Demicron - 3D Features

3D Features

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Supported 3D format
Supports ISO Standard X3D and VRML 97/2.0 file formats.

X3D and VRML support
WireFusion supports a subset of the nodes in the X3D and VRML standards.
Click here for more information

Hardware and software engines
Publish either as OpenGL hardware accelerated presentations or as software presentations.

Modelling tools support
Supports all 3D authoring tools with the capability of exporting to the X3D and VRML 97/2.0 standard, such as:
- 3ds max
- Maya
- Lightwave
- Cinema4D
- SketchUp
- Carrara
- Amapi
- trueSpace
- Poser
- Modo
- Microstation
- Autodesk VIZ
- AutoCAD (with VRMLout)
- Inventor (with VRMLout)
- Pro/ENGINEER
- and many more...

Shading
- Reflection
- Phong
- Gouraud
- Wireframe
- Contour
- Constant
- Flat
- Individual renderer
- Navigation renderer

Rendering features
- Bump mapping
- Glossiness mapping
- Bilinear filtering
- MIP mapping
- Real-time shadows
- Anti-aliasing
- 256 levels of transparency
- Overlapping transparent surfaces
- 32-bit color depth rendering
- True 32-bit z-buffer
- Backface culling
- 3D clipping

Anti-aliasing
- Full scene anti-aliasing
- Edge anti-aliasing

Textures
- UV texture mapping
- Bilinear filtering
- MIP mapping
- Texture opacity
- Alpha channel
- Dynamic textures architecture
- Perspective correction
- Sub-pixel precision
- 8-bit or 24 bit high-resolution bitmaps

Material settings
- Ambient intensity
- Diffuse color
- Specular color
- Emissive color
- Glossiness
- Opacity
- Reflection map
- Diffuse color map
- Opacity map
- Bump map
- Glossiness map
- Material assignment

Animation
- Full control over the animation
- Matrix animations
- Vertex animations
- Dynamic normals
- Material properties animation
- Light animation
- Camera animation
- Hierarchic animation control

Smoothing
- Crease angle
- Generated normals

Navigation
- Examine mode
- Walk mode with collision detection
- 3D measurement
- 6 different modes of user interaction
- Keyboard-controlled navigation
- True 6 DOF (Degrees Of Freedom)
- Configurable mouse navigation
- Navigation renderer
- Navigation friction
- Camera restrictions
- Two camera rotation modes
- Multiple cameras

Streaming
- Object streaming
- Texture streaming
- Animation streaming
- Streaming order

Compression
- Mesh data compression
- Texture coordinate data compression
- Vertex animation data compression

Encryption
Encrypts the 3D model to protect it from unauthorized alterations.

3D API
A 3D API allows advanced users to control parameters (X3D/VRML nodes and fields) in a 3D model, using the Java object. 3D objects can also be
dynamically added/removed to a running scene.

Below you will find deeper explanation of selected features.

Reflection
By mapping a texture with a view of the virtual surrounding onto 3D objects, so that the texture does not move with the object but with the changes in the view, you simulate the reflections of the surrounding from the objects. This can be used to increase the metallic feel of glossy objects, and also provides a way of lighting the objects without specifying light sources. The following features are supported for reflection maps:

- Bilinear filtering - Interpolates between the bitmap pixels to create a smoother non-pixelated view of close-ups of the seen reflections. This way you can use smaller textures and still retain high quality reflections.

- 8-bit or 24 bit high-resolution bitmaps - Use either GIF, PNG or JPEG images with any width and height.

- Dynamic reflection maps - Replace a reflection map with a WireFusion Texture and modify (animate) it in real-time.

- Per-object specification of reflection map - Every object can have its own map specified, which allows you to make sure every object receives the right material feeling.

- Combine standard texture mapping with reflection map - The reflection maps are added on top of the standard textures.

Phong shading
Performs shading calculations for each screen pixel. This shading correctly shows highlights on glossy objects and generally gives the object a smoother look compared to the Gouraud shading.

Gouraud shading
Calculates the lighting for each polygon vertex. The resulting colors are interpolated over the polygon surface to give it a smooth appearance.

Wireframe
A wireframe representation of the 3D model (no textures are displayed).

Contour
Only the contour of the 3D model is displayed (textures are displayed).

Constant shading
No lighting is performed.

Flat shading
Calculates the lighting for each facet and gives it a constant color.

Individual renderer
A default renderer and an optional default reflection map is applied to the scene, but individual renderers and reflection maps can be specified and applied for each individual object.

Overlapping transparent surfaces
When two transparent surfaces are overlapping they will be correctly combined on the screen. This means transparent objects like glass cups are correctly displayed.

32-bit color depth rendering
Ensures high image quality.

True 32-bit z-buffer
The z-buffer method is a way which ensures that only the closest objects are displayed by preventing background objects from overwriting foreground objects on the screen. 32 bit precision ensures that virtually all scenes are correctly displayed.

Backface culling
A way of making sure that parts of the object that face away from the observer is not processed, which speeds up the rendering.

3D clipping
Clips objects against the 3D view frustum, which is the pyramid-shaped view created by looking at the 3D world 'through' a screen. This means any detail not in view, including detail virtually seated in front of the screen and behind a certain far distance, is removed. Most importantly, it also makes sure that detail halfway inside and halfway outside the view will be correctly displayed.

