{ P I X E L W E L D E R S }

UPDATE: For a more interesting and less useful FIVe3D example, see my other post here. And for yet another example that runs surprisingly well considering the sheer number of filters it uses, see here.

After some diligent research, I have compiled a list of things that impress me about Mathieu Badimon.

• He lives in Paris
• He speaks at least two languages (that is, I assume he speaks French as well as English.)
• He has had at least one website on The Flash Website Awards
• He apparently seems to understand exactly what the Flash community needs in a 3D engine

This last one in particular has gotten me excited today, because today I learned that he has released said 3D engine into the wild. Apparently he did this some time ago, but I only found out in the last few hours- and I, suffice it to say, am thrilled.

Here’s why I’m excited about this engine. Everybody in the community knows about Papervision3D, Away3D, or Sandy. There’s nothing new there. But all the development in those arenas seems to be in the direction of textured polygons, an area which holds limited appeal to me because of the limited power of the Flash Player. In general, I’ve found that nice smooth 3D vector effects that I want, I’ve had to bend Papervision to my will. Or, in some cases (such as text), I’ve never gotten a result I’m happy with.

So that’s why I’m thrilled about FIVe3D, which focuses on 3D vectors. Nice smooth lines, better text (although still not perfect), and no weird clipping issues that I’ve run into yet. It still seems to be pretty basic, and hopefully M. Badimon plans on continuing development, but what I see right now is pretty impressive. Here’s what I cooked up in about an hour. It’s a little rough, so forgive me- this is my first time with the engine. Reload the page to see the animation.

The subject matter is a little boring, but I think it will leave a certain potential client muchly impressed. Here’s the direct link, if you’d like to impress your own clients: FIVe3D.