This chapter describes VRML file structure, a sample VRML file, understanding the header and understanding UTF8. Guidance is provided for using comments, nodes, node type name, fields and values, and using field names.

These X3D scenes are adapted directly from the original VRML 2.0 Sourcebook chapter examples. Also available: Introduction to VRML97 SIGGRAPH98 course notes.

• Figure 02 1 Hut

This chapter describes how to build primitive geometric shapes.

The Shape node contains Appearance and geometry. Geometry primitive nodes of interest include Box, Cone, Cylinder, Sphere, Text and FontStyle. Multiple Shape nodes can be drawn together to make new objects of interest.

These X3D scenes are adapted directly from the original VRML 2.0 Sourcebook chapter examples. Also available: Introduction to VRML97 SIGGRAPH98 course notes.

• Figure 03 01 Default Box
• Figure 03 01 Default Box With Axes
• Figure 03 02 Resized Box
• Figure 03 02 Resized Box With Axes
• Figure 03 0 3Default Cone
• Figure 03 0 3Default Cone With Axes
• Figure 03 04 Flattened Cone
• Figure 03 04 Flattened Cone With Axes
• Figure 03 05 Default Cylinder
• Figure 03 05 Default Cylinder With Axes
• Figure 03 06 Resized Cylinder
• Figure 03 06 Resized Cylinder With Axes
• Figure 03 07 Resized Cylinder Hollow
• Figure 03 07 Resized Cylinder Hollow With Axes
• Figure 03 08 Default Sphere
• Figure 03 08 Default Sphere With Axes
• Figure 03 09 3D Plus Sign
• Figure 03 10 Space Station

Text geometry is placed in a Shape to describe your scene.

This chapter describes how to build Text shapes with accompanying FontStyle nodes to vary how strings are presented.

These X3D scenes are adapted directly from the original VRML 2.0 Sourcebook chapter examples. Also available: Introduction to VRML97 SIGGRAPH98 course notes.

• Figure 04 01 Text Shape
• Figure 04 01 Text Shape With Axes
• Figure 04 02 List Of Text Strings
• Figure 04 02 List Of Text Strings With Axes
• Figure 04 03 Compressed Text
• Figure 04 03 Compressed Text With Axes
• Figure 04 04 List Text Strings And Lengths
• Figure 04 04 List Text Strings And Lengths With Axes
• Figure 04 05 Text Limited By Maximum Extent
• Figure 04 05 Text Limited By Maximum Extent With Axes
• Figure 04 06a Text Plain Serif Font
• Figure 04 06a Text Plain Serif Font With Axes
• Figure 04 06b Text Bold Serif Font
• Figure 04 06b Text Bold Serif Font With Axes
• Figure 04 07 Small Text
• Figure 04 07 Small Text With Axes
• Figure 04 08a Text More Line Spacing
• Figure 04 08a Text More Line Spacing With Axes
• Figure 04 08b Text Less Line Spacing
• Figure 04 08b Text Less Line Spacing With Axes
• Figure 04 09 Two Text Shapes Different Justification
• Figure 04 09 Two Text Shapes Different Justification With Axes
• Figure 04 10 Two Lines Text Flat Box
• Figure 04 10 Two Lines Text Flat Box With Axes
• Figure 04 11 Text Overstrike Font
• Figure 04 11 Text Overstrike Font With Axes

This chapter describes how to position shapes within an X-Y-Z world coordinate system by adding a parent Transform node. Rotations about each axis are counter-clockwise using the right-hand rule. Nested Transform nodes can translate, rotate and scale shapes relative to each other in 3D space.

These X3D scenes are adapted directly from the original VRML 2.0 Sourcebook chapter examples. Also available: Introduction to VRML97 SIGGRAPH98 course notes.

• Figure 05 03b Cylinder Translation
• Figure 05 03b Cylinder Translation With Axes
• Figure 05 04b Cylinder Translation
• Figure 05 04b Cylinder Translation With Axes
• Figure 05 10 Archway
• Figure 05 10 Archway With Axes
• Figure 05 11 Nested Archways
• Figure 05 11 Nested Archways With Axes

Rotations can transform the orientation of a shape in any direction.

Rotation orients a coordinate system about a rotation axis by a rotation angle measured in radians. To help remember positive and negative rotation directions: open your hand, stick out your thumb, aim your thumb in an axis positive direction, and curl your fingers around the axis. The curl direction is a positive rotation.

