Home > Store

Director's Third Dimension:  Fundamentals of 3D Programming in Director 8.5

Register your product to gain access to bonus material or receive a coupon.

Director's Third Dimension: Fundamentals of 3D Programming in Director 8.5

Book

  • Sorry, this book is no longer in print.
Not for Sale

Description

  • Copyright 2002
  • Dimensions: 7-3/8" x 9-1/8"
  • Pages: 944
  • Edition: 1st
  • Book
  • ISBN-10: 0-672-32228-5
  • ISBN-13: 978-0-672-32228-0

Director's Third Dimension has been designed with the Director developer with little or no 3D experience in mind. The purpose is threefold: To explain the fundamental concepts necessary to begin working with 3D; To demonstrate how these concepts manifest themselves in Director; To demonstrate strategies for the application of these concepts in terms of specific projects, including building charts, creating interfaces, and controlling characters in a 3D environment.

The book has and abundance of demos (more than 140). At the end of every chapter, there is a collection of Frequently Asked Questions and supplemental resources that will help the reader expand their learning.

Sample Content

Online Sample Chapter

Building a Simple API for Model Creation in Director

Table of Contents



Introduction.

I. HANDS-ON INTRODUCTION TO THE 3D ENVIRONMENT.

1. Shockwave 3D Castmember.

What Is the 3D Castmember? The 3D Environment. The Renderer. Persistence of the Environment. Summary.

2. Creating Models from Scratch via Lingo.

Inserting an Empty 3D World. Modelresources and Models. Primitives. Non-Primitives. Generic Units. Creating Models. Shader Basics. Model Creation Demo. Summary.

3. Building a Simple API for Model Creation.

World Cleanup Utilities. Primitive Creation. Basic Shader Manipulation. Using Our API to Quickly Create Content. Future Considerations. Summary.

4. Transformations.

Two-dimensional Cartesian Coordinates. Points and Vectors. 3D Cartesian Coordinates. The Vector() Function and Vector Data Type. World Coordinates Versus Local Coordinates. Transform() and Transformations. Transforming the Transform() Object. Models, Transform(), and Transformations. Transformation Demos. Summary.

5. Understanding Lighting.

Basic Scene Lighting. Design Priorities. Types of Lights. A Method for Designing with Light. Lighting Laboratory Demo. Creating and Modifying Lights. Summary.

6. Understanding Cameras.

How Are 3D Cameras Different from Lens-Based Cameras? What Is a Projection? Modifying Cameras. Future Considerations. Summary.

7. Text and Extrusion Capabilities.

Creating 3D Text with Text Castmembers. Using extrude3d() for 3D Text and Beyond. Creating Custom Fonts for Director. The Hidden Power of Extrusion. Summary.

8. Parents, Children, and Cloning.

Scenegraph Hierarchy. Parents and Children. Cloning. Groups. Summary.

9. Working with Prebuilt Scenes and Behaviors.

Importing Objects from Modeling Software. Shockwave 3D Viewer. 3D Behavior Basics. Summary.

II. DATA VISUALIZATION.

10. Histograms.

Custom Data Types. Brainstorming. Designing the Data Type. Building the Handlers. Creating Bar Charts. Future Considerations. Summary.

11. Pie Charts.

Brainstorming. Building the Handlers. Creating Pie Charts. Future Considerations. Summary.

III. INTERFACE APPLICATIONS OF SHOCKWAVE 3D.

12. Basic Control of Surfaces.

Models, Shaders, and Textures. Shaders. Standard Shader Properties. Seven Steps for Creating a Basic Surface (Demo). Surface Techniques. Summary.

13. A 2D Mouse in a 3D World.

3D Interface Design Challenges. 3D Interface Design Solutions. Intuitive Solutions. Introduction to Picking Lingo. Picking Demonstrations. Summary.

14. Multitexturing.

Advanced Texture Properties. Texture Layers of the Standard Shader. Shader.Texture Transformations. Summary.

15. Non-Photorealistic Rendering.

What Is NPR Rendering? NPR with Nonstandard Shaders. NPR with Modifiers. Abstract Techniques. Summary.

16. Camera Tricks.

Backdrops and Overlays. Fog. Trails. Summary.

17. Special Effects.

Animated Textures. Particle Systems. Summary.

18. 3D Interface Design.

Charting an Application Interface. 3D Menu System Interface. Incorporating a Sound Interface. Additional Enhancements for Localizing Sound. Interface, Interaction, and Information. Summary.

IV. PROJECT OPTIMIZATION.

19. Performance Optimization.

Renderer Optimization. Texture Optimization. 3D Sprite and Desktop Size. Geometry Optimization. Lighting Optimization. Performance Optimizations for Cameras. Frames Per Second Utility. Additional Performance Tips Quick List. Summary.

20. Download Optimization.

Textures. Geometry. Streaming Options. General Download Tips. Summary.

V. ANIMATION AND INTERACTIVE CONTROL STRUCTURES.

21. Keyframe Animation.

Motions and the Keyframeplayer Modifier. Exporting Motions from 3D Studio MAX. Basic Keyframeplayer Control. Motion Playlists and Multiple Motions. Motion Blending. Cumulative Motions. Summary.

