Fast 3D Worlds
By Clayton Crooks
If you've been looking for a quick and easy way to
publish 3D content on the Web, Adobe may have the
answer. Its new product, Atmosphere, provides the
necessary tools for building 3D environments for a
wide range of uses. Atmosphere is well suited for
community building with its built-in support for chat
features. Using a proprietary Web browser plug-in,
called Atmosphere Browser, users can explore 3D worlds
and view representations of other users. The plug-in
is currently limited to use with Internet Explorer
4.01 and later versions, and Netscape Navigator 4.6
and 4.7.
When you start Atmosphere Builder for the first time,
you'll notice its simple user interface with a menu
bar and a variety of palettes—very similar to those of
other Adobe products. The menus at the top of the
screen provide access to standard commands, while the
palettes contain tools such as 3D objects and options
for designing a 3D world.
The largest window in the interface is a document
window that's used to arrange objects in the 3D world.
It displays a view of the objects in one of two
options: wireframe or browser. Wireframe is similar to
the view you'd get in a vector drawing or CAD package,
like a blueprint of your world. The browser option
lets you view the world with the objects' textures and
is an accurate depiction of how your world will appear
on the Web.
