plugin-free web3D with TS?

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plugin-free web3D with TS? // Visitor Area

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Post by m0nki // Jul 11, 2006, 1:22am

m0nki
Total Posts: 0
Hi all, I'm looking for a tool that allows me to build web3D objects and scenes that can be vieuwed within a browser without the need for additional plugins.

I've been investigating this until mid 2000 and I'm picking this up again (sabattical and refocus to 3D).


Does Caligari have a web3D system that facilitates the publication on web3D? I know I can use TS to build the models and export to e.g. Shockwave ... but does Caligari have its own 'system' like Strata Live 3D?


I know I can use Flash or Shockwave, but still, these are plugins although widely spread. Cult3D and Viewpoint are plugin-based.

Maybe Java would be an excellent option but as non-programmer, I won't pursue any road leading to even the smallest amount of coding unless the coding is based on building logic blocks (e.g. Virtools, Blender, ... but they require plugins to view the content).


Does anyone have a suggestion?

thanks

Post by hemulin // Jul 11, 2006, 6:04am

hemulin
Total Posts: 1058
pic
Isn't that what the vrml standard is for?

Post by TomG // Jul 12, 2006, 7:45am

TomG
Total Posts: 3397
Hmm, you will always need a plugin.


Unlike 2D, where there are standards in place that apply across the board, so a browser can have a built in means of displaying certain 2D images, there are no 3D standards.


No browser has 3D "built-in" - to allow for 3D to be rendered (and all 3D, even real-time, is rendered at some point, when something does the calculations that determine just what is shown on screen) there must be a plug-in that acts as the rendering engine. Viewpoint, Shockwave, Flash, etc, are all plug-ins, and are the only way to embed 3D in a browser.


There may come a day where you can embed truePlay in the browser (I only say may, this is not a statement that we will for sure!), but then again it is still a plug-in that will take the 3D data and render it.


The only other alternative is not to use real 3D at all, but use animations of one sort or another. Then of course, you can't interact with them in an open-ended fashion, ie you can't rotate and view them from any angle. iSpace would allow that for instance, making it easy to turn your 3D and 3D animations into web pages.


But in the end, no browser has a 3D standard built in, or a 3D rendering engine built in. This means you will need to use a plug-in for that to happen.


Now, whether Windows Vista will change all that, I can't say - there it seems that displaying things in 3D is part of the OS, in other words, Vista has its own real-time rendering built in for the desktop, so perhaps that will also appear in Internet Explorer in a built-in form.


Of course then people will only see it if running Vista, which is a little more of an issue to install than a browser plug-in ;)


HTH!

Tom

Post by Unregistered // Jul 13, 2006, 6:52am

Unregistered
Total Posts: 0
Dont forget Quicktime, which tS will generate as Panorama or Object.

Pretty much every computer has Quicktime already onboard.

Post by xmanflash // Jul 15, 2006, 7:53am

xmanflash
Total Posts: 335
Is there a Flash based VRML playback thingo anywhere?

Post by transient_guest // Jul 31, 2006, 2:12pm

transient_guest
Total Posts: 0
Wirefusion doesn't use plug-ins, as it's java based.


http://www.demicron.com/wirefusion/


You should also check out dxstudio, but it needs a plug-in.

I don't personally see the problem with plug-ins, as this kind of thing is really a niche area anyway.


Perhaps the need for a dedicated 3d card and broadband access would write off more potential viewers, especially older ones, than the need to download a plug-in.

Post by Unregistered // Sep 12, 2008, 7:15pm

Unregistered
Total Posts: 0
As far as I know, 3DXPlorer is the only true immersive web3D platform which is browser-based and plug-in-free. Its based on Java 5, running on Mac/PC/Linux with Firefox, opera, IE, Safari. see www.3DXplorer.com
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