These X3D scenes are adapted directly from the original VRML 2.0 Sourcebook chapter examples. Also available: Introduction to VRML97 SIGGRAPH98 course notes.

• Figure 06 04b Rotation 45x With Axes
• Figure 06 05b Rotation Minus 45x With Axes
• Figure 06 06b Rotation 45y With Axes
• Figure 06 07b Rotation Minus 45z With Axes
• Figure 06 08 Asterisk 3D With Axes
• Figure 06 09 Triple Asterisk 3D With Axes
• Figure 06 10 Simple Arch
• Figure 06 11 Desk Lamp Base
• Figure 06 1 2Desk Lamp Base Two Arms

Scale transformations grow or shrink a local coordinate system by a scaling factor in the X, Y, and Z directions.

Sometimes scale values are used to adjust units when the data in child nodes is not based on meters. Transform operations are bottom-up: children shapes are first scaled, rotated, then translated. Order is fixed, independent of the field order that happens to occur in the Transform node.

These X3D scenes are adapted directly from the original VRML 2.0 Sourcebook chapter examples. Also available: Introduction to VRML97 SIGGRAPH98 course notes.

• Figure 07 04b Scale 2x With Axes
• Figure 07 05b Scale Halfx With Axes
• Figure 07 06b Scale 2y With Axes
• Figure 07 07b Scale Halfz With Axes
• Figure 07 08b Scale 2x Halfy 4z With Axes
• Figure 07 09 Simple Spaceship Body Wings With Axes
• Figure 07 10 Simple Spaceship
• Figure 07 11 Scaled Arches
• Figure 07 12a Simple Tree
• Figure 07 12b Vertically Scaled Tree
• Figure 07 1 3Diagonally Scaled Tree

TimeSensor nodes produce clock events that can drive event-producing interpolators for animating position, orientation and scale.

The TimeSensor node is similar to a stop watch: you control the start and stop time, it generates time events while running. It can loop forever, or run through only one cycle and stop. To animate a scene, route time events into other nodes. PositionInterpolator can convert time events into 3D position or scale values. OrientationInterpolator can animate rotation values. ColorInterpolator can animate color values, and ScalarInterpolator can animate transparency values.

These X3D scenes are adapted directly from the original VRML 2.0 Sourcebook chapter examples. Also available: Introduction to VRML97 SIGGRAPH98 course notes.

• Figure 08 3 Position Interpolator
• Figure 08 3 Position Interpolator With Axes
• Figure 08 4 Orientation Interpolator
• Figure 08 4 Orientation Interpolator With Axes
• Figure 08 5 Animating Scale
• Figure 08 5 Animating Scale With Axes

Authors can design interactivity into a scene that responds to user actions.

A scene can sense when the viewer's cursor is over a shape, has touched a shape, or is dragging atop a shape. A scene can also trigger animations on a viewer's touch, enabling the viewer to move and rotate shapes. There are four main action sensor types: TouchSensor senses touch, SphereSensor senses drags in a spherical way, CylinderSensor senses drags cylindrically, and PlaneSensor senses drags around a plane.

These X3D scenes are adapted directly from the original VRML 2.0 Sourcebook chapter examples. Also available: Introduction to VRML97 SIGGRAPH98 course notes.

• Figure 09 1 Spinning Cube Touch Sensor
• Figure 09 1 Spinning Cube Touch Sensor With Axes
• Figure 09 2 Spinning Cube Touch Sensor Clicked
• Figure 09 2 Spinning Cube Touch Sensor Clicked With Axes
• Figure 09 3 Cone Plane Sensor
• Figure 09 3 Cone Plane Sensor With Axes
• Figure 09 4 Cone Plane Sensor Constrained
• Figure 09 4 Cone Plane Sensor Constrained With Axes
• Figure 09 5 Four Stacking Blocks
• Figure 09 5 Four Stacking Blocks With Axes
• Figure 09 6 Sphere Sensor
• Figure 09 6 Sphere Sensor With Axes
• Figure 09 7 Cylinder Sensor
• Figure 09 7 Cylinder Sensor With Axes
• Figure 09 8 Click Drag Touch Sensor Plane Sensor
• Figure 09 8 Click Drag Touch Sensor Plane Sensor With Axes
• Figure 09 9 Desk Lamp
• Figure 09 9 Desk Lamp With Axes

Appearance and Material nodes control a shape's shading color (diffuseColor), glow color (emissiveColor), transparency, shininess, and ambient intensity.