22. Bonesplayer Modifier.

What Is Bones Animation? Exporting Bones Motions from 3D Studio MAX. Using the Bonesplayer Modifier. Bones Animation Demonstration. Motion Mapping. Nonbipedal Bones. Summary.

23. Controlling Time.

Registration Basics. Building a Custom Scheduler. Summary.

24. Interactive Animation.

What Is Interactive Animation? Character Control Demonstration. Summary.

VI - ADVANCEDTECHNIQUES.

25. Advanced Camera Control.

Camera Animation. Camera Zoom. Basic Camera Navigation. Camera Following. Camera Examination. Multiple Viewports. Summary.

26. Advanced Transforms and Vector Math.

Who Should Read This Chapter? Vectors. Scalars. Vector Math. Flexing Our Vector Math Muscles. Advanced Transforms. Gimbal Lock. Summary.

27. Creating Meshes from Code.

What Is a Mesh? Vertices and Faces. Mesh Modelresource. Creating Grids. Building Terrain. Terrain Following. Where to Go from Here? Summary.

28. Mesh Deformation and Detailed Picking.

Mesh Deformation. Meshdeform Modifier. Detailed Picking. Summary.

29. Collision Detection.

Collision Modifier. Collision Modifier Demonstration. Boundary Management. Boundary Management Demonstration. Summary.

VII. APPENDIXES.

Appendix A. 3D Studio MAX W3D Exporter.

How to Export Models from 3D Studio MAX. Critical Issues with W3D Export. Supplemental Resources.

Appendix B. OBJ Converter.

The OBJ File Format. Issues. Strategy. Advanced

Appendix C. Imaging Lingo.

What Is Imaging Lingo? What Can You Do with Imaging Lingo? Imaging Basics. Image, Image(), and Duplicate(). The Rect() Code Object. Quads. Copypixels(). Where to Go from Here.

Appendix D. 2D Mathematics and Utilities.

Modulus Operator. Radians and Degrees. Sin() and Cos() Look-up Tables. ATAN(), COTAN(), ACOS(), and ASIN(). Square Root and Coding. Right Triangle Theorems. Summary.

Appendix E. Optimization Cheat Sheet.
Appendix F. Colorlut Custom Color Management System.

Benefits of Colorlut. Creating a New Custom Palette. Palette Data Structure. Custom Handlers for Palette Control. ColorTool. Palette Strategies.

Appendix G. Havok Xtra.

What Is the Havok Xtra? What Do I Need to Work with Havok? Behaviors. HKE Export. Havok Online.

Appendix H. Online Resources.

Director 3D Work Online. General Director Resources. Listserv. 3D Modeling and Animation Software. Support Software. 3D, AI, and Game Programming. General 3D Information. 3D Models.

Glossary.
Index.

Updates

Submit Errata

More Information

InformIT Promotional Mailings & Special Offers

I would like to receive exclusive offers and hear about products from InformIT and its family of brands. I can unsubscribe at any time.

Overview


Pearson Education, Inc., 221 River Street, Hoboken, New Jersey 07030, (Pearson) presents this site to provide information about products and services that can be purchased through this site.

This privacy notice provides an overview of our commitment to privacy and describes how we collect, protect, use and share personal information collected through this site. Please note that other Pearson websites and online products and services have their own separate privacy policies.

Collection and Use of Information


To conduct business and deliver products and services, Pearson collects and uses personal information in several ways in connection with this site, including:

Questions and Inquiries

For inquiries and questions, we collect the inquiry or question, together with name, contact details (email address, phone number and mailing address) and any other additional information voluntarily submitted to us through a Contact Us form or an email. We use this information to address the inquiry and respond to the question.

Online Store

For orders and purchases placed through our online store on this site, we collect order details, name, institution name and address (if applicable), email address, phone number, shipping and billing addresses, credit/debit card information, shipping options and any instructions. We use this information to complete transactions, fulfill orders, communicate with individuals placing orders or visiting the online store, and for related purposes.

Surveys

Pearson may offer opportunities to provide feedback or participate in surveys, including surveys evaluating Pearson products, services or sites. Participation is voluntary. Pearson collects information requested in the survey questions and uses the information to evaluate, support, maintain and improve products, services or sites, develop new products and services, conduct educational research and for other purposes specified in the survey.

Contests and Drawings

Occasionally, we may sponsor a contest or drawing. Participation is optional. Pearson collects name, contact information and other information specified on the entry form for the contest or drawing to conduct the contest or drawing. Pearson may collect additional personal information from the winners of a contest or drawing in order to award the prize and for tax reporting purposes, as required by law.

Newsletters

If you have elected to receive email newsletters or promotional mailings and special offers but want to unsubscribe, simply email information@informit.com.

Service Announcements

On rare occasions it is necessary to send out a strictly service related announcement. For instance, if our service is temporarily suspended for maintenance we might send users an email. Generally, users may not opt-out of these communications, though they can deactivate their account information. However, these communications are not promotional in nature.

