Director 8.5 Shockwave Studio is an essential and exciting upgrade for Web authors who need the latest 3-D capabilities, Flash, and RealMedia support. Version 8.5 of Macromedia's Director has strengthened the product's position as a flagship multimedia tool. The sheer depth and power of Director 8.5 does not hinder beginners, who will find that the streamlined interface and library of drag-and-drop behaviors allow them to produce impressive results quickly. The more experienced user will find that--with more than 800 new commands covered in well-written documentation--Director's Lingo scripting language provides good detail and control over interaction and delivery.
Director's new 3-D capabilities are based on Intel technology, and are geared toward delivering the goods regardless of the user's connection speed. It does this by employing technology that automatically changes the detail of 3-D objects depending on the user's bandwidth and the speed of his or her computer.
Although Director doesn't really help you create 3-D models--you must import these from other third-party applications using the new W3D format--once in place, key frame and bones-based animation are employed to bring these models to life. In addition, there are a number of presupplied 3-D behaviors, particle effects, and an option to render with a flat, cartoon-style look. All these factors combine to give Director some powerful new moves that will undoubtedly be of enormous interest to 3-D developers.
Director 8.5 supports two other important Web technologies that further add to its versatility. RealMedia is now supported, allowing the author to rotate, scale, and skew clips while they are playing. Flash support has been updated to version 5, and, with its improved integration, you can now control Flash media within Director by using Lingo.
Other new and extremely useful features of Director 8.5 Shockwave Studio include support for XML data and better multiuser server support. This includes new server-side scripting and an increase in the number of concurrent users to 2,000, which will enable rich and immersive multiuser experiences.
Game developers and specialists in Web-based interaction will undoubtedly benefit from these new features, which now make Director an essential choice for multiuser, interactive, and online experiences. --John Bloor
--This review refers to the Windows version of this product.
Macromedia Director 8.5 Shockwave Studio, the solution forinteractive rich media and 3-D for the Web, also includes a new version of the Shockwave Multiuser Server and support for both Macromedia Flash 5 and streaming RealMedia content. The combination of Macromedia Director 8.5 with the Intel Internet 3-D graphics software will provide developers with flexible, extensible, and robust 3-D content creation tools. The studio is integrated with existing 3-D solutions to ensuredevelopers do not have to abandon their 3-D authoring software of choice, but rather are enabled to import that content into Director.The 3-D capabilities of Shockwave Player are optimized to take full advantage of the high-performance Intel Pentium 4 processor, while still running well on basic systems. The Shockwave content is efficiently delivered to Web desktops through sophisticated compressionand streaming capabilities. Director 8.5 can also create simulated natural effects such as smoke, fire, water, dust, sparks, vapor, and explosions. Macromedia Director 8.5 Shockwave Studio is integrated withindustry-leading 3-D technology solutions to ensure that existing 3-D developers can immediately publish their content to the Web for free, using an established pervasive platform.
In addition to the new 3-D authoring capabilities, Macromedia Director 8.5 Shockwave Studio includes a new version of the Shockwave Multiuser Serverand support for both Macromedia Flash 5 and streaming RealMedia content as assets in Director movies. The Shockwave Multiuser Server 3 now enables faster communication and gaming with multiuser Shockwave content. Scripting capabilities allow developers to simplify development of multiuser content with reduced network traffic, improved security, and optimized database access. The server can also handle up to 2,000 simultaneous users, double the amount supported in the previous version.
