From: Bob Crispen Subject: Re: TECH: VRML 1.0 Web Browser for SGI O2 Date: Tue, 17 Dec 1996 22:06:21 -0600 Organization: http://hiwaay.net/~crispen/ Marcia J. Talkmitt wrote: >I now have the SGI O2 machine that I wrote about previously. The >default browser is COSMO WORLDs 2.0. I am new to the SGI platform and >wonder of any of you know how to browse through (if it is possible) >other VRML files. I am particularly interested in Superscape Viscape, >VRML 1.0 files, and Live3D files. Well, you can get 1 out of 3. Superscape Viscape is a proprietary format, and I don't know of any VRML browser (except perhaps theirs) that renders those files. I see nothing wrong with Superscape's people trying to earn a living, but (unless I've been napping again) there is a considerably larger corpus of VRML files out there than Superscape files. That may change in due time, of course, but unless you've got your own stash of Superscape files, I don't see any significant payoff today for finding a VRML browser that can render them. As to Live3D, a few of the nodes will pass muster in CosmoPlayer, and some Live3D worlds will only (lucky for you) use those nodes. The BackgroundColor node is an Info node, and (I recall) will be ignored by Cosmo, but at least Cosmo won't spit up. Unfortunately, you've run into a deadly combination: a non-standard file format (Live3D) plus a really persnickety browser (Cosmo). Vanilla VRML 1.0 files, on the other hand, almost always render perfectly well on Cosmo. On the off chance you don't know, there's a list of VRML browsers by platform at the VRML Repository: http://www.sdsc.edu/vrml/browsers.html They list 9 browsers for the SGI, though I don't believe DIVE is strictly speaking a VRML browser. Several VRML 2.0 browsers (WorldView and GLView come to mind) will render some Live3D extensions properly. You may find a few words that might be of some interest on my VRML website: http://hiwaay.net/~crispen/vrml/ I just got my Max Impact I2 10K in at work, so I'll be a little better up to date on VRML for SGI pretty soon. -- Rev. Bob "Bob" Crispen crispen@hiwaay.net "A polar bear is just another way of expressing a rectangular bear."