Michael Bien's Weblog

It was like a deja-vu for me as I read this announcement about the future plans of the Java 3D scenegraph API. It is already the second time the development of Java 3D has been set to 'maintenance mode' and stopped for any further improvements.

But this time it is not bad at all. Why?

"Specifically, we are working on a new 3D scene graph, as part of the JavaFX player, that will complement the 2D Scenario scene graph. Its initial focus will be 3D effects, casual games, and simple 3D viewing applications..."

  
OK. But what about projects like Wonderland which use Java 3D and are no "simple 3D viewing applications"?

It is getting even better: Project Wonderland announces the complete move to the JMonkeyEngine!

"As part of our recent review of Wonderland, which resulted in the API
cleanup tasks that are now underway, we also took a long look at our
graphics subsystem. Our main goal here was to ensure we could create a
very rich 3D experience. We also reviewed the tool chain for creating and importing
content into Wonderland. After careful consideration by the Wonderland
team, and discussion with the Java 3D team we have decided that
Wonderland will be best served by moving to the JMonkeyEngine scene
graph API... "

Now it is getting very interesting. Wonderland was always in my opinion a far to advanced project to be limited to the visual and design constrains of Java 3D (watch the videos!). The JMonkeyEngine is a full featured 3D (game) engine already used by professional game companies (NCsoft...).

 
Still not happy?

then be patient and wait for Java 3D 1.5.2 (maintenance release) which will be relicensed to a dual GPLv2 + CP ex license.

a new ea build of Java 6 Update N is available with a lot of bugfixes, ready for testing

release schedule (on top) + download link (bottom).

New Java Kernel FAQ (interesting!)

Chung Lee demonstrates and explains how you can use a WiiRemote for headtracking and how this technique could be used for view dependent 3D effects on your desktop- or TV screen. Awesome!

I will try it out with my own 3D engine as soon as I have a WiiRemote or similar hardware. It should be easy to implement since the whole 3D illusion is based on simple matrix manipulation (projection matrix) of the rendering pipeline. The WiiRemote could be accessed with JInput.

But first I have to write some exams ;)

Here are some screenshots of my 3D Engine (codename Metaverse) I made a few years ago (click to enlarge). It is written in Java and uses JOGL (JSR 231) as OpenGL binding and JInput to access the controllers.

These shots show the real time lighting and water rendering capabilities. They also show that you are the whole time on a real 3D planet (codename potato ;) ).

The next shows a 'test vehicle' to test model loading, animation, physics and collision detection of the Engine. You can use this vehicle to explore the planet - it makes even a lot of fun to drive through rough terrain and try to survive jumps from steep hills ;). The other screenshot shows the planet as wireframe.

The last two show the continuous triangulation of the terrain mesh and the space subdivision into a quad-tree (used for fast frustum culling and physics). The viewer is configured to be located inside the river bed.

You think that Java for 3D Graphics is like a penguin in hell? If you follow some rules to prevent stop the world garbage collections (full GCs) and prevent calls through the JNI where possible you can reach with the server (hotspot compiler) JVM performance comparable to C++ code.

The rendering performance is quite good. Even fast fly overs are rendered with 60+ fps. If the camera stays still the renderer reaches 200+ fps on my notebook (ATI X1600).

I have currently no time to continue with this project but if I think back how fun it was to work on that engine I would love to start hacking again immediately ;).

The NetBeans OpenGL Pack is slowly evolving to a set of useful integrated tools, demo applications and editors for Java OpenGL development.

The features currently included are:

• Editor for the OpenGL Shading Language (GLSL) with compiler error annotation, code folding, syntax highlighting, auto completion and documentation.
  
• Easy access to the GLSL compiler and linker of your graphics driver integrated in the editor
  
• OpenGL Capabilities Viewer
• Integration of JOGL GUI components into the Matisse GUI builder
• JOGL project templates
• Ready to run JOGL demos and examples of the OpenGL Programming Guide (also known as Red Book) 

We are currently fixing the last bugs and hope to build the first release soon. The early access version is available via Update Center in the download section of the project page.

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The project has also been recently mentioned in the NetBeans Magazine [issue four] covering NetBeans 6 features. Geertjan Wielenga interviewed me about the GLSL editor in the Schliemann section of the magazine.

I am Michael Bien and this is my new weblog.

A few words about me. I am freelancer, and project owner of the NetBeans OpenGL Pack, the project FishFarm and JOGL (JSR 231 - Java Bindings to OpenGL) committer. You will find here hopefully interesting blog entries about Java, computer graphics, open source software and new technologies.

have fun with Java and enjoy reading!