Appearance and Material nodes control a shape's shading color (diffuseColor), glow color (emissiveColor), transparency, shininess, and ambient intensity. Colors specify a mixture of red, green, and blue (RGB) light with component values between 0.0 (none) and 1.0 (lots). ColorInterpolator can animate color values, and ScalarInterpolator can animate transparency values.

These X3D scenes are adapted directly from the original VRML 2.0 Sourcebook chapter examples. Also available: Introduction to VRML97 SIGGRAPH98 course notes.

• Figure 10 04 Bright Red Sphere
• Figure 10 05 Multi Colored Space Station
• Figure 10 06 Pulsating Space Station
• Figure 10 07 Light Bulb
• Figure 10 08 Blinking Sphere
• Figure 10 09 Three Blinking Shapes
• Figure 10 10 Semi Transparent Space Station
• Figure 10 11 Animating Transparency Space Station

Grouping nodes are used to group shapes to compose complex shapes.

• The Switch node creates a switched group where only one child node in the group is displayed, children implicitly numbered from 0 and a whichChoice value of -1 selects no children.
• Transform creates a group with its own coordinate system where every child node in the group is displayed.
• Billboard creates a group with a special coordinate system that turns to face the viewer.

These X3D scenes are adapted directly from the original VRML 2.0 Sourcebook chapter examples. Also available: Introduction to VRML97 SIGGRAPH98 course notes.

• Figure 11 1 Cafe Sign Switch Resolutions
• Figure 11 2 Cafe Sign Billboard
• Figure 11 3 Bounding Box

Inline nodes can load other VRML/X3D scenes into the current scene, helping authors reuse models to build larger worlds.

An Inline node creates a special group from another scene's contents. Children nodes are read from the file selected by a URL, and every child node loaded from the group is displayed.

These X3D scenes are adapted directly from the original VRML 2.0 Sourcebook chapter examples. Also available: Introduction to VRML97 SIGGRAPH98 course notes.

• Figure 12 1 Simple Arch
• Figure 12 2 Inlined Arches
• Figure 12 3 Temple Of Inlined Arches

Points, lines and mesh faces allow authors to build a complete variety of geometry.

Complex shapes are hard to build with primitive shapes (for example: terrain, animals, plants, machinery). Instead, build shapes out of atomic components: points, lines, and polygon faces. Shape building is like a 3D connect-the-dots game: place dots at 3D locations, and connect-the-dots to form shapes A coordinate specifies a 3D dot location, measured relative to a coordinate system origin. A geometry node then specifies how to connect the dots: for example, PointSet, IndexedLineSet, or IndexedFaceSet. Animation is accomplished using a CoordinateInterpolator node.

These X3D scenes are adapted directly from the original VRML 2.0 Sourcebook chapter examples. Also available: Introduction to VRML97 SIGGRAPH98 course notes.

• Figure 13 10 Point Set Box Corners
• Figure 13 11 Indexed Line Set Box Wireframe
• Figure 13 12 Indexed Face Set Cube
• Figure 13 13 Indexed Face Set Lightning Bolt
• Figure 13 14 Vaulted Ceiling Piece Creased
• Figure 13 15 Vaulted Ceiling Piece
• Figure 13 16 Vaulted Ceiling
• Figure 13 17a Morphing Cube
• Figure 13 17b Morphing Cube Line Set

ElevationGrid nodes provide a simple way to construct terrain-like geometry.

Building terrain sets is very common: hills, valleys, mountains and other tricky uses. An ElevationGrid geometry node creates terrains using xDimension and zDimension for grid size, with xSpacing and zSpacing for row and column distances, and then includes height elevations at each of the grid points.

These X3D scenes are adapted directly from the original VRML 2.0 Sourcebook chapter examples. Also available: Introduction to VRML97 SIGGRAPH98 course notes.

• Figure 14 2 Elevation Grid Mountain
• Figure 14 3 Elevation Grid Ribbon
• Figure 14 4a Elevation Grid Puddle Splash 10x 10
• Figure 14 4b Elevation Grid Puddle Splash 40x 40
• Figure 14 5 Elevation Grid Terrain
• Figure 14 6 Elevation Grid Medallion

Extrusion geometry is defined by a 2D cross-section that is stretched and rotated around a central spine.

