Would you purchase a Panda3d "In-a-Nutshell" or "Cookbook" book?
0 voters
Hello all,
I am setting up a poll to see if anyone besides me would run out TODAY (not even wait for an overnighter from an online bookseller) and purchase a Panda3d “In a Nutshell” and/or Panda3D “Cookbook.”
Perhaps, we can encourage one of the experts (hint hint, nudge, nudge) to write / publish such a book.
not really… All the documentation I’d need is here in the manual or the API refference. But I can imagine that a book would be a usefull refference.
Heck, I’d run out to buy that book if it existed. If only I had the time to write it. 
David
I only I had the knowledge!
What would the book be about? More of a refrence manual? Or a step by step of building a complex project with Panda?
Are you familiar with the O’Reilly “In a Nutshell” or “Cookbook” technical books?
The “In a Nutshell” format is more of a reference whereas the “Cookbook” is just what the name implies - a set of “recipes” for accomplishing certain things.
For instance, if you are new to Python (even though there is ample reference material online) I would highly recommend the Python In a Nutshell and Cookbook books. Call me old-fashioned but I still like hardcopy books.
For Panda3D, I’m not sure which would be more valuable/useful. I think the “Cookbook.”
What do you (and others) think?
Ha! Great minds think alike 
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I was just this day wishing for a Panda3D book. And I agree with you, I think a ‘cookbook’ would be of much more use to us newbies.
This is a great idea. I really hope that it comes to fruition.
But what would a “cookbook” get you that the tutorials don’t?
Would the benefit be more tutorials? Or having it on paper for easier reference and reading?
The API manual doesn’t really show how to get a game going. For instance, it would be nice to see a Panda3D book which briefly describes how to get a FPS going, an isometeric game, a RTS game and touch on the common tasks of a game.
It is 2010. Are we any closer to getting this resource? 
Yes, there is a book under development.
I’m currently expecting chapter 8. It’s getting closer, though it’s late.
I am brand spanking new to Python/Panda3D.
I would love to go through it for ease-of-use, but I cannot be of value reviewing it on technical merit (yet).
If you are ok with that, yes I am interested!
I am porting over a pre-hospital EMS (Emergency Management Services) simulator from prototype using: Visual Basic, FLASH, Microsoft Agent, and CLIPS to a new more integrated platform of Python, PyCLIPS, Panda3D and probably Blender. This is what is considered a “serious game” in the game design industry.
Please let me know if I can get involved.
I just quoted from the publisher’s mail sent to me. That’s all.
Thanks for the information!
I misread your original post.
I’ll contact the publisher.
If the book contained high quality tutorials where you are guided to build up some simple game prototypes, giving interesting hints here and there, i’d buy it.
Still, I doubt a book about Panda3D would be that successful.
First, the panda community is relatively small, compared of those of other known game engines. Means less potential customers.
Second thing is that Panda3D is updated often and new features come with every new version. A printed book would be outdated after max 1 year.
I like the concept of blendercookie. It’s a tutoring service for Blender 3D, where you can view high quality video tutorials on the web for free and download high-resolution versions with blends (blender project files) against a few bucks.
I would like a book on in general code design in panda. Im still a bit confused on how to lay my code out.
Can I buy it yet?
Not yet.
So, I’m the David Brian Mathews mentioned in the quote from the publisher and the author of this book being written. I’m going through chapter rewrites and edits right now and I’ve just been given the job of putting together a title information sheet for Packt’s marketing team. I stumbled onto this thread while I was looking around the net for any other competing books I need to compare the book I’m writing to, and I didn’t find any.
The Packt website will have more in depth information on what the book will contain once I supply them with the Title Information Sheet and they post it. I have no idea what their schedule for that is but they want the TIS by the end of today. I’ll ask them to notify me when the information for the book is available on their site and I’ll post here again when that happens.
