Available on AppStore

CubeWorld is a free 3D Cubic Panorama viewer for iPhone.

With this application you’ll be able to download, manage and experience 3D images using iPhone touch and accelerometer capabilities. Using its several options it will be possible to tune the interaction with 3D panoramas, so to make the immersion into the images environment a perfect step in the VR world.

CubeWorld can handle remote lists of panoramas, created with a very simple xml format, that can also be linked to other ones. This way, a VR photographer can easily share its own portfolio with a single link (that can be added to other lists too) changing and updating its content in an independent way, while the user can jump from a repository to another one simply following “virtual folders” inside the program, downloading and keeping – for off-line shows – what he likes most.

The GUI of CubeWorld is quite simple to use: in the homepage you’ll see your downloaded panoramas (and you can sort them by name, author or kind – that means the tagging used by its author). Once there clicking on one of them will take you to the panorama info page:

There you can read image info, jump to author’s url, delete the image, or – even better – see it.

Once clicked you’ll just have to wait for images to be unpacked and put in your iPhone memory (their LOCAL – that means you don’t have to be connected at this point)

Then you can see the 3D image – turning around with your fingers and/or with accelerometer (depending on selected options). You can zoom using two fingers – and you can close the image and be back to image info page simply putting three fingers at the same time on the screen (or with a triple tap if you prefer).

But, how can you get panoramas on your iPhone, taking into consideration that when you run the program the first time you won’t see any already present?
Easy task: you just have to click on on-line pano button – and (at that time) be connected possibly with WiFi.

When you get to on-line pano page the program will try to connect to an url with pano list (you can change that url and use other ones) – and if everything is ok you’ll see a remote list of panos. If you click on download button CubeWorld will start the download, and then we’ll show you that now you have the image on your iPhone changing “download” in “view”

You can – at this point – view the image and decide if you want to keep it or delete it. If you don’t delete it you’ll find that image on your downloaded local list of pano when you’ll click on the “back” button on the top of the windows.

From the Options button – in the home page – you can access to the options page. There you’ll be able to modify the behaviour of the program and you’ll be able to wipe out all your downloaded panos at the same time.

Quick notes for VR photographers: CubeWorld handles Cubic panorama images – that’s to say panoramas made of SIX images that are the faces of a virtual cube surronding the viewer. The six image MUST be jpg files 1024×1024 (or 512×512 or 256×256) each and they must be called this way:

yourimagename_f.jpg (front)
yourimagename_b.jpg (back)
yourimagename_l.jpg (left)
yourimagename_r.jpg (right)
yourimagename_u.jpg (up)
yourimagename_d.jpg (down)

The easiest way to share your content for CubeWorld user is to put them on-line and to create an xml file with their info – like the one you can find here: www.marcogiorgini.com/iphone/panos.xml

That file is simply a collection of this xml pieces:

<dict>
<key>Name</key>
<string>Your Image Name</string>
<key>Description</key>
<string>Your Image Description</string>
<key>Author</key>
<string>Your Name</string>
<key>Kind</key>
<string>Your Kind</string>
<key>Url</key>
<string>Your Url</string>
<key>location</key>
<string>http://yoursite/yourimagename.images</string>
<key>Version</key>
<string>Your Version Number</string>
</dict>

Where http://yoursite/yourimagename.images is a way to specify that you put on-line SIX images called http://yoursite/yourimagename_f.jpg http://yoursite/yourimagename_b.jpg and so on…

Credits

CubeWorld is a program by Marco Giorgini, based on an idea of Geoffrey Morelle.

It’s a FREE software but if you find it useful donation are welcome :-)

Se passate in edicola e non comprate il numero estivo di PC World sappiate che vi perdete l’occasione per gustarvi su carta tre strisce del vostro eroe preferito! eh? no, che c’entra Batman? :-)

(mitica pagina 168)

Kingdom Lores: a 3D fantasy game for iPhone by Marco Giorgini – based on a new 3D engine created from scratch.
Status of the project: alpha.
Version: 0.0.62

If you’re curious about Kingdom Lores you can get the alpha version from this source: www.marcogiorgini.com/iPhone/plist.xml
You can also find it on Big Boss source.
Note: game still lacks of features and gfx&levels are probably temp. But it’s more or less fully playable (you can kill and die, there are bonus, hi-scores, options and so on)

F.A.Q.