Extruded shapes are very common: tubes, pipes, bars, vases, donuts, and other tricky uses. An Extrusion node efficiently creates extruded shapes. The crossSection field specifies the cross-section, and the spine field specifies the sweep path. The scale and orientation fields specify scaling and rotation at each spine point.

These X3D scenes are adapted directly from the original VRML 2.0 Sourcebook chapter examples. Also available: Introduction to VRML97 SIGGRAPH98 course notes.

• Figure 15 07 Extruded Cylinder
• Figure 15 08 Extruded Half Cylinder With Caps
• Figure 15 08 Extruded Half Cylinder With Caps With Axes
• Figure 15 09 Extruded Half Cylinder Without Caps
• Figure 15 09 Extruded Half Cylinder Without Caps With Axes
• Figure 15 10 Extruded Room
• Figure 15 10 Extruded Room With Axes
• Figure 15 11 Extruded Playground Slide
• Figure 15 11 Extruded Playground Slide With Axes
• Figure 15 12 Torus
• Figure 15 12 Torus With Axes
• Figure 15 13 Extruded Pyramid
• Figure 15 13 Extruded Pyramid With Axes
• Figure 15 14 Extruded Vase
• Figure 15 14 Extruded Vase With Axes
• Figure 15 15 Twisted Bar
• Figure 15 15 Twisted Bar With Axes
• Figure 15 16 Extruded Lipstick
• Figure 15 16 Extruded Lipstick With Axes
• Figure 15 17 Wiggling Snake
• Figure 15 17 Wiggling Snake With Axes

The Color node lists Red-Green-Blue (RGB) colors to use for rendering points in a geometric shape.

Color indexes select colors to use at each vertex. Colors override any accompanying Material node. The colorPerVertex field selects color per line/face/grid square or else color per coordinate.

These X3D scenes are adapted directly from the original VRML 2.0 Sourcebook chapter examples. Also available: Introduction to VRML97 SIGGRAPH98 course notes.

• Figure 16 1 Colored Point Set Scatter Plot
• Figure 16 2 Colored Lines Plot
• Figure 16 3 Colored Lines Starburst
• Figure 16 3 Colored Lines Starburst With Axes
• Figure 16 4 Colored Book Faces
• Figure 16 4 Colored Book Faces With Axes
• Figure 16 5 Log Fire Colored Faces
• Figure 16 5 Log Fire Colored Faces With Axes
• Figure 16 6 Colored Elevation Grid Checkerboard
• Figure 16 7 Vertex Colored Elevation Grid Mountain

Textures are 2D images that can be wrapped on top of 3D geometry.

You can model every tiny texture detail of a world using a vast number of colored faces, but this is time consuming and difficult. Use a trick instead: take a picture of the real thing, then paste that picture on the shape, like sticking on a decal image. Specify the texture using an ImageTexture, PixelTexture, or MovieTexture node within an Appearance node. Color textures override material, greyscale textures multiply against the color values. Textures with transparency create holes that can be seen through.

These X3D scenes are adapted directly from the original VRML 2.0 Sourcebook chapter examples. Also available: Introduction to VRML97 SIGGRAPH98 course notes.

• Figure 17 04a Texture Box Test
• Figure 17 04b Texture Cone Test
• Figure 17 04c Texture Cylinder Test
• Figure 17 04d Texture Sphere Test
• Figure 17 05d Textured Soda Can
• Figure 17 06b Textured Text
• Figure 17 07b Textured Lightning Bolt
• Figure 17 08b Textured Elevation Grid Mountain
• Figure 17 09b Textured Donut Torus Extrusion
• Figure 17 10c Texture Transparency Tree
• Figure 17 11b Grey Texture Green Material Striped Cylinder
• Figure 17 12b Wood Textures
• Figure 17 13 Simple Pixel Texture
• Figure 17 14b Movie Texture Whirlpool

Texture coordinates transform and map pixels in a 2D image onto specific 3D points.

Texture images are in a texture coordinate system. By default, an entire texture image is mapped once around the shape. You can also extract only pieces of interest, or create repeating patterns. Texture coordinates and indexes describe a texture cookie cutter. Texture transforms translate, rotate, and scale place the cookie cutter. Texture indexes bind the cut-out cookie texture to a face on a shape.

