Any high-level, hardware-accelerated 3D engine?

Question

I am programming in Flash for a long-time. It is interesting that most of the things, including open source libraries, are very high-level in the Flash world. It is great because we can build things up quickly. But Flash is too slow (I want to do CV stuff, visual effect, generative art etc).

I have tried glut, Processing, OpenFrameworks and I found them too different from Flash.

So, I want to know if there is any high-level (like PaperVision3D), fast (better hardware-accelerated) 3D engine? It can be in any language, but better in C++/Java/Python etc.

Answer 1

There are many high level, C++ based engines (many with java and python and other language wrappers).

Some good ones to investigate include:

1. Ogre - C++ with wrappers
2. Irrlicht - C++ with wrappers
3. Unity - C#

Also, check out the DevMaster.NET Engine List. It is a very large list of 3D engines.

Answer 2

The aforementioned engines are more focused in 3D games. I have to admit I have little experience with 3D in Flash, but Processing is a high level enviroment very easy to work with.

I suggest retrying Processing, there are uncountable resources for what your looking for.

Answer 3

With a closer look at 3D in Flash behind, I have to recommend the WPF framework from Microsoft. I have also worked with it for a while, and it can be (sometimes not out of the box) fast enough and "high-level" in the sense you mentioned.

The downside (besides platform dependency) is that the extension of the 3d model are not so great. You have to work most the time with the standard functionality. Opensource is not a very valuable resource in WPF.

Answer 4

Panda3D seems quite easy to learn and fast to start with. It's designed to be scripted in Python from the ground up, but you can also program in C++ if you want.

Another option more oriented towards art creation could be Blender. I never have done anything more complicating than creating a few balls and deform them, but I know that it can be scripted and it's been used to create full games (like Yo Frankie!).