Seamless 2.042 Update ****

Seamless3d 2.042 Offers a Seamless Migration from VRML97 to X3D

The is the first version to support X3D. Seamless3d 2.042 can generate files in both X3D XML and X3D VRML classic code as well as standard VRML97. Seamless3d can import VRML97 files and X3D VRML classic files.
A wide range of options can be selected in the Settings control panel to select how Seamless3d outputs skin animated models. Options include:

X3D HAnim Skin Animated nodes
X3D IndexedTriangleSet nodes
Bitmanegement/Blaxxun Contact setByvertexFunction
This is the function Blaxxun avatar studio avatars uses for skin animated
avatars
IndexedFaceSet nodes support includes the common color per vertex and texture coord per vertex methods as well as the
colorIndex or texCoordIndex methods which allows skin animated models to use creaseAngle instead of using normals without seams appearing where they might when normals are not specified. (generally speaking problems with seams appearing when using creaseAngle depends on how simple or complex the vertices are colored or texture mapped)
VRML97 Skin Animation
This is supported by generating standard VrmlMatrix functions in scripts (this is very slow unless a very small number of triangles are used) so its much better to use either setByVertexTransform Function or HAnim nodes if possible.

When the output button is pressed Seamless3d will generate a file with the same filename as the .smls file that is
open with the appropriate filename extension. (.x3d;.x3dz;.x3dv;.x3dvz;.wrl) Any file that has this name or extension will
get overwritten so take care where you leave files with matching names if you don't want them overwritten.
Please send bug reports or questions or files that won't open any more to techuelufe@tpg.com.au and expect a reply within
about 24 hours.

The icons for the protos have been changed so that they are now made up of 3 components
ProtoDeclare
ProtoInterface
ProtoBody
This should simplify certain possibilities for the scene tree window in the future (Its possible for both the ProtoBody and the ProtoInterface to show nodes in the scene tree so makes good sense to show them each with their own icon). Splitting the Proto into 3 visible components is borrowed from the way X3D XML files do the same thing. This does ot cause problems for making content for VRML97 these components still existed in a VRML97 protos. When files are generated for VRML97 as well as X3D VRML classic, protos will be coded the same as before.
One change that is important to note Seamles3d no longer automatically creates an instance of a proto if the proto is named Avatar. However its easy to add a instance now just right click on the Scene node and select paste/children/new/Avatar
All instances of proto will be appended to the built in list of nodes so they wont be in Alphabetical order like the built in nodes are but can be easily found right at the bottom of the menu

New nodes some of which are still experimental nodes are now demonstrated in the seamlessWayExamples.zip file
and my new seamlessShowcase.zip file.
The New animation nodes are

AnimByAnkle
This nodes allows the user to animate the knees and ankle joints using position rather than orientation values. The AnimByAnkle node calculates what orientations are needed for the hip, knee and ankle by the given positions of the pelvis and ankle.
This technique comes from the code I developed for my hoppies jump animation. Like the hoppies, animation can be specified by moving the pelvis with no concern with the feet sliding on the land as this is automatically taken care of. This frees us up to try many more things. My hoppies from techuelife island are already a demonstration of it's merit.

PosAccelerator
This is much like my RotAccelerator node except translations are generated instead of rotations

RotFilter
This node allows rotation values to be fed into it and output with one of the dimensions inverted allowing the right arm to mimic the left arm for example. This node also allows x y and z as well as the angle values to be attenuated

RotMult
This node is very simple it simply allows 2 rotation values to be multiplied (concatenated) but I find this is extremely versatile and allows for us to be able to construct sophisticated animations using nodes and ROUTEs in place of scripts.

The main menu can now be opened by moving the mouse to the top left corner of the 3d window.

Greater use of seamless's dynamic node control panel generation has been made use of. now the Settings window and the immediate geometry like when you want to paste in a sphere or cylinder or grid via the main menu theses functions now use the same types of windows nodes use. Theses can be thought of as nodes which they are internally but they are different in that they are not shown in the scene tree window.

The scene tree's popup menu for the node icons has been modified to make the logic more uniform. I did wonder about scrapping the concept of "copy and paste" because I thought perhaps this concept has outgrown its meaning but thanks to Miranda's expressed point of view I have decided to keeps to the "copy and paste" concepts in favour of "remember and what ever options". Even in many windows applications copy no longer means copy for example when you copy a file from a floppy and then remove the floppy before you paste the file to your C drive you can not paste the floppy which proves nothing was actually copied it really only means you selected the floppy for the source of a copy action. Seamless's scene tree window has more complex issues again to deal with so I did wonder if I should break away from this concept in favour of one that's more representative of realities but as Miranda pointed out most people who use computers already understand copy and paste and so why invent something that is already understood.. This was a bit of a challenge but I decided to group most functions that deal with the fields in the pop menu to come under the sub menu paste. This simplifies the first menu typically to just copy paste and delete. For tasks like pasting in a new node nothing gets copied but this does not really cause any problems to the copy and paste concept I feel because though a source is not relevant the concept of pasting in something to the destination still applies. After this rearrangement I am happy with the new lay out. perhaps the menu has more sub menus but its more logically uniform and straight forward now I feel. Bear in mind a scene tree interface for x3d has to deal with more concepts than a folder of files, for example seamless lets you deal with fields that belong to a node or lets you do things like insert a new sibling that must be in an exact location.

regards

thyme