Away3D 3.6 Cookbook (Paperback)

Over 80 practical recipes for creating stunning graphics and effects with the fascinating Away3D engine

• Invaluable tips and techniques to take your Away 3D applications to the top
• Reveals the secrets of cleaning your scene from z-sorting artifacts without killing your CPU
• Get 2D objects into the 3D world by learning to work with TextField3D and extracting graphics from vector graphics
• Learn essential topics like collision detection, elevation reading, terrain generation, skyboxes, and much more
• Gain an exclusive and practical introduction to Molehill, the next generation of 3D APIs for the Flash platform - by creating a rotating sphere from scratch.
• Part of Packt's Cookbook series: each recipe is a carefully organized sequence of instructions to complete the task as efficiently as possible

In Detail

Three dimensions are better than two--and it's not a secret anymore that 3D is here to stay. Gone are the days when Flash was just used for 2D animations. In the last few years online Flash content has undergone a revolution with the introduction of real-time 3D engines for Flash. Away3D is the big daddy of them all--which makes it the ultimate resource for top-rated 3D content development and for powering today's coolest games and Flash sites. Away 3D 3.6 Cookbook is your answer to learning all you need to take your Flash or Away3D skills to the next level-- and having fun doing it.

This book is your practical companion that will teach you more than just the essentials of Away3D, and will provide you with all the tools and techniques you need to create a stunning 3D experience. You will find recipes targeting every possible field related to Away3D, 3D development pipelines, and best practices in general. You will find practically relevant content exploring advanced topics, which will clear your way to developing cutting edge applications--not to mention saving hours of searching for help on the internet.

The recipes in this book will teach you diverse aspects of 3D application development with Away3D. They will guide you through essential aspects like creation of assets in external programs and their integration into Away3D, working with material, animation, interactivity, special effects, and much more. Each topic is packed with recipes targeting different levels of complexity so that even experienced Away3D developers will find a lot of useful and unique information.

By the time you are done with this book, you'll be creating your own awesome Away 3D applications and games in less time than you can say "design"..

What you will learn from this book

• Learn how to prepare and get into Away3D external models of diverse formats (DAE, MD2, 3DS, Obj)
• Manage your assets by loading 3D models right from the database via AMF binary stream or compressing them into SWF resource containers
• Have fun with special effects such as geometry explosions, 3D clouds, and sound visualization
• Rig characters in 3DsMax and learn how to control it in Away3D
• Animate with Tween engines and Away3D generic tools
• Dive into 3D math by learning advanced interactivity concepts like virtual trackball, moving objects in 3D space based on mouse input, and how to create a fully interactive vehicle
• Transform 2D objects into the 3D world by learning to work with TextField3D and extracting graphics from vector graphics
• Optimize your application implementing such techniques as depth of rendering, selective rendering, LOD Objects, and the low poly modeling approach
• Explore Prefab, and see how it helps to speed up the development process
• Get to know essential 3D terminology , such as normal maps, light maps, texture baking, and UV Mapping and how to create these assets
• Discover the secrets of cleaning your scene from z-sorting artifacts without killing you CPU
• Integrate external libraries like JigLibFlash, FLINT, BOX2DFlash, FLARToolkit, and more
• Get introduced to Away3DLite- lightest and fastest Away3D junior brother on the market
• Skin your geometry with PixelBender shaded materials and learn how to set a video from Adobe FMS as a source for Away3D VideoMaterial
• Manipulate Away3D cameras and learn how to set up first- and third-person controllers, get introduced to advanced camera transformations, and discover the power of Quaternions
• Learn what BSP trees really are and how to use them for creating complex geometry indoor scenes with a minimal impact on performance

Approach

The book consists of recipes, each of which delivers a detailed solution to a specific problem scoped inside a broader topic of the chapter. Each recipe contains a detailed guide of what you need to set up for the solution to work, the full example code, rendered images, and step-by-step explanations so that you will be able to fully understand the mechanics of the program. Many recipes don't stop at giving only one solution to the problem but also suggest alternative or more advanced approaches to the same problem giving you much a broader set of options in your development process.

Who this book is written for

The book is written for experienced Flash developers who want to work with the Away3D engine as well as for those who are already acquainted with the engine but wish to take their skills to the next level.

Basic knowledge of Away3D and familiarity with ActionScript 3.0 and OOP concepts is assumed.

超過80個實用的食譜，教你如何使用令人著迷的Away3D引擎創建令人驚艷的圖形和效果。

無價的技巧和技巧，讓你的Away 3D應用程序達到頂尖水平。

揭示了如何清理場景中的z排序殘留物而不損害CPU的秘訣。

通過學習如何使用TextField3D將2D物體帶入3D世界，並從矢量圖形中提取圖形，掌握重要主題，如碰撞檢測、高程讀取、地形生成、天空盒等等。

通過從頭開始創建旋轉球體，獲得對Molehill的獨家實用介紹，這是Flash平台的下一代3D API。

作為Packt的食譜系列的一部分，每個食譜都是一系列精心組織的指令，以最高效的方式完成任務。

詳細內容：

三維比二維更好，而且三維已經成為一個不再秘密的事實。過去，Flash只用於2D動畫。在過去幾年中，隨著引入Flash的實時3D引擎，線上Flash內容經歷了一場革命。其中，Away3D是其中最重要的一個，它是頂級3D內容開發和驅動當今最酷的遊戲和Flash網站的終極資源。《Away 3D 3.6 Cookbook》是你學習提升Flash或Away3D技能的答案，並且在過程中享受樂趣。

這本書是你的實用伴侶，不僅教你Away3D的基本知識，還提供了創建令人驚艷的3D體驗所需的所有工具和技術。你將找到針對與Away3D相關的各種領域的食譜，包括3D開發流程和一般最佳實踐。你將找到實用的內容，探索高級主題，為你開發尖端應用程序鋪平道路，更不用說節省在互聯網上尋找幫助的時間了。

本書的食譜將教你使用Away3D開發3D應用程序的各個方面。它們將引導你完成各種複雜程度的食譜，包括在外部程序中創建資產並將其集成到Away3D中，使用材質、動畫、互動性、特效等等。每個主題都包含了針對不同複雜度的食譜，即使是經驗豐富的Away3D開發人員也能找到許多有用且獨特的信息。

當你完成這本書時，你將能夠在比你說“設計”更短的時間內創建自己的令人驚艷的Away 3D應用程序和遊戲。

從本書中你將學到：

- 學習如何準備和使用Away3D外部模型（DAE、MD2、3DS、Obj）
- 通過AMF二進制流從數據庫中加載3D模型或將其壓縮到SWF資源容器中管理資產
- 享受特殊效果，如幾何爆炸、3D雲和聲音可視化
- 在3DsMax中設置角色並學習如何在Away3D中控制它
- 使用Tween引擎和Away3D通用工具進行動畫
- 通過學習高級互動概念，如虛擬軌跡球、基於鼠標輸入在3D空間中移動物體，以及如何創建完全互動的車輛，深入了解3D數學
- 通過學習如何使用TextField3D將2D物體轉換為3D世界，並從矢量圖形中提取圖形
- 通過實施深度渲染、選擇性渲染、LOD對象和低多邊形建模方法等技術來優化應用程序
- 探索Prefab，了解它如何加快開發過程
- 了解基本的3D術語，如法線貼圖、光照貼圖、紋理烘焙和UV映射，以及如何創建這些資產
- 發現如何清理場景中的z排序問題的秘訣