Shockwave 3D
Shockwave 3D is the ability to show content created in a 3D modeling application, brought into Adobe/Macromedia Director to add interactivity, and then displayed through a browser via the Shockwave 3D plug-in. Some examples of uses include any web-based 3D content you want to create: a game, a training simulation, learning software for kids, or corporate training applications that need to be distributed over the web. Industry sectors that might make use of Shockwave 3D include: entertainment, medical, military, education, and construction industries.
Shockwave 3D shares some characteristics with traditional 3D-rendered animation but also has some important differences. Traditional pre-rendered 3D sequences are viewed from the perspective the artist has chosen, including the angle and direction of view, the amount of zoom, , level of height, etc. With the interactive capabilities of Shockwave 3D, which is a real-time technology, you have the ability to to decide which angle you want to see the scene from. In addition to support for fully textured real-time 3D, Shockwave 3D supports Havok© Physics making it one of the most robust web-based 3D technologies available.
Simulation applications can benefit from Shockwave 3D technology. At a high level, a visual simulation is composed of two layers. The first layer is the visual presentation layer, which the user sees. The second layer is the underlying code-base which represents the behavior of a complex system. Take for example a simulation of a nuclear reactor. The visual aspect of the simulation would include a rendering of the facilities for the reactor space. The system model would be represented in code and allows the system to behave as a real nuclear reactor would. Shockwave 3D supports a high level of programmatic control and a sophisticated object oriented scripting language, which makes this type of logical code-based simulation possible.
Finally, you always need to keep in mind the availability, or penetration rate, of a given a web-based technology. In other words, how many viewers will be able to see your content, without having to download any additional software? In this area, Shockwave 3D really excels. There are other competing web-based technologies, but only Shockwave 3D even makes the claim that the average user already has the necessary software to view your content.
Shockwave 3D Examples
