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Author Topic: Rendering Web Browser on a 3D object?  (Read 8261 times)

ZeosPantera

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Rendering Web Browser on a 3D object?
« on: April 23, 2011, 02:57:35 am »

Do you think it will be possible to have the web browser or frame from a web site render on a 3d object or banner? It would make in-game advertising and customization insane. If you could interact with the screens your looking at to pull up control menu's, etc.

http://www.tropicalisland.de/japan/tokyo/images/NRT%20Shinjuku%20Tokyo%20-%20shopping%20street%20with%20big%20video%20advertisement%20screen%203008x2000.jpg

It could be a mix of real ad's (the only circumstance where seeing a pepsi add animated across a wall I would enjoy) and made up content hosted on various external web-servers to inform and direct and keep the players informed about upcoming events ..  it would just be awesome.
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cameni

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Rendering Web Browser on a 3D object?
« Reply #1 on: April 23, 2011, 04:16:20 am »

Well the integrated browser works by rendering web page contents into a texture, that is then rendered on the screen in a 2D window. No problem rendering it on 3D objects aa well. You could even have interactive billboards in game, like a futuristic board with Google maps where you could view the maps or use it as a portal to other locations. I'm sure people will think of some insane applications for it.
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ZeosPantera

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Rendering Web Browser on a 3D object?
« Reply #2 on: April 23, 2011, 05:23:22 am »

I would design the controls for my base camp onto a web site frame that looked like a control panel in a control room. The question then becomes how could html based controls actually affect in-game operations. I know the menu's will all be HTML based so I assume a button that turns a light on would work if the game trusted the source of the command.
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cameni

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Rendering Web Browser on a 3D object?
« Reply #3 on: April 23, 2011, 05:44:50 am »

Web pages can use Javascript to access engine functions, and it works like this: when a page is being rendered in the embedded browser, there exist special objects that can be used to invoke underlying engine functions. The existence of these objects is a mark that the page runs in engine, as opposed to running in a normal browser outside the engine. So you can actually write pages that work both inside and outside, for example - when used inside the game, the script can control game objects directly, whereas in off-game mode it could invoke some server methods instead.

Obviously it can't be used for everything, but for things like setting up the production queue it would be cool if you could get the same controls in-game and in a browser when you access your base off-game at work.

Technically, the API exposed to html scripts should allow what normal UI controls allow to player. Which can be a quite clean design, since the UI is done via html in the first place.

There's a question if the scripting couldn't be used to gain unfair advantage, but IMO the game should be designed in a way that it doesn't matter - in fact, creation of better and fitter interfaces should be encouraged.
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