That's great!
Thanks for the very useful info! :-)

Yes of course, I don't mean that this should be ready-to-use. I was just wondering whether the structure of the engine allows for this kind of programming, to cut it short, if this is doable at all!

Oh I see... I guess I interpreted the Egon's reply, according to what I wanted to hear ;-)
And one last critical question, that I forgot to ask before:
Does JPCT enable one to code in advance transformations of a 3D object for specific time intervals, as well as activate/deactivate animations for specific time intervals, in order to generate a rendered clip through code?
For example, let's say I want to generate (through code) a rendered clip of 20 secs, in which a character model is static for the first 10 seconds, then translates from a point to another for five seconds (which means that the walking cycle should also be activated for that five seconds) and then stops and turns his head to the left while waving for another 5 seconds). What I need to do is to be able to code these actions in advance, so as to generate the rendered video programmatically. Is that possible?

Yes you are right, I am not talking about mixing facial with skeletal animations. Just combination of skeletal animation (e.g. walking cycle and simultaneously move hand). So, you mean that I can load an object file that contains the mesh and both animations, and then through JPCT enable both animations at the same time?!

OK, and one last thing: Does JPCT allow the loading of animations together with the loading of a model? And, if yes, does it allow for simultaneous animations to be executed (e.g. translating in space, walking cycle and waving hand at the same time)?

But, being a renderer, I suppose that it will allow me to define the position/orientation of a model, for each frame, with pre-calculated co-ordinates, instead of defining a motion path?

Ok, thanks for the useful advice!

Thanks for the useful advice, I will definitely give it a try!
Two last questions:
- Which formats for model import does JPCT support? The collada format (which is very rich in free content on the web)? Is there a way of converting collada format in the formats supported by JPCT?
- Is there a way to define a path (e.g. a curved path) and then translate an object along this path?

Thanks again, I will give it a try and send you feedback!

I don't mind spending some time coding My main concern is whether the learning process will be manageable for someone who knows Java but does not have any experience in 3d/game programming. Do I have to spend a lot of time initially just studying, or the learning process is more hands-on (through tutorials, examples, etc)? Are the tutorials/examples sufficient for providing basic understanding/knowledge/utilization of JPCT? For example comparing to Java3D JME, do you find JPCT easier or harder to pick it up? And in which way? Also do you consider higher or lower level, comparing to the aforementioned engines?

Hi all,
I am currently a CS PhD student and my research is on knowledge engineering and particularly on modelling film direction knowledge.

For the purpose of conducting some experiments, I have been searching the web to find a high-level, open-source 3D engine/API, preferably for Java but any other suggestion would be useful, with fair documentation/tutorials and an active community, that will enable me to easily generate some basic "film scene" examples programmatically, without having to go in the deeps of 3D programming. And this has to be done through code, rather than in some 3D platform like 3DMax or Blender.

For example I may need to generate a room, then place some objects (e.g. furniture, everyday-objects) and some human characters in it, and then create basic animations for the characters (e.g walk, sit on a chair or lie on a bed, bend, make simple gestures such as wave, point, hug or grab an object, etc). I will also need to move the characters around, so I need to be able to create motion paths (straight or curved) for translating the characters and the camera in space.

I have spent a lot of time checking out a large number of 3d/game engines and the truth is I have got quite confused... I don't have any experience in 3D programming and for that reason I need the API to be as high-level and easy-to-understand as possible. Note that I don't care about audio, networking or high rendering quality. Also I don't want this to be interactive at all (as opposed to games). I just need to generate a rendered clip through code, according to a number of specific directives.

I came across JPCT and it sounds really promising! But I am wondering whether JPCT would be the optimal solution for what I need to do. Is it high-level enough to easily tackle this task? Or maybe it would be overkill? And, in that case, should I be looking for a simpler, higher-level 3D/Game Engine, or maybe some other type of Virtual Reality API? Any specific suggestions?

I will very much appreciate any help/tip/hint!