modeling
Latest
.jpg.cf.jpg)
WoW Insider interviews Ed Fries, founder of FigurePrints
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/pc_games/WoW_Insider_gets_the_skinny_on_FigurePrints'; After a quick announcement last week, the FigurePrints site opened yesterday, offering Warcraft players an easy (if not necessarily cheap-- each figure runs about $115) way to recreate their ingame characters in real-life figurine form.But we still had lots of questions. How did these figures get made? What kind of material were they made of, and where did FigurePrints get the models and information to turn ingame characters into real sculptures? For the answers, we went straight to the source. Ed Fries has been in and around gaming for a long time, and after playing WoW for years (and creating games for years before that), he had the idea to create a way to bring Warcraft characters to life with a 3D printer. WoW Insider got a chance to talk to Ed on the day that his company's site went live, and all the answers to your questions about FigurePrints are right after the jump.
Popular Science on gaming's hardest technical problems
It only takes a quick, comparative glance at Pong and BioShock to see how far gaming technology has coming in a relatively short time. But despite all the progress, we haven't quite reached the pinnacle of a real-time, controllable, photo-realistic environments quite yet. What's stopping us? Popular Science takes a look with a recent piece on the ten greatest challenges in making realistic games.The photo essay looks at some neat cutting edge technology aimed at fixing virtual modeling problems both natural (water and fire are particularly nasty to model) and human (artificial intelligence and uncanny valley faces, for instance), but the technology that impressed us most is based firmly in the real world. Organic Motion's Stage system replaces the standard black-with-ping-pong-balls motion capture suit with a simpler system. "Subjects step in front of the camera in their street clothes, and instantly their avatar forms onscreen," reads Pop Sci's description of what sounds to us like the coolest thing ever.So will we ever reach that holy grail of totally reality simulation? It's a possibility if Moore's Law keeps up, but there'll almost certainly always be something to improve. As one designer put it to the magazine, "the more we can do, the more excited we get, and the more we want to do." In other words, the reach will always exceed the grasp.[Thanks Wonderflex]
Fender's modeling VG Stratocaster gets inspected
A legend in the guitar industry pairing up with a heralded name in the modeling biz? No, it's not too good to be true, as Fender and Roland have teamed up to create the first modeling stratocaster. Just weeks after Gibson's own digital axe finally went on sale, the VG Stratocaster is built to look, feel, and play exactly like the strats of old always have, but a few subtle (albeit substantial) alterations open up a whole new world of riff creations. The six-string gurus over at GuitarGearCentral have taken the time to carefully inspect the changes, and it looks to us that even the purists could find something here to love. The thin Roland GK pickup mounted at the bridge provides the ability to emulate "37 Fender Stratocaster, Telecaster, humbucking, 12-string, and acoustic sounds,"while a pair of LED status lights provide a bit of flash and a new duo of knobs (Mode Control and Tuning Function) are used to further dictate the sounds. Dubbed a "Swiss Army knife of tone," this instrument allows you to dial-in alternate sounds and tunings on the fly, giving players the ability to add some chunk with Drop D tuning sans fiddling with the tuning head. Although the crew admired the simplicity Fender somehow managed to achieve with all the complex features that have been added, they still would test out a few more guitars to make sure this is your bag before throwing down the (admittedly reasonable) $1,699 required to take one home.
DAVID software turns your webcam into a 3D laser scanner
Those snazzy laser-based scanners that just have to make at least one appearance in every science-fiction film worth its salt are now available for your home, and it'll cost you quite a bit less than what Hollywood presumably shelled out for theirs. Thanks to folks who see value in "free," a few clever programmers have crafted the DAVID Laserscanner software, which turns your webcam into an ultra-sensative laser recorder and then reconstructs the object on-screen based on the breaks in the beam. Reportedly, all your need is a PC, a halfway decent webcam, a perfect 90-degree angle in the corner of your wall, some foreign object(s), and a street-corner laser pointer to go along with the software. DAVID computes the beam length as you "brush over the object with the laser" in order to render the object on your display, and while it can't quite do 360-degree renditions just yet, the developers hope to add that functionality soon enough. So, if you're the proud owner of all the above prerequisites, be sure to hit the read link and get your laser scanning on.[Via hack a day]
Bryce 5 free until September 6th
DAZ Productions is the latest software company to have been struck by the 'let's give it away for free!' bug, as they have placed a $0 price tag on Bryce 5 for both Mac and PC - but only until Sept. 6th. For those who are scratching their heads over this 'Bryce' business: it's a 3D design app which specializes in modeling landscapes and animations, and in the grand scheme of 3D apps, it's pretty simple to use. A number of content packages that offer pre-built models of things like scenery and people are available, including a free starter set in tandem with this offer.Snagging a free copy is fairly simple: head over to DAZ Production's page which offers download links for either the Mac or PC version. Now before you ask: yes, this page states that Bryce 5.0 won't run under Tiger, however: the actual version of the Mac download is 5.0.3. I've tested this out myself already, having gone through the registration process, and it runs just fine. In fact, it's still a PowerPC app, but it zips along on my MacBook Pro (2.0 Ghz, 2GB RAM - YMMV); so much so that I had to use Scott's TUAW Tip to check whether it's Universal to be sure. Anyway, the first time you start Bryce 5 it will prompt you to log in and register (for free) the app at their site. You'll probably have to create a new, free account like I did, but once you're logged in, the registration link Bryce gives you will create your extra-lengthy registration code. After that, you're all set for having a grand ol' time in the world of 3D.Snagging Bryce 5 is a $70 value, but if you're itching for the latest and greatest, Bryce 5.5 can be had for a mere $20 upgrade. Scroll down on the initial Bryce 5 for Free page, as there are details for signing up with their ArtZone community (which I believe is also free) and scoring the cheap upgrade. There may be a lot of signing up for free accounts and unchecking opt-in newsletter and 'special offer' emails, but these are small prices to pay for a free 3D app. Enjoy.
Google releases SketchUp for Mac OS X
Of course, with the Universal release of Google Earth, Google has also kicked out a Mac OS X version of their recently-purchased SketchUp, a 3D modeling app for the masses. If you need a quick explanation, here's one as good as any from their site: "Adding a deck? Remodeling your kitchen? From simple to detailed, conceptual to realistic, Google SketchUp (free) lets you populate the world with true 3D objects."This latest release also now supports textures, so "creating textured models is as easy as taking a photo and applying it to a 3D model". Sounds like a good time. Perhaps even better than SketchUp coming to Mac OS X is the fact that a powerful version is offered for free, while the pro version costs $495.[thanks to everyone who sent this in]
