Summary

Rotations would have to be the single most cause of headaches for programmers working in 3D environments. By now you will have an appreciation for the complexity of their mathematics. It’s often not until you start using the mathematics that you find out what can go wrong. Only then can you really understand how the errors occur and what you can do to fix them. The issues that affect first-person controller rotations also impact the navigation systems of virtual moving objects such as simulated aircraft and spaceships.

In this chapter, we have explored the mathematics required to move and rotate a virtual camera. This knowledge will allow you to position and angle a camera anywhere in the world to view the objects being rendered. Though the use of several key presses, the camera in your project will now be able to move and rotate. This is essential understanding for any graphics or game programmer, as is being able to eye ball a transformation matrix and have an awareness...