7 replies to this topic

[atoria]

I plan on making a 3D walk through of a building. I am having trouble finding software that will accommodate all my needs. I have yet to find only one piece of software that will work but its only for the Mac (unity). I am not really a programmer so I would need most of the functions to be drag and drop. If any one could help me find a piece of software, it would greatly be appreciated. It will also need to have collision detection with the walls so that they can't just run through them.

Requirements:
- Able to deploy to .exe (no extra software installed)
- Able to be interactive (not just a movie) with WADS or Arrow keys
- Able to directly import Maya .mb or .ma files or at least have a Maya exporter
- Easy to use
- Windows

[necroside]

Well first off, if you have a bit of spare money, FPS creator will be a good choice, if you don't want to expend money use blender, it has a drag and drop logic that you can learn in short time. Or if you don't mind to learn some programming, as far as I know, irrlicht is the fastest way to get a walktrough running, or you can look at the walktrough tutorial and change the quake3 map for your model.

By the way, most engines can import .x files, I think maya can export them.

[TMichael]

3D Gamemaker would also fit the bill here. It's made by the same company as FPS Creator, but it's more generic in nature.

Another good option for you might be DX Studio. It can be used as a RAD tool like the engines above, and it offers a great deal more flexibility through scripting if necessary.

A few tidbits from their website:

"The system includes both 2D & 3D layout editors, and allows full JavaScript control of everything from changing the background to editing meshes in real-time."

"Import/export tools are included for most 2D & 3D media formats. If you use a commercial modelling product such as 3D Studio Max® or Maya®, free 'X file' or COLLADA exporters work well."

"The DX Studio™ 2D and 3D editors can be used to build interactive layers and sequences, which are combined to produce a complete interactive document. The top level editor can be used just to drag and drop scenes together at a high level, or can 'drill down' to edit 3D and 2D scenes. Inside each scene, you can drill down further to edit the individual 3D models, textures, backgrounds and sounds."

There is a free version of DX available, so it's definitely worth checking out before spending any hard earned cash.

[droeni]

s2engine http:// www.profenix.com
Awakening http://www.awingsoft.com

Booth are in lower price range and are very suitable for non C programmers. To be honest: FPSC is a shooter maker and not suitable for self buildings walktrough.

Most engines don't output to a single exe. But the secret weapon here is Molebox http://www.molebox.com

[aamesxdavid]

Another important question is the level of detail you need. Do you need dynamic lighting/shadows? I guess exactly what the purpose of the walkthrough is is the question.

I find a lot of "game" engines (not 3D engines, mind you) to be frustratingly limited, but the idea is that it takes care of everything for you. For instance, do you need this to be a walking function, with gravity, or a fly through, where the camera has free roam, but simply cannot go through walls.

The second case could probably not be done by most game engines. But a 3D model could be loaded with collision in a few minutes of programming with something like Blitz3D, which is a very easy language to learn.

[alphadog]

atoria said:

I plan on making a 3D walk through of a building.

First questions I would ask are:
- What's your budget?
- What are your skills/resources(people, time, etc...)?
- Why a game engine? Is the end product a game, or for an "architectural thing"? Because a game engine may have a lot of additional complexity you do not need to carry.

[atoria]

First off I would like to thank you guys for the helpful information. I have checked out the suggestions listed above and they do seem to be more than looking for.

Quote

First questions I would ask are:
- What's your budget?
- What are your skills/resources(people, time, etc...)?
- Why a game engine? Is the end product a game, or for an "architectural thing"? Because a game engine may have a lot of additional complexity you do not need to carry.

The budget would be free to $2000 but this is flexible.

My skills are at a level of drag and drop. I just want to be able to load a maya object, drop a first person camera in and export an .exe where a client can traverse the object with collision detection (walls).

I agree that a game engine might be too complex for my situation, would you happen to have any other suggestions.

Quote

Do you need dynamic lighting/shadows?

The lighting and such are only slightly important. I do want to have a high res, fully rendered view in the .exe, so I guess this would just be a plus.

[alphadog]

atoria said:

My skills are at a level of drag and drop. I just want to be able to load a maya object, drop a first person camera in and export an .exe where a client can traverse the object with collision detection (walls).

I asked some architectural design friends.

Since you use Maya, I would recommend you speak with an Autodesk reseller and visit the Autodesk forums. Autodesk now owns Maya. They may be able to point you to something to fit your needs. I think, if I remember correctly, that Alias used to have a plugin for exporting scenes to a shockwave format. "Real Time Authoring", or something. Autodesk also bought out Navisworks. They have various products for building walk-throughs, and a client called "Freedom" that's basically a free viewer.

Also, try: http://www.applied-i.../real-time.html. Seems right up your alley. The problem is a) it's beta, and how long will it be around?

Hope this helps. Good luck.