Is 3dfa still being developed?

[NerdNetwork]

For a long while, this project has not been evidently moving forward. I am wondering if there will be any new releases, particularly for Linux.

If anyone knows about the development, please tell me.

Let's have a poll. Who wants 3dfa for linux! Please push for it!

Nerd Network Admin

[ForumNewbie]

Personally, I think speedy resolution of bugs that have been reported, and improved product documentation, will make it a better product, both for Mofosoft as a company and for us as end users.

An outbreak of posts on the subject last month seemed to suggest that was a common view. Hence, I'm afraid I voted against your motion

Sorry.

[lopez1_de]

yes, i think its under developement. i think this is the reason why v4 exist. use windows! (i now that a should shut up)

[FLASHPULSE]

I talked to the developers a couples months ago and as far as I know the 3D part is being redone. So this might take more time then usual. They said it would be available around the begining of this year but that was two or three months ago, so any set backs may have happened since then. It would be nice if the developers of this software would post on the forum once in a while. For updates and help to those who need it, since the help file is not so in depth.

[lopez1_de]

A bird tells me that the developer work on a new version.

I hope they DON'T enhance the 3D functions. There are so many other things to do. Thats my opinion.

There are many other important things to work on.

have a nice day

[zoranvedek]

As far as the 3d goes I can take it or leave it. I mean really all it does with a textured model is spit out a .gif animation, which I can do far better from anim8or (well..... avi, or bmp), and then import into 3dfa.

As for linux(I don't use it), mac I use once in awhile, but really not too often(this will change when I get back in school), so I really don't have an immediate need for either, but I sympathize with those that do.


From my standpoint there are a lot of improvements in version4 but a lot that seems to have either been drastically changed, ommitted, or even completely broken. I think these should be taken care of first and foremost.


-J

[NerdNetwork]

I may be as FlashPulse said, that the redevelopment of the 3D component is holding the release schedule up.

I do hope though that Linux is supported when they do bring out the next version. If anyone can talk directly to the producers to say that, perhaps it might just happen.

[kenlynch]

I'm glad (if the news is true) that 3DFA are working on the 3D engine. It doesn't just produce gifs, it can produce vector 3D as well - it is this I hope they are working on to maybe make it more usable and a bit more like Swift3D.

It would be nice to hear from 3DFA themselves as to what they are currently working on to dispell the idea that it is no longer in development.

I really hope they don't waste time on a Linux version though.

[FLASHPULSE]

I just sent an email to 3DFA since it has been a few months since I got any information from them. Hopefully I'll get a fast response as I did last time. I will post as soon as I hear anything or maybe they'll post themselves.

[NerdNetwork]

kenlynch said:

I really hope they don't waste time on a Linux version though.

This is very unfair. Linux is a very wide spread Operating System, and becoming even more so, as it is free, and can be modified by anyone once downloaded or bought.

FlashPulse Said:

I just sent an email to 3DFA since it has been a few months since I got any information from them. Hopefully I'll get a fast response as I did last time. I will post as soon as I hear anything or maybe they'll post themselves.

Thankyou very much. I will be happy to hear from them through you, and to see if 3DFA really is still moving forward.

[kenlynch]

NerdNetwork said:

This is very unfair. Linux is a very wide spread Operating System, and becoming even more so, as it is free, and can be modified by anyone once downloaded or bought.

I used Linux for a while and even developed for it and my opinions of it are:

1) That the comunity is in a shambles, there are a lot who will shun a closed source, pay for project such as this.
2) It isn't as popular as it would like to make out on the home/office desktop.
3) It's still a pain to get working properly, there are still times when you need to recompile the kernel. Ease of use and configuration is something that a lot of the community is actively against!
4) There are too many kernel versions and library versions out there still in use, there are too many distros with subtle variations in file system, kernel version, library versions, package management, desktop choice.
5) On a similar note, standardisation is anathema to a lot of the community.

I think its downfall is exactly what you say is its strength, the fact it can be modified by anyone. How the hell do you support such a product effectively? This is why I feel 3DFA would be wasting their time as I feel that they would only have a small number of Linux customers but I feel support requests could be disproportionate.

So in summary I don't think I am being unfair. Even a lot of big companies, such as IBM, HP and Novell, are hedging their bets with Linux rather than giving 110% support.

[Twisted Mind]

The last mail I got from the 3DFA Crew was this:

"...Sorry having such bad response these days - ive been having trouble
filtering out 10000 sobig virus emails a day. The support mailbox has been
overloaded and i'm concerned its been rejecting mails.

Ive been putting off further development for a while. I'm taking up some
contracting work for a while to make ends meet. I'll be back on the case
once ive worked out the new Flash 7 features..."

[NerdNetwork]

While linux may be in the minority as far as users go, it still has over 18 million users, according to http://counter.li.org. This is constantly rising as linux becomes more and more refined. Fedora Core 1 is polished and brilliant.

As far as standardisation, the kernels are all standard, unless someone edits them, and if they do, it's their own fault for stuffing up compatibility. As for the different Linux versions, most are compatible with each other, and if not, then you can make them compatible via small downloads. RPM helps a lot!

Fedora Core 1, the latest in the RedHat line for free desktop users, has added a new standard of ease of use. While certainly, a few programs require the recompiling of the kernel, I have never had to, with graphics drivers (such as nvidia) being put into binary form, as with most programs. RedHat and thirdparty programmers have developed configuring software to change config files with a GUI. These include the HTTP server, DNS, Screen Resolution (on the fly), and so on.

