Wanted - VRML - dead or alive!
Apr 19 '01
The Bottom Line VRML, originally touted as the greatest 3D for the Web, offers powerful Web-based 3-D scenes. Long past the hype, it is still a very powerful Web technology.
The VRML hype has subsided, and many new technologies have arisen. VRML is no longer seen as the latest and best way to add 3D graphics to the Web, but it is definitely still a viable technology. JAVA 3D is the current wave, but for less sophisticated developers learning JAVA 3D API's is a heavy task. Much of the rest of 3D focus in the computer world is on 3D gaming (Playstation 2, Geforce 3, etc). Internet content, however, cannot rely on the same heavy processing and bandwidth requirements. For us Web developers, we need a simple yet powerful way to provide 3D content to Internet users without requiring fat bandwidth and supercooled processors.
VRML is a markup language. That means that all VRML is represented by text. The benefits of this are that the developer can exercise precise control over the content. Download times are also reasonable. Very sophisticated VRML scenes are often under 50K. The client needs a VRML plugin to view the scene like Canoma or Cosmo. The client plugin gives the user control of moving around in the virtual world. The client can walk or fly, rotate the scenes, pan, zoom, or move up or down. Some incredibly realistic markups of places like Schipol Airport in Amsterdam and the 18th hole of Doral are available on the Internet.
Like all markup languages, though, editing text by hand becomes cumbersome and error-prone. Particularly when dealing with a graphics language, a GUI interface is important. Several high-quality VRML editors have floated around the software market. Some are still available, and some are not. This is the primary reason for writing this opinion. I am deeply frustrated by large software companies destroying some of the best software.
Some of the most powerful VRML editors are no longer available:
Cosmos Worlds, formerly of Cosmo Software, was purchased by Computer Associates. CA also now owns the Cosmo player. Unfortunately, they killed Cosmo Worlds. One of the best VRML editors is gone. Wait . . . no . . . Computer Associates sent it to SGI? (CA responded to my question - "Where is Cosmo World?" - by sending me a link to SGI) No, that seems to just be the Cosmo player for IRIX. CA has confused their own software. Oh, well . . .
Continuing their quest to destroy all good VRML software, CA also purchased Platinum VRCreator. No longer available, you can still find links to the download page on CA's site. Of course, the links are as dead as VRCreator.
Following in the footsteps of Computer Associates, Adobe carried out its own search and destroy mission, target: Canoma by Metacreations. Perhaps Canoma was the raw material for Adobe Atmosphere, which is in beta now. Of course, the download link for Atmosphere beta is as dead as Canoma. The real tragedy, however, is not the death of Canoma, it is the crusade against an industry standard. Not content with the VRML 97 standard, Adobe is promoting their proprietary Atmosphere Browser plugin, a 5MB pain of a download. Of course, that download is currently dead, too.
Thankfully, some good VRML tools are still available. Parallel Graphics. still offers the Cortona VRML client, and their classic VRML pad. The Internet Scene Assembler by Parallel Graphics is one of the best GUI VRML editors still available. RenderSoft's VRML editor is
a no frills but functional shareware editor. Spazz3D, makes a decent editor as well. AC3D is a good 3D creation tool that outputs to VRML or POV-Ray (a GREAT freeware, ray-tracing application).
Naturally, there are many other software packages besides these. The real question is how long will the best ones survive? Over the next several months we will see if independent VRML software will survive or if the likes of CA and Adobe will continue their search and destroy missions.
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Epinions.com ID:
CreamChief
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Location: Maryland
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