Research and Development for Update to A:M Exchange

[Rodney]

I'm looking at several approaches to updating A:M Exchange.

This incorporates the 'Extras'.

 

A focus of my current investigation is the PDF format as they are included in those resources.

PDFs mostly comprise tutorials and manuals and documents but it was once hoped they could serve a better purpose.

 

One area explored in the past was that of embedding 3D models into a PDF where the user can quickly get a look at what the asset looks like before use.

This is not an optimal use as there is no direct correlation between A:M's model format and that used in Adobe Acrobat.

The full fledged Acrobat of a few years ago stated that formats such as OBJ and STL were supported but those have been more recently dropped.

Some use of 3D models could be wrangled into a PDF document via recent Photoshop or Fuse but... that process doesn't maintain the embedded 3D model for user viewing.

The only format reasonable expected to be useful then is U3D which works fine for the intended purpose.

Added: The quality of U3D in PDF is also lacking.

 

A few things of note:

A model opened in Acrobat for embedding tends to turn at least 45 degrees so that it is no longer facing forward when initially viewed.

Turning on all of the various views is likely to be desired and this must be done manually (not sure if there is a way to get Acrobat to default to that).

 

What success might look like if a PDF catalog were to be used:

The PDF catalog would contain 3D proxies of all the models with links to the actual model file for use.

Distribution would likely be in the form of a single zip file which when unzipped would recreate the entire file structure of A:M Exchange, including Libraries would would bypass the use of the PDF catalog for those who so choose.

 

Bottom line concerning PDF files with active 3D content: It would be a lot of work. As such an HTML format without active 3D content is more likely to go forward.

 

Moving on

Optimal ways to update A:M Exchange for the user would need to be explored.

Having the exchange be read-only or version-based would be ideal so that when updates are delivered users files will not be overwritten. (users should not edit the files in A:M Exchange but rather use them to copy resources from).

 

Github (or similar hosting)

A github repository is not out of the question and initial testing demonstrated this would work well.

One advantage is that tickets could be opened for updating of individual resources.

This would give feedback to maintainers of the exchange to know where to focus effort in the future.

Additional utilities/applications to optimize content could be made available for download.

Distribution/updates through github would consist of resyncing with the repository or downloading a zipfile containing all resources.

 

A:M Exchange is a user-led development arena and is driven by the interests of the Animation:Master community.

Please feel free to make your wishes known.