Adam,
Without wanting to do a disservice to Java 3D - I'd suggest that a
commercial rendering package may be closer to what you a looking for. If all you
need to do is model buildings and render photo realistic (pre-generated)
walk-throughs you will get far more bang-for-your-buck if you purchase something
off-the-shelf like AutoCAD (with the architectural components), 3D Studio or
Intergraph.
Instead of hiring programmers, competent 3D modelers or CAD draughtsmen
should be able to do the job. From the nature of your question, I'm guessing
that you do not currently have your 2D architectural drawing digitized - this
process will probably require as much expense/training as producing the 3D
models.
Java
3D is a real-time 3D library that could come into play if you wanted the user to
control their movement around the building. However, even then, my instincts is
that this would probably not be the way to go. You could take a look at
commercial 3D game engines (I know that Quake has been modified for architects).
There are a large number on the market (with a huge range in price). Again,
using one of these off-the-shelf solutions will allow you to merely specify the
geometry of the building and allow the game engine to handle the messy details
like movement, collision detection, gravity, lighting and view generation. It is
these "messy" details that are the prime focus of this
list.
Java
3D has its place, and its strengths are: extremely customizable, cross platform
support, access to accelerated hardware, higher-level scenegraph and behavior
model, and cross platform support. ;-)
Sincerely,
Daniel
Selman
-----Original Message-----
From: Discussion list for Java 3D API [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]On Behalf Of Adam Engberg
Sent: 12 January 2000 22:38
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: [JAVA3D] Is Java3D what I'm looking for?Please excuse me if this is a stupid question, but....I work for an architect firm and we're interested in modelling concept buildings on computer to help our clients visualise the interior of buildings. Crucially, they should be able to "walk" around to get a feel for functionality and get a good idea how the finished construction would look.Question is, is this possible / practical in Java3D using Simple Universe? Any feedback or thoughts you could give regarding its viability, likely man hours involved (I'd recruit two programmers) and if it's then possible to easily modify the layout of the building when a client changes his / her mind!Any feedback would be very gratefully received.Adam Engberg
