Flare3D

Last updated
Flare3D
Developer(s) Flare3D (Ariel Nehmad, Adrian Simonovich, Jose Luis Ressia)
Stable release
2.7.1 [1] / February 12, 2014;9 years ago (2014-02-12) [2]
Written in ActionScript 3
Operating system Web, Windows, iOS, Android, BlackBerry
Type Content creation system
License Proprietary
Website flare3d.com

Flare3D is a framework for developing interactive three-dimensional (3D) graphics within Adobe Flash Player, Adobe Substance and Adobe AIR, written in ActionScript 3. [3] Flare3D includes a 3D object editor (the Flare3D IDE) and a 3D graphics engine for rendering 3D graphics. [1] Flare3D runs on current[ when? ] web browsers utilizing the Adobe Flash Player, and uses Stage3D for GPU-accelerated rendering. Flare3D has not been under active development since late 2014. [4]

Contents

Flare3D has been used to develop popular[ vague ] browser-based video games such as FarmVille 2 and CityVille 2. [5] [6] Flare3D is one of the first frameworks to make GPU-accelerated 3D applications practical for web browsers, and is similar in purpose and design to Away3D. [7] [8] [9] Flare3D has been used to create 3D models in online applications, such as Space Designer 3D.

The Flare3D platform consists of a 3D world editor, a runtime engine, and a collection of plug-ins for various applications.

The 3D editor may be used to lay out 3D objects, and to generate compressed Flare3D binary packages of 3D models. Such 3D models and animations may be imported from third-party programs such as Autodesk 3ds Max, or Autodesk Maya, or other mesh-based 3D modeller. The 3D runtime engine is typically supplied as a closed-source SWC package, although small portions are released on the GitHub open-source website. [10]

The Flare3D engine uses Stage3D for GPU-accelerated rendering, and contains support for rigid body physics, skeletal animations, and a proprietary GPU-shader language known as FLSL (Flare3D Shader Language). [11] The engine also integrates with FLARToolkit (for augmented reality), Away Physics (from Away3D) and Starling (an Adobe project). [11]

The Flare3D plug-in for Autodesk 3ds Max is provided for free, and enables one-click exporting of a 3D model from 3ds Max to the Flare3D file format. [12] Animation data is also exported, for "Hierarchical" and "Skinned"-based animations. [12] Texture data is automatically converted from unsupported formats to JPG and PNG formats which are supported by the Flare3D engine. [12]

Flare3D has online help and a collaboratively-edited Wiki, [11] forums, tutorials, examples, and documentation. [13]

List of games

Flare3D is used in a number of commercial browser-based Flash video games. [5] [14]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adobe Flash</span> Deprecated multimedia platform used to add animation and interactivity to websites

Adobe Flash is a multimedia software platform used for production of animations, rich internet applications, desktop applications, mobile apps, mobile games, and embedded web browser video players.

Autodesk 3ds Max, formerly 3D Studio and 3D Studio Max, is a professional 3D computer graphics program for making 3D animations, models, games and images. It is developed and produced by Autodesk Media and Entertainment. It has modeling capabilities and a flexible plugin architecture and must be used on the Microsoft Windows platform. It is frequently used by video game developers, many TV commercial studios, and architectural visualization studios. It is also used for movie effects and movie pre-visualization. 3ds Max features shaders, dynamic simulation, particle systems, radiosity, normal map creation and rendering, global illumination, a customizable user interface, and its own scripting language.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adobe Shockwave</span> Multimedia platform

Adobe Shockwave is a discontinued multimedia platform for building interactive multimedia applications and video games. Developers originate content using Adobe Director and publish it on the Internet. Such content could be viewed in a web browser on any computer with the Shockwave Player plug-in installed. MacroMind originated the technology; Macromedia acquired MacroMind and developed it further, releasing Shockwave Player in 1995. Adobe then acquired Shockwave with Macromedia in 2005. Shockwave supports raster graphics, basic vector graphics, 3D graphics, audio, and an embedded scripting language called Lingo.

Autodesk Media and Entertainment is a division of Autodesk which offers animation and visual effects products, and was formed by the combination of multiple acquisitions. In 2018, the company began operating as a single operating segment and reporting unit.

Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) is a free and open-source graphical subsystem originally developed by Microsoft for rendering user interfaces in Windows-based applications. WPF, previously known as "Avalon", was initially released as part of .NET Framework 3.0 in 2006. WPF uses DirectX and attempts to provide a consistent programming model for building applications. It separates the user interface from business logic, and resembles similar XML-oriented object models, such as those implemented in XUL and SVG.

