Latest News: Plugin-Less Virtual Worlds In 3DXplorer V4

The new version of 3DXplorer that was announced in a previous article is out for all to test, and I wanted to share the screenshots that I took when I was invited to the private beta of 3DXplorer V4.

3DXplorer has become multiuser. This means a new event of high relevance in virtual worlds. 3DXplorer offers multiuser virtual worlds without the need to download nor install anything. This, added to its high usability, makes it highly accessible even for those who never heard a word about 3D virtual worlds.

(You can click the images to watch them at a bigger size)

Avatar Customization

The avatar edition allows you to save different looks for your avatar, that can be altered in all its attributes. Once you're done customizing your avatar, you can save it with a profile name that you choose.


The process offers you many possibilities. There's a good set of combinations, and it will be expanded in future. You can change the face, the hair color, the clothes, etc.


As you create your avatar, you can easily add or remove all its features.


The use of different clothes and accessories allow you to have your avatar in different outfits for party, special events, formal clothing, casual...


It seems that more animations will be added in the future, and there's 2 types: simple (for quick gestures) and combined (that play a complex animation made of many gestures).



The 3D Multiuser Platform From Inside

The loading process is fast, the same as in V3. It takes only some seconds with an average broadband connection.


Using 3DXplorer V4 is as easy as with V3. On the upper right, just click and enter the multiuser avatar chat. You simply enter the name and password for the avatar outfit that you want to use.


There are several camera views, from first person to third person from the rear, and third person perspective.


The chat window is floating (they're working in making it dockable too). From there, you can chat with your friends that are in the same virtual space, and trigger gestures.

You'll see three lines of gestures. The upper is for gestures that indicate a more continuous mood of the entire body, and the second line plays gestures that are less permanent and are more often used through conversation. The third line is for complex animations.


The gestures are very expressive, without being affected or exaggerated.


Some objects in the scene contain links to web pages, and browsing them is just as simple as clicking, which opens them in a new window of your browser.


In this window you see a view of the avatar from the rear, that is to what most of us are used to when navigating a 3D world.


The mouse gives you control over the view rotation, while arrow keys move your avatar, as in many 3D games.


Changing between cameras is very easy. The help messages are not intrusive, as in V3.


3DXplorer demonstrates the potential of Java applied to virtual worlds. Most of us have the Java plugin installed in our browsers. Java is a strong and stable language that also offers security and is cross-platform. And that's the reason why 3DXplorer uses it, and inherits all these characteristics.

You can give it a try at: http://www.3dxplorer.com/

-Jordi R. Cardona-

© by Jordi R. Cardona. Link to this post without copying the text.

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