Hi all,
are there any news out for Java3D 1.4, perhaps a specification beta anouncement ?
greetings
-Michael Nischt
Hope there will be a 1.4 at all!
Including the shader stuff would be a logical step.
I’d like to see some easy-to-use tools for 2D overlays. Swing for Java3D, so to say. But this is inspired by my current needs instead of strategical consideration.
yes, IMHO access to stencil/alpha buffer and the shader stuff became a must for professional 3d gfx.
When I talked to the Sun guys last year about the 1.4 release they said one key feature was to enable vendor-supplied plug-ins, so you could add NURBS support, shaders, etc. if your target platform supported them.
I don’t know if that’s still the case or not.
Maybe Chris can chime in?
–Brad
with no answers from sun guys, I tend to believe the rumors mentioned Java3D mailing-list (Is Java3D going to be end-of-lifed?)
unfortuanlly it is maybe time to switch to C# with DirectX9 for high-end ed gdx using an application, object oriented language. 
It is supposed to come out in august according to JSR-189. Here is their schedule:
2.11 Please describe the anticipated schedule for the development of this specification.
The current schedule of this JSR is as follows:
7/2002 - Approval of JSR
8/2002 - Formation of Expert Group
2/2003 - Submit Community Draft Specification
4/2003 - Submit Public Draft Specification
8/2003 - Submit Final Draft Specification, Reference Implementation, and TCK
(taken from http://jcp.org/en/jsr/detail?id=189)
nathan
thanks for reply, I missed the shedule on jsr189 page.
but shedules on jsr pages tend not to be very excact 
extract from JavaGameProfile page
( http://www.jcp.org/en/jsr/detail?id=134 )
2.11 Please describe the anticipated schedule for the development of this specification.
We intend to have a publicly reviewable draft in Summer 2001. Within a year of that a reference implementation and TCK should be available with a final specification.
JSR-134 is one of the main reasons I don’t trust anything Sun say per default until they actually deliver (and I must admit, sometimes they do).
Let’s face it, games are not exactly priority at Sun and JCP is not exactly a very efficient thing.
It’s better to go our own way and not make ourselves dependant of Sun. The community can move faster and more efficiently like that as for example LWJGL and other projects have shown.
Sure, you can jump ship and go for C#, but then you will be coding for M$ and M$ alone and go where ever M$ wants you to go. I’d like to keep my options open for anything else than M$.
if i were to go game programming and only selectable languages would be java and c# i would go
c#, java is so freaking slow when it comes to gaming/standalone progs. only place where java comes in is on www(jsp,servlets,etc…), if even there.
beside c# does run on linux(Mono)
and for gfx i would go opengl winex doesn’t support yet directx9 very well.
I don’t think java is slow at all.
of course it is not slow (as it used to be - to be honest)- but what comment would one expect from guy coming to javagaming site and saying c# is the only choice …
It ain’t particularly fast either, as we’ve come to discover over the last two years of intensive discussion and optimisation. I’m sure it’ll get there one day, when they add all the little tweaks we’ve been asking for, and fix all the broken optimisations and dud code in the current Hotspot compiler.
Do you think Java3D 1.4 will arrive before or after Java gets speeded up?
Cas 
I didn’t intend to start a flame on Java and C#.
I prefer Java a lot over C# and not only because of that M$ blah blah (o.k. don’t like ther policy either), the only reason why I mentioned my thoughts about switching are the features of DirectX.
LWJGL is fine for most, and it is probably as plattform indenpendent as Java3D (there is an MacOS X port - right?), but don’t ask me why - I personally dislike it… (/me ignorant)
== Do you think Java3D 1.4 will arrive before or after Java gets speeded up?==
Personally I would love to see Java3D come first - but for SUN it would make more sense to speed up the whole thing and then look after other problems …
btw today’s article on sun site about virtual reality which mentions Java3D is a positive sight … considering author’s credentials …
[quote]but don’t ask me why - I personally dislike it
[/quote]
Why? ;D
[quote]Do you think Java3D 1.4 will arrive before or after Java gets speeded up?
[/quote]
;D
BTW I probably shouldn’t have commented on that ‘starlord’ troll. :-/
But still, I would be interested in a good game-specific benchmark comparing C#-OGL running on Linux and Java-OGL. I’m not at all sure C# will outperform Java.
Anyway, until there is such a benchmark there’s absolutely no point in a C# vs Java debate as it’s all just a pointless MS-lovers vs MS-haters cakefight.
Mmmmmm… cake fight…
don’t get me wrong, i LOVE java and alway will do,
i have been using for 3 year’s now, but i don’t think java will ever dominate or even get a slice of cake in gaming indrusty.
it’s too slow for gaming althought very good alternative for gaming script’s(some where i saw quake2(3?) to have mod so you can script with java for quake engine)
hopefully sun releases new version’s(J2SE and Java3D)soon with better performance.
what sun really need is faster release’s(it’s now 13 months???) to keep up.
Java3D should have better support for opengl(now 1.2?)
don’t care about directx support atleast one of them have good fully updated.
althought 1.2 and 1.3 has only extensions added anything else?
ok, i was wrong, java will dominate on mobile platform!!!
sun should create J2SE suited for gaming and change licenses way that allow’s coder’s to include VM on they game/prog. or split the vm on part so user’s can download the part’s they need, there are still users with modem!!!
[quote]Mmmmmm… cake fight…
[/quote]
naah, just healthy discussion
[quote]naah, just healthy discussion
[/quote]
;D good one
Well, I agree with you that if java is used as a game scripting language you probably would have the most powerful scripting language to date. As I mentioned before, not pointing out that java has been used for that in various top selling games was a missed opportunity for sun.
But still, pointing out that java is dead slow (which is simply incorrect) and C# is the language of choice for gaming is just plain rediculous.
I haven’t seen hard evidence that C# is in fact faster than Java and I doubt it’s true.
If it is true, the speed differency can be only marginal at best.
Hmmm… I’m now discussing something I said was a pointless discussion… 
Anyway here’s some benchmarks for java-C/C++
http://www.idiom.com/~zilla/Computer/javaCbenchmark.html
(It’s not targeted at gaming, but it should make clear that java is not as slow as you think)