Maya’s Embedded Language is the heart and soul of Maya, the most powerful 3D application on the market today. MEL provides Maya with a versatility and adaptability unmatched in the CG industry. It is MEL that allows technical directors to customize Maya to fit each pipeline, to work around each limitation, and to write tools that expand Maya’s already impressive set of capabilities. Mastery of MEL is as essential to a TD as a scalpel is to a surgeon. This book shows you how MEL is being (ab)used in high-end visual effects production by picking apart scripts written in the production of recent feature films. The exhaustive and in-depth nature of this book makes it useful for a broad audience: from the MEL novice who wants to learn MEL to the advanced scripter interested in developing strategies for production problems. A good book covering difficult topics with gentle hand holding and good humour. -Gary Noden, 3D World Magazine

Maya’s Embedded Language is the heart and soul of Maya, the most powerful 3D application on the market today. MEL provides Maya with a versatility and adaptability unmatched in the CG industry. It is MEL that allows technical directors to customize Maya to fit each pipeline, to work around each limitation, and to write tools that expand Maya’s already impressive set of capabilities. Mastery of MEL is as essential to a TD as a scalpel is to a surgeon. This book shows you how MEL is being (ab)used in high-end visual effects production by picking apart scripts written in the production of recent feature films. The exhaustive and in-depth nature of this book makes it useful for a broad audience: from the MEL novice who wants to learn MEL to the advanced scripter interested in developing strategies for production problems. A good book covering difficult topics with gentle hand holding and good humour. -Gary Noden, 3D World Magazine

RPG Programming Using XNA Game Studio 3.0 provides detailed information on role-playing games (RPGs) and how to create them using Microsoft’s XNA Game Studio 3.0. The book examines the history of the genre and takes a piece-by-piece approach to producing a 2D tile-based game, demonstrating how to create the various components that make up an RPG and implement them using C# and XNA Game Studio 3.0. By the end of the book, readers will have built a complete toolset that can be used to create data for their own RPGs. Learn how to: * Creating the characters and monsters that populate RPG worlds * Add stats and skills to allow game entities to perform actions * Populate the game world with items and treasures. Construct a conversation editor to add another degree of interaction * Create a multiple-step quest system to give players goals to research during gameplay * Creating a tile engine for displaying the world Populating the game world with items and treasure * Implementing a sound and music system * Adding multiplayer support

“Both burgeoning game designers and devoted gamers should consider [Game Design: Theory & Practice] an essential read.” — Computer Gaming World “Ultimately, in both theory and practice, Rouse’s Game Design bible gets the job done. Let us pray.” - Next Generation magazine In the second edition to the acclaimed Game Design: Theory & Practice, designer Richard Rouse III balances a discussion of the essential concepts behind game design with an explanation of how you can implement them in your current project. Detailed analysis of successful games is interwoven with concrete examples from Rouse’s own experience. This second edition thoroughly updates the popular original with new chapters and fully revised text.

This book focuses on innovative ways to create customized Word documents and templates. It contains an in-depth introduction to VBA (Visual Basic for Applications), which is the embedded programming language in the Microsoft Office 2007. VBA provides a complete integrated development environment (IDE) that allows for document automation, the process of using an automated template for creating documents. The book also includes coverage of the new features of Word 2007 including Content Controls, programming the Ribbon, and more.

Sybase 15 Replication Server Administration addresses the needs of a wide range of database professionals, explaining to both beginners and experts how to administer Sybase’s newest Replication Server release. This book examines all the knowledge, background information, and conceptual frameworks needed in order to get started on installing and administering Sybase Replication Server, and explores the world of contemporary cross-platform compatible Sybase Replication Server administration. Learn how to replicate business-critical data; configure database connections and routes; manage replicated tables, stored procedures, and subscriptions; set up a warm standby system; monitor replication performance and tune the database system; provide up-to-the-minute high availability of data; recover from failures and prevent data loss; troubleshoot the replication system.

Discover the Three Elements of the Entrepreneurial Mindset—the key to twenty-first century sustainable success: “A must read.” —David Bach, #1 New York Times–bestselling author of The Automatic Millionaire The Entrepreneur’s Solution introduces the Business Mastery Blueprint and the concept of sustainable success—the new model for thriving in the twenty-first century, which replaces the old standard “model of mediocrity.” New-millennium companies are blazing a very different path to an achievable and sustainable future. But what is the mindset behind the methodology? In these pages, potential and beginning entrepreneurs can learn exactly what it takes to live a rich life on every level. The Nine Entrepreneurial Essentials that make up the Three Elements of the Entrepreneurial Mindset—from the moment they are put into practice—become a game changer in growing a business and a meaningful life. “A thought-provoking new way to think about business.” —Daniel Amen, MD, author of Change Your Brain, Change Your Life Includes a foreword by Brendon Burchard, New York Times–bestselling author of High Performance Habits

The field of engineering is becoming increasingly interdisciplinary, and there is an ever-growing need for engineers to investigate engineering and scientific resources outside their own area of expertise. However, studies have shown that quality information-finding skills often tend to be lacking in the engineering profession. Using the Engineerin

Real-world solutions for real-world production environments! Luis Cataldi, BlueSky Studios Maya is a very powerful application. Before artists can create and share their ideas and visions, they must understand its complicated tools and learn to harness its power.Inside Maya 5can help develop a functional understanding of Maya's many tools through solid examples and production-proven methods. From the back cover Are you familiar with the basic Maya tools? Can you complete most tasks with little or no reliance on the help files? Do your questions about Maya center on how to put all the pieces together and use the software in a production setting? If so,Inside Maya 5is just what you want and need. Industry professionals who have worked for such houses as Digital Domain, ILM, PDI/DreamWorks, and Pixar provide insights into making great production decisions that take advantage of the power of Maya without compromising production quality - real-world solutions to real-world challenges! You'll get coverage of: Using Maya in the digital studio pipeline MEL and the Maya API Modeling techniques for NURBS, polygonal modeling, and subdivision surfaces Modeling characters, sets, and props Maya's node-based architecture Particles and dynamics Character animation and rigging Lighting, shading and rendering Bonus interviews with Scott Clark (Pixar) and Paul Thuriot (Tippett Studios) The companion CD includes the source files you need to complete the exercises in each chapter.