Is Kingdom Lores another Yeti3D engine based app?
Nope. This time is a new engine – not a port. It’s basically a true 3D octree based engine – that uses OpenGLES. I’m writing it from zero – so things will be added one by one. And this is the reason – for instance – of its slowness (at moment) compared to Yeti3D games.

Why it’s so similar – as user interface – with Yeti3D – if it’s not Yeti3D-based?
Well, Yeti3D is a (great) 3D engine – but “Yeti3D for iphone” used Yeti3D engine *with* a user interface I created specifically for iPhone – following advices from user on forums and so on. That UI is (imho) good – and I’m going to use it in every game I’ll do – if it fits. As – I think – in this case. Here it will be enhanced with new things.

Once the game is finished, how much will it cost?
Kingdom Lores is a free game. It will be free even when it will “ready” to be called “a game”. Of course I will appreciate donation – as I’m doing for other apps I’ve developed till now. If you don’t think to have money to spare – or simply you don’t feel confortable in giving it to me – please be aware that I’d appreciate even other stuff: a postcard, for instance, or a book. A comic, a movie. A beer. If you like my game send me a gift. There’s my snail address inside the game.

How can I try lan-mode game?
You need the Win version of the game – that can be used as a server. It’s not released yet, but it will be soon.

Will it be available on Apple Store?
Who knows. I got no Mac, so far. So I can NOT use their SDK (I’m developing using Win Toolchain – thanks to great guys around who decided to share it). We’ll see. I’ll be glad if it could be there.

Cool graphics :-) Is it yours?
No, I used a lot of public domain stuff (free md2 from polycount.com and other sites – the Knight is by James Green – from polycount.com). Textures are (at the moment) mainly from FruitBatInShades free package. I did 3D houses myself (inspired by medievalworks.com and other sites) while in-game props (chests, flash and so on) are by Massimo Borri.

I’m the greatest graphic man around! Can I join your project?
Well, so far I got no luck with this kind of help. Surely my fault. I got few time and this kind of things (I mean contacts) require many. So don’t count too much on it. But if you want to try the same – fit yourself – and be aware that:
– I won’t give you ANY money for that – no way, don’t ask – but I’ll credit you IF I’ll use your gfx (of course)
– I need LOWPOLY elements. Spell it: L-O-W-P-O-L-Y. Think about a number. That’s too much. Think again.
– animation are frame-animation not skeleton-animation
– I don’t really think to need 2D gfx now (that doesn’t mean I don’t need it – just I don’t think I need it now :-)…)

I’m the best programmer around? Can I join your project?
No – thanks. At least not now. Working in a team is complex (for me) because I don’t have enough time to spend on iPhone projects. I work when I can (at night…). Be in sync would be difficult.

Who’s Marco Giorgini anyway?
I’m an italian 37 years old programmer – R&D chief for Expert System SpA (we work in natural language understanding field). Games and iPhone are an hobby for me.

Version History

0.0.62 – fixed issues with treasure chest – reduce package size – other stuff – first version on installer source
0.0.61 – started to create a “real” town – fixes for lan mode – other stuff
0.0.60 update – hi-scores – bonus killing enemies – fixed something on lan-mode game.
0.0.60 – lot of changes. Added two more points of view. Started lan-mode game.
0.0.58 – fixed some menu issues. Enable accelerometer. Config is save and loaded. Resource package now is under app folder (single dir). Now in game there are 3 different kind of Goblin and one ogre.
0.0.57 – first public drop

Screenshots

 
(behind low / above view)

(current main menu)

(moving around)

 
(hero attacked by monsters)

(in-game options)

(landscape instead of portrait and FPS instead of behind view)

(playing in FPS mode)

…beh, se nel post precedente ho parlato della ripresa di Prison Break (che ha avuto una quattordicesima puntata discreta – ma con vari passaggi un po’ scontati) non potevo non ricordare che è andata in onda anche la puntata numero 10 di Veronica Mars – serial a mio parere bellissimo, alla sua terza stagione.

