Macromedia Director 8.5 Shockwave Studio is now available from Macromedia.
The studio includes a new version of the Shockwave Multiuser Server, Havok physics engine for 3D game behaviors, support for Macromedia Flash 5, and the ability to stream RealMedia content. Director 8.5 Shockwave Studio and the new Shockwave 3D Player are being described as a solution for developing “magnetic” destination content and interactive media on the Web, CD/DVD-ROMs, kiosks and corporation intranets — including 3D animation, interactive product demonstrations, and online learning applications. Macromedia’s director of product marketing, Peter Ryce, told MacCentral that the new package makes it “easy to deploy” graphics, sound, animation, text, and video to create streaming, interactive, multiuser content.
The update also comes with Intel Internet 3d Graphics. Last July, Macromedia and Intel announced joint development efforts to bring Intel’s Internet 3D Graphics software technology to the Macromedia Shockwave Player.
“The technology we are developing will be equally beneficial to both Mac and PC users,” Macromedia spokesperson, Megan Kirkwood, told MacCentral at the time. “This might seem strange coming from Intel, but I assure you it’s the case. Mac users will be able to experience everything that PC users and developers can experience. The Shockwave Player loves both platforms and will be able to view all content no matter what the user or developers’ platform.”
The Shockwave Player is a Web standard for multimedia playback. Shockwave Player users will have immediate access to 3D through the player’s auto-update feature, said Kirkwood. Shockwave Player displays destination Web content such as high-performance multi-user games, interactive product simulations, online entertainment and training applications. Through Xtras, Shockwave Player is also extensible to play back custom-built applications. The combination of Intel’s Internet 3D Graphics technology with the wide reach of the Shockwave Player will help broaden the use of 3D content on the Web from niche applications to widespread adoption, according to Macromedia and Intel reps.
Macromedia Director 8.5 Shockwave Studio is immediately available for both Mac and Windows platforms. The cost is US $1,199 for new users, $199 for users upgrading from Director 8, and $399 for users upgrading from Director versions 5 through 7. French, German, Japanese, and Korean versions of the studio are expected to ship in June. The free, 3D-enhanced Shockwave Player is also available for immediate download.
System requirements are a Power Mac 233 or better (with current hardware accelerated 3D graphics card) or G3/300 or better (with which the standard card will work fine); Mac OS 8.1 or greater; OpenGL 1.1.2 or greater for 3D hardware acceleration; 32 MB of system RAM for playback and 64 MB for authoring; 4 MB of video RAM for 16-bit usage on hardware accelerated 3D graphics and 8 MB of video RAM for 24-bit usage on hardware accelerated 3D graphics, and one of the following browsers: Netscape 4.x or better, Internet Explorer 4.x or better, AOL 4.0 or better.