Topic: interactive flash 3d

hi,

I have a bit of a complicated question here. I don't really expect you people to tell me exactly what I should do, but if you could at least point me in the right direction...

I want to do a flash interface that would include a randomly floating and rotating 3d ball. yeah, not very original I know... the thing is, I would like the user to be able to interact with it in many ways.

They should be able to:

1. catch it while it's moving and drag it.
2. drag and drop it on a defined area. once the user drops it, the ball should, from the position it was in when first clicked on, rotate and move into a fixed position.
3. when simply clicked on, the ball should open up with sound.
4. when clicked on again, the ball should open up differently with a new sound.
5. same as in #4... you get the point.
6. finally, and most importantly, when dropped from #2, the ball should interact with another object. in this case, a mechanical apparatus that would close itself on the ball.

the main problems I've encountered were finding the correct actionscripts to define the interactivity. the second big problem was the 3D involved. with 2D, I can probably figure out what to do, but here, I don't even know if I'm using the correct software to build the ball. at first, I thougt of swift3d, but found it a tad too simplistic. should I be using 3dmax instead? I am also wondering if I shoulnd't be using shockwave altogether instead of flash...


I really am enthusiastic about this project even though I am a bit afraid that it outmactches my coding skills...so if you could please give me a hand, I will be eternally grateful.

thanks in advance!


girls are evil.
really.

Hey there theheir: Man is that ever a bad way to rhyme. As with most things... I can't help you at all...except point you here. It's not what you're looking for but it is fun and things whirl and rotate and and... andah... Welcome...
http://www.ozoneasylum.com/Forum1/HTML/005718.html

The poster has demanded we remove all his contributions, less he takes legal action.
We have done so.
Now Tyberius Prime expects him to start complaining that we removed his 'free speech' since this message will replace all of his posts, past and future.
Don't follow his example - seek real life help first.

if you want REAL 3d, you should use shockwave. it has lingo3D which does real hardware powered 3D.

with Flash you could only fake a 3D effect. i dont know how your ball looks like but it will be probably just getting smaller and bigger.
and for the interactivity, this is just straight actionsscript. check out the tutorials at the gurusnetwork!

hey, thx for the replies. I am definitively going to switch to shockwave. I saw some (fake) 3d work done with flash and it is really not that impressive. I'll use 3dsmax for the spere coz my lousy comp will never, ever tolerate maya...

InI, I still have a few questions tho. firstly, I did not entirely understand what you meant by ' Building a fast deform routine to map symbols to the vertices of the sphere.'

and like I told you, one of the main problems I think I'll encounter is making the spere morph from any angle. do I build all 4 instances ( normal, active 1, 2 and 3) of the sphere separately in 3dsmax, import them to shockwave and assign the actions using actionscripts? or should I simply build one instance and modify it within shockwave (if that's possible) for each event? if I seem a bit confused, it's probably because I am. I've never really used shockwave and am wondering if it's similar to flash. and what is lingo3d exactly? a 3dsmax look-alike? or does it facilitate the coding?

the interface is primarily meant for a cd project so size shouldn't be my main concern (even though women seem to think differently...lol) that's why I probably won't be using any java. coz that means more coding and I am more of a designer (oooh...big pompous word) than a coder. I am not afraid to learn, mind you, but time is of the essence here. I have to submit the project in a few months and don't think that I'll be able to master all those new techniques, coding, programs by then (what, with school, girls, the daily painful grind and all). so if there is any really good online resources regarding actionscripts, 3dsmax and shockwave/lingo3d please do share.

anyway, I'll probably be back here firing questions away at 2am when the project comes more to life (esp for that drop area thing that I haven't figured out yet)...

thanks again.
TheHeir

The poster has demanded we remove all his contributions, less he takes legal action.
We have done so.
Now Tyberius Prime expects him to start complaining that we removed his 'free speech' since this message will replace all of his posts, past and future.
Don't follow his example - seek real life help first.