Full scene anti-aliasing
Aliasing is caused by the sampling of smooth data onto a screen consisting of discrete pixels. The result is the visible stair stepping or jaggies at the edges of the object polygons. Anti-aliasing is the method used to remove this and results in smoother edges and sharper images. Two modes of anti-aliasing are supported; On/Off and Auto (automatic switching between On and Off).

Edge anti-aliasing
Fast real-time edge anti-aliasing for smooth edges, even when moving the model or running object and texture animations.

UV texture mapping
Polygon vertices are assigned coordinates in the texture, which in turn will be interpolated over the surface to assign a texture value to the screen pixel. This is the most flexible way of mapping.

Bump mapping
A technique to simulate more details in a 3D model by using a bluescale heightmap.

Glossiness mapping
A technique to achieve partial glossiness on a 3D model by using a bluescale map.

Bilinear filtering
Interpolates between the bitmap pixels to create a smoother non-pixelated view of close-ups of the viewable reflections. This way you can use smaller textures and still retain high quality of the reflections. Works on both textures and reflection maps.

MIP mapping
Removes aliasing artifacts that appear when texture mapped objects are some distance from the camera view. The artifacts occur because the texture can contain more detail (pixels) than the display monitor is capable of displaying in that give space. MIP mapping helps alleviate this problem by filtering and removing some detail from the texture when it is a certain distance from the camera and is no longer necessary.

Real-time shadows
Realistic object drop shadows are calculated in real-time. Capability to set light source height, shadow color, shadow opacity, shadow blur, shadow quality, height intensity and height to the shadow plane. The real-time shadows reflect on object animations, mesh animations and object opacity animations.

Texture opacity
Defines how much the texture will contribute to the color of the object.

Alpha channel
An alpha channel image (GIF, PNG or JPEG) can be used to control the shape of the texture. The alpha channel has 256 levels of transparency.

Dynamic textures architecture
An unique object architecture allows textures to contain video, Flash, interactive 3D and 2D, and built-in logic. Even alpha channels can be animated, programmed and interactive.

Perspective correction
Perspective correction increases realism by taking into account the depth of an object when applying the texture map, which removes the distortion that appears when a texture is applied to a 3D object. This provides the appearance that texture details near the viewer are larger than the detail found further away, and ensures that parallel lines such as railroad tracks converge in the far distance.

Sub-pixel precision
Sub-pixel precision of the texture mapping ensures the texture is precisely and accurately placed on a 3D object, which is noticeable when changing the view e.g. rotating the object.

8-bit or 24 bit high-resolution bitmaps
Use either GIF, PNG or JPEG images with any width and height.

Material assignment
Create and save material settings. Material settings are stored in a file (.mtl), which then can be loaded and applied to selected objects in your 3D model. Changing the material settings will affect all objects having the specific material assigned to them.

Full control over the animation
Animations can be time driven, but there is also the possibility to fully control the fractional progress of the animation.

Matrix animations
Animation of the position, rotation and scale of objects.

Vertex animations
Animation of each vertex position (morphing).

Dynamic normals
When an object is morphed, using vertex animation, you need to recalculate the vertex normals to make sure the lighting is correctly displayed. Real-time support.

Material properties animation
Specify animations for any material property.

Light animation
Specify animations for light source direction, position, color and intensity.

Camera animation
Specify animations to move the camera views, or animate between existing view and a predefined camera view.

Hierarchic animation control
When animations are specified for an object consisting of a hierarchal object structure then the animations are separately controllable for each sub-object.

Crease Angle
Object smoothing can be achieved using a built-in crease angle function.

Generated normals
Generated shape normals, from your 3D authoring tool, can optionally be used for individual objects.

Examine mode
Study an object by rotating, zooming and panning it.

Walk mode with collision detection
Walk in virtual 3D rooms and 3D worlds. Support for collision detection between avatar and surroundings (walls).

5 different modes of user interaction
You can allow the user to interact in any of the following modes: Zoom, Pan, Rotate, Interact and Normal.

Keyboard-controlled navigation
Specify hotkeys for Zoom, Pan and Rotation.

True 6 DOF (Degrees Of Freedom)
No restrictions as to where and how you translate camera positions and object positions.

Configurable mouse navigation
Use left, right or both mouse buttons to navigate. Add optional hotkeys.

Navigation Renderer
The optional navigation renderer allows one to choose a different renderer than your default renderer while navigating your 3D models or 3D worlds.

Navigation friction
Capability to add adjustable friction to the navigation, giving a smoother user experience. Works for both mouse and keyboard navigation.

Camera restrictions
Optional camera rotation restrictions, and zoom-in and zoom-out restrictions.

Two camera rotation modes
Choose to rotate cameras around the world axis or the local camera axis.

Multiple cameras
Specify multiple cameras and let the user switch between their viewpoints. Can optional be animated and have configurable animation speed.

Object streaming
Have 3D objects streamed into the presentation.

Texture streaming
You can choose to let the textures start streaming after the objects have finished loading or start streaming when its associated object is loading.

Animation streaming
Have animations' objects streamed into the presentation.

Streaming order
The order of streamed objects and animations are fully controlled.

Mesh data compression
All 3D data are lossless compressed, generally achieving 90- 95% file size compression compared to the original X3D/VRML-file format.