The very first Away3D book was finally published last month by Friends of Ed. Thanx go our to the main authors Rob Bateman and Richard Olsson, as well as Away3D Team members Greg Caldwell, Jens Brynildsen, Peter Kapelyan, David Lenaerts and Alejandro Santander who all made contributions. This has been a lot of work for everyone involved, and is a testament to the dedication of the core team and support of our community.

The book serves as an ideal primer for anyone looking to get into 3D in Flash, or anyone who has used Away3D for a short while but is interested in cementing their knowledge. It covers a wide range of topics from basic primitive creation and interaction through to advanced features such as bones animation and 3D text manipulation, using the latest 2.5 & 3.5 double release as its code base. Each chapter is packed full of examples that teach underlying 3D concepts as well as the application of Away3D in a standard AS3 project, and the text provides initial setup assistance for whichever ActionScript editor you favour.

A web page at http://flash3dbook.com has been created to document where you can buy the book online, and is also the place we are hosting the errata doc which is keeping track of any minor corrections. Alternatively, go to Amazon or the publisher’s own page at www.friendsofed.com, the latter of which offers an eBook option, as well as all the necessary source files for the contained code examples. Feel free to comment your thoughts below if you have purchased the book recently and would like to submit a review – all opinions welcome!

2.5.0 and 3.5.0 represent the latest full engine releases of Away3D for Flash Player 9 and 10. You can grab the code either from the svn repository or the downloads page, where you will also find a bunch of updated examples.

Accompanying the Away3D update is the latest version of Prefab3D a 3D preparation tool created by Fabrice Closier using Adobe AIR. You can download the runtime from the official Prefab3D installation page, or from the AIR Marketplace where you can also submit feedback (and we encourage you to do so!). Prefab3D is still very much a work in progress, but its newest feature allows the export of specially formatted .awd files optimised for FPS rendering (otherwise known as BSP files).

As an example of what is possible with this new feature, the following Hacienda demo was created using the latest Prefab3D runtime and Away3D sources:

A number of rooms can be navigated using the mouse and keyboard, with collision detection enabled by processing the BSP format in Away3D. The beautifully shaded textures were created using Prefab3D’s texture baking feature.

Be careful where you tread, as this is still an experimental demo! Further optimizing work is being carried out on collision and rendering loops in Away3D, but even at this stage, the speed benefits are evident.

Alongside the new FPS features, the Away3D codebase has undergone a fairly major rehaul and anyone wishing to upgrade their project to use 2.5 / 3.5 needs to be prepared for a little re-formatting here and there. We apologies in advance, but most of the updates have been in preparation of the long awaited Away3D 4.0 release which will be the next major version release for Flash Player 10 only. A full set of changes will be published later today on our mailing list.

For your own Hacienda demo, we have prepared a simpler setup creating the interior of a bunker, for which source code is available. Click the image below for the demo, or go straight to the source. The version shown here uses Flash Player 10, but code for both 9 and 10 can be found in the respective 2.5.0 and 3.5.0 examples downloads.

Using Prefab 1.3, the following video takes you through the creation process for the Bunker demo, step by step. The only starting requirement is a simple textured model, ready for processing. The final output is the demo you see above!

Livedocs will be updated to the new codebase within the next few days. As usual, please direct any bug reports to our googlecode issues list, and any questions about functionality to our mailing list.

Enjoy the new release!

The Away3D Team

As part of Away3D’s commitment to it’s international members, a smattering of training events will be occuring over the coming weeks in various parts of the world – go to Rob’s blog over at http://www.infiniteturtles.co.uk or read the snippet below for more details…

First stop will be Sao Paulo, Brazil on Tuesday 27th April for a single day – there is no training planned for this particular stop but there will be an evening event arranged for any Away3D community members who would like to meet up. The more the merrier!

Next location will be Buenos Aries, Argentina where i will be arriving on Wednesday 28th April to give a full two day training course over the 28th and 29th. The course is being arranged by the ARFUG group, and full details of the event plus venue and prices can be found here. Huge thanx to Max and the ARFUG team for helping to arrange this, should be a lot of fun!

After Argentina, i will be enduring a grueling 17hr flight to Sydney, Australia, arriving in time to give a special one-day condensed training course at the WebDU conference on Wednesday 5th May, details of which can be found here. I’ll then be hanging around for the conference itself and presenting my new session: the many faces of Away3D on the Thursday afternoon. Its currently looking quite sunny here in London, so i’ll be looking forward to some of that Sydney autumn fog…

Finally, after many more hours of dvt inducing hardship I will be back in London, UK to give the headline event of the Away3D training calendar – a two day intensive course over the 20th and 21st May at the LFPUG. This will be limited to a maximum of 14 people, so please book early if you are planning on going! Full details can be found here, and thanx go to Tink for arranging the venue and free pub lunches.

