There you have it, the basic operations of quaternions. Hopefully you now have enough information to get some use out of them. Throughout the next few chapters, you will use them to provide smooth animation for your 3D models. If you desire to learn more about the background and the math behind quaternions, I would suggest picking up book devoted solely to them. W. R. Hamilton published several on his discovery, and many people have devoted manuscripts to quaternions as well. Just search your favorite online bookstore (most “physical” bookstores do not carry books such as these) and see what you find. There are also many online resources and sites that cover the ins and outs of quaternions. Load up your favorite Internet search engine and search away.
That concludes the math section. Next up, you will begin to learn about 3D model formats. The book starts with simple formats such as AliaslWavefront’s Object format (OBJ) and id Software’s MD2 format, originally created for Quake II. The book then moves on to more complicated formats, such as MilkShape 3D’s MS3D and id Software’s MD3 format.