Jaime,
We evaluated both Magician and Java 3D for the JavaMet project we started
about a year ago (see http://www.tornadolabs.com). On a purely technical
level (I was coming to Java 3D from OpenGL) I favored Magician. This was due
to the fact that the learning curve for me would have been slight (given the
thin wrapper nature of the API), the promise of OpenGL like performance, and
it didn't require JDK 2.
As Bob also mentioned the stumbling block for us was the license that the
people at Magician were prepared to offer. We were deploying an *Applet* to
potentially thousands of people (how would we even know how many), and they
were fixated on a *per-user* licensing model. A per-user licensing model was
unacceptable to our client so we made the (at the time risky) decision to
use Java 3D.
A year later I would feel much happier in recommending Java 3D. A few months
ago, I heard through the grapevine that the people behind Magician had gone
out of business. I don't know about the contractual status of their code
base.
I have attached a Word document that we produced as a result of our
preliminary evaluation of Java 3D vs. Java OpenGL wrappers. Please bear in
mind that the document is dated and some of the information is now
historical reference!
For your information I am currently based in Boston, writing a book: "Java
3D Programming" for Manning Publications. (http://www.manning.com)
If you fancy getting together for a chat over a coffee, drop me a line. I'm
always happy to help, and interested in what people are up to!
Sincerely,
Daniel Selman
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://www.tornadolabs.com
-----Original Message-----
From: Discussion list for Java 3D API
[mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]On Behalf Of Jaime Requena
Sent: 14 October 1999 15:25
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Magician/Sorceress VS. JAVA 3D
I was wondering if their are people here who have tried both. I want to
create a multi-player game using one of them, but I'm not sure which would
be better. It seems like Magician will have better performance than JAVA 3d
because it is a lower level api. I know JAVA 3d has a good system for
building a scene and I'm not sure how good Sorceress is at doing this. Any
information would be great.
As a side note, I'm also looking for JAVA 3d programmers and artists in the
Boston area who want to help with my game. Please contact me if interested.
-Jaime
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Java3D Summary.doc
