Comments on: Cathay Pacific: Avatars, 3D Tour, Papervision

By: Dusan

Dusan — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 13:07:28 +0000

Markus – Good points, although I don’t entirely mean to use this as an example of a ‘virtual world’ but rather the 3D Internet – and sure, subtle difference, but I think there are different facets of the “Metaverse” – avatars, 3D worlds (or micro worlds), 3D visualization, etc. Certainly Papervision isn’t ready for prime time when it comes to giving an experience of presence…in fact, as you point out, I’m not entirely sure it’s ready for prime time for certain visualizations because many of the apps you see using the platform could just as easily be done with clever use of Flash and, as you say, QuickTime or maybe Virtools (problem being the plug-in).

Flash 10 will unleash a whole new generation of approaches, there’s no question. What’s important about Papervision is its demonstration of ’3D visualization’ without a client, ubiquity, etc. However, it’s just one thread in a much wider ecology of 3D apps and approaches.

By: Markus Breuer (Pham Neutra)

Markus Breuer (Pham Neutra) — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 12:36:16 +0000

Dusan, while I share your excitement for the idea of flash based virtual worlds … and 3D spaces you can embed into web pages … Cathay Pacific’s cabin tour is a good example why this idea has to be applied with a lot of care.

The performance is pure horror on my 2 yr old Windows system (which runs SL perfectly). Movements are erratic and you have to concentrate heavily on what the screen does, when you move the mouse. There is no avatar with which to identify myself. There was not even a second where I “felt inside” the plane.

This might be technologically “cool”, but I don’t see much sense in it. Actually I expect that an aging technology like Quicktime3D or something similar would convey a much better impression of the actual looks within a Cathay Pacific plane.

Maybe it will get better with Flash 10 and GPU support. Lets hope for that …