Updated Cast3d version 0.95 now is available for download as well as import utility package for new COLLADA 1.4 .dae file import along with supported earlier .3ds and .md2 file formats.

This release contains few features and bug fixes. Detailed information is provides in release notes of package. It is strongly recommended to use latest Import utilities with latest Cast3d code.

Skin/Bone animation has been tested on a number of COLLADA Dae samples exported from a different sources, like 3DStudioMAX, Maya, and Blender 3D modeling tools.

Here is Blender animated sample

Apparently, Blender v 2.45 , 2.46, 2.47 have few bugs in COLLADA export that do not allow to produce correctly build Skin/Bone animation Dae files.

Updated Blender COLLADA export scripts can be downloaded here.

The bugs and fixed code have been submitted to Blender community and here is ticket in Blender Bug-Tracker system, so I hope those bugs will be fixed soon in upcoming Blender releases.

This is MAJOR feature update. It took about four month to sort out with COLLADA data and finally here the results.

New Cast3D version 0.93 package now is available for download as well as import utility package for new COLLADA 1.4 .dae file import along with supported earlier .3ds and .md2 file formats.

• COLLADA utility supports import of following:
  1. 3D Geometry
  2. Materials and textures
  3. Camera, positioning and animation
  4. Animation
  5. Skin/Bone animation
  6. Morphing

This is first attempt to support COLLADA and since it is quite an extensive and elaborated format there is still could be some issues. So please, report if you find any. Also send me some cool skin animation samples, I'll publish them on demo page.

Here are few tips regarding working with COLLADA:

• Do not bake matrices while exporting to COLLADA file. This will brake animation.
• Triangulate geometry before exporting to Dae.
• Use '-flip' option while importing from Dae to Xc3 whenever needed.

Most 3D modeling tools like Blender, 3dsMax etc .. , use Right-handed coordinate system and files that are being exported also in the same coordinate system. On contrary, all supported to date by Cast3D Flash rendering engines use Left-Handed coordinate system. So, do flip systems. For example:

> Dae2Xc3 -flip src_file.dae dest_file.xc3

Otherwise you most likely will not see anything displayed in 3d scene as camera would be directed away from it.

2008-04-29

New Cast3D package is available for download now.

This is a significant feature update which intended to help with tuning 3D models behavior and animation in Flash 3D.

There are some new modeling features of manipulator you may like, mostly helper visualizations ( you need to enable Control panel and manipulator, see samples) :

• Center of rotation visualization
• Camera and path visualizations
• Bounding box visualization

Check out camera motion sample with Papervision3D 2.0., click on image.

Support for Papervision3D 2.0 is added. Some people were waiting for this for a while. Package includes sample code for Papervision3D 2.0 and all samples for previous version 1.7 should work too.

Also limited support for Away3D engine is provided.

Lighting, shaded materials and material morphing are not implemented yet, but will be added later. There is example code on how to use Away3D port included in the package as well.

2008-03-25

XML Schema reference guide for .XC3 file format is released.

This document can be really handy if you need to make changes to .xc3 file.

For example, if you imported .xc3 file from .3ds or .md2 file and you need to change texture images, add sound tracks or anything else, this document will provide some guide line on how and where to make modifications correctly.

2008-03-18

• New MD2 Import utility is released. This utility converts Quake II (.md2) files into Cas3D (.xc3) file.

Usually textures in MD2 files come in (.pcx) or (.tga) format. To be able to use them in Flash they need to be converted into (.jpg) images. If you do so, then you'll need to update texture image file names in (.xc3) file. Look for <asset> tags in resulting XML file and modify corresponding “source” attribute to match texture file name ( do not change “id” attributes).

• There are updates to XC3Loader class, which allow to load compressed version of cast3D XML (.zc3) file.

• New 'deflate' compression utility program is introduced for converting (.xc3) XML files into (.zc3) files.

• Trackball utility class fixed. Now there is smooth 3D scene rotation around center.

Check out download page.

Click on image to see the demo.

2008-03-04 Cast3D goes online!