These X3D scenes are adapted directly from the original VRML 2.0 Sourcebook chapter examples. Also available: Introduction to VRML97 SIGGRAPH98 course notes.

• Figure 18 19 Texture Coordinate Test
• Figure 18 20b Texture Coordinate Pizza Slice
• Figure 18 21 Texture Coordinate Pizza Slice
• Figure 18 22b Texture Coordinate Video Wall
• Figure 18 23b Texture Coordinate Grillwork
• Figure 18 24 Texture Coordinate Rotated Grillwork Fence
• Figure 18 25b Texture Transform Brick Box
• Figure 18 26b Uncorrected Texture San Diego Bay
• Figure 18 26c Corrected Texture San Diego Bay
• Figure 18 27 Rotating Fan Animated Texture Transform

Normal (perpendicular) vectors defined for individual points or polygons can change the shading of geometry.

When shaded, the faces on a shape are obvious. Creating a smooth shape may require a large number of small faces. An alternative is to instead use smooth shading to create the illusion of a smooth shape, but with a smaller number of faces.

The Normal node lists normal vectors to use for parts of a shape which can change shading. These are used as the value of the normal field, and normal index values select which normals to use (similar to color index values). Ordinarily the creaseAngle field controls faceted or smooth shading. Normals override the normal effect of the creaseAngle value. The normalPerVertex field selects normal per face/grid square or normal per coordinate. The NormalInterpolator node converts time values to normal values for animation effects.

These X3D scenes are adapted directly from the original VRML 2.0 Sourcebook chapter examples. Also available: Introduction to VRML97 SIGGRAPH98 course notes.

• Figure 19 21 Normal Square
• Figure 19 22 Normal Square Shaded
• Figure 19 23 Half Column
• Figure 19 24a Half Column Crease Angle
• Figure 19 24b Two Half Columns Crease Angle Seam
• Figure 19 25a Half Column Normals
• Figure 19 25b Two Half Columns Normals Seamless
• Figure 19 26 Normal Shaded Elevation Grid
• Figure 19 27 Square Face Animating Normals

Lights provide virtual illumination that allows objects to be seen.

By default, you have one light in the scene, attached to your head. For more realism, you can add multiple lights: suns, light bulbs, candles, flashlights, spotlights, firelight. Lights can be positioned, oriented, and colored. Lights do not cast shadows.

There are three types of lights: PointLight, DirectionalLight, and SpotLight. All lights have an on/off, intensity, ambient effect, and color fields. PointLight and SpotLight nodes have a location, radius, and attenuation. DirectionalLight and SpotLight nodes have a direction.

These X3D scenes are adapted directly from the original VRML 2.0 Sourcebook chapter examples. Also available: Introduction to VRML97 SIGGRAPH98 course notes.

• Figure 20 04 Headlight Spheres
• Figure 20 05 Flat Mesh
• Figure 20 06a Point Light Spheres
• Figure 20 06b Point Light Spheres Intensity
• Figure 20 07 Point Light Spheres Attenuation
• Figure 20 08 Point Light Spheres Small Radius
• Figure 20 09 Glowing Orb Archways Exhibit
• Figure 20 10 Blinking Red Lightbulb
• Figure 20 11a Directional Light Aiming Right Through Spheres
• Figure 20 11b Directional Light Aiming Upper Right Through Spheres
• Figure 20 12 Two Directional Lights Aiming Left Right Through Spheres
• Figure 20 13a Directional Light Sunrise
• Figure 20 13b Directional Light Noon
• Figure 20 13c Directional Light Sunset
• Figure 20 14 Directional Light Sun Animated
• Figure 20 15a Spot Light Spheres
• Figure 20 15b Wide Angle Spot Light Spheres
• Figure 20 16 Spot Light Beam Width Comparison
• Figure 20 17a Simple World No Shadows
• Figure 20 17b Simple World Fake Shadows

Material nodes are the primary way to define color, transparency and shininess for geometric objects.

The Material node controls overall rendering properties including the shading color (diffuseColor), glow color (emissiveColor), transparency, shininess and ambient intensity. Proper combinations of values can emulate the properties of shiny materials, such as metals.

These X3D scenes are adapted directly from the original VRML 2.0 Sourcebook chapter examples. Also available: Introduction to VRML97 SIGGRAPH98 course notes.

