Noesis (software)

Last updated
Noesis
Developer(s) Rich Whitehouse
Initial release2010;14 years ago (2010)
Stable release
4.4.64 / December 7, 2021;2 years ago (2021-12-07)
Operating system Windows XP and later
Type Image viewer, 3D model and animation viewer, medical imaging software (DICOM, Analyze 7.5, NifTI-1), reverse engineering software
License Freeware
Website www.richwhitehouse.com/noesis/nms/index.php

Noesis is software for viewing, converting, and reverse engineering data. Common data types supported by the software include images, 3D models, medical imaging (DICOM), and animation. [1]

Contents

Noesis was created and is actively maintained by video game programmer Rich Whitehouse. The software supports hundreds of file formats, with a focus on allowing users to understand and analyze data in a way which would not be possible without reverse engineering. This is exemplified by the software's support for many proprietary file formats (including, more recently, animation data from the video game Final Fantasy XV ), in tandem with a continued focus on user plugins and Python scripting features. [2] Noesis has also received a great deal of community support, with native plugins and scripts available to add support for hundreds of additional file formats. [3]

History

A full version history is maintained in the software's current documentation. [2] Articles have been written to elaborate upon the addition of notable features throughout development, including Python support, physically based rendering, and Autodesk FBX support. [4] [5] [6] [7]

Noesis has been leveraged for numerous well-publicized projects. In late 2010, a video was published to demonstrate the software's real-time physics simulation and Microsoft Kinect motion capture ability. [8] Footage of a real-world subject being tracked in a range-mapped depth view can be seen alongside a rendered view of Ivy, a character from the Soulcalibur series. The character's movements echo the subject's and demonstrate real-time collision between the character's limbs and breasts. The video was featured by numerous press outlets, including Kotaku [9] and The Escapist. [10]

On August 6, 2014, an article was published on a Library of Congress blog, in which Trevor Owens chronicles his discovery of a disc containing an unreleased copy of Duke Nukem: Critical Mass for the PlayStation Portable. [11] In the article, Noesis is used to explore the game data, and an animated GIF embedded in the article shows a jetpack-equipped Duke Nukem rendering inside of Noesis.

Another article was published by the author of Noesis on the Video Game History Foundation blog on October 7, 2017. In this article, the author explores the source code and data of Disney's Aladdin for the Sega Genesis. [12] Readers are invited to follow along with the use of Noesis, leveraging support for extracting and viewing data from the retail distributions of the game.

In December 2018, a script was created for Noesis in order to generate levels for the video game DOOM by tracking the movements of a Roomba. This script, titled DOOMBA, [13] received coverage from a wide range of press outlets, including Variety, [14] Engadget, [15] Popular Mechanics, [16] Polygon, [17] PC Gamer, [18] Digital Trends, [19] Hackaday, [20] Gizmodo, [21] and The Verge. [22]

Features

Noesis is most commonly known for its ability to view and export 3D model and animation data across many different file formats. However, the software also employs native plugin and scripting APIs. Plugins and scripts have been leveraged extensively to provide new functionality, including new file format support, hex editors, binary scanners, a mesh voxelizer, a native debugger and disassembler, a web server for sharing models, a software rasterizer, various visual tools (such as a geometry picker and material selection widget), and a motion capture interface.

Some notable formats and standards supported by Noesis include:

Because Noesis is under active development, the list of supported standards and formats (and the notability thereof) is still routinely changing.

Reception and reviews

Related Research Articles

<i>Duke Nukem 3D</i> 1996 first-person shooter video game

Duke Nukem 3D is a first-person shooter video game developed by 3D Realms. It is a sequel to the platform games Duke Nukem and Duke Nukem II, published by 3D Realms.

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

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

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plug-in (computing)</span> Software component that adds a specific feature to an existing software application

In computing, a plug-in is a software component that adds a specific feature to an existing computer program. When a program supports plug-ins, it enables customization.

X3D is a set of royalty-free ISO/IEC standards for declaratively representing 3D computer graphics. X3D includes multiple graphics file formats, programming-language API definitions, and run-time specifications for both delivery and integration of interactive network-capable 3D data. X3D version 4.0 has been approved by Web3D Consortium, and is under final review by ISO/IEC as a revised International Standard (IS).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">XnView</span> Software for reading, viewing, and processing images

XnView is an image organizer and general-purpose file manager used for viewing, converting, organizing and editing raster images, as well as general purpose file management. It comes with built-in hex inspection, batch renaming, image scanning and screen capture tools. It is licensed as freeware for private, educational and non-profit uses. For other uses, it is licensed as commercial software.

Crystal Tools is a game engine created and used internally by the Japanese company Square Enix. It combines standard libraries for elements such as graphics, sound and artificial intelligence while providing game developers with various authoring tools. The target systems of Crystal Tools are the PlayStation 3, the Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows and the Wii. This was decided with the intention of making cross-platform production more feasible. The idea for the engine sprang from Square Enix's desire to have a unified game development environment in order to effectively share the technology and know-how of the company's individual teams.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">REAPER</span> Digital audio workstation by Cockos

REAPER is a digital audio workstation and MIDI sequencer application created by Cockos. The current version is available for Microsoft Windows and macOS, as well as for Linux. REAPER acts as a host to most industry-standard plug-in formats and can import all commonly used media formats, including video. REAPER and its included plug-ins are available in 32-bit and 64-bit format.

Navisworks is a 3D design review package for Microsoft Windows.

