MC & OpenGL (update)

[jbv]

> My understanding is that WW4 has begun.

Oh I see... When did it begin ? When Runrev
bought MC ?    ;-P

>
>
> I think you'll need to write an external that draws directly into a
> window - maybe something like the "life" external demo?
>

Well, drawing into a window isn't too difficult, and can be
done when you use openGL in C/C++.
I think I've achieved smthing slightly more exciting : drawing
directly into a MC image control. Some of you probably
remember the demo I did several months ago (still online at
http://www.netchampagne.com/demoopengl/
Windoze only).
I say "more exciting" because IMHO it is more embedded
in the MC environment than an extra window, and also it
allows several interactive 3D windows to be included in
the same stack simultaneously.
As mentioned in my post from 2 weeks ago, this feature is
now available for Win32 and Carbon.

But my main question regarding the implementation of
openGL in MC was : how end users would like to access
3D properties and functions from within MetaTalk scripts...
Anyone who has some experience with openGL coding
in C/C++ or Java knows that using openGL is slightly more
complex than setting a few QT properties for instance...

I might be wrong but I have the feeling that MC users
(or at least MC list members) are more experienced
programers with experience in many languages / environments,
while Rev users (or at least Rev list members) are more
HC or Director users in search for a new tool...
What I mean by that in that IMHO using interactive 3D
in projects should be an attractive feature to members
of this very list... And that good advices and wise
considerations regarding 3D implementation should come
from this list...
Just imagine : networked 3D interactive apps could be
more affordable now, requiring less development time...
This should speak to game designers...

For the anecdote, as I'm about to change job, I recently
met a few managers of multimedia companies in Paris.
The problem is (and has always been) that most of these ppl
lack the technology knowledge to make good decisions
regarding exciting projects. For that matter, they all
think that Flash & Director (with the help of a few
Xtras) are still the state-of-the-art for interactive
media projects, and when I mentioned such networked 3D
interactive apps, they immediatly thought in terms of
long & expensive development in C/C++ ...

JB