What do you want from Architectural VR Software??!

[XKP]

Hi everybody,

 

I am currently writing my thesis about Interface Design and as a part of my graduation process I am creating an interface concept for an Architectural Virtual Reality software editor, designed specifically for people who do Architectural Visualization. I am currently gathering data on my target group, you guys , to find out more about how you would want such a software product to work.

 

 

I would like to ask you all to help me and fill in a 10 question survey I created.

The information I am gathering will help all of us get a better idea of what the next generation of Architectural VR software should be able to do and how it should work.

The survey:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/S3KD2DD

 

I will publish all my findings right here on CGA.

If you have any questions let me know.

Thank you for your time!!

[XKP]

thank you to everybody who has filled out the survey so far, your not only helping a student gather important information for his thesis but your also helping yourself.

 

By defining what it is that the architectural visualization branch wants from architectural VR software your making it possible for companies who are developing or thinking of developing new architectural VR products to act upon this and design a product for your wishes.

[assifv]

Hi Roy, I filled in your survey. Nice to know that there are more people in the Netherlands interested in this subject.

[Devin Johnston]

Roy are you going to be creating any software?

[XKP]

well not me personally but depending on my findings (thesis) the prototype that is being developed will be released so in the end I would have to say yes

 

if you want to know more about the philosophy/idea of the prototype i'd be happy to tell you

[jinsley]

well not me personally but depending on my findings (thesis) the prototype that is being developed will be released so in the end I would have to say yes

 

if you want to know more about the philosophy/idea of the prototype i'd be happy to tell you

 

Please do.. With all the products coming out, this is the first I have seen asking for the opinions of the general public.

[XKP]

Hey James,

 

At the moment there are a few options available for people who work in the arch viz branch, these choices are mainly game development kits that could be used to produce interactive visualizations but which are far from being designed to cater to the arch viz branch. Software like Unity can produce great results but requires extensive knowledge of the program and contains many features that are not interesting for someone who wants to create an interactive visualization of for example a new residential area that's going to be constructed. Other options are things like interactive panorama viewers constructed mainly using Flash. To create these kind of interactive environments also costs a lot of time and on top of that they almost never allow for the user to explore the environment freely. Then there's plugins like TurnTool, while they are meant to be used to produce interactive visualizations the products produced with this plugin are often of low visual quality and besides navigation they don't allow the explorer to influence or change anything in the environment.

 

Seeing as real-time graphics and 3D seems to be an obvious way for future visualizations to be presented there's a market opportunity opening up. What if u could produce a software product specifically for the arch viz market that allows visualizers to offer their clients an interactive visualization.

 

How would such a software product work and what would be important and what not.

 

Well the idea thus far is to create an editor that allows u to import your 3d models that u either got from your client or that you made yourself using your 3d software of choice (3ds max mostly) straight into the software. You then have the ability to add certain elements of interactivity such as the ability to walk or fly through this environment, turn on or off certain lights, change textures of models that u specified, add sounds, the ability to turn on or off certain models like furniture, change the time of day and more. All these elements can be added according to your clients wishes. The editor will then allow u to compile a set of controls that control the interactive elements. The environment is then exported like you would export an swf file from flash as a player, the player is presented to the client and the client can then for example use it in his turn to present it to potential customers . Since the environment is real-time all you'd need is a one time install of a plugin like u'd need with flash and your good to go. You'd be able to present it on or offline as you please.

 

Right now I am trying to determine how such a software product should work, look and feel by asking the people who are going to be using it.

 

I hope this covers most of what you wanted to know

Edited January 8, 2010 by XKP

[Devin Johnston]

Many of us are using 3rd party plugins like Vray, it would be absolutely necessary for the VR plugin to accept models created with these tools.

[XKP]

The prototype I am designing for isn't really a plugin you should consider it more like an application such as photoshop. You create a model/environment with textures and export this as an .fbx for example, the .fbx is what you would load into the editor and where you would make it interactive with controls, the editor then renders this world and exports it as a player with settings you specified. The player is a single file that can be viewed locally or online and contains the interactive world with the controls and quality settings in real-time that you specified in the editor. So think of it as an extension of your workflow pipeline for example my current pipeline consists of AutoCad, 3dsMax, VRay, Photoshop, and in the future Interactive/VR Editor.

 

Hope this makes sense

[MegaPixel]

Any new developments on this?