The 3D Navigation System posted here is the result of a group of students working 3 months full time and then 6 months part time thereafter as part of their final year Computer Science BSc course in the Institute of Systems Science, National University of Singapore, a non-profit research organisation. It is written in Think C 4.0. The 3D system was developed from the ground up. It works in 1-bit to 8-bit planes in color.
This posting is to complement the previous 3D Demo 1.1 and consists of the 2D Floor Plan Editor which is used to create builidng plans for the 3D Navigation program.
Requirements
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This program requires at least a Mac II because of the need for a floating point chip and Color Quickdraw. It is not perfect, may sometimes bomb inexplicably, and rarely will cause havoc to the system memory. But the user interface is kept to a bare minimum. You don't really need a manual to figure out how to run it but the documentation is provided anyway. Although the Multifinder partition requires 2000kbytes, it can work with about 1000kbytes or slightly less. But the more bytes the merrier. And oh,although I did not make any extra calls to the functionalities of 6.0.5, it seems that the software will run only with it or higher.
Description
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This program allows a user to navigate inside a building with tables, chairs, computers, and other objects. It even allows staircases and lifts and multi-storey buildings to be simulated. It was conceived after an Open House was held in September 1989 for my organisation and I created a SuperCard project with 2D floor plans (among other goodies) to help visitors get around. It turned out that visitors wanted a lot more, including real time 3D navigation. Hence I started the project, knowing that I can easily turn the 3D library into a set of XCMDs which I can call from SuperCard, especially when I have full control over the source code.
This resulted in two applications. The first is a 3D Navigation System which allows a user to choose building files to navigate in. The second is a 2D Floor Plan editor which allows the user to create buildings and place predefined objects and rooms.
Do remember that this is a research prototype, so do not use it to simulate too large a building with too many objects. No checks are provided when the limit is reached. You'll know if the program hangs inexplicably.
Future
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I have not yet begin the integration into SuperCard (thru XCMDs). But that should not be much of a problem. The next batch of 3 students will work on improving the overall design, killing memory bugs with that dreaded 'bus error' that cause the system to just hang, and enhancing the editor to include object editing. If time permits, I will also add the ability to manipulate the 3D objects itself.
Please send your comments and suggestions and bug reports to:
Last Notes
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I am fully aware of a similar commercial system called Virtus Walkthrough. In fact they did send me a demo copy of their software minus the editor. Let me stressed that my system is a research system with an emphasis on interaction,not modelling.
I am also aware of 3D libraries such as 3D Graphics Tools and Hoops. Both are general packages and are too slow for specific tasks to simulate a building.
Last but not least, being a Singaporean, I did not have a chance to see the goodies being demonstrated in the States at the various MacWorlds. But I wasn't surprise when told that the author of Colony (a 3D space simulation game) did demonstrate a Colony-like World editor. But so far I have not seen it marketed anywhere.
I intend for my system to released as shareware, or even freeware, with minor charges for the Think C 4.0 source code. But that is after I have made substantial improvement to the system.
Really Last Notes
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Since my last posting, I have received favourable comments. I hope this posting will keep those comments coming. Good or bad, do keep them coming. I am also glad that the source code to this version is available for licensing. Just a nominal shipping fee is charged for usage. Of course, the standard sign-your-life-away stuff applies. As you read this, the source is being sent to a few people. Do note that this version is unclean and not properly commented. But what can one expect for free.
Do distribute this system anywhere you want. Just make sure all the files that are in this original posting gets sent, including this README file.
