I started working on creating an actual website for this app. Along with the updated UI, there are a few additional features:

• Ability to change the background color
• Optimization of surfaced mesh for better performance
• "Detail" and "Resolution" settings for more control over surfacing
• Saving and loading of models (in progress)

Metaballs - Part IV

I'm continuing to make progress:

• Faster geometry creation
• More accurate normals (much smoother looking models)
• Y-axis limits on metaball position
• (Highest detail setting now works correctly)

[Statuary]

Metaballs - Part III

A few more tweaks to the code and I think things are starting to look pretty good. Along with a few usability changes, metaballs can now be scaled down pretty small for more detailed models, and the user can manually change the resolution of the resulting model. I recommend NOT using the highest detail level, since it will probably time out.

[Statuary]

Metaballs - Part II

More updates to the Metaball code I posted a few days ago. Along with a few other tweaks, the biggest change is support for scaling (click a ball to see scale slider).

[Statuary]

Metaballs - Part I

One integral part to Statuary (still not sure on the name) is easy-to-use metaball support.

This demo shows off metaballs in action, both the manipulation of the metaballs and the building of a final mesh.

There are still plenty of bugs in the code and tweaks to be made, check back in a day or two for an updated version.

Soft Shadows

Just a quick preview of things to come!

Core changes

Not much to show at this time, but I've been making a lot of progress lately. I ran into a few snags while working on my Statuary app, so I decided to re-evaluate some core rendering code and make it more complete. I had previously been taking a few shortcuts which had worked at the time, but in practice it turns out the engine needed more flexibility. Although it's a setback, this is the exact reason I wanted to make this app: to see how well the Silverback3D engine works in a real-life situations and what features it needs to be fully functional.


New engine functionality that is either in progress or completed:

• Optimized simple shadows
• Normal mapping (only object space for now)
• Significant performance improvements by switching from arrays to vectors
• Polygon picking

Statuary

After taking a fair amount of time off, I've finally been able to get back to this project and make some headway on an idea I've had floating around my head for a while. A 3D engine is rewarding to make, but in the end it's always more fun to actually do something with it.

My main goals with this app are to show off what Silverback3D is capable of and put the engine through its paces to find any shortcomings.

This is a rough first draft and only includes 1/3 of my plans for the final application, but I thought it would be fun to put it out there and get some initial feedback.

Link: [Statuary]