[MUD-Dev] 3D engines for MUDs

[Koster]

[Niklas Emlqvist]:
>  I seem to recall reading something about 3D sprites in Game 
Developer
>  where they apparently were using some kind of voxel approach to 
model
> extremely good-looking three-dimensional characters. Not 
polygon-based
> models, mind you, but extremely organic-looking and smooth 
characters
> where even things such as belt buckles and facial features are 
'real',
> i.e. not 'artificial' using texture-maps.

  Yeah, those were voxel-built characters, as I recall. In the 
examples I have looked at, the amount of data required for one of 
these characters was very high.

> Take a look at <URL:http://www.animatek.com/caviar.htm> to see 
these
> amazing-looking characters. I believe there is a viewer available 
for
> Windows 95/NT. Animatek also has an amazing 3D landscape
> generator/builder called World Builder. Too bad they're not doing 
this
> under the GPL *cough*.

Caviar was, last I heard, under exclusive license to a game company. 
Last time I went to check the web page you couldn't see demos. That 
may have changed though. There are many websites where you can see 
voxel terrain, and a couple where you can see voxel character 
animation. None of them support LOD, and the "blockiness" problem when 
zooming in, and the converse "fudge problem" when zooming out are very 
apparent.

-Raph