Com’è che una casa editrice che di solito pubblica come fare borsette e braccialetti (parlo della Hobby & Work Publishing) esce con un capolavoro come questo? mi sa che al marketing devono avere della gente molto in gamba – per accaparrarsi la traduzione di questo primo libro di Satterthwait Walter (e se non ho capito male anche i successivi due). Un giallo che vede destreggiarsi insieme Houdini e Conan Doyle – in una Inghilterra rurale degli anni venti in cui tutti i personaggi sono straordinariamente caratterizzati.

Se non siete fan di Tim Buckley e del suo bellissimo Web Comic “Ctrl+Alt+Del” forse non sapete che siamo in pieno “Winter-een-mas” ovvero nel periodo della sacra festa dei  gamers… festività che sta degnamente festeggiando Ethan… di cui vi consiglio le strisce di questi giorni (nonché tutte le altre…)

Questo è un racconto di cento parole – che ha partecipato al concorso “Horror T-Shirt”, 2004 – prima edizione – indetto da www.scheletri.com

Erano settimane che cercava di catturarlo. Gli appostamenti notturni stavano stringendo sempre più il cerchio, e quella sera, sentendo le grida provenire dalla casa di fronte, aveva capito che quello poteva essere il capitolo finale. Entrò dalla porta sul retro, salì le scale di corsa e sfondò la porta dalla quale uscivano le urla disperate di una giovane. “Fermo, finalmente ti ho preso!” gridò l’investigatore spianando la pistola. Ma nella stanza non c’era che una ragazza dai vestiti strappati. “Dov’è Jack?” le chiese scuotendola. Lei alzò gli occhi, sorrise, e gli piantò un coltello in gola. “Non Jack. Chiamami Jacqueline.”

Da questo breve testo ho tratto la sceneggiatura per un fumetto – realizzato da Gioma, nell’ambito della collana “Un brutto quarto d’ora horror” ideato da CartaIgienicaWeb.it

Un altro mio racconto molto breve (in lizza per il concorso “300 parole per un incubo” sempre del sito www.scheletri.com) è passato dal web alla carta. “Sono una regina” è infatti stato pubblicato anche sulla rivista culturale Noialtri (anno IX, numero 50, settembre/ottobre 2005)

“Sono una regina” pensò Julie mentre l’auto sfrecciava lungo la statale a fari spenti.
L’insano desiderio di quella corsa notturna era partito da un momento imprecisato del pomeriggio. Stava camminando senza fretta in centro quando aveva gettato lo sguardo tra gli specchi di un nuovo negozio. Un riflesso l’aveva colpita e si era avvicinata per guardare meglio, accorgendosi che non c’era nulla da vedere – solo uno specchio come tanti altri. Ma, forse per l’inclinazione, o per la posizione all’interno del locale, si era vista come non le era mai capitato. Sembrava in qualche modo luminosa, raggiante. E la sua espressione corrucciata, in quello scorcio, sembrava un sorriso tanto disarmante che si era sentita, per la prima volta da quando era diciottenne, BELLA. Bella come una regina.
L’illusione era durata solo un attimo, ma era bastata perché una strana euforia la sconvolgesse. Quindi si era concessa un giro dal parrucchiere poi in un costoso ristorante italiano, dove aveva ordinato anche due bottiglie di un rosso pregiato. Finita la cena non avendo nessuna voglia di tornare a casa era salita in macchina imboccando la statale fino al bivio per HighCreek. Lì aveva sorriso alla sua immagine riflessa nello specchietto, aveva spento i fari, ed aveva preso la deviazione per Whitening – pensando che quello era un bel nome per un regno. Più volte l’auto doveva avere preso contro qualcosa lungo la strada, ma non aveva perso il controllo.
Ed alla fine era arrivata.
Accostò la macchina sul ciglio della strada, spense il motore e scese.
La luna e le stelle le sorridevano. Gli animali del bosco le porgevano il loro reverente omaggio.
Lei aprì le braccia e si mise al centro della carreggiata per ringraziarli tutti.
“Sono un re” pensò Thomas sorridendo mentre l’auto sfrecciava lungo la stessa statale a fari spenti…