The following tables compare notable reference management software. The comparison includes older applications that may no longer be supported, as well as actively-maintained software.

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

FBX (Filmbox) is a proprietary file format developed by Kaydara and owned by Autodesk since 2006. It is used to provide interoperability between digital content creation applications. FBX is also part of Autodesk Gameware, a series of video game middleware.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dingoo</span> Handheld game console

The Dingoo is a handheld gaming console that supports music and video playback and open game development. The system features an on-board radio and recording program. It was sold to consumers in three colors: white, black, and pink. It was released in February 2009 and had sold over 1 million units.

Duke Nukem is a media franchise named for its main character, Duke Nukem. Created by the company Apogee Software Ltd. as a series of video games for personal computers, the series expanded to games released for various consoles by third-party developers. The first two games in the main series were 2D platformers, while the later games have been a mix of first-person and third-person shooters.

Modern HTML5 has feature-parity with the now-obsolete Adobe Flash. Both include features for playing audio and video within web pages. Flash was specifically built to integrate vector graphics and light games in a web page, features that HTML5 also supports.

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

Darktable is a free and open-source photography application and raw developer. Rather than being a raster graphics editor like Adobe Photoshop or GIMP, it comprises a subset of image editing operations specifically aimed at non-destructive raw image post-production. It is primarily focused on improving a photographer's workflow by facilitating the handling of large numbers of images. It is freely available in versions tailored for most major Linux distributions, macOS, Solaris and Windows and is released under the GPL-3.0-or-later.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Construct (game engine)</span> Visual HTML5-based 2D game editor

Construct is an HTML5-based 2D video game engine developed by Scirra Ltd. It is aimed primarily at non-programmers, allowing quick creation of games through visual programming. First released as a GPL-licensed DirectX 9 game engine for Microsoft Windows with Python programming on October 27, 2007, it later became proprietary software with Construct 2, as well as switching its API technology from DirectX to NW.js and HTML5, as well as removing Python and adding JavaScript support and its plugin SDK in 2012, and eventually switched to a subscription-based model as a web app.

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

CloudCompare is a 3D point cloud processing software. It can also handle triangular meshes and calibrated images.

Felgo is a cross-platform development tool, based on the Qt framework. It can be used to create mobile apps or games. Felgo apps and games are supported on iOS, Android, Windows Phone, embedded devices and desktop devices. Felgo developers use QML, JavaScript and C++ to create mobile apps and games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">OpenFL</span> Software framework for video games

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. ↑ "Noesis Project Entry". www.richwhitehouse.com. Retrieved 2019-02-07.
  2. 1 2 "Noesis version history and documentation" . Retrieved 2019-02-07.
  3. ↑ "Third party scripts and plugins for Noesis". github.com. Retrieved 2019-02-09.
  4. ↑ "Noesis Model Server". www.richwhitehouse.com. Retrieved 2019-02-07.
  5. ↑ "Physically-Based Update". www.richwhitehouse.com. Retrieved 2019-02-07.
  6. ↑ "It Moved". www.richwhitehouse.com. Retrieved 2019-02-07.
  7. ↑ "Fish Scratch Fever". www.richwhitehouse.com. Retrieved 2019-02-07.
  8. ↑ "Noesis mocap - Extreme boobie jiggling". www.youtube.com. Retrieved 2019-02-07.
  9. ↑ "Kinect Powered Jiggle With Soulcalibur's Ivy Goes Too Far". kotaku.com. 5 January 2011. Retrieved 2019-02-07.
  10. ↑ "Kinect Hack Slaps World's Most Jiggly Boobs on Anyone". www.escapistmagazine.com. Retrieved 2019-02-07.
  11. ↑ "Duke's Legacy: Video Game Source Disc Preservation at the Library of Congress". loc.gov. 6 August 2014. Retrieved 2019-02-08.
  12. ↑ "Digging for treasure in Aladdin's source code". gamehistory.org. 7 October 2017. Retrieved 2019-02-07.
  13. ↑ "DOOMBA". www.richwhitehouse.com. Retrieved 2019-02-07.
  14. ↑ "Your Roomba Can Now Create 'Doom' Levels Thanks to New Tool 'Doomba'". www.variety.com. 26 December 2018. Retrieved 2019-02-07.
  15. ↑ "Turn your Roomba's travels into 'Doom' maps". www.engadget.com. Retrieved 2019-02-07.
  16. ↑ "Turn Your Home Into a 'Doom' Level With a Roomba". www.popularmechanics.com. 27 December 2018. Retrieved 2019-02-07.
  17. ↑ "This Roomba can create its own Doom levels". www.polygon.com. 26 December 2018. Retrieved 2019-02-07.
  18. ↑ "Doomba turns your robotic vacuum cleaner into a Doom map-making machine". www.pcgamer.com. 24 December 2018. Retrieved 2019-02-07.
  19. ↑ "Doomba uses your Roomba data to build new 'Doom' maps. You're welcome". www.digitaltrends.com. 27 December 2018. Retrieved 2019-02-07.
  20. ↑ "DOOMBA TRANSPORTS YOUR LIVING ROOM TO HELL". hackaday.com. 27 December 2018. Retrieved 2019-02-07.
  21. ↑ "'Doomba' Will Turn Your Roomba Into a Doom Hellscape Generator". gizmodo.com. 26 December 2018. Retrieved 2019-02-07.
  22. ↑ "'Doomba' turns your Roomba's cleaning maps into Doom levels". www.theverge.com. 26 December 2018. Retrieved 2019-02-07.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.