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CopperCube FAQ

Frequently asked questions and their answers regarding CopperCube:

General CopperCube

Which Flash version is required for CopperCube?

Can I create architectural walkthroughs or games with CopperCube?

What software should I use to create my 3D models?

Are there educational licenses available for CopperCube?

I already have a CopperCube license but want to upgrade to a newer or to the professional edition.

I'm interested in getting the Flash 3D engine source code of CopperCube.


CopperCube Content creation

When I import my 3D model into CopperCube, it doesn't look correct, what can I do?

How can I make my 3D scenes more interesting, like moving some objects in the scene?

In my 3D scene in flash, some polygons do not seem to be rendered in the correct order.

I used the CopperCube's simpleAPI in ActionScript3, but it doesn't work, what can I do?

When moving in my 3d world, I get stuck, why?

How can I extend the CopperCube scenes for doing more complex things?

I need some help programming some additional features for my project.

Is it possible to show WebGL content also in Internet Explorer?



Which Flash version is required for CopperCube?

For using CopperCube, you don't need Flash at all. It creates the .swf files on its own, without the help of another software package. When your users want to see and use your interactive 3D scene on a website, they only need the Flash player 10 installed, and thanks to websites such as YouTube, today nearly everybody has this preinstalled.
If you are using the Stage3D / MoleHill feature, your users need Flash Player 11.

Can I create architectural walkthroughs or games with CopperCube?

Yes, you can. CopperCube even has a built-in collision system, and you can even walk up stairs with it, and don't need to program anything for this.

What software should I use to create my 3D models?

Basically, you can use any 3D modelling package to create 3D models for your scene. Since version 3, CopperCube also includes basic low polygon modelling tools, so you can even create your 3D models directly in CopperCube.
If you are looking for a free and easy to use tool for creating static meshes, we can recommend Anim8or, it's free, easy to learn and exports .3Ds files which can be imported into CopperCube.
For animated meshes (skeletal animation / character animation), you could use anim8tor together with Milkshape as animator to create .ms3d files. Or take a look at the recommended software list.

Are there educational licenses available for CopperCube?

We offer special discounts to schools, students and educational institutes. Simply contact us and give us some details about the amount and types of licenses you need.

I already have a CopperCube license but want to upgrade to a newer or to the professional edition.

Please take a look at the Buy page, there is a small section describing what you need to do in order to upgrade.

I'm interested in getting the Flash 3D engine source code of CopperCube.

When using Flash, you can use the SimpleAPI, providing access to most features in the 3d world. But if you even need more control over everything, you can buy the full ActionScript 3 source code of the Flash 3D engine in CopperCube with about half a MB of source code and more than 100 classes, simply contact us for this.

When I import my 3D model into CopperCube, it doesn't look correct, what can I do?

CopperCube supports a lot of file formats to be imported, but there can be special cases where it doesn't work perfectly. If your 3D model doesn't look correctly in CopperCube, do the following:

  • If there are only small problems like different materials or flipped faces, you can correct this in the CopperCube editor itself. Materials can be changed in the material tab, some other options are available when selecting your 3D model and right-clicking on it, in the 'modify...' menu.
  • If you don't see any textures or materials, take a look into the Output window (View -> Output Window). It displays if and why a texture could not be loaded.
  • Try to export your model with different options.
  • Try another file format. Maybe your 3D modelling software supports other file formats as well. If not, try and install an exporter, like for example an exporter for Microsofts .x file format.
  • Send us the file, so we can improve CopperCube. This might take a bit of a time, but we'll do our best.

How can I make my 3D scenes more interesting, like moving some objects in the scene?

Select the 3D object you want to make move, go to the 'Behavior' tab in the properties window of that object and add a new behavior. You can select some movement behaviors from there.
If you need some more sophisticated movment, you can script this: In the documentation of CopperCube, you'll find some examples how to move objects using either ActionScript 3 or JavaScript.

In my 3D scene in flash, some polygons do not seem to be rendered in the correct order.

When publishing as for the old Flash player without 3D support, the Flash environment does not support a Z-Buffer as needed by modern 3D engines, so at some special places in your scene, Z-Ordering problems may occur. The reason for these Z-Order problems is usually that there is a huge polgon behind a smaller one, and the engine is not able to decide correctly in which order to render the polygons. You can find some solutions for this problem in the documentation of CopperCube.

I used the CopperCube's simpleAPI in ActionScript3, but it doesn't work, what can I do?

Ensure that you are targeting your .swf at the Flash Player 10. (And Flash Player version 13 if using the Molehill/Stage3D features). Also, you can try to compile your SWF with the setting -use-network=false or start it from a webserver

When moving in my 3d world, I get stuck, why?

Sometimes, it is possible to get stuck in the geometry when moving. Always place the camera at a position so that the yellow ellipsoid isn't colliding with a wall in the beginning, so that it is not stuck.
If the camera gets stuck during movement, then the problem might be the 3d mesh: One needs to be a bit careful when modelling the static geometry the camera collides against. The geometry should be closed, and there should not be any one sided polygons sticking out anywhere, those are usually the places where one gets stuck.
Also, if the points of vertices which should be together are not exactly at the same point could cause problems. If the used 3d modelling software supports a feature like 'Merge Points' to make neighbour vertices be exactly at the same place, it is recommended to do this, it also usually helps.

How can I extend the CopperCube scenes for doing more complex things?

In most cases, you can add lots of interactiviy using the Behaviors in CopperCube, without programming. Additionally, you can use the APIs of the various publishing targets to add additional stuff by programming, like more complex enemy behavior, game logic, communication with websites and databases, and so on. See the Documentation on how to do this.
If you are using WebGL, there is a quite sophisticated API, named CopperLicht for this. When using Flash, you can use the SimpleAPI, providing access to most features in the 3d world. But if you think this is not enough and you even need more control over everything, you can buy the full ActionScript 3 source code of the Flash 3D engine in CopperCube with about half a MB of source code and more than 100 classes, simply contact us for this.

I need some help programming some additional features for my project.

If you need some custom extensions or programming work to be done for your project using CopperCube, simply contact us. We can either give you some hints for free how to do this, or alternatively, we also offer paid contract work.

Is it possible to show WebGL content also in Internet Explorer?

Microsoft's Internet Explorer currently doesn't support WebGL, but there is a simple way to make this work anyway. There is a plugin called IEWebGL which provides WebGL functionality in this browser. By replacing the standard JavaScript code generated by CopperCube with another one (see below), all WebGL content will then run in the standard browsers, and, if viewed in InternetExplorer also there, by loading this plugin automatically.
It works like this: When using CopperLicht or Coppercube, your code usually looks like this:

<div align="center">				 
	<canvas id="3darea" width="640" height="480" style="background-color:#000000">
	</canvas>
</div>
<script type="text/javascript">
	startCopperLichtFromFile('3darea', 'copperlichtdata/test.ccbjs');
</script>
To make this also work in InternetExplorer as well, simply replace it with the following code and also place this, the javascript copperlicht_iewebgl.js file at the location of your code:
<div align="center">				 
	<div id="3darea" width="640" height="480" style="background-color:#000000">
	</div>
</div>	
<script src="copperlicht_iewegl.js" type="text/javascript"> </script>
<script type="text/javascript">
	startCopperLichtFromFileAndUseIEWebGLIfNecessary('3darea', 'copperlichtdata/test.ccbjs');
</script>
That's it, now your WebGL app also runs in InternetExplorer.