What's New in Director 8.5 > 3D Basics > The 3D world |  |

The 3D world

This section provides a brief overview of the contents of 3D cast members. For more detailed information, see The 3D cast member overview.

Each 3D cast member contains a complete 3D world. It can contain models (the objects viewers see within the world) that are illuminated by lights and viewed by cameras. A sprite of a 3D cast member represents a specific camera's view into the world. Imagine that the 3D cast member is a room filled with furniture with cameras pointing in from several windows. A given sprite using that cast member will display the view from one of those cameras, but the room itself—the 3D cast member—remains the same regardless of which view is being used.

The key difference between 3D cast members and other cast members is that the models within the 3D world are not independent entities—they're not sprites themselves. Instead, they are integral parts of the 3D cast member sprite.

The illustration that follows shows the relationships between the components of a 3D cast member:

Your movies can use 2D and 3D cast members simultaneously. For example, a product demonstration movie might consist of a 3D cast member representing the product and one or more 2D controls that allow users a virtual tryout of the product.