MACROMEDIA DIRECTOR MX 2004-USING DIRECTOR, Use Manual, Page: 314 / 500

314 Chapter 14: 3D Basics
Lights and cameras
Lights are used to light the 3D world. Without lights, the objects within the world can’t be seen.
Although lights control the appearance of the 3D world, cameras control how a sprite views the
3D world. A 3D sprite displays a particular camera’s view into the world. For more information,
see
“About lights and cameras” on page 382 .
Groups
A group is a node that has no geometry, used for grouping models, lights, and cameras together so
they can be treated as a single unit. Groups let you rotate or translate their contents as a unit. A
group has a name, a transform, and a parent, and it can have one or more children. It has no other
properties. The highest level group is the group called
world , which is essentially synonymous
with the 3D cast member. For more information, see “Groups” on page 323 .
Shaders and textures
A model’s surface color is determined by its shader or shaders. You can draw images on the surface
of a model by applying one or more textures to each shader. For more information, see
“Shaders”
on page 352 and “Textures” on page 360 .
Modifiers
Modifiers let you control many aspects of how models are rendered and how they behave. When
you attach a modifier to a model, you can then set the properties for that modifier with script.
Depending on the type of modifier you use, setting its properties can give you fine control over
the model’s appearance and behavior. Modifiers are described in
“Working with Models and
Model Resources” on page 335 and “About lights and cameras” on page 382 .
Animation
Director supports complex model animations through the following means:
•
The collision modifier lets models detect and respond appropriately to collisions.
•
The Bones player modifier lets models that have a skeletal structure defined in them play back
animations of those skeletons. These animations are created in separate 3D modeling tools.
•
The Keyframe player modifier lets models play back time-based animation sequences. These
sequences can also be created in separate 3D modeling tools.
3D animations are called motions and can be initiated by 3D behaviors or script. For more
information, see
“Animation modifiers” on page 372 and “Motions” on page 381 .