3D modellers [Was: Re: Texture mapping]

[Steve Baker <sjbaker1@airmail.net>]

Erik wrote:

> > AC3D really isn't all that good - but it would be a wonderful starting
> > point for making something really good.  Unfortunately, it's author doesn't
> > want to 'free' the sources because the gradual trickle of $40 cheques is
> > actually earning him some serious amounts of money.
 
> mmm, promoting substandard software? I can only think of two catagories where
> substandard software is tolerated on linux. 3d modellers and web browsers. And
> there's a lot of noise on the web browser issue (I'd say it's more critical.
> Games&gfx are nice, but the web is a necessity.)

Well, I think in both cases (3D modellers and Web browsers), it's a matter
of either picking the best of a bad bunch or returning to Windoze.

I *hate* the bugs in both Netscape and AC3D - but they are still the best
of what's available...and I'd rather have a buggy AC3D than have to reboot
into Windoze. (Aside from which I don't own a copy of windoze)
 
> > I'd certainly contribute to a project that had enough serious people on it
> > to solve the problem for real.
 
> the problem isn't a lack of skilled people willing to contribute, it's a lack
> of people qualified, capable, and eager to LEAD :)

Well, if there were enough helpers, I'd be prepared to lead - but I'm not
starting another one-man project (which Tux_AQFH is - and PLIB *nearly* is).
 
> >> Getting away without modeller gurus directly active in such a project MAY be
> >> possable by having some modeller enthusiests, evaluating current mainstream
> >> modellers, and interviewing the gurus of the feild, which may alleviate the
> >> concurrent windows port... *shrug* but now I'm on wild speculation :)
> >
> > Pretty Poly Editor was portable.  If you write it in OpenGL (what else would
> > you use?!) and use some kind of portable GUI/widget library (like my PUI or
> > GLUI or something) - then portability should be trivial to do.  Much easier
> > than writing a portable game or something like that.
> >
> 
> this would probably be an excellent application of plib

Well, Pretty-Poly-Editor used some of the code that is now PLIB - but one
of the reasons I stopped working on Pretty-Poly was the need for something
like PLIB.  So I dropped PPE and worked on PLIB - then wrote Tux_AQFH
(which started life as a test program for PLIB)...and never did get back
to PPE.

-- 
Steve Baker                  http://web2.airmail.net/sjbaker1
sjbaker1@airmail.net (home)  http://www.woodsoup.org/~sbaker
sjbaker@hti.com      (work)