Virtual Reality Creations starts with a succinct primer on computer generated worlds, touching on theory and current limitations of the technology. But the meat of the book is about creating and using VR, especially with REND386, a 3-D VR-development toolkit for DOS that comes bundled with VRC on floppy disk.
Using the fold-up 3-D viewer included with the book, anybody with a 386 PC can explore VR. If you get into it, you can grab C source code to use with it from public ftp sites. Or join REND386-related online conferences. Or wire a PowerGlove and stop using your keyboard and mouse. Or...
My favorite REND386 world is RIDES.WLD, a magical land of virtual balloon rides, Ferris wheels, and merry-go-rounds. You navigate into a Ferris wheel seat to be greeted with "Welcome Aboard!" before you get carried into the air, a fine example of the out-of-body-experience potential of VR-based computing.
- Paco Xander Nathan
Virtual Reality Creations, by Dave Stampe, Bernie Roehl, and John Eagan. US$34.95. Waite Group Press: (800) 368 9369, +1 (415) 924 2575.
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