Re: Advanced Rendering Interface

Hi,

On Wednesday, December 25, 2002, at 11:34  Uhr, Gerard Iglesias wrote:
>> I am thinking of using a RenderMan like API which is used in the 
>> 3DKit's RenderKit as "common language". Developers would have to use 
>> this API when working with the 3DKit. Internally the rendering is 
>> done using so called backend renderers (see previous discussions) 
>> which provide the concrete implementation of the rendering API. This 
>> implementation can be done using whatever technology, ie. OpenGL, 
>> scanline rendering, raytracing and so on.
>
> OK you want to make a new QuickRenderman implementation, not a bad 
> idea, in fact maybe it is a real good idea and make sense on the Mac 
> platform ;)

I am not sure if a pure QRM implementation would be worth it, but I 
have to look more into this... anyway, the most interesting part would 
probably be the RenderMan shader language.

> I can say only that we have to decide the precise target of the 
> toolkit, if it is research and experimentation then we need to publish 
> the two behaviors....

I agree. As for me I am mostly interested in doing research in the 
fields of advanced rendering techniques and related, geometrical data 
representation.

> Well, ok maybe if people want to make new stuff very powerful, i.e. 
> access to the low level, they will need to expand the 3DKit by 
> programming in C/ObjC/OpenGL, maybe ?

This is my idea as well - to make the kit be a foundation for 3D 
graphics which can easily be customised for personal needs. Thus I also 
decided to remove some functionality found in the old 3.x 3DKit as it 
can easily be integrated on top of the core 3DKit (ie. LOD groups, 3D 
sound rendering, switch groups, ...).

>> Then we kind of share this dream...:-) My focus is currently not so 
>> much in modeling though, but more in advanced graphics research. But 
>> both is required for achieving the dream.
> Fine, Ok I will not have the time to write a new Maya app in my spare 
> time ;)

You have some spare time? Where did you get this from...:-)

> In the same field, I wonder if it would be interesting to put the math 
> algorithms we can find in '3D Game Engine Design' in the GeometryKit ?

If it is additional stuff, yes why not - esp. having more physics 
functionality would be cool! As for the current C implementation, I 
think it is quite well optimised, but then there are always ways to 
improve...

-Phil
--
Philippe C.D. Robert
http://www.nice.ch/~phip