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The FLAMES® Enhanced 3D option is an option for FORGE, FIRE, and FLASH that allows you to visualize FLAMES scenarios using scenes drawn with high-resolution, texture-based, three-dimensional (3D) graphics. Scenes are rendered using data derived from spatial databases in Presagis™ (formerly MultiGen-Paradigm®) OpenFlight® format that contain a detailed visual description of terrain and features such as roads, rivers, buildings, and trees. Units are rendered in a scene using data derived from 3D visual models that are also in OpenFlight format. Depending on the size and complexity of your spatial database, the number of Units in your scenario, and the processing power of your computer and graphics hardware, scenes can be rendered in real time at a visually appealing frame rate.
The OpenFlight visual scene databases used by the Enhanced 3D option must be created using a third-party visual database generation product. While any product that generates visual databases in OpenFlight Version 15.8 (or compatible) format can be used, Ternion highly recommends using Terra Vista™ from Presagis [formerly Terrain Experts™, Inc. (TERREX™)] with the Pro Builder option. Terra Vista is the only product that can create OpenFlight visual databases that are perfectly correlated with the data used by the FLAMES Advanced Correlated Terrain (FACT) option.
The OpenFlight 3D model data used to render Units in a scene is available from a wide variety of sources and can be created using several third-party tools. The Enhanced 3D option can support models with multiple levels of detail, state switches, animation, and degree-of-freedom (articulation) nodes.
The Enhanced 3D option includes:
The Enhanced 3D Scene Importer, which imports a visual scene database in OpenFlight format to create an Enhanced 3D Scene dataset. Such datasets can then be loaded by FORGE and FLASH and used to render a 3D scene.
The Enhanced 3D Icon Importer, which imports 3D models in OpenFlight format to create FLAMES 3D icons and store them in icon datasets. The icons can be loaded by FORGE and FLASH and used to render the Units in a scenario. They can also be loaded by FIRE to allow models in FIRE to control the state of the icons.
Display software, which renders the 3D scene and icons in FORGE and FLASH. This software, including the underlying “scene graph” software, was custom developed for FLAMES by Ternion and includes advanced rendering capabilities, such as level of detail switching, animation, and scene database paging. No third-party graphics software is used other than OpenGL®.
Example Enhanced 3D Icon datasets, some of which were built from Facets™ 3D models provided by Quantum3D® or demonstration 3D models provided by Computer Sciences Corporation™ (CSC™) and Presagis (formerly MultiGen-Paradigm). These high-quality, real-time 3D icons are delivered with multiple levels of detail (LOD) and highly realistic textures. Where applicable, these icons also include damaged/destroyed states, articulated parts, and animations.
Example Enhanced 3D Scene datasets, some of which include proprietary 3D models provided by Presagis (formerly TERREX).
Runtime and development licenses are available for the Enhanced 3D option. You need one runtime license for every application that loads a scenario defined to include an Enhanced 3D Scene or Icon dataset. A development license is required to create custom applications that include the features provided by this option.
The Enhanced 3D option can be purchased without other FLAMES options. However, to get the full benefit of 3D visualization, the FACT option should also be purchased. This allows the mathematical description of the spatial world that is used in model calculations to be perfectly correlated with the OpenFlight visual scene databases when the database is generated using Terra Vista.
Currently, the Enhanced 3D option is available only for computers using a Windows operating system supported by FLAMES.