From:	 Bruno Heidelberger <beosil@swileys.com>
To:	 lwn@lwn.net
Subject: Announcement: cal3d - 3d character animation library
Date:	 Wed, 9 May 2001 21:00:28 +0200

I would like to announce the initial release of Cal3D, a free skeletal-based 
character animation library. Originally designed to be used in a 3d client 
for WorldForge, it evolved into a stand-alone product which can be used in 
many different kinds of projects.

This release is significant due to the extreme scarcity of Free Software 
options for skeletal-based animation, and thus may provide a very important 
advancement for Free Game development projects. The WorldForge project is 
especially excited about the potentials this new product provides, and 
anticipates growing a sizable library of skeletal models for free game 
developers to use in their games.

The Cal3D character animation library ...
  ... is written in C++ and uses STL
  ... is licensed under the GPL (GNU Public License)
  ... was designed and implemented to be platform-independent (tested on 
Linux and Win32 systems)
  ... is not bound to a specific graphic API
  ... allows blending and weighting of multiple animation tracks
  ... performs transformation of vertices and normals on skinned models 
according to one or more weighted bones
  ... supports materials and multiple mapping channels for texturing
  ... is prepared for upcoming features like collision detection, LOD (level 
of detail) and IK (inverse kinematics)
  ... includes exporter plugins for 3d Studio Max and Milkshape (soon)

'The Cally Demo', a nice little demo based on Cal3D and OpenGL, shows most of 
the mentioned features in an interactive way. It acts as a first tutorial on 
using the library as it is released under the GPL too.

My programmer and artist friends at WorldForge have been gleefully playing 
with this demo and speculating about all the uses they can put it to, and 
wondering if we can get more 3D models and animation sequences available for 
it soon.

A community of users and developers is forming within the WorldForge project, 
so individuals interested in using or developing the library are encouraged 
to join in there. All kind of feedback is welcome, including improvements, 
ideas and bug-reports.

Screenshots, downloads, sourcecode, and forums are available at the official 
website at http://cal3d.sourceforge.net

More information about WorldForge can be found at http://www.worldforge.org

Regards
Bruno 'Beosil' Heidelberger
<beosil@swileys.com>