Apologies if your town is not one of those listed above – please let us know if you would like to host a training event for your country in the future and we’ll see what we can do!

The Away3D Team

Chances are, you might have seen some of these projects, as bigger names and bigger audiences are introduced to 3D in Flash. Now, without further delay, we present the latest showcase of top-class Away3D content to be released online.

23 Million people a month (and growing) are playing “Café World” on Facebook, which utilizes Away3D for its speed and flexibility. This must be one of the most visible Away3D games on the web! Café World is still in beta, but still very playable. If you have a Facebook account, you can check it out. Thanks to Timon for notifying us of this great use of Away3D!

Bandit3 is possibly the most awe-inspiringly slick use of Away3D we have seen yet! Fly around a 3D virtual city and enter buildings to discover more about this cutting edge kiteboarding company.

Syerit is an agency that went all out with this project. What other company has a site where you feel like you are playing Quake, solving puzzles, listening to Heavy metal, and fighting a Boss? We give this site an A++ for Away3D Awesomeness!

The zen-like Sony Vaio X series site uses Away3D page flip to switch between the sections of the website. The idea behind this is that the Vaio X is as light as a regular paper notebook. Also, keep an eye on the nice ripple effect when the leaves fall in the water!

Metroid.com uses Away3D for navigation in different sections to mimic a games console user interface. It’s a simple but effective use of 3D, that compliments Nintendo’s famous 3D Metroid games.

Freedent renders a realtime juicy-looking Freedent package for a retro feel at the same time. Congratulations for winning the FWA award!

Adidas uses a 3d skybox in Away3D to create an immersive navigation system. Click around, and see the near perfect transition from Away3D to video! A truly  amazing effect

Terminator Skynet Research DCP is an AIR application that uses Away3d to render assorted Flash 3D visualizations. Will our application interfaces really look like this in the future? Resist or be Terminated!

Doritos’ ID3 has a few minigames that use Away3D to complement the cinematic feel of this interactive role-playing adventure. The east-end gangster style is entertaining, and almost as cheesy as Nacho flavored chips!

Tetrapak uses a realtime Away3D animated rabbit to be your website host. How can you get a 3D rabbit to move in flash without pre-rendered movie clips and splitting hares?  It is possible thanks to the many tools Away3D has for making complex 3D animations and models a stroll in the park.

Whaboo – “what about you?” is a social, cultural and emotional entertainment place. It uses Away3D to create a multi-dimensional browser enabled place where people can play games to find others and discover new things. Whaboo uses Away3D, what about you?

If you can’t wait for that jolly time of year, check out this neat 3D Flash Holiday Calendar that a emulates a cardboard toy calendar. Simple and lighthearted, it is a great use of 3D to reproduce real world interactivity in Flash.

Congratulations to all the creators of these web sites and games! We are happy to see Away3D being used in so many original ways. If you haven’t yet tried the 3rd dimension, download the library and join the Away3D group to get yourself started and open up a whole new world of possibilities.

The Away3D Team

Away3D has got a shiny new suit thanks to Flash Player 10 and Pixel Bender, with a completely new set of material shaders and filters that offer more detail than ever before.

Written by recent new recruit and pixel-maestro David Lenaerts, the shaders offer a vast array of new options and shading techniques, all at the pixel level. For more detailed information on the various shader types, you can read David’s post over at www.derschmale.com.

Point source lights can now be used with these type of shader thanks to the parallel processing nature of Pixel Bender, giving an extra level of realism to specular maps, environment shading and even the standard phong shader. Each image in this post links to a demo that showcases the possibilities on offer – from multi-pass shaders that allow more than one lightsource, to normal mapping with specular maps for highly textured surfaces.

All demos come with source files that can be viewed and downloaded from the right-click menu in the Flash movie. These sources need to be compiled with the latest 3.4.2 release in the fp10 branch of the SVN trunk. It is worth noting that this is officially a dot release, meaning that the code is still experimental and may change before the next major release of 3.5. We are keen to get feedback on the new materials and their use before we commit to a final source structure, and would be very interested to hear what the community opinion is, either in the comments or on our mailing list. Speaking of which, if you’re not already a member, what are you waiting for?! Sign up and join the discussion.

Enjoy the new (dot) release!

The Away3D Team

For a long time, Away3D has been about the pursuit of rendering high-quality, realtime 3D in Flash. However, for the same amount of time, there has been a completely different set of skills emerging around the creation of the 3D content itself, to get the best out of the engine. In the pursuit of 3D FOR Flash, very little has been done towards producing a common set of tools that can be reused and applied to any project. Awaybuilder allows a certain amount of extra control to the designer, but for someone with little or no programming skills, how best do you deliver to a Flash developer the content he/she needs to get a good result in Away3D?

Prefab3D v1.0
Fabrice Closier, core member of the Away3D team, has today released a tool that should help answer that question. It is built on over two years experience creating top quality 3D content in Away3D. If you are a Flash designer or an experienced Flash developer working on Flash 3D projects, this application might become your best friend!

