Hi folks, I'm still here lurking. Watch what you say. :-)
I've been kind of following this thread and have been interested in the
"VRML is too hard" tack that it has taken. To a certain extent I agree, but
I would counter with the statement "*3D* is hard so why should VRML be
easy". I'm not talking about software or authoring programs or even the
VRML format. "3D" as a concept is hard for most people to wrap their heads
around. And why not? We spend our lives ignoring the world around us and
keep our focus on 2D media like TV, print, and computers. And then we want
to do 3D and are confused by the fact that it happens behind a 2D monitor
and are completely stumped by the fact that it involves coordinate systems
and all that math. (I'm just now getting the hang of matrix
multiplication!) I'm not putting anyone down here, it's just the truth. So
blaming the file format for the difficulty is like blaming the mountain for
being steep. It is what it is. A powerful, easy to parse, real-time format
is not going to be very human friendly.
What's lacking are powerful authoring tools that hide the complexity behind
a GUI so that the user never sees the format. Never deals with ROUTES,
interpolators, materials, or coordinates. (You'll never be able to get away
from those things - *every* real-time system has them in one form or
another - all you can do is hide them.) We've got some pretty good tools,
but none of them come close to being something that "anyone" can use to
create efficient, expressive worlds. Today you can either use a simple tool
to create clunky, large, inefficient worlds, or you can use a difficult
tool (and probably a text editor) to create clean, fast, expressive worlds.
What we should have is an easy to use tool that optimizes as it goes and
allows you to create anything you want without ever touching a line of code.
Is such a thing possible? Maybe, but it's going to cost a pile of money.
Think about how much you'd be willing to pay for an authoring system (VRML
or otherwise). $1K? $5K? More? How much would Joe Web Designer pay? Not
very much I'd bet. So what's going to make it worth the while of a
developer to build and market this super authoring system if only a handful
of people are willing to buy it? I don't have an answer to that question.
If you expect VRML-NG (or X3D) to be simpler, guess again. Hopefully it
will be cleaner, but real-time 3D is real-time 3D and that's not going to
change. In fact, I'd bet that all the integration they're talking about is
going to raise the authoring bar quite a bit. No, simplicity will be an
authoring tool issue as it is now. My bet is the technology that packs the
most power behind the simplest authoring interface will be way out in
front. (Then comes the delivery system, but don't get me started on that.)
It took me a long time to learn 3D. I think 3D should be more like
traditional media. It shouldn't take any longer to learn 3D than it takes
to get really good with an airbrush or to develop a sense of color or
design. It shouldn't take any longer than it takes to master a musical
instrument. ;-)
Cindy
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| |
| Cindy Ballreich |
|\ | Technical Director - 3D Visualization |
_/ .`-| Computer Associates International, Inc. | ,
\ .4 | [EMAIL PROTECTED] |\__//
`--'\| [EMAIL PROTECTED] |`--'
C|__________________________________________|
