A wide variety of applications require effective techniques and solutions for developing crowd simulations. This second edition surveys techniques, discusses issues and applications, and concludes with case studies. I found the topics and associated problems accessible and engaging. The authors start with a discussion of the challenges of simulating believable and useful virtual crowds, including the management of multiple instances of similar characters, behavioral animation, and the importance of animation variety for creating believable crowd behavior.

Chapters 3 and 4 discuss the modeling of populations and virtual human interaction, including body shape capture, crowd appearance variety, locomotion modeling, and control. Chapters 5 and 6 examine crowd behavioral animation and the empirical methods used by the authors to observe real crowds to extract characteristics such as the number of individuals in an occupied space, or to evaluate appropriate virtual crowd population density structures.

Chapters 7 and 8 provide a fascinating overview of crowd rendering and populated environments, including representation, motion kits, and shadows. There is also a discussion of the generation of 3D virtual environments and the use of an ontology for crowd simulation. All of this information is complemented by the case studies in the final chapter, covering topics such as crowd simulation for virtual heritage, safety systems, and more.

Algorithms and illustrations accompany the text throughout. Much of the material relates to 3D modeling, but the focus on analyzing, manipulating, and representing believable virtual crowds within worlds has application in training and surveillance, as well as entertainment. The authors note that the book is intended for graduate students, researchers, and those working in the industry. Indeed, knowledge of this area is required to understand the methods described and the contribution that this work makes in pioneering these extremely complex systems. Students who might be considering a future in simulation and virtual narratives will find this book informative and inspiring.