RE: 3D modellers [Was: Re: Texture mapping]

[Erik <br0ke@math.smsu.edu>]

On 06-Nov-99 Steve Baker wrote:
> 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 wish I had the skill and time to tackle these areas. Accepting the best of
the bad still means you accept bad. I switched to linux a few years back cuz
for what I was doing, it was good, and windows was very bad. I'd rather work a
little more and have good than just accept bad :) That I typed that like that
is bad :)

>> > 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).
>  

I would be interested in helping, but my skills are limited and my time even
more so. In mid december, I should have a lot more free time to donate to what
I feel are worthy endeavers. I may be mistaken, but I beleive large open
projects are usually comprised of a small group of core developers who are long
term, and a huge flux of one shot coders who do the bulk of the work, but are
with projects for very very short times. I was following xracer, only worked on
two issues, and only got one to the point of submitting a patch. While I was
following, several people came, several people went, there were only a couple
main voices. Rich did an aweful lot of work, but there were a lot of patches
flowing in... That's where the strength of open source comes in, lots and lots
of people contributing single small peices that come together to make a
superior whole... :) I suppose I should draw a conclusion from this rambling; I
think waiting until a largish developer base is built to even begin isn't going
to work. Group a small handful, plan out the framework, and open it up to
public abuse/evolution? I'd be happy to help when and where I can, but my
biggest success to date is basically a dressed up gtk+ telnet program for mud
games, I don't have the experience or background to contribute too much.

>> >> 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.
> 

:) life happens

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

        -Erik <br0ke@math.smsu.edu> [http://math.smsu.edu/~br0ke]

The opinions expressed by me are not necessarily opinions. In all
probability, they are random rambling, and to be ignored. Failure to ignore
may result in severe boredom or confusion. Shake well before opening. Keep
Refrigerated.