Zermatt realtime engine for ArchiCAD 8.1 and 9

[Ben Odonnell]

Introducing Zermatt realtime engine for ArchiCAD 8.1 and 9.
Take you ArchiCAD models to the next level easily and direct from the ArchiCAD 3D window.

With Zermatt you are able to save down an exe file and send it as a mail attachment to your client, builder or simply use it as promotional material!
In the Zermatt realtime engine you are able to move freely around your model and go where ever you like. View the model with full textures or in sketch mode all the time with real time shadows on!

Please don’t hesitate to check it out at http://www.zermatt.se you can download the demo version and try it yourself.

I have loaded up ademo file , you can down load winrar, if you don't have it, at http://www.rarlabs.com you can check out, there are 2 small limitations on this file,
1. It only last for 60 seconds at at time
2. It expires in 24 Hrs.

But if you download the demo your self you can use it unlimited for 7 days.

At the moment Zermatt is PC only, but it is in the process of being ported to MAC OSX and is due for release in the near future.

If you have any questions or comments about Zermatt you can either PM me or mail me at ben.odonnell@lasercad.se

Enjoy!

Cheers.
Ben

[Ben Odonnell]

Jay,
What sort of graphics card do you have? I know that Nvidia chipsets use OpenGL much much better than what ATI cards do.

Cheers.
Ben

[Anonymous]

Actually it is an ATI.

ATI Mobility Radeon 9600 Pro Turbo.

I guess I am lucky.

[Ben Odonnell]

ok,
I have a 9200 in my HP nx7010 and I get no shadows

Cheers.
Ben

[Anonymous]

Hi,
There is a new version of Zermatt Engine for ArchiCAD 8.1 / 9

http://www.zermatt.se/engine/ZermattEngineforArchiCAD.zip

- Trial period is extended to 15 days. Exported .exe files will now work
throughout this period, but only run for 90 seconds at a time.

- Memory managment is more efficient.

- This Version has a more intelligent way to calculate culling 'density' -
what objects should not be drawn when far away. One does not need to
tweak the culling settings as much as before to match the project size
with available computer power. In short, it should improve framerate
with most projects.

I'd like to take the opportunity to adress some of the other comments:

- About collision detection, if framerate drops below < 2 fps ( = almost
not real-time ) collision is automatically turned off, the airplane
symbol will show up in red. Users should play with the "Culling" settings
to tweak for maximum performance, but as stated above, the new version
should require less of such tweaking.

- About multiplayer: Two user can visit the same project by running the
same exe file and pressing "F9". One user host the session, gives the
displayed IP adress to the other, which then join. The other person will
be represented in 3D as a wireframe camera, see this example screenshot:
http://www.zermatt.se/files/simple.jpg

- About shadows: Only nvidia hardware fully supports Zermatt shadows,
later ATI cards gives you low-quality shadows.

- About pricing, until may 1st 2005 all licenses are € 895 if purchased online
at www.zermatt.se then net licenses ( 3 users or more ) will be € 1795.


Many thanks,

Joakim Sandstrom
Zermatt

[Anonymous]

There is an updated version of Zermatt Engine for ArchiCAD,
v 1.0.31, since 30/3 2005, UTC 20.40

http://www.zermatt.se/engine/ZermattEngineforArchiCAD.zip

New features:

x Option to run engine in windowed mode. But it is recommended
that you record any walk-through clips in full-screen mode.

x Alpha channel support ( transparency from 32-bit .tga or .tif ).

Also, if you are willing to make some hacking, you may change
the 6 skybox texture maps that make up the background. You
need to replace the textures in:
C:\Program Files\Zermatt\Data\System\Skybox\
They must be .tga format and powers-of-two ( ex. 512 x 512 ).

Another tip, you can check your frame-rate by enabling the console
with LCONTROL + TAB. Then write "fps 1".

Thanks,
Joakim Sandstrom
Zermatt

[Anonymous]

Hi,
Version 1.0.40 is now available.
It features Billboards and improved shadow support.

Download the add-on at
http://www.zermatt.se/

Download new demo building here!

http://www.zermatt.se/news.html#7

Thanks,
Joakim Sandstrom
Zermatt

[Anonymous]

Ben wrote:
At the moment Zermatt is PC only, but it is in the process of being ported to MAC OSX and is due for release in the near future.

Dear Ben

I was interested to see stuff of Zermatt – an engine like this that deals adequately with shadows could be really powerful for us.

Some questions:
What is the roadmap for a Mac version?
Will that Mac version be able to produce Windows playable exe files?
Are you bringing this to ACUE in Nottingham in September (you would get a lot of interest there)?