Adobe Flash Player is computer software for viewing multimedia contents, executing rich Internet applications, and streaming audio and video content created on the Adobe Flash platform. It can run from a web browser as a browser plug-in or independently on supported devices. Originally created by FutureWave under the name FutureSplash Player, it was renamed to Macromedia Flash Player after Macromedia acquired FutureWave in 1996. It was then developed and distributed by Adobe Systems as Flash Player after Adobe acquired Macromedia in 2005. It is currently developed and distributed by Zhongcheng for users in China, and by Harman International for enterprise users outside of China, in collaboration with Adobe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Motion graphics</span> Digital footage or animation which create the illusion of motion or rotation

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adobe AIR</span> Cross-platform runtime system for building rich web applications

Adobe AIR is a cross-platform runtime system currently developed by Harman International, in collaboration with Adobe Inc., for building desktop applications and mobile applications, programmed using Adobe Animate, ActionScript, and optionally Apache Flex. It was originally released in 2008. The runtime supports installable applications on Windows, macOS, and mobile operating systems, including Android, iOS, and BlackBerry Tablet OS.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">3D computer graphics</span> Graphics that use a three-dimensional representation of geometric data

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Computer graphics (computer science)</span> Sub-field of computer science

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3D computer graphics software refers to programs used to create 3D computer-generated imagery.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Away3D</span>

Away3D is an open-source platform for developing interactive 3D graphics for video games and applications, in Adobe Flash or HTML5. The platform consists of a 3D world editor, a 3D graphics engine, a 3D physics engine and a compressed 3D model file format (AWD).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Three.js</span> JavaScript library for 3D graphics

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mixamo</span> Technology company

Mixamo is a 3D computer graphics technology company. Based in San Francisco, the company develops and sells web-based services for 3D character animation. Mixamo's technologies use machine learning methods to automate the steps of the character animation process, including 3D modeling to rigging and 3D animation.

Papervision3D is an open-source, 3D graphics engine for rendering 3D content within Adobe Flash Player and Adobe AIR.

Stage3D is an Adobe Flash Player API for rendering interactive 3D graphics with GPU-acceleration, within Flash games and applications. Flash Player or AIR applications written in ActionScript 3 may use Stage3D to render 3D graphics, and such applications run natively on Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, Apple iOS and Google Android. Stage3D is similar in purpose and design to WebGL.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scaleform GFx</span> Discontinued game development middleware package

Scaleform GFx is a discontinued game development middleware package, a vector graphics rendering engine used to display Adobe Flash-based user interfaces and HUDs for video games. In March 2011, Autodesk acquired Scaleform Corporation and Scaleform GFx became part of the Autodesk Gameware line of middleware. On July 12, 2018, Autodesk discontinued Scaleform GFx, and it is no longer available for purchase.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">OpenFL</span>

OpenFL is a free and open-source software framework and platform for the creation of multi-platform applications and video games. OpenFL applications can be written in Haxe, JavaScript, or TypeScript, and may be published as standalone applications for several targets including iOS, Android, HTML5, Windows, macOS, Linux, WebAssembly, Flash, AIR, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita, Xbox One, Wii U, TiVo, Raspberry Pi, and Node.js.

References

  1. 1 2 Downloads, Flare3D Site
  2. ↑ New Flare3D 2.7 is out Archived 2015-01-29 at the Wayback Machine , Flare3D Forum
  3. ↑ Flare3D Profile, Adobe
  4. ↑ "Flare3D/engine". github.com. Retrieved 16 December 2016.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Showcase, Flare3D
  6. 1 2 Farmville 2's 3D character design & animation revealed, DigitalArts
  7. ↑ "Mixamo integrates Flare3D for Flash game creation". MCV. develop. February 29, 2012. Retrieved 2014-01-17.
  8. ↑ "Mixamo enables Flash based visuals with Flare3D integration". Gamasutra. February 28, 2012. Retrieved 2014-01-17.
  9. ↑ "Flare3D for HTML5 and WebGL". Khronos Group. January 8, 2013. Retrieved 2014-01-17.
  10. ↑ "Flare3D (Flare3D)". github.com. Retrieved 16 December 2016.
  11. 1 2 3 "Flare3D Wiki". flare3d.com. Retrieved 16 December 2016.
  12. 1 2 3 Flare3D Exporter for 3Ds Max, Flare3D Wiki
  13. ↑ "Flash Daily: News from Flare3D staff: "The waiting is over,..." flashdaily.net. Retrieved 16 December 2016.
  14. ↑ FarmVille2 developed entirely in 3D with Flash 11, FlashDaily
  15. ↑ Cartoon Network’s Regular Show Dimensional Drift made with Flare3D, Flare3D Blog
  16. ↑ “Chase Life” for Maruti Suzuki Motors made with Flare3D, Flare3D Blog
  17. ↑ Flare3D Studio Allows For 3D Flash Player Games, Support For Mixamo, CinemaBlend

Further reading

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