Setting Up a Java 8 Game Development Environment - Beginning Java 8 Games Development - page 23

Another impressive (and free, for the basic version) world generation software
package is Terragen 3.2 , from Planetside Software, in the United Kingdom. You can
download the basic version from https://planetside.co.uk as well as join its
forum. I have used this software in a couple of my Android application development
topics, so I know it works well for multimedia applications and games. It is also used
by professional filmmakers, as the level of quality is pristine.
Caligari TrueSpace 7.61 is also excellent, free 3D modeling and animation soft-
ware. The program, which is “free and alive!” according to the Caligari web site ( ht-
tps://Caligari.us ), from which you can still download it, used to cost nearly a
thousand dollars when it was first developed by Roman Ormandy, the founder of the
Caligari Corporation (later purchased by Microsoft). A professional-level 3D modeling
and animation software package, this program had millions of users in its heyday. It is
a really cool piece of software, with a fun-to-use user interface (UI), so be sure to grab
it!
Another 3D rendering software you should take a look at is POV-Ray (Persistence
of Vision Raytracer), which works with any 3D modeling and animation software
package to generate impressive 3D scenes, using advanced ray-traced rendering al-
gorithms. The most recent version on the POV-Ray web site ( www.povray.org ) ,
3.7 , is 64 bit and multicore (multithreaded) compatible, and it can be downloaded for
free!
Bishop3D is a cool 3D modeling software package that was specifically designed
for use with POV-Ray. The software can be used to create custom 3D objects, which
can then be imported into POV-Ray (and then into JavaFX) for use in your games. The
most recent version, an 8MB download, is 1.0.5.2 , for Windows 7. The software can be
found at www.bishop3d.com and can currently be downloaded for free!
Yet another free 3D modeling software worth investigating is Wings 3D . This soft-
ware can be used to create custom 3D objects, which can then be imported into JavaFX
for use in your games. The most recent version, a 64 - bit , 16MB download, is 1.5.3 and
was released in April 2014, for Windows 7, Mac OS X, and Ubuntu Linux. The soft-
ware can be found at www.wings3d.com and can currently be downloaded for free!
For UI design prototyping, the free software package Pencil 2.0.6 , from Evolus , al-
lows you to easily prototype UI designs before you create them in Java, Android, or
HTML5. The software is located at http://pencil.evolus.vn and is available
for Linux, Windows, and Mac OSs.
Next, you will take a look at how I organize some of the basic OS utilities and
open-source software on my taskbar.