It is true that many Linux users don't wish to pay for software, myself included, when they can download it for free. Also, Linux comes bundled with almost all the software you'll ever need, so why buy software when you already have an alternative? However, if 3DFA was ported to Linux, it would be the only real flash animator available, and as it is reasonably priced, I'm sure some Linux users would buy it.

Ah... But modification is its strength. Bugs and glitches are found much quicker. You might say that this allows people to put bugs in the software, and to take advantage of the software and breach the security. However, linux open-source software is designed so that the usual problems with this is not there, and cannot be breached. If people modify code and add bugs, and submit it, software analysers pick them up, and do not put them in the release. So we have all of the advantages, and none of the disadvantages.

Most major programs are now being ported to linux, everything, that is, except Microsft products. Or erhaps you would say that Linux programs are also being proted to windows, and since a vast amount of programmers use it, then it makes sense.





So, as "Twisted Mind" says, it appears the development HAS stopped, at least for a while. I hope that development continues on this project soon!

Thanks Twisted Mind,
Nerd Network Admin

[kenlynch]

it still has over 18 million users

According to a source that has no way to verify the accuracy of its data. What does that 18 million mean, well, considering that there is over 50 million people living in the UK it doesn't amount to much of the world. Are servers counted? If so that probably makes up a large chunk of that 18 million. Google Zeitgeist shows that Linux only made up 1% of all hits on Google at the end of last year compared to 88% of hits being either Windows 98, 2000 or XP.

Bugs and glitches are found much quicker.

Is there any hard evidence to back this up?

and if they do, it's their own fault for stuffing up compatibility.

So you are basically saying here that Linux is great, you can mod it, but it's best not to.

Most major programs are now being ported to linux

Like what? No Macromedia, Adobe or Microsoft products are being ported. Corel dropped their Linux port of CorelDRAW. Maya is the only major app I can think of with a Linux version in current development.

So we have all of the advantages, and none of the disadvantages.

No disadvantages? That's a rather bold statement. Sure Linux has strengths and is a great example of what can be acheived through web co-operation. It acheived it's aim of being a UNIX clone, but in following UNIX it didn't innovate and has ended up being just as clumsy as UNIX.

I think Linux has its niche, but as a desktop solution it isn't there yet and it has a lot of catching up to do and there are a lot of barriers in the way.

[FLASHPULSE]

Well, no reply in three days, so I emailed them again.

[FLASHPULSE]

3DFA is still moving forward and they're working on some new tools that will be in the new 3DFA. They are reworking the source code to add these new tools, therefor being delayed longer then usual. It shouldn't be to much longer though but you never know when redoing the source code.

I got to play with one of the beta versions of one of these tools. They layout still has the 3DFA look but seemed very easy to figure out. Hopefully it will come with a nice help file anyway. It looks like they're looking at all aspects of this newer version. I'm not sure if I can talk about this new tool to much, since nothing was stated in the email.

It didn't say in the email either, wether or not other OS's were being worked on as well but I would think so, since this was one of there goals for last year. It did say however that in the next few months we will be seeing a release of these tools along with a new version of 3DFA, which I assume would be 5.0 since it's going through all this work. That's all I have for now. If 3DFA gives me anymore information, I'll post it as soon as I can.

[blanius]

Yeah I don't think you're supposed to mention it in any detail is all. The new tools will certainly improve 3dfa's feature set, but I really have encouraged them to concentrate on bug fixes and stability.

I just attended a Macromedia seminar and Flash MX 2004 Pro has some very nice features, and one that concerned me was that they now have a swish plugin to allow you to use swish text effects directly in Flash MX, Shame that 3dfa didn't do something like that as I'm sure this will push even more users to swish.

[FLASHPULSE]

I've never been into text effects myself. Flash has alot more to offer then text effects. I never really liked swish either. Didn't care for the setup. I use KoolMoves more then anything but I've been waiting for 3DFA to get a better grasp of their 3D area. Being called 3DFA, this area should be worked on the most, I think anyway. Anyways, it will be nice to see the new release when it arrives.

[NerdNetwork]

kenlynch --

Let's just assume hypothetically that Linux does have over 18 million, or close to. That is no small number, especially as it is constantly growing. 18 million is enough to warrant development, even if the majority are servers. It's this lag in development of programs like 3DFA that really affect its popularity.

There is no hard backup, except that Linux has none of the hundreds of security bugs that Microsoft suffers from, and if they did, a million users would be on it right away, for no other reason but to help.

As far as the modification of the Linux OS, it is best left to those with experience. The very openness which allows you to modify it gives you the freedom to learn about programming and to CONTROL your own computer, something which Microsoft doesn't want.

Macromedia has made a flash plugin for linux (http://download.macromedia.com/pub/s...6_linux.tar.gz), Adobe has put out a Linux version of Adobe Acrobat (http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html). Why would Microsoft support its greatest rival?

When I said "no disadvantages", I meant as far as developing went, not as far as the whole OS. I have found nothing wrong with Fedora Core 1. Version 2 comes out in April. You should try it, or version 1.

Granted, Linux is not as popular because of compatiblity with many major corporations. However, that is changing.

Everyone reading this should seriously consider trying Linux as a completely free OS.

Thankyou once again FlashPulse. Is there a URL where we can go to look at the development?

Nerd Network Admin

[FLASHPULSE]

Originally posted by NerdNetwork
Thankyou once again FlashPulse. Is there a URL where we can go to look at the development?

Nerd Network Admin

There is but it also contains one of the beta releases and I don't think I should be giving it out, sorry.