More FIVe3D experiments

Here’s two more experiments I recently did with FIVe3D. This first one here is taking the image depth analyzer and is extending it to generate a 3D mesh instead. (I added the option to turn off the stereo rendering help performance.) The next test was something I did for a potential upcoming project. I’ve been meaning to get back to my “Flash Roots” (no pun intended on the ‘root’) and visit my first Flash project ever – a game called Super Josh. One way or the other I am going to start working on a new version, which would technically be the fifth game even though most of them never got very far. Anyways, here’s the Super Josh FIVe test. Basically, I can use FIVe3D to render the environment and use pre-rendered sequences from Cinema 4D for more complex geometry such as characters. The idea for this is based upon many games that have done this before, the one that stands out the most to me is Mario Kart 64.

Speaking of 3D, here’s another test I did back in college using the BitmapTransform class with tracker points exported as XML from After Effects. The BitmapTransform class just deforms an image based on four target points.

Anaglyphic 3D Rendering in FIVe3D

 So since Mathieu Badimon, creator of FIVe3D, sits right behind me at work and we’ve been working on a project together, I figured I should give his 3D engine a try. In case you aren’t familiar with it, FIVe3D is a light, simple, 3D emulator for Flash. However, don’t confuse it with PaperVision. If you want full modled polygons with textures, lighting, shadows – basically full 3D, then that is where PaperVision is your tool. But if you need simple 3D rendering, and you don’t want to import a million classes and compromise performance, then that’s where FIVe3D comes in to play. Mathieu does a pretty good job at showing off it’s uses on his LAB site.

So back to what I’ve been up to. I’ve always been interested in doing niffty 3D stuff with Flash, so getting into this was right up my ally. One of the first things I did was extend the engine to render stereographically, as where you would be wearing those old time 3D glasses with the two different color lenses. With the FIVe3D classes, I’ve extended the Scene3D class, so instead of Scene3D you use AnaglyphScene3D and it will display the result for use with 3D glasses. So anything done with FIVe3D can be dropped into it and it should work perfectly. It’s set up so the user can change the offset of the two perspectives, as well as show the original rendering. I still have to tweak the way it applies all three together as right now it blows out the original image’s colors. Keep in mind too that in order to get the stereographic effect, you need to render the scene twice, so if you’re showing the original image as well then you’re rendering 3 times, and that can make the performance take quite a hit.

Anyways, here are two examples of what I’ve done with it. This first test just shows a bunch of cubes in space, but it runs pretty smoothly, even on my old G4 PowerBook. This next test can be pretty heavy, so be prepared for a browser crash if your computer is weak of heart. This depth demo takes a grayscale image and converts it into points with a z-depth based off of the brightness value. I’ll do some more with it, and will probably post some more test within the next few weeks.

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Working at Firstborn in NYC

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It’s been some time since I’ve made a post. Back at the end of June I moved to Brooklyn and started work at Firstborn Multimedia as a Flash Developer. So far it’s been great, living in the city and working there. I have about an hour commute to work, but it’s really nothing. And Firstborn is a great company with some really cool people. You might know of Zeh Fernando of Tweener fame, he freelances for Firstborn but will be moving up here sometime next year I guess. Right now I’m working on a project with a bunch of people, one of them is Mathieu Badimon, the creator of FIVe3D. That project should be finished by the end of the month and I’ll definalty make a post when it’s live. Other than that, life is good. I live a block away from the best pizzeria in Brookyln, Di Fara Pizza, and believe me it’s worth the wait and the price. I also get to see a nice view of the financial district everyday from the subway when it goes over the bridge, including the Statue of Libery when it’s clear. I also noticed for the first time yesterday (after working there for over a month) that I can see the Empire State Building from the office.