RealSpace, Inc. announced RealVR Xtra, the Macromedia Director plug-in that adds photo-realistic virtual worlds to the Director environment. With RealVR Xtra, users now have a virtual reality component to Macromedia Director to produce CD-ROM titles and Internet sites that are content-rich and highly interactive.

"Both Macromedia and RealSpace are dedicated to delivering breakthrough technologies to creative developers," said Bill Schulze, technical marketing manager at Macromedia. "The RealVR Xtra for Macromedia Director and Shockwave offers customers a truly integrated venue for creating and delivering potent virtual worlds."

"Macromedia Director is the authoring tool of choice for multimedia producers and Web designers," said Eric Chen, CEO of RealSpace, Inc. "With RealVR Xtra, producers now have the virtual reality component they need to take their CD-ROM and Internet applications to a new level of realism."

RealVR is based on a new approach to virtual reality, termed image-based rendering, which allows actual photographic images, video, and "snapshots" of computer-generated scenes to be used in the creation of highly-realistic virtual scenes. RealVR worlds feature full 360 by 180 degree panoramic views, VRML 2.0 3D rendering, QuickTime movie playback, and dynamic Image-based Object (IMOB) compositing.

RealSpace's patent-pending panoramic image warping engine works with cubic, cylindrical, and spherical panoramas. The 3D rendering supports many features in VRML 2.0 including realtime texture mapping and scripting. The IMOB compositing capability allows images, videos, and QuickTime VR object-based movies to be displayed as dynamic objects in virtual worlds.

RealVR Xtra extends the Macromedia Director scripting language, Lingo, so that RealVR virtual worlds can be placed straight into Director environments and controlled with Director commands. RealVR Xtra adds three commands to Lingo. Get Property reveals the current properties assigned to a node. Set Property re-configures a node's properties.

Generate Event assigns an action to occur in the RealVR environment based on an event in the Director environment. RealVR Xtra's extensions to Lingo give users complete control over RealVR worlds in Director. The result is a tight environment where photo-realistic virtual reality scenes integrate seamlessly with the multimedia environment.

RealVR Xtra requires a Power Macintosh or a Pentium-based computer with Windows 95 or Windows NT, 12 MB of available RAM, and 16-bit or higher color capability.

Advance orders for RealVR Xtra may be placed at the Macromedia International User Conference for the special show price of $199. RealVR Xtra will be available September 25 at the suggested retail price of $299. Orders may be placed by calling 1-888/REALSPACE.

 

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