• Figure 21 4a Dull Grey Vase
• Figure 21 4b Somewhat Shiny Grey Vase
• Figure 21 4c Shiny Grey Vase
• Figure 21 4d Very Shiny Grey Vase
• Figure 21 5 Shiny Gold Vase

A Background node presents a virtual sky above and land (or sea, or space) below.

Background nodes describe groundColor and skyColor gradients on the ground hemisphere and sky sphere. Background nodes can also apply panorama images on a panorama box. Of interest is that the viewer can look around and navigate, but never get any closer to the background. Backgrounds are faster to draw than if you used shapes to build them.

These X3D scenes are adapted directly from the original VRML 2.0 Sourcebook chapter examples. Also available: Introduction to VRML97 SIGGRAPH98 course notes.

• Figure 22 1 Background Sky Sphere
• Figure 22 2 Background Sky Ground
• Figure 22 3c Background Sky Ground Mountains
• Figure 22 4 Background Binding

Fog simulates atmospheric effects by blending distant objects with fog color.

Fog increases realism and can be used to set a mood, even indoors. Add fog outside to create hazy worlds, or add fog inside to create dark dungeons. Fog has a color, a type, and a visibility range. Fog limits the viewer's sight, reducing the amount of the world you have to build and the amount of the world that must be drawn.

These X3D scenes are adapted directly from the original VRML 2.0 Sourcebook chapter examples. Also available: Introduction to VRML97 SIGGRAPH98 course notes.

• Figure 23 1 Fog Test World
• Figure 23 2a Linear Fog Visibility 0
• Figure 23 2b Linear Fog Visibility 40
• Figure 23 2c Linear Fog Visibility 30
• Figure 23 2D Linear Fog Visibility 20
• Figure 23 3a Exponential Fog Visibility 100
• Figure 23 3b Exponential Fog Visibility 40
• Figure 23 3c Exponential Fog Visibility 20
• Figure 23 4 Black Fog Visibility 40
• Figure 23 5 Binding Fogs And Backgrounds

The Sound node controls the stereo 3D spatialization of sound playback by a child AudioClip or MovieTexture node.

Sounds can be triggered by viewer actions: clicks, horn honks, door latch noises, etc. Sounds can also be continuous in the background: wind, crowd noises, elevator music. Sounds emit from a location, in a direction, and within an ellipsoidal volume. A Sound node describes a sound emitter, where a source node provides the sound and range fields describe the sound region. An AudioClip node or a MovieTexture node describe a sound source, where a url points to the sound file. AudioClip also controls playback by start time, stop time, and (optionally) looping.

These X3D scenes are adapted directly from the original VRML 2.0 Sourcebook chapter examples. Also available: Introduction to VRML97 SIGGRAPH98 course notes.

• Figure 24 1 Emitter Markers
• Figure 24 2 Ambient Sound Emitter Markers
• Figure 24 3 Touch Sensor Triggered Sound
• Figure 24 4 Four Key Keyboard
• Figure 24 5 Two Ambient Circling Sounds
• Figure 24 6 Directed Ambient Sound
• Figure 24 7 Virtual TV

Level of detail (LOD) allows an overall world become very large by letting an author provide high-fidelity models when a viewer is nearby, and simpler geometry when the viewer is far away.

The further the viewer can see, the more there is to draw. Note that if a shape is distant, the shape is smaller and the viewer can't see as much detail. So... draw it with less detail. Varying detail with distance reduces initial download time and increases drawing speed.

Increase performance by making multiple levels of shapes: high detail for close up viewing, progressively lower detail for more distant viewing. Group the levels in an LOD node, ordered from high detail to low detail, and using an array of range values to select switching distances .

These X3D scenes are adapted directly from the original VRML 2.0 Sourcebook chapter examples. Also available: VRML 2.0 Sourcebook course notes.

• Figure 25 01 Torch High Detail
• Figure 25 02 Torch Medium Detail
• Figure 25 03 Torch Low Detail
• Figure 25 04 Three Torches Side By Side
• Figure 25 05 Three Torches Single LOD
• Figure 25 06 Dungeon Room Floor
• Figure 25 07 Dungeon Room Wall
• Figure 25 08 Dungeon Room
• Figure 25 09 Two Dungeon Rooms With LODHiding
• Figure 25 10 Dungeon Wall With Doorway
• Figure 25 11 Dungeon Door
• Figure 25 1 2Dungeon Rooms With Sliding Doors

Viewpoints are the primary way for an author to show users what is in a scene, helping them navigate among objects of interest.

