How to make the world

Sony Corporation,
Sony Computer Science Laboratory

The World Components

The SE-VRML 1.0 ver1.2 based world includes the following components. [World components]

  • Model Data (.wrl)

    Three dimensional modeling data is based on SE-VRML 1.0 ver1.2. It defines shape, coordinates, material information, etc. of an object in the world. The modeling data can be imported from the commercially available 3D modeling tools, such as Wave Front, Soft Image, etc.

  • Texture (.bmp)

    Texture supports Windows BMP format. Texture is to be attached on the surface of an object. The file type of texture can be defined by the extension name: .bmp.

  • Sound (.wav)

    Sound supports Windows wav format with 16 bit sample data length and is used to locate and generate sounds. It's possible to use any sampling rate and/or Stereo/Monaural selection.; however, all sound data should have the same quality. Note that other formats have not been implemented yet.

  • Script (.tcl)

    Script contains files to describe the object's behavior and it supports TCL format.

  • Video

    Video contains two-dimensional motion picture files, which support RenderWare Texture Movie format. Videos are attached on an object and played back in the Viewer Window.

    • How Community Place Conductor Works

    The flowchart here shows how you make the SE-VRML 1.0 ver1.2 based 3D world using Community Place Conductor.
    You start modeling the world either from scratch or by importing a modeling data from the outside world. Then, you edit and create your own world by attaching texture, changing color, and adding sound and video from the various libraries that Community Place Conductor offers. In addition, you can attach a script that lets the object perform an action (behavior).
    You can interact with Community Place (browser) and navigate your own world.

    [Flow Chart]

    All you have to do is just do the following steps 1 to 4.

  • Step 1
    Getting Started

    First, you have to prepare the data to be imported to Community Place Conductor. The original data should be a 3D data (wrl format), bitmap data (bmp format), and sound data (wav format). You can use commercially available modeling tools, such as WaveFront and SoftImage.
    In some cases, you have to convert the data to the wrl format by using a converter program. For example, convert the WaveFront data using the tool, "ObjToIv."

  • Step 2
    Creating the World

    After you have imported the 3D data, you start creating your own world. In addition to the basic navigation and movement operations, Community Place Conductor lets you do the various editing operations. You can attach texture, change color and add sound and video by simple drag and drop operation. Also, you can attach a script that lets the object perform an action (behavior). You can also edit the attached script if you want.

  • Step 3
    Checking the Files of Your Editing

    The world you created is saved as "xxx.wrl." The script files you have edited are saved as "xxx.tcl" respectively.

  • Step 4
    Checking the Created World in Community Place (browser)

    When you see your own edited world in Community Place, there MUST be a file, "person.wrl," which consists of an object with a Camera Node. Make sure that the "person.wrl" file is located in the "vscp.exe" directory.