This project demonstrates accessing the QuickDraw 3D library from REALbasic. It is an extension of QD3D Demo 2; it adds a background, simple collision detection (based on a world grid), and a more gamelike interface.
Functionality:
The game automatically loads the scene. Use the arrow keys to move your avatar around. You shouldn't be able to walk through trees or the temple. You can switch between first-person and third-person views using the radio buttons below the rendering area.
Compatibility:
This code has been tested with REALbasic 2.1. It may work on earlier versions of RB, but it will *not* work on 2.0.2 or earlier because of changes to the project file format. It will not currently work under Windows, though it should be possible to make it do so without too much work.
About the Models:
The player avatar is the BetaMan model, adapted by yours truly from a model called "AlphaMan" by Todd DeMelle (Ejwize@aol.com). It was made using Meshwork [1]. The temple and trees were also made with Meshwork. Meshwork files for these models are available upon request.
About QuickDraw 3D:
QuickDraw 3D (abbreviated QD3D) is a high-level 3D library by Apple Computer. It is widely reknowned for a very clean, powerful design. In 1999, Apple decided to drop QD3D, and it will not be present in Mac OS X and beyond. However, it is now being re-implemented as an open-source project called Quesa [2]. The Quesa team has already rewritten most of QD3D, with the remaining functions to be finished in the next few months. Moreover, Quesa is even better than QD3D, not least because it's more portable: it already runs on MacOS, Windows, Linux, and BeOS, and additional platforms could be easily added. Quesa, like QD3D, uses a plug-in rendering architecture; currently the Mac version renders via OpenGL, but if OpenGL goes away (yes, this could happen), Quesa will simply use a different plug-in renderer. So writing for QD3D/Quesa maximizes both the portability and the longevity of your code.
Programming in Quesa/QD3D:
See the online QD3D book [3]. This is a little dense, but really does contain almost all the information you need to program with QD3D (or, equivalently, Quesa). The demo code gives you many examples of how to translate the QD3D functions into REALbasic code.
For more information:
See my REALbasic code page [4]. Or write to me (Joe Strout) at <joe@strout.net>.
