AC3D
Encyclopedia
AC3D is a 3D design program which has been available since 1994. The software is used by designers for modeling 3D graphics for games and simulations - most notably it is used by the scenery creators at Laminar Research
on the X-Plane (simulator). The .ac format has also been used in FlightGear
for scenery objects and aircraft models
, the
code was then ported to Silicon Graphics workstations which used the GL
graphics library. At that time, the user interface was implemented using
X-Window/Motif. A Linux port was released onto the internet in 1994 (the GL
graphics were replaced with OpenGL). A windows port followed when the
X-Window interface was dropped in favor of the portable Tcl
/Tk scripting
library.
In 2002 Inivis Limited purchased the full intellectual property rights to
AC3D and continues to develop and market the software. They decided to keep
the name AC3D for the software.
In 2005, a Mac OS X version of AC3D was released.
software, AC3D refers to 'surfaces' rather than 'polygons'. An AC3D surface
can be a polygon, polygon-outline or line. An AC3D object is a collection of
surfaces.
its own .ac file format which is ascii.
Inivis is the first 3rd party vendor to offer officially sanctioned support for the Second Life
sculpted prim
format; exporters for other 3D software packages exist, but are solely user-supported.
dynamic libraries (plugins). A software development kit (SDK) is available
to licensed users.
Laminar Research
Laminar Research is a small software company based out of Columbia, South Carolina, and is dedicated to providing software that accurately reflects the laws of physics. Laminar's flagship product is the flight simulator X-Plane, but it also produces two other programs, Space Combat and Young's...
on the X-Plane (simulator). The .ac format has also been used in FlightGear
FlightGear
FlightGear Flight Simulator is a free, open-source multi-platform flight simulator developed by the FlightGear project since 1997....
for scenery objects and aircraft models
History
Initially developed on the AmigaAmiga
The Amiga is a family of personal computers that was sold by Commodore in the 1980s and 1990s. The first model was launched in 1985 as a high-end home computer and became popular for its graphical, audio and multi-tasking abilities...
, the
code was then ported to Silicon Graphics workstations which used the GL
graphics library. At that time, the user interface was implemented using
X-Window/Motif. A Linux port was released onto the internet in 1994 (the GL
graphics were replaced with OpenGL). A windows port followed when the
X-Window interface was dropped in favor of the portable Tcl
Tcl
Tcl is a scripting language created by John Ousterhout. Originally "born out of frustration", according to the author, with programmers devising their own languages intended to be embedded into applications, Tcl gained acceptance on its own...
/Tk scripting
library.
In 2002 Inivis Limited purchased the full intellectual property rights to
AC3D and continues to develop and market the software. They decided to keep
the name AC3D for the software.
In 2005, a Mac OS X version of AC3D was released.
Modeling
AC3D's modeling is polygon/subdivision-surface based. Unlike some other 3Dsoftware, AC3D refers to 'surfaces' rather than 'polygons'. An AC3D surface
can be a polygon, polygon-outline or line. An AC3D object is a collection of
surfaces.
3D files
AC3D can load and save a wide variety of 3D file formats but primarily usesits own .ac file format which is ascii.
Inivis is the first 3rd party vendor to offer officially sanctioned support for the Second Life
Second Life
Second Life is an online virtual world developed by Linden Lab. It was launched on June 23, 2003. A number of free client programs, or Viewers, enable Second Life users, called Residents, to interact with each other through avatars...
sculpted prim
Sculpted prim
A sculpted prim is a Second Life 3D parametric object whose 3D shape is determined by a texture. These textures are UV maps that form the rendered 3D sculpted prim...
format; exporters for other 3D software packages exist, but are solely user-supported.
Scripting and plugins
Extra functionality can be added to AC3D via Tcl/Tk scripts and/or C/C++dynamic libraries (plugins). A software development kit (SDK) is available
to licensed users.