"[in LOD] one wants to manage the world-model so that fine levels of detail are grouped together into a single primitive when, and only when, they would not be seen separately. This fine book is an exposition of the concepts, algorithms, and data structures for doing this grouping. The authors have severally developed many of the techniques described here. The book provides both a treatment of the underlying theory and a valuable practical reference for the graphics practitioner."

Frederick P. Brooks, Jr.
Kenan Professor of Computer Science
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

"I'm really happy with what Luebke et al. have created; it's exactly what I would want to find on the shelf if I needed to implement some LOD techniques in a game. The book gives both a survey of existing techniques and some specific examples of LOD use, which is what makes it uniquely valuable. If you're a game developer who is just starting out, and you want to come up to speed on the state of the art in LOD, you can read through the initial chapters to familiarize yourself with the important concepts. On the other hand, if you're familiar with LOD techniques but perhaps not how to use them in a real-time system, you can jump straight to the game development and terrain rendering chapters. Great stuff!
"The extensive set of references at the end of the book is quite nice to have as well. One of the challenges in implementing a cutting-edge technique, and altering it to suit your application, is understanding the algorithm to its core. It's invaluable having all of those references in one place, so that you can easily find the exact paper where the technique you want to implement was first detailed."

Mark DeLoura
Manager of Developer Relations, Sony Computer Entertainment America
Creator, Game Programming Gems series

"A fantastic and well-written book, filled with a lot of very useful information. There is no other like it on the market.
"The concept of level of detail is an important one in the field of computer graphics, dating back to James Clark's 1976 Communications of the ACM paper entitled "Hierarchic al Geometric Models for Visible Surface Algorithms." Current books on graphics discuss only the basics of level of detail and present one or more of a small number of algorithms on the topic. The field has evolved greatly over the last decade to the point where there is a lot more to say about it.
"Level of Detail for 3D Graphics says it all! This is the first and only book that provides a comprehensive coverage about level of detail. At a high level, the book is organized into three parts: The theory and algorithms for generation of level of detail; applications, including optimizations for game programming and level of detail for terrain; and advanced issues, including a discussion on visual systems and on temporal level of detail. At a low level, the book is well written and the authors cover the topics in meticulous detail. Not only are the algorithms themselves presented, comparisons are made between them so you know which one is the best choice for your application. This book is packed with information. When you are finished reading it, all you will be able to say is Wow!
"Level of Detail for 3D Graphics is absolutely a must have book for practitioners in any graphics field including game programming, scientific or medical visualization, computer aided design, or virtual reality systems."

Dave Eberly
President, Magic Software, Inc.

"A comprehensive presentation of the terminology, theory, and practice of mesh simplification. Includes extensive references to web accessible source code and data. This book will find a choice spot on my bookshelf."

Will Schroeder
Co-founder, Kitware, Inc.

"I like the writing style of the book! The first three chapters nicely outline and divide concepts that have been floating around the literature. The book presents a good classication of algorithms, their general strategies and variations. I hope this classication extends to the research community and fosters better communication among researchers.
"The applications section gives a solid glimpse into the issues and complexities that arise when developing geometry-rendering systems for real and large applications.
"The advances issues section is very enlightening! The summary of perceptual issues and the ideas for measuring visual fidelity will help new, as well as experienced researchers, develop novel and revolutionary algorithms to take level-of-detail work to the next stage.
"The book does a great job of piecing together years of work and presenting it in an organized fashion. This betters the understanding for both new and experienced researchers, and provides a mechanism to put reseachers on the same wavelength thus promoting better communication. In addition, the advanced issues section of the book contains several forward- looking concepts that hopefully will take level-of-detail work to the next stage!"

Daniel Aliaga
Computer Graphics Researcher
Bell Laboratories