Just for fun, here's a little Java3D hack. Snafooz (©Idea Group, Inc.) is a geometric puzzle available from numerous promotional item catalogs. It is similar to the European Happy Cube puzzle designed by Dirk Laureyssens in 1986. The puzzle consists of (up to six) sets of foam shapes, each set having six different pieces. Frequently, the sets have advertising, logos, etc., printed on their faces. The individual pieces are squares of one unit thickness and six units on a side. Teeth, or nibs, on the sides of each piece enable the pieces to be interconnected to make a number of different shapes. See www.snafooz.com for examples of some of the possible shapes.
When I was first learning Java, I wrote a Snafooz "solver", a program to solve Snafooz shape puzzles. The solver determines what pieces (in what orientations) can be used to construct a given shape. A few weeks ago I thought it might be fun to see if I could take the output of these solutions and display them in Java3D. (If nothing else, this turned out to be a great exercise in learning more about 3D transforms). The attached screen capture shows a solution of one of the more complex shapes, something I call "star".
I now offer for your spare-time enjoyment Snafooz Suite: a set of files and Java programs that enable the creation and display of Snafooz shapes. Desired shapes can be defined, solutions determined, and the solutions displayed by Java3D. A zip file is available that contains all the programs, test data, and even a rudimentary Users Guide!
If anyone is interested in getting the zip and trying it out, please contact me DIRECTLY (not through the Java3D list please) at [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Now get back to work,
Jack
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