A3DL: Abstract 3D Layer

The Abstract 3D Layer is a set of Vobject types for describing 3D scenes. A3DL is intended to be platform-neutral, meaning that it is not tied to a particular 3D engine or modeling application. A3DL is similar in spirit to technologies such as VRML and X3D; it describes a common interchange format for 3D data that can be shared among many applications. But it is not a file format &emdash; it it a specialization of the VOS protocol applied to 3D virtual worlds. Because A3DL is layered on top of VOS, it takes advantage of VOS' core features. For example, network transparency enables the elements of a scene or world to be easily distributed across multiple servers. In conjunction with other Vobject types such as Avatar and Talkative, A3DL is designed for support multiuser collaborative spaces, where users interact with each other and the virtual environment in real time.

An A3DL scene may be stored in a Compact Object Description (COD) file, the standard container file format for Vobjects. To produce a COD with the A3DL objects describing your scene you can use the Blender export script or the A3DL converter program included in the VOS package. (At this time the A3DL converter currently only supports the ASCII Scene Export (ASE) format produced by 3D Studio Max, but we intend to add support for many more formats in the future.)

To easily create a client program to render the graphics described by A3DL, you can use the VOS/A3DL plugin to Crystal Space (includes screenshots).

The Mesh project page contains an example of browsing and editing some A3DL objects using the Mesh shell program.

A3DL status

Currently, A3DL supports the following features:

• 3D primitives: cube, sphere, cone, cylinder
• Arbitrary meshes of triangles and quads, with per-polygon texturemappingColored point lights
• Materials of either solid color or using images for textures
• Loading various model formats such as 3DS and MD2
• Setting animation loops when using models with animation
• Camera viewpoints

The following features are planned for future versions:

• Skeletal model support via Cal3D
• Native animation support (rather than using 3DS or MD2)
• Programmable shaders
• Terrain
• Curved surfaces
• Portal support

Related VOS Projects

CrystalSpace Plugin :: OmniVOS Server :: Mesh :: Blender Exporter