Authoring tool for Shockwave 3D

[edens]

There has been some discussion lately about Director and Shockwave 3D, so I thought to jump in.

Shells Interactive is producing a tool that enables drag & drop authoring of interactive content for Shockwave 3D. I think that many of the developers and artists here who are reluctant to dive into Director just yet, should try it out.

You can read more about it at http://www.shellsinteractive.com/products/author/

And a free download is available at http://appserv.shellsinteractive.com...s/download.asp

Eden.
[Edited by edens on 10-18-2001 at 02:16 PM]

[gerbick]

just a quick question... are you from Shells? If so... I have a couple of questions...

if you wish, you can e-mail me directly.

[edens]

Gerbick:

Yes, I'm with Shells, and actually a member of the team that develops Shells 3D Author. Your Email is private, but feel free to shoot the questions off to eden@shellsinteractive.com - I'll do my best to answer them.

Eden.

Originally posted by gerbick
just a quick question... are you from Shells? If so... I have a couple of questions...

if you wish, you can e-mail me directly.

[gerbick]

you know what!? I never knew your program was on my director 8.5 CD. imagine that...

anyway, the interface is slow (dual 733mhz with 1gb RAM) and the connect even on my cable modem, seems slow - do I always have to be connected to use this thing?

anyway... here's to hoping somebody makes like a Swish for Shockwave3D...

maybe somebody will hear me... just maybe...

[edens]

The Shells 3D Author works on both Mac and Windows, which means the UI code is cross platform. This causes a certain performance hit. You can disable the "Animate Menus" option in the Preferences dialog to remove the animation effects and gain performance.

I'm using the 3D Author at home with a P-III 500mhz (yikes), and I'm getting good performance. Have you had the chance of going through the tutorial? Even though the example W3D is very simple, it's a good way to see how extensive the Author is.

Part of the intention behind 3D Author is to have a Swish-like program for Shockwave 3D. The 3D Author is on a monthly release schedule, so your input as to how to make it even better for your needs is more than welcomed.

Thanks for the initial impression!

Eden.

Originally posted by gerbick
you know what!? I never knew your program was on my director 8.5 CD. imagine that...

anyway, the interface is slow (dual 733mhz with 1gb RAM) and the connect even on my cable modem, seems slow - do I always have to be connected to use this thing?

anyway... here's to hoping somebody makes like a Swish for Shockwave3D...

maybe somebody will hear me... just maybe...

[gerbick]

yeah, I've been playing with this a bit more... I have to figure out how to make 3D files in MAX 3D that carry over well to Shockwave3D... I just have a lot of errors/warnings on the materials/texture maps I export out...

I like what I see so far... still a bit slow for my likes though, makes my computer feel sluggish.

although, I do wish that like a Swish program, the program was a standalone (I'm assuming that this is actually a Shockwave movie, correct?) and could generate simple geometric shapes and text, and animate it... that's my personal quest though.

keep up the good work guys. I have plenty of ideas - trust me, this board could not handle them all! - but I'll keep checking back with what you guys do with this product...

[edens]

The exporter has a fairly extensive authoring guideline. At least the downloadable version does - have you given it a look? Because this is real-time, the list is much shorter than a Flash export, but there are still some significant limitations. I suggest that if you haven't yet looked at it, check it out. It should be available in the download at: http://www.macromedia.com/software/d...rters/discreet

The Shells 3D Author is a standalone - it does not require Director (though it's very extendible using Director Lingo).

We got some requests to add primitives support to the 3D Author, and we're giving it some serious thought. The question is whether we can provide anything that will still provide value when you have such good modeling tools out there.

Feel free to send suggestions here (I love the auto-notify Email feature of this board), or to feedback@shellsinteractive.com - the primitives idea sure is a good start.

Eden.

[gerbick]

you mean the downlable shockwave3D exporter for Max? that's the one I'm using. I was an EARLY adopter of MAX 4... and they still have yet to send me a working Web Workshop (or whatever it's called) CD-ROM

anyway, yeah, primitives would be cool... as well as preset animations (spins, wobbles, zooms), as well as quick ways to make an object dragable (sp?) and mouse manipulated.

mind you, I'm still playing with this and working on a VB project at the same time... one's work, one's play... guess I'm being naughty by playing around

I did not download the shells author from your site though... I just used the one on my Director 8.5 disc... is that what you meant?

[edens]

The downloadable exporter for max4 ZIP file should include a HTML help that has the "Authoring Guidelines". Going over it from time to time saves a lot of grief, like discovering that non-geomtry nodes are not exported for animations, so you better bind the camera to a hidden node to get it to animate. All in all, a very good guide.

Making an object mouse manipulated in the 3D Author is very simple indeed. Import a W3D file in the "Cast" room (the rooms nav menu is the top left menu), switch to the "Action" room, and add "Drag / Rotate" action in the left pane. You can also add "Zoom" action, and assign it to the right click.

And click Test. That's all she wrote - you now have a rotating, zooming object.

Eden.

[gerbick]

dang, I need to read more often

cools... time to really play with this.

yes... I had read the max export guidelines... still got like two texture mapped objects that fall WELL UNDER the guidelines, but still cause issues... just call it bad luck? I'll just have to retweak my texture maps... I think I may have done some unconventional mapping in two areas.

[theMatrix]

edens: Welcome to Flashkit. When your product is ready to be released, let me know. If I have the bandwidth, I'll do a detailed review for popedeflash.com.

thanks

[edens]

Thank you. It's a pleasure being here and getting to talk with some of the folks around here.

Even though the Author is constantly being updated, it still is a real product with actual users, which is what qualifies, for me, at least as a released product. I think the first best step would be for you to try it - it's a free download at http://appserv.shellsinteractive.com...s/download.asp

We would love to have you review the 3D Author, I think you will enjoy it. You can send me a personal Email at eden@shellsinteractive.com - I'll be happy to respond to any questions or ideas you might have - that's how our software evolves <grin>

Eden.

Originally posted by theMatrix
edens: Welcome to Flashkit. When your product is ready to be released, let me know. If I have the bandwidth, I'll do a detailed review for popedeflash.com.

thanks