Some advice to re-start with math

Hello everyone.

Actually i’m looking for some advice to how and where start to study math for game use, i’m not good in math right now, to be a better programmer i shlould to start study math serously.

Someone have any kind of advice?

 

Euclidean Geometry. The name sounds worse than it really is. Two-dimensional and three-dimensional vectors. Then some basic trigonometry, understanding angles and sine/cosine/tangent transcendental functions.

 

Indeed, this is what I'd agree with being needed for gamedev. And you don't really need to know the details either, rather just overhead concepts, unless you want to write your own engine. Quaternions are the perfect example of this, few people truly understand them(I only have the basics myself), but we use them all the time in Unity any time we make something rotate. Same thing applies to vectors. The reason you want to understand the basics more than anything is to understand what kind of things are available, like the uses of the cross product, the idea of taking a vector, turning it into a unit vector, and multiplying it by some value in order to control speed, and other similar things. You don't have to understand the exact math behind the vector operations, but you DO need to understand what they can do at the least so you can take advantage of them. The whole LERP concept is also in that group of need to know stuff.

 

I learned math rally after school, when start programming.
And I learn step by step, by trying implementing things and figuring out, how things works.
as @kburkhart84 said, you don't need to know, how things work behind the scene (yet beneficial to know).
But you need to know, how apply things. And that comes with practice.

 

The point is, when you have to make some parabola and you can’t do it yourself.. my target is that, to understand how things works, to be a better programmer, because anyone can use rigidbody... this is why i’m asking this.

Thank’s to hally for that book, i’ll check it!

 

There is actually a book about Math for Game Developers. Check the book "3D Math Primer for Graphics and Game Development"

 

Looks good i’ll try it, thank’s you

 

I'll add matrix stuff, statistics, series, analytic geometry and whatver the name of the thing that handle system of equation. Stuff I'm always encountering but don't fully master Then just do rot exercise until it became second nature, the truth is that you need to automate it until it's second nature and is just a background process in your head.

 

Yes well, right now i can’t reproduce some parabola too, so i need to improve my math skills.. that books should be a point where start not end..

 

You always mooc to get you at the right speed, like the khan academy:
https://www.khanacademy.org/
I started from the kids stuff despite being able to roll over it, just to learn the interface, pace and get the habit of doing a bit everyday up until I reached the difficult part, also it kind of sets you up into the mindset of thinking in math with hitting head on the wall of difficult matter. Since math curriculum are design to be progressive, take it as a game, you start from the first level, easy peasy, and you go up to the hard part, like in ye old nes day, no skipping. It does help refresh and also you will need some humility, to get through those part.

 

I wouldn't recommend learning math directly. Instead, why not have fun creating procedural shaders, like for example this planet shader, and learn two things at the same time? They tend to involve a lot of geometry. Also make some physics stuff (like calculating and visualizing the trajectory of a thrown object, or something like that).

I've always done a lot of math through school and university but tbh I don't get much benefit from it unless I learn it while I'm using it for something (otherwise it makes space for something more useful). So unless you enjoy it for the sake of it, I'd start making things instead (and keep the books handy for reference). Being able to learn on the job is much, much more useful to you (and your boss for that matter) than anything you have in your head right now.

 

Oh really? Why so way down? I would have started from the 9th grade, or so. But talking about consistency is actually a good idea. I hate to be a procrastinator

 

Starting so way down remove any tension, it turn the thing into a kind of speed run by being trivially easy, which will accustomed you to just do it. That's just the advice, you do what you want, but I found it had some benefit for later, especially since I haven't reach the level where the math I need are. Plus everything build up each other, that's like super easing into the math mindset, to the point where some part you will wonder why you ever had any difficulty with. BY the point you reach hard stuff you might actually start having fun to pass over them as challenge.

Also that does not mean, you should stop doing over stuff that might require math to explore specific application in any other order, it's just a nice complement. Turn it into an habit, like 5mn-30mn everyday at the same hours.

Also getting a math mindset makes you focus way more on the design, I'm hardcore on pgc stuff, I always feel like I have the right high level idea, but it start to slow down when trying basic math. For example I'm currently doing a relief function shader, that is basically raytracing primitive in fragment to avoid costly raymarching, and having to deal with parametric curves stress the fact I didn't do enough ROT math exercises, it's conceptually solved, but I'm messing with the application for something that should be trivial. People tend to underestimate how much rot exercises in school give you a leg up, they only have the problem of getting bored. Also people underestimate how the ability to blame the professor (or any external pressure, like parent, deadline, boss, etc...) for whatever, is a big coping and relief system to HAVE to do thing, instead of blaming yourself on not keeping up.

 

I will just leave this here...
Donald E. Knuth: The Art of Computer Programming
https://www.amazon.com/Computer-Programming-Volumes-1-4A-Boxed/dp/0321751043/

 

ok, and where is the book for broke people? :c

 

Broke people use time + google we either do teh labor or pay for those who did it!

 

Learn complex numbers are and how they work. Most rotations involve these numbers so it’s good to know the underlying mathematical concepts.

I use simple trig in a fairly regular basis.

Learning how to solve differential calculus is important too. If your calculating any kind of acceleration on an Update function, you need to know how to get a first derivative of a parabolic function.

 

anything can be learned, i'm not scared, i actually know some matrix stuff, the problem is how to get theory and go in practice? that's point here, so i'll study again from 0, then think by myself something to try with objets in unity and play with it..

 

you guys are way too smart.

For most games you really need to learn addition and subtraction. Multiplication and division are useful too. Be careful with zero, thats a tricky number.