Adobe Director Basics

ADOBE DIRECTOR BASICS
3D basics
Level of Detail (LOD)
In the real world, as objects get further away, the less detail is visible. In a virtual 3D world, faces that are far from the
camera appear tiny. Nevertheless, the computer processor must spend as much time calculating the color of the pixels
for a distant face as for a face close to the camera.
The solution is to simplify the geometry of distant models, so that they have fewer faces. All model resources created
in third-party 3D design software contain data that allows the Shockwave 3D engine to reduce the level of detail on
models far from the camera. You can set the lod properties of the imported model resource directly.
Even when you change the settings at the resource level, the LOD feature acts on the model, not on the resource. Two
models that share the same resource can display different numbers of faces, depending on how close they are to the
camera.
The #lod modifier lets you give individual models their own lod settings, independently of the lod settings for the
shared model resource. To see the #lod modifier in action, download movie LOD.dir and launch it.
The #lod modifier lets you set how aggressively to simplify model geometry as distance from the camera increases
The LOD.dir movie uses a wire frame shader to make the effect obvious. Select a low value for bias, and ensure auto
is checked. Now drag the sphere around. You will see the value of level change as sphere moves closer to away from
the camera.
Note: Models created in Director from 3D primitives do not contain LOD data. There is no advantage to be gained from
adding the LOD modifier to such models.
Subdivision Surfaces (SDS)
While the #lod modifier reduces detail on distant models, the #sds modifier adds geometric detail to models and
synthesizes additional details to smooth out curves as the model moves closer to the camera.
To see the effect of the #sds modifier, download the movie SDS.dir and launch it.
Last updated 8/26/2011
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