WebSpace Author

Silicon Graphics enters the next dimension in authoring for the World Wide Web with WebSpace(tm) Author. Part of the WebFORCE(tm) Software Environment, WebSpace Author gives you all the tools you need to add compelling 3D content to your Web site. Now you can easily create and assemble 3D models, add links to Web-based content, and interactively tune scene complexity for unbeatable performance. Take your Web site into the next dimension with WebSpace Author.

The Promise of Cyberspace Delivered

Not only is 3D ideal for conveying product designs, engineering analyses, and scientific data, it can also be used to create new and exciting interfaces that make your Web site stand out. Until recently, however, it was difficult to create and share 3D graphics over the Internet. WebSpace Author makes it easy to deliver interactive 3D graphics to your customers on the Web.

Become a Master Builder of Virtual Worlds

WebSpace Author opens up a world of possibilities by giving you the ability to import and create models, add colors and textures, and easily assemble them into a well-structured scene for your Web site. Drag and drop 3D models from your Indigo Magic(tm) desktop directly into the scene. Resize objects, snap them together, and arrange them into groups. View the scene from any angle in perspective or in orthographic views. Create links from 3D objects to other content. Preview your results at any time by launching WebSpace Navigator without leaving your project.

Performance Matters

WebSpace Author helps you create 3D environments that are fully compliant with Virtual Reality Modeling Language (VRML), the industry-standard, platform-independent file format for 3D graphics on the Internet. VRML, largely based on the Silicon Graphics(R) Open Inventor(tm) file format, is designed to work well over low-bandwidth connections. WebSpace Author ensures that VRML lives up to its promise by making it easy for you to create efficient, high-performance 3D sites.

Sophisticated Features Made Easy

The LOD (Levels Of Detail) feature of VRML allows you to define objects that automatically switch to simpler representations as they move away from view. This helps to keep the overall scene complexity under control. With WebSpace Author, you can easily build LODs into your models with the LOD Editor and set the distances at which transitions occur between LODs. WebSpace Author also provides a Polygon Reduction Editor to simplify complex models. The Polygon Reduction Editor automates the process of building LODs that transition smoothly from high detail to low detail.

Make Your Worlds Bandwidth-Friendly

The Inline feature of VRML, fully supported in WebSpace Author, allows you to build scenes that contain references to other models. For example, you can define a master VRML file for a shopping mall that contains references to individual store models maintained on other servers. When combined with LODs, the Inline feature can be used to conserve network bandwidth by delaying the loading of models until the viewer approaches them.

Optimize for the Best Results

When you finish editing an object, you can choose the Optimize function to restructure the object for maximum rendering performance. By putting LOD editing, polygon reduction, Inline creation, and object optimization at your fingertips, WebSpace Author empowers you to build the highest-performing 3D worlds. And these are the cyberplaces people will visit, stay in, and keep coming back to.

WebSpace(tm) Author Technical Specifications

Product Requirements

• Any Silicon Graphics® workstation
• IRIX(tm) operating system, version 5.3 or 6.1

Authoring Features

• Import existing models to a scene
• Import existing models as Inline objects
• Drag and drop models from the desktop
• Create new shapes with the Shape Modeler
• Create 3D text with the Text Modeler
• Create levels of detail with the LOD Editor
• Create links from any object in the scene to any URL, file, or viewpoint
• Establish a background color
• Save specific viewpoints to enable guided tours
• Set global document information: title, description, viewer type, scene traversal time

Editing Features

• Perform unlimited undo/redo, cut, copy, paste, and delete
• Use 3D manipulators to control object placement and sizing
• Enable object snapping and nudging for added precision
• Apply colors and textures to objects
• Reduce object polygon count with the Polygon Reduction Editor
• Name objects and organize them into groups
• Manage scene hierarchy with the Outline Editor
• Optimize objects for fastest rendering performance

Viewing Features

• Perspective viewing modes: Walk Viewer and Examiner Viewer
• Orthographic viewing modes: front, back, left, right, top, and bottom
• Jump to stored viewpoints
• Hide selected or unselected objects
• Show Anchors, Inlines, LODs, and Cull Volumes

Supported File Formats

• Import Open Inventor(tm) or VRML files directly
• Import Alias(tm), Wavefront(tm), Softimage®, 3D Studio®, IGES, and DXF files via integrated translators
• Save as Open Inventor
• Publish as VRML
• Publish with compression

Drawing Interchange File