends of ED have scoured the web and the Flash community, discovering the most requested and popular Flash effects in action today. We have investigated the visual effects and actual design techniques that Flash beginners have been asking for. The visual inspiration and detailed explanations of how to recreate these effects are combined together in this book.

The eight leading designers in this full color book take these effects apart, showing you how to adapt your basic Flash knowledge to achieve results exceeding anything you thought possible. The effects stay true to the tried and tested friends of ED design-centric approach, with full exercises and explanations for each effect.

Topics include: ground-breaking site navigation; a dynamic MP3 jukebox; cartoon animation; and Flash math visual effects.

All you need to use this book is a knowlegde of the Flash MX interface, and some imagination. So sit back, relax, and open up your mind to the visual potential of Flash MX.

As with all books from friends of ED our support is fast, friendly and free. Even if our dedicated support team are unable to solve your problem immediately, your queries will be passed onto the editors and authors who put the book together. All foED authors help with the support on their books, and will either directly mail readers with solutions or (more usually) send their response to an editor to pass on.

Customer Reviews:

!.......2005-08-12

This guy is the best flash artist ever! I didnt read the book but I saw his work! go to biteycastle.com to see his work!

Very disappointing.......2003-11-04

This book is full of uninspiring projects and poor editing. Tons of typos, and writing that just doesn't make sense in the least. I'm very surprised someone edited this at all.

It was up for sale again not long after I got it.

A real professional.......2003-02-06

Adam Phillip's chapter stands out in this valuable book. Finally, advice from a real professional(Disney) animator. Well respected as a character, special effects and Flash animator, Adam's advice is invaluable to anyone seeking to animate in Flash.

orox.......2003-02-05

i fenk tihs bok is so kool 4 sk00l i giv fiev starz cos it iz good.

i aelso fink flash iz fuhn + awsum x 9

<3 (osupsons)

- mucks

inspiring projects.......2003-01-21

This book has got eight chapters in it, and I've been through four of them so far and am really enjoying it. I bought it because WideGroup wrote one of the chapters and I saw the Sofake site on FlashKit featured site. It's great to see how their Flash files are built and yuou can get all the files for the book on the web site. I made the MP3 player which is great as I've been looking around for tutorials that show you how to do this in Flash MX for ages.

Macromedia Flash MX 2004 Games Most Wanted

Average customer rating:

They may be most wanted but you won't learn Flash
Very disappointing!
Nice physical effects

Macromedia Flash MX 2004 Games Most Wanted
Sham Bhangal , Glen Rhodes , Kristian Besley , Brian Monnone , Steve Young , Keith Peters , Anthony Eden , and Brad Ferguson
Manufacturer: friends of ED
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Game Programming | Programming | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

General | Graphic Design | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

General | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

All Deals | Blowout Books | Stores | Books

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Computers & Internet | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
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Macromedia Flash MX 2004 Game Design Demystified
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ASIN: 1590592360

Book Description

Macromedia Flash MX 2004 Games Most Wanted is the latest title in the popular ‘Most Wanted’ series from friends of ED. This book presents the definitive selection of game design techniques using the latest version of Macromedia Flash – now the industry standard for creating multimedia applications, used by over one million professionals.

Each chapter covers a distinct area of online gaming, describing the design and development of a finished Flash game. The book delivers as many complete example games as possible and is packed full of the most wanted tips, tricks, and techniques to demonstrate exactly how to produce exciting and interactive games. This is an inspiring sample of all the very best techniques that professional Flash game designers are using today.

Customer Reviews:

They may be most wanted but you won't learn Flash.......2007-08-06

I am currently learning to program Action Script and have been buying multiple Flash books. This particular book has several games you can get the source code to for copying, pasting and modifying. It "tells" you how each game was made without actually teaching you how to do anything.
So the title is correct- these are generic games and highly useful source code and therefore (in 2004 at least) most wanted.
If you are a beginner seeking to learn flash, start with Flash Game Programming for Dummies or the very well written O'Reilly book on Action Script.
Check the web- there is tons of good newer source code out there if you need something to start with and just need to hack a prototype together.

Very disappointing!.......2005-06-24

Honestly this book is a steer clear. Sure it has some examples that are usefull but the explanation of the code is horrible. For someone like myself who has experience in Java, C++, PHP, VB.NET, HTML and more i found this book very difficult to follow and understand.

I have since got FlashMX game design Demystified by Jobe Makar and would have to say 5 stars for that book. That explains everything properly and even teaches you the basics in mathematics and physics which was a good brush up for myself. I also like his use of OO programming so that code is resuable and he also goes lightly into using xml for building objects such as levels.

Nice physical effects.......2004-06-07

As a physicist, I immediately turned to the parts that incorporate physics. Like the friction of a billiard ball on a pool table. I grew up on Pong, and the rich texturing here is so amazingly removed from that! The discussions on how to collide two balls may not be fully correct to someone who had to deal with impact parameters in classical and quantum mechanics. But it suffices well in the book's simulations.

Another chapter deals with using gravity, and will be useful to some of you. Takes the mystery out of incorporating at least a simple gravity in your games. Maybe it is nothing profound, but the results are very slick. And achieved with relatively little source code, which is thoroughly explained in the narrative.

The level of detail of the physical simulations here does not approach that of some games by Activision and Electronic Arts, of course. But those are games developed with multimillion dollar budgets and teams of programmers. This book is suitable for you to develop a game by yourself.

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