Release 1

Prefab3D can be downloaded for free as an AIR application. Many features still under development haven’t made the 1.0 release, but as you will notice, there is a little button in the main menu that says: “check update”… At present, the tool can import all model formats supported by Away3D, and allows you to export as an AS3 class or OBJ file, ready for insertion into your Away3D project.

Quick start

For a full list of features and some information on how to get started with the tool, head over to the Prefab3D homepage. More documentation and tutorials should be coming your way soon!

Filesize and framerate are generally two of the biggest concerns when using a 3d framework in Flash. Many a mail,  comment and blog has written the relative merits of one engine over another in these terms. Everyone wants more for less, faster for smaller, better for cheaper. In fact, we would go as far as saying you’re quite a demanding lot! Well, there is lite (sic) at the end of the tunnel. And thankfully it isn’t an oncoming train, but a brand new Away3D engine that will change the way you use 3d in Flash 10.

What Away3D Lite is is the fastest and smallest fully featured 3d engine in Flash to date.

Currently weighing in at under 25K, Away3D Lite can be used in projects with the most stringent bandwidth restrictions. No problem for use in banners, widgets, thumbnails… anything where filesize is a priority. But the biggest single feature offered by the new engine is it’s speed. Current tests clock framerates up to 4 times faster than the standard Away3D library. And with more frames-per-second comes the potential for more polygons, more accessible content on slower machines, and more processing power left for other areas of a Flash application.

Away3D Lite is not meant as a replacement for the standard Away3D libraries. Because of it’s use of the native 3D features in the Flash 10 Player, Away3D Lite is Flash 10 only, so the development of Away3D 2.5 & 3.5 will continue as usual. These engines are more of a workhorse for many different purposes and with many different features, while Away3D Lite offers the choice to be fast and small at the sacrifice of features. This is not to say that you can’t do anything with Away3D Lite! The list of main supported features in 1.0 includes:

• 3DS, MD2, Collada & Metasequoia loaders
• Bones animation
• Viewport clipping
• 3d mouse events
• All standard primitive types
• All standard camera types
• All standard material types
• Template classes for quick and easy setup

Plus, you will already know how to use Away3D Lite if you’ve used Away3D! Everything is where you’d expect, and there have only been very minor changes made to some property names, which in time will most likely percolate back through the various engines.

The following demos are all available as source files from the Away3DLite examples folder in the svn, or on the downloads page, in both flex/fdt/flashdevelop and cs4 formats.

There is also a complete set of documentation files available from a new livedocs folder here.

Finally, this release has been thoroughly checked for bugs and errors, but as always, we cannot perform miracles! If you do happen to stumble across something that shouldn’t be, please let us know so that we can fix the problem. Make sure you JOIN OUR GROUP for updates!

Enjoy the new release!

The Away3d Team

Now that Away3D supports the creation of 3d vector text fields, aligning and animating text fields along 3D curves has been one of the big todos on our list. You can now experiment with our first attempts on a solution for achieving this, using latest sources from the 3.4.1 FP10 version of Away3D. Two demos have been created to showcase this new feature and you can see them in action by clicking on the images. sources are available in the right click menu of the demos, or directly here and here.

A core element like Segment or Face can be used to define a 3D bezier path, and this information is used by a new class AlignToPath (from the geom package), to perform the transformation on any mesh object. The class works by transforming an axis on the mesh’s local coordinate system to the space defined by the path, resulting in a pretty cool ‘warping’ effect. This is convenient especially for text, since the deformation is done globally to the transformed mesh, and hence info like kerning, leading, etc. is preserved.

Take a look and feel free to provide us feedback on this experimental feature!

The Away3d Team

many new features have been added to this release, including:

• Vector graphics and fonts support.
• Typed-checked loader support.
• Geometry modifiers for exploding, welding, mirroring…
• Depth material for creating depth masks.
• Normalmap and Bumpmap generators from geometry.
• Light pre-baking on textures.

plus the usual stability improvements and a ton of bugfixes. Documentation will soon be updated at away3d.com/livedocs

Special thanx must go to Guojian Wu of wu-media.com for his excellent new as3 library swfvector, which allows you to convert any shape outline or textfield in a swf into as3 data. This is used to great effect in the new release, easily enabling the drawing of textfields and shapes in 3d.

The examples interspersing this post can be accessed by clicking on their images – each comes with it’s own source which can be downloaded by selecting “View Source” in the right-click menu. Or you can download these and a ton of other examples (both .as files and .fla files) by going to away3d.com/downloads. The Basic_Swf example also uses the excellent as3dmod library (which you can download from here) for producing the bend effect. Now you can twist and deform vector graphics in 3d, thanx to as3dmod, swfvector and Away3d 2.4 / 3.4 :D

Enjoy the new release!

The Away3d Team