Open standards Shockwave 3D

Macromedia Shockwave 3D gives programmers the power to showcase beautifully detailed 3D graphics over the Web. Combined with the rest of the Macromedia Director feature set, 3D content can include interactivity, multiuser functionality, and high frame rates approaching those of many game-console systems.

Since 3D graphics have historically involved compromises between detail and rendering speed, 3D artists are accustomed to settling for "lightweight" artwork -- that is, art lacking the high mesh resolutions of its counterparts in film and broadcast. 3D artists know their favorite tool set can deliver models, textures, and animations of greater artistry than can be rendered by real-time engines in games or Web-based delivery platforms.

Shockwave 3D represents a major leap forward, because it can accommodate more detailed meshes, textures, and animations. It does so by dividing the creation tasks between the 3D artist and the Lingo programmer. 3D artists can now realize more than 80 percent of a high-resolution vision online, as long as they adhere to specific authoring guidelines and allocate much of the 3D world creation to the Lingo programmer.

Key 3Dsolve engineers wrote the software renderer used in Shockwave 3D, and 3Dsolve uses Shockwave 3D to deliver simulation learning content to PCs through stand-alone applications and via the Web.