Customer Service

We communicate with users on a regular basis to provide requested services and in regard to issues relating to their account we reply via email or phone in accordance with the users' wishes when a user submits their information through our Contact Us form.

Other Collection and Use of Information


Application and System Logs

Pearson automatically collects log data to help ensure the delivery, availability and security of this site. Log data may include technical information about how a user or visitor connected to this site, such as browser type, type of computer/device, operating system, internet service provider and IP address. We use this information for support purposes and to monitor the health of the site, identify problems, improve service, detect unauthorized access and fraudulent activity, prevent and respond to security incidents and appropriately scale computing resources.

Web Analytics

Pearson may use third party web trend analytical services, including Google Analytics, to collect visitor information, such as IP addresses, browser types, referring pages, pages visited and time spent on a particular site. While these analytical services collect and report information on an anonymous basis, they may use cookies to gather web trend information. The information gathered may enable Pearson (but not the third party web trend services) to link information with application and system log data. Pearson uses this information for system administration and to identify problems, improve service, detect unauthorized access and fraudulent activity, prevent and respond to security incidents, appropriately scale computing resources and otherwise support and deliver this site and its services.

Cookies and Related Technologies

This site uses cookies and similar technologies to personalize content, measure traffic patterns, control security, track use and access of information on this site, and provide interest-based messages and advertising. Users can manage and block the use of cookies through their browser. Disabling or blocking certain cookies may limit the functionality of this site.

Do Not Track

This site currently does not respond to Do Not Track signals.

Security


Pearson uses appropriate physical, administrative and technical security measures to protect personal information from unauthorized access, use and disclosure.

Children


This site is not directed to children under the age of 13.

Marketing


Pearson may send or direct marketing communications to users, provided that

  • Pearson will not use personal information collected or processed as a K-12 school service provider for the purpose of directed or targeted advertising.
  • Such marketing is consistent with applicable law and Pearson's legal obligations.
  • Pearson will not knowingly direct or send marketing communications to an individual who has expressed a preference not to receive marketing.
  • Where required by applicable law, express or implied consent to marketing exists and has not been withdrawn.

Pearson may provide personal information to a third party service provider on a restricted basis to provide marketing solely on behalf of Pearson or an affiliate or customer for whom Pearson is a service provider. Marketing preferences may be changed at any time.

Correcting/Updating Personal Information


If a user's personally identifiable information changes (such as your postal address or email address), we provide a way to correct or update that user's personal data provided to us. This can be done on the Account page. If a user no longer desires our service and desires to delete his or her account, please contact us at customer-service@informit.com and we will process the deletion of a user's account.

Choice/Opt-out


Users can always make an informed choice as to whether they should proceed with certain services offered by InformIT. If you choose to remove yourself from our mailing list(s) simply visit the following page and uncheck any communication you no longer want to receive: www.informit.com/u.aspx.

Sale of Personal Information


Pearson does not rent or sell personal information in exchange for any payment of money.

While Pearson does not sell personal information, as defined in Nevada law, Nevada residents may email a request for no sale of their personal information to NevadaDesignatedRequest@pearson.com.

Supplemental Privacy Statement for California Residents


California residents should read our Supplemental privacy statement for California residents in conjunction with this Privacy Notice. The Supplemental privacy statement for California residents explains Pearson's commitment to comply with California law and applies to personal information of California residents collected in connection with this site and the Services.

Sharing and Disclosure


Pearson may disclose personal information, as follows:

  • As required by law.
  • With the consent of the individual (or their parent, if the individual is a minor)
  • In response to a subpoena, court order or legal process, to the extent permitted or required by law
  • To protect the security and safety of individuals, data, assets and systems, consistent with applicable law
  • In connection the sale, joint venture or other transfer of some or all of its company or assets, subject to the provisions of this Privacy Notice
  • To investigate or address actual or suspected fraud or other illegal activities
  • To exercise its legal rights, including enforcement of the Terms of Use for this site or another contract
  • To affiliated Pearson companies and other companies and organizations who perform work for Pearson and are obligated to protect the privacy of personal information consistent with this Privacy Notice
  • To a school, organization, company or government agency, where Pearson collects or processes the personal information in a school setting or on behalf of such organization, company or government agency.

Links


This web site contains links to other sites. Please be aware that we are not responsible for the privacy practices of such other sites. We encourage our users to be aware when they leave our site and to read the privacy statements of each and every web site that collects Personal Information. This privacy statement applies solely to information collected by this web site.

Requests and Contact


Please contact us about this Privacy Notice or if you have any requests or questions relating to the privacy of your personal information.

Changes to this Privacy Notice


We may revise this Privacy Notice through an updated posting. We will identify the effective date of the revision in the posting. Often, updates are made to provide greater clarity or to comply with changes in regulatory requirements. If the updates involve material changes to the collection, protection, use or disclosure of Personal Information, Pearson will provide notice of the change through a conspicuous notice on this site or other appropriate way. Continued use of the site after the effective date of a posted revision evidences acceptance. Please contact us if you have questions or concerns about the Privacy Notice or any objection to any revisions.

Last Update: November 17, 2020