Viewpoint nodes specify a desired location, an orientation, and a camera field-of-view lens angle. By default, the viewer enters a world at position (0, 0, 10) and is looking along the -Z axis towards the origin. You can provide your own preferred viewing locations and directions in Viewpoint nodes. The first Viewpoint in the scene is the initial entry Viewpoint.

These X3D scenes are adapted directly from the original VRML 2.0 Sourcebook chapter examples. Also available: Introduction to VRML97 SIGGRAPH98 course notes.

• Figure 26 5 Dungeon Viewpoint
• Figure 26 7 Dungeon Viewpoints And Fields Of View

Sensing viewer activity enables the scene to trigger animations. A VisibilitySensor node checks if a region is visible to the viewer, where the region is described by a center and a size. Time events are sent on entry and exit of visibility, and true/false is sent on entry and exit of visibility. A ProximitySensor node similarly checks if the viewer is within a region, also sending viewer position and orientation while within the sensed region. Collision is a grouping node that checks if the viewer has run into a shape defined by the node's children (or else simpler proxy geometry) with a collision time event sent upon contact.

These X3D scenes are adapted directly from the original VRML 2.0 Sourcebook chapter examples. Also available: Introduction to VRML97 SIGGRAPH98 course notes.

• Figure 27 1 Visibility Sensor Dungeon Sliding Doors
• Figure 27 2 Proximity Sensor Dungeon Sliding Doors
• Figure 27 3 Collision Detection Spinning Orb

Similar to HTML web pages, the Anchor node lets an author make shapes selectable for navigating to another viewpoint, loading a new VRML/X3D world, or launching new content in a Web browser.

An Anchor node creates a group that acts as a clickable anchor where every child node in the group is displayed, and clicking one follows a url to another scene or another Web link. An Anchor can also bring the user to another Viewpoint location in the scene. A description field names each Anchor so that the user knows its purpose.

These X3D scenes are adapted directly from the original VRML 2.0 Sourcebook chapter examples. Also available: Introduction to VRML97 SIGGRAPH98 course notes.

• Figure 28 1 Anchor Viewpoints Dungeon
• Figure 28 2 Anchor Load Another World

The WorldInfo defines the title of the scene and can hold additional metadata.

After you've created a great world, sign it! You can provide a title and a description embedded within the file by using a WorldInfo node. The title field provides the name for your world so that the browser can show it. The info field can hold any additional information of interest.

These X3D scenes are adapted directly from the original VRML 2.0 Sourcebook chapter examples. Also available: Introduction to VRML97 SIGGRAPH98 course notes.

• Figure 29 1 World Info

Scripts allow authors to define their own event-handling code to improve animation sophistication.

Many actions are too complex for animation nodes, such as computed animation paths (e.g. gravity), algorithmic shapes (e.g. fractals), or collaborative environments (e.g. games). You can create new sensors, interpolators, etc., using program scripts written in Java (a powerful general-purpose language) or ECMAscript (JavaScript, an easy-to-learn language). The Script node selects a program script, specified by a url or contained source code. Program scripts have field and event interface declarations, each with a data type, a name, and an initial value (for fields only).

These X3D scenes are adapted directly from the original VRML 2.0 Sourcebook chapter examples. Also available: Introduction to VRML97 SIGGRAPH98 course notes.

• Figure 30 1 Script Sliding Ball
• Figure 30 2 Script Background Select
• Figure 30 3 Script Sound Activate
• Figure 30 4 Script Spiraling Ball Trace
• Figure 30 5 Script Torus Builder

Prototypes are an extension mechanism that lets authors define their own customizable nodes, improving reusability and sharing of cool content.

By declaring prototype designs and then creating one or more instances, you can create new node types that encapsulate Shapes, Sensors, Interpolators, Scripts and anything else. This technique creates new high-level nodes such as robots, menus, new shapes, etc. A PROTO statement declares a new node type (a prototype) with a name (the new node type name) along with fields and events (the interfaces to the prototype). Once defined, a prototyped node can be used like any other node.

