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Posts filed under Flash 3D

Online 3D Technology Guide Part 1 | Flash 3D

Introduction

There are a variety of online 3D technologies out there that facilitate the integration of rich 3D graphics within a standard web page.

We wanted to do a series of posts taking a closer look at the underlying technologies facilitating this cutting edge browser based 3D web revolution. Our aim is that we hope to break things down and show how these technologies can work for you. Which 3D technology is relevant and what's actually do-able now and into the future.

Flash 3D Engines

For many years now Flash has been the underlying technology behind the mass growth of online video streaming. Such sites as YouTube wouldn't exist without it. Now Flash looks to do the same with 3D graphics processing... or does it? With the introduction of Flash's Action Script version 3 (AS3) a range of 3D graphical engines began to be developed and released into the Flash community. The ubiquity of the Flash plug-in meant rich 3D graphics could become accessible to anyone with a web browser. However such rich 3D media is limited by Flash's failure to utilise the GPU (any kind of graphics card). Currently it makes use of the computer's CPU processor. Which basically means it uses your computers main brain to do all the processing, where as today's modern standard of 3D graphics in games depends upon access to a graphics card geared specifically to heavy duty number crunching. However, there have been rumours that Adobe (the owners of Flash) intend on making GPU access for Flash applications a reality in the not too distant future. Watch this space.

Below is a consolidated list of the various Flash 3D engines active and available at the moment as well as their relevant applications.
  • Papervision 3D 2.0 Alpha
    Open-source project. Relatively robust in the world of Flash 3D engines. Supportive community with a plethora of tutorials and documentation available. Ideal for 3D web interfaces and simple games. Link | Examples

  • Away 3D
    Open-source project. Comparatively robust. Has a supportive community with lots of tutorials and documentation available. Ideal for games and interactive 3D interfaces. Link | Examples

  • Sandy 3D
    Open-source project. Ideal for 3D web interfaces and simple games. Link | Examples

  • Five3D
    Light-weight open-source project. Ideal for those basic projects that need to perform under optimised conditions. Link | Examples

  • 3DFS
    Open-source project written in Action Script 2. If AS2 is the programming language you need to deal with by necessity, then this is the engine for you. Link | Examples

  • Wire Engine 3D
    Light-weight open-source project. Link | Example

  • JigLibFlash 3D Physics
    Open-source project. Supplementary physics engine. Link | Example

  • Alternativa3D
    Closed-source/paid for project. Specifically designed to be a performance in-browser game development platform with comparatively higher resolution graphics. Online multiplayer capabilities supported. Link | Examples

  • Electric 3D
    Closed-source/paid for project. Electric Oyster's in-house realtime 3D engine. Contact them for further information. Link | Examples

  • FreeSpin 3D
    Paid for component. Good for visualisations of objects, simple games and web interfaces. Link | Examples

  • Sophie 3D
    Paid for Flash component. Gives high quality smooth performance realtime 3D renders. Limited as to the applications for the engine, suited best to visualisation. Link | Example

The future of Flash 3D

The most important thing to remember is that what these Flash engines listed above give us is the opportunity to make rich 3D graphics something accessible. All you need is a bog-standard web browser. No fancy big downloads or obscure voodoo magic, it should just appear instantly and work.

However, as other web browser plug-ins (Unity 3D) and technologies like HTML 5 become more widely available, Adobe will need to make sure Flash keeps pace with the predominantly open-source communities that push these engines to their limits. Flash 3D may have been one of the first stable, accessible platforms out there to get a foot hold, but in-order to secure a future in the online 3D market place it needs to be able to utilise the computer's GPU (graphics card processors).
Submitted by Ashley Davison on Fri, 2010-02-19 20:26 | 0 Comments
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Introduction | 3D Object Viewer

Fixdit's 3D Object Viewer presents a window that contains realtime 3D graphics to a web user. Users can interact with and manipulate the geometry within, as well as share them throughout the web. The windows can be embedded into HTML ready web pages and viewed using potentially any standard web-browser. Unlike video players, a fast internet connection isn't required. 3D Object Viewers aren't limited to the types of models they can contain either and have been used to display content from architectural model walkthroughs to animated character designs. Furthermore this online 3D technology comes with an API already in-built that lets you easily alter and customise elements (e.g. backround colours). Documentation on this API will be realeased to developers in the near future.

Below is an embedded example of the Fixdit 3D Object Viewer 1.0. As a quick example I've included a model of the iPhone 3G. Feel free to interact using your mouse and the pop-up control panel located at the bottom of the viewer. Try adding a note.


Submitted by Ashley Davison on Wed, 2009-09-02 00:47 | 0 Comments
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Everything Cubed

Everything Cubed (e3) has been an idea in development for a while, but yesterday Fixdit finally began work on it. e3 will be Fixdit's largest scale web venture to date and looks to be launched in the next year. Further information on this exciting new project will be featured soon. Watch this 3D space.
Submitted by Ashley Davison on Sat, 2009-08-29 17:54 | 0 Comments
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