By on February 16, 2006
Well some of you out there might be aware that Microsoft is planning on completely reinventing themselves these days. They tout their Longhorn or Vista operating system to be the next major paradigm shift in computing technology. One of the revolutionary features is the Windows FX presentation layer. The presentation layer of Windows Vista uses a new technology XAML (which I have discussed before). M$ has also released a new suite of programming tools. These tools are used for design and programming and they have been named the Expressions package. One of the programs code named Sparkle or now Expressions Interactive Designer. Has been released as a beta for public testing this is great! So you have no excuse not to know what is around the corner.
One of the rumors for their presentation layer is it will be available on other operating systems. This was also previously discussed in the last article. That would be a step in the right direction for Microsoft. Microsoft has been basing more and more technology off the .Net platform this is also good for the Linux world. Linux has been able to implement .net in the form of Mono. Mono is also incorporated into the next Ubuntu build by default. The linux world is also migrating closer and closer to 3dimensional desktop environments. Novell released XGL to the open source community recently. You can expect the next builds of KDE and Gnome to have considerably more eye candy.
Sparkle is rumored to be a flash killer. I think sparkle does appear to be extremely useful it is not a substitute for flash though. Sparkle is the ideal tool for creating interfaces and small applications on the Windows FX presentation layer. It allows for wysiwyg design of XAML with 3dimensional elements. Its cool kinda’ reminds me of VRML though. You can also download ZAM 3D from electric rain and run though some tutorials. You will be making XAML presentations in a flash (no pun intended) I guess we will all have to wait and see. Vista does have hefty hardware requirements. Vista is packed with eye candy!
I personally have downloaded the community preview and have begun to experiment with it. I would also suggest downloading it to any designer / programmer it is free!
Downloads
WinFX:
Interactive Designer
ZAM3D
WebSites:
Mano1
Elements of Passion
channel9
Video
Community Preview Tour
ZAM 3D
MSDN Team
| Tagged Silverlight
By Brendon Smith on February 13, 2006
Apple is rumored to be in the process of making the ultimate video i-pod. Their has also been speculation on buying Palm. I personally believe it would be a win, win situation for apple. Palm is made up of several Apple Gurus that split from apple after the Newton Project. I would be good to see apple actually be the first to make a useful PDA. Their has also been rumors of both Sony and Microsoft doing similar projects. If you were thinking about buying a pda don’t because within the next few months something truly new will be released. Microsoft and Apple have also been rumored to be developing smart phones.
Posted in My Rants
By on February 13, 2006
Blender 2.41 is out!
What does that mean? Blender has vastly improved its real-time engine. The engine now seamlessly integrates real-time textures with the standard materials interface this enables multiple real time textures. This version also includes real-time shading vertexes. With this build the python tools have been vastly expanded. This release is a testament to the Blender 3d Community.
Also feel free to Download Blender 3d Art this is the second edition 
The open source game initiative:
I have been working on this project now for several years. My vision is to create something that is truly cross compatible and eventually port the product to shockwave 3d. Yes, I know that is a little much to ask. I have been using Blender 3d and Axel to create my project. Axel has kind of gone to waste and turned into vapor ware and I believe mindavenue is siting on the code waiting for adobe to assimilate them all though as of yet now one has? It is sad to because Axel is a much easier environment to create interactive 3d for the web in comparison to Director. I am well aware this version is obviously much larger than the web version.
I believe blender has all the tools we as a team need to create a finished project. I would like help in the following areas:
- Cinematic Sequences
- AI
- Modeling
- Creating the Plot
I would like this game to be simple and have a well developed story so one could play it once in an afternoon. It should play like a short story. It should be detailed and enjoyable not difficult
The Set So Far..
I would like to set the scene in the future. The future consists of the polar ice caps melting therefore people have to inhabit the shallow areas of the ocean. Corporations operate more like tribes that are constantly in competition with one another. The corporations build cities in the shallow areas of the ocean. The cities have domes on the ocean floor. This creates condensation ( rain )and allows for farming on the shallow areas of the ocean. The farmers use mech like machines for farming. The city is located outside of the dome directly above it. The city should be modeled to look like a glass cog wheel that has several levels up.
I would like to create three distinct environments:
The Plot So Far..
I would like the main character to be a corperate spy. (I really like Konami Metal Gear Solid for the play station. I thought that was an excellent game it played more like a short story.)
As you can see the project is very neglected I am hoping other people will contribute to the project. I am a very busy person and cannot possibly complete this project on my own. Your help would be greatly appreciated. I also think it would be great way to show others the capability of Blender. So you are welcome to contribute or do something completely different with the project enjoy! Your help would be greatly appreciated.
Sincerely, Brendon Smith
Web Sites:
http://i-create.org (please sign up for an account and contribute)
http://seacloud9.org
http://seacloud9.org/tusnami.htm (axel plugin required)
http://seacloud9.org/undertow/undertow.html (atmosphere plugin required IE only)
Posted in --Site-of-the-Week-- | Tagged 3d
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