Slashdot Mirror

http://www.quesa.org/

the open source implementation of Apple's QuickDraw 3D

Stable, finished, well documented

Check out also Quesa a mature LGPL replacement for the "Steved" QD3D.
Mac OS classic ,OS X, Windows, *nix

Great documentation,

pluggable importers-exporters - 3DMF, 3DS and OBJ models currently implemented,

pluggable renderers - OpenGL and rayshade currently implemented, and more

Pablo Fernicola went from Apple to Microsoft to lead D3D

I thought it was the DirectAnimation group he joined (or some similar 2D thing).

-dair (and to stay marginally on topic, you can get an LGPL implementation of QD3D here)

But now someone has created a clone of Apple's QuickDraw3D called Quesa (LGPL)

Yep, it's at http://www.quesa.org/.

It runs over OpenGL (I think also DirectX, but I could be wrong.)

We only have an OpenGL renderer at the moment, but a Direct3D one may well happen (depending on OpenGL's status on Windows). Since the higher level scene-graph stuff is completely separate from the lower level renderers, you can plug in new renderers without disturbing any of the existing code (and the renderers don't have to be interactive - there's also a raytracing plug-in renderer).

-dair

While not a 3D modeler, Quesa is a LGPL API that emulates QuickDraw 3d. Quesa runs on classic MacOS, MacOS X, Windows 9.x/NT, Linux, and apparently work on a BeOS implementation is in progress.

The API which OpenGL obsoleted on the Mac was QuickDraw 3D, not QuickTime VR.

Then again, there are people moving to create an Open-Source implementation of QD3D now, too. Check the Quesa Website for more info on that. They're pretty far along in it, too.

I always thought Apple made a mistake in obsoleting QD3D. Relatively easy to work with (easier than OpenGL), an open standard file format, and the capability to do some seriously cool stuff besides. Ever used TextureEyes to map a running MPEG onto a 3D model with three mouseclicks? What Apple should have done was offered OpenGL as a low-level API, with QD3D as a higher-level option. Maybe Quesa can fulfill that one.
----------

Epic has already made a ton of money off of all three operating systems. And yet they would do something which would hinder that strategy? Particularly with an inferior 3D API?

I'm not worried about the Mac port; Westlake (who did the Unreal and UT ports to MacOS) has a lot of experience converting DirectX to interoperable API's (heck, most of The Sims is Windows-specific but they've already got it playable, albeit not yet at Alpha). But this could spell big trouble for the Linux port.

It's yet another of Microsoft's Broken Promises (tm). The Mac compatibility layer for DirectX was due years ago, according to Microsoft itself. And with a public API, a Linux layer would have been far easier to implement.

Now, let's look for a moment at layers:

DirectX
Pro - Easily controlled if you're in bed with MS, as Epic admits to being. Relatively easy to program.
Con - Windows-specific.

QuickDraw3D
Pro - Very easy to program. Available on many platforms via the Quesa project (already nearly complete). (and available on at MacOS and Windows in its original, closed implementation) Open-Source, again via Quesa. Implements a standard file format (3DMF, the basis for VRML97).
Con - No longer being actively developed by Apple.

OpenGL
Pro - The most powerful API out there. Already has the non-game marketshare by an overwhelming margin. Runs almost anywhere (hell, it even runs on PalmPilots!) Has Open-Source "alternatives."
Con - Few primitives, making it harder to program. Eats resources like you wouldn't believe; requires hardware acceleration for decent results. No true Open-Source "implementations," though that's more a technicality than anything else.

So which is the best? Each has its pros and cons. I'm more partial to the underappreciated QD3D (which, incidentally, Quesa implements on top of OpenGL). I will say that DirectX's platform specificity is a big problem unless you only plan to port the thing to the X-Box. But again, if you're in bed with MS, you can change the API practically at will. OpenGL really doesn't have that big a share of the gaming market (though overall it's overwhelmingly the most popular), but it's more powerful than any of the others. QD3D has ease of programming, but it never really caught on for some reason.

I have an 8500/200. Most of the parts were taken from ebay, though I did end up buying a refurbished motherboard. I ran into a few problems upgrading to macOS 8.5 because most everything I have is non-apple and so require third-party extentions. I am now running linuxppc and macos 8.6 and have no problems. :)

As for nanosaur, I've played it a little, and think it a cute and amusing game. It certainly wouldn't be the first game I would port, but as an experimental game for the quesa library, i think its an awesome choice...

and if nothing else, its free... for both platforms... if you dont like it, deal with it... then get on with your life.

.sigs are dumb!

One thing mentioned on the Quesa maillist is that this may allow for more resources to bear in the completion of the library. Progress on Quesa hasn't been too bad (although you wouldn't guess it from the rather infrequent releases-- there are just a small cadre of developers working on it), but a few hard snags still remain before the current goal of QD3D 1.6 compatibility (e.g. NURBS equations, according to Joe Strout)

By the way, for anyone not familiar with Quesa, check it out. It's an incredibly well-designed 3D scene graph API, roughly the equivalent of Inventor. (Or is it Performer? I keep getting those two mixed up). Apple dropped support for it in OS X (they went OpenGL-only), so right now the API is in that same eerie twilight zone as the old OPENSTEP API, where you have this very clean, well-architectured standard basically abandoned by its parent company. (The cool thing being, of course, that future development of such a standard falls into the hands of "the community," a la GNUStep)

I've heard wonders of the elegance of this API. Definitely superior to Inventor. (or Performer). And the nice thing about Quesa is that the implementation is sweet-- the structure, even the commenting is beautifully done. Quesa is going to be one hell of a graphics library when it is finished. I'm hoping it will become the cross-platform standard 3D scene graph layer, much as OpenGL already has for low-level 3D. I'd be hard-pressed to name anything better.

An open-source alternative to Inventor is Quesa. Quesa implements the Quickdraw 3D API, which includes a nice hierarchical scene system.