Hey guys, I know this is a program for the nintendo wii, but I just saw this video and it looks like a really cool way to browse objects. I thought I would share and maybe inspire some people out there to make something similar!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5F-5chWyV..._embedded#!
Looks cool. Might be a little tricky with XBMC since XBMC doesn't use 3D texture rendering. It could be faked in 2D but it wouldn't look as sweet. On the other hand it may serve as useful inspiration for a skin with a similar feel.
Are there any plans to support 3d texture rendering in the future?
ghostelement Wrote:Are there any plans to support 3d texture rendering in the future?
Doubt it. That would require a 3D engine to render geometry and textures (think UnrealEngine). Unreal charges tens of thousands for the licensing of their engine, which gives you an idea on how complex it is.
Couldn't something like Open GL be used? Or is that a stupid question... lol.
ghostelement Wrote:Couldn't something like Open GL be used? Or is that a stupid question... lol.
You can draw 3D objects (with textures applied) with OpenGL BUT what you really need is a framework providing functions like "draw a cube at position XYZ" etc which is not to be underestimated. This does not mean that XBMC would need a full-blown 3d engine like the CryEngine or UnrealEngine because what makes them so expensive is the whole physics engine and lighting model (not to mention the graphics editor they provide which let's you put together 3d scences).
But it would still be a lot of work. There are open source projects out there providing 3d engines like
Irrlicht or
APOCALYX but AFAIK they were built to be used in game development (but I might be mistaken).
So yes, something like a 3d engine in XBMC would be a long way off then, but wouldn't it be sooooo sweet.
I guess I can keep dreaming.
I agree, it would be sweet. It definitely wouldn't need to be a complex engine because you really only need to render a cube for box art. That would make for a lot of upset Revo users when they realized they would need to upgrade their hardware.
Wonder if it would be out of the question to put in a trac ticket for a feature request for this... lol.
ghostelement Wrote:Wonder if it would be out of the question to put in a trac ticket for a feature request for this... lol.
better to have a trac than not having a trac
My Video-Card could manage such Graphics...^^
However, imho there's a big difference between 2D and 3D (e.g. third axis).
As long as there is no proper xbmc-implementation for such a 3D-framework it should be quite hard to do.
don't underestimate the required work. It doesn't have to be a full blown game engine with UV- and displacement maps, but a very basic engine also won't work out, or would anybody be happy with 3D render quality from the 90ies? To look good it would need superb antialiasing, extensive shader model (materials, reflections), lights (3D needs a lights system to add depth/shadows), tesselation/subdivision surfaces (rounded edges on rectangles? really round spheres, cylinders, tubes?). And after that skinners/3D modelers would ask for field of depths, custom 3D models, bumpmaps/UVmaps, custom motion paths and scripted animations, ... so in the end we'll end up in a game engine. Next obstacle would be that it has to work with OpenGL and DirectX. If somebody is willing to spend some months and give it a try, go ahead, but the current team most likely won't work on this.