These X3D scenes are adapted directly from the original VRML 2.0 Sourcebook chapter examples. Also available: Introduction to VRML97 SIGGRAPH98 course notes.

• Figure 31 1 Wall Color Prototype
• Figure 31 2 Material Prototypes Library
• Figure 31 3 Material External Prototypes
• Figure 31 4 Wood Appearance Prototypes Library
• Figure 31 5 Wood Appearance External Prototypes
• Figure 31 6 Donut Prototype
• Figure 31 7 Donut External Prototype
• Figure 31 9 Spin Group Prototype

This entire book was presented as a tutorial during the ACM Special Interest Group on Graphics (SIGGRAPH) conference in 1998.

The SIGGRAPH98 online course Introduction to VRML97 by David R. Nadeau, John L. Moreland, and Michael M. Heck includes all of the examples translated here. Many of these X3D scenes are adapted directly from the original VRML 2.0 Sourcebook chapter examples.

A large number of Interesting Scenes have been added to this course for learning VRML and X3D. Source code for the original example models is also provided.

Original Course Abstract. The Virtual Reality Modeling Language (VRML) is an international standard for describing 3D shapes and scenery on the World Wide Web. VRML's technology has very broad applicability, including web-based entertainment, distributed visualization, 3D user interfaces to remote web resources, 3D collaborative environments, interactive simulations for education, virtual museums, virtual retail spaces, and more. VRML is a key technology shaping the future of the Web. Participants in this tutorial will learn how to use VRML 97 (a.k.a. ISO VRML, VRML 2.0, and Moving Worlds) to author their own 3D virtual worlds on the World Wide Web. Participants will learn VRML concepts and terminology, and be introduced to VRML's text-format syntax. Participants also will learn tips and techniques for increasing performance and realism. The tutorial includes numerous VRML examples and information on where to find out more about VRML features and use.

• Ambient
• Anchor Example
• Animated Grid
• Arch
• Arches
• a Torch
• a Torch 1
• a Torch 2
• a Torch 3
• Background 2
• Background Example
• Bar Plot
• Bar Twist
• Bounce 1
• Bounce 2
• Bounce 3
• Boxes
• Box Primitive
• Brick Box
• Burst
• Button
• Can
• Castle
• Ceiling
• Chair
• Colors
• Column
• Columns
• Cone Primitive
• Cookie
• Crease Angle
• Cut
• Cut Plane
• Cylinder Primitive
• Dinette
• Directional Light Example
• Donut
• Doorway
• Dungeon Door
• Dungeon Floor
• Dungeon Room
• Dungeon Wall
• Dungeon Wall 2
• Extrusion Spiral
• Extrusion Spiral Motion
• Fence
• Flames
• Floater
• Floor
• Fog 1
• Fog 2
• Fog 3
• Fog 4
• Fog 5
• Fog World
• Glow Door
• Half Cylinder
• Hand
• Heads Up Display HUD
• Horn
• Iso Line
• Iso Surface
• Keyboard
• Lamp
• Lamp 2
• Lamp 2a
• Land
• Lightning
• Line Plot
• Loader
• Log
• Match
• Monolith
• Mountain
• Mountain 128
• Mountain 16
• Mountain 32
• Mountain Color
• Mountain Color 2
• Nested
• One
• Pedestal
• Play Yard
• Point Light Example
• Point Plot
• Primitives
• Proximity 1
• Proximity 2
• Query
• Robo Bill
• Robo Body
• Robo Head
• Robots
• Scatter
• Shiny
• Slabs
• Slide
• Snake
• Sound Marker
• Space
• Space 2
• Sphere Primitive
• Spheres
• Spiral
• Spot Light Example
• Squisher
• Stairway
• Stop Watch
• Sub
• Sub World
• Table
• Temple
• Terrain 00
• Terrain 01
• Terrain 02
• Terrain 03
• Terrain 04
• Terrain 05
• Terrain 06
• Terrain 07
• Terrain 08
• Terrain 09
• Text Font
• Text Justification
• Text Primitive
• Text Size
• Texture Plane
• Text Vertical
• Three
• Timed Timer
• Torch 1
• Torch 2
• Torch 3
• Torches
• Torches 3
• Tower Part
• Towers
• Tread
• Tree Wall
• Tumble Group
• Two
• Vault
• Vector
• Vector Field 1
• Wiggle
• Windmill
• Wood Color