Aladdin4D is a

computer program A computer program is a sequence or set of instructions in a programming language for a computer to execute. Computer programs are one component of software, which also includes documentation and other intangible components. A computer program ...

for modeling and rendering three-dimensional graphics and

animation Animation is a method by which image, still figures are manipulated to appear as Motion picture, moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent cel, celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited ...

s, currently running on AmigaOS and

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platforms. A-EON Technology Ltd owns the rights and develops current and future versions of Aladdin4D for AmigaOS, MorphOS & AROS. All other platforms including macOS, iPadOS, iOS, Linux & Windows are developed by DiscreetFX.

History

Aladdin4D was originally created by Greg Gorby at Adspec Programming in

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

, and was an updated version of an earlier 3D program called Draw4D Pro, which integrated elements of

desktop publishing Desktop publishing (DTP) is the creation of documents using page layout software on a personal ("desktop") computer. It was first used almost exclusively for print publications, but now it also assists in the creation of various forms of online c ...

into its environment. In 1996, the 3D program was then acquired and updated by Nova Design, Inc. Nova Design added many modern features and made it easier to use. It was one of the first 3D animation programs on any platform to employ volumetrics, which were primarily used to create volumetric gas. However, unlike the majority of

Amiga Amiga is a family of personal computers introduced by Commodore in 1985. The original model is one of a number of mid-1980s computers with 16- or 32-bit processors, 256 KB or more of RAM, mouse-based GUIs, and significantly improved graphi ...

3D programs, it used scanline rendering instead of the more photo-realistic ray tracing technique. Scanline rendering is similar to the rendering technique used in most Pixar movies. On December 17, 2007, Nova Design sold all inventory, source code and intellectual property rights to DiscreetFX LLC. DiscreetFX is developing a new 6.0 version for

Mac OS X macOS (; previously OS X and originally Mac OS X) is a Unix operating system developed and marketed by Apple Inc. since 2001. It is the primary operating system for Apple's Mac (computer), Mac computers. Within the market of ...

iPad The iPad is a brand of iOS and iPadOS-based tablet computers that are developed by Apple Inc. The iPad was conceived before the related iPhone but the iPhone was developed and released first. Speculation about the development, operating s ...

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Linux Linux ( or ) is a family of open-source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991, by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged as a Linux distribution, which ...

. On December 12, 2014, DiscreetFX sold the AmigaOS source code and development rights for Aladdin4D on AmigaOS, MorphOS & AROS platforms to A-EON Technology Ltd. DiscreetFX retains the rights to other non-Amiga platforms.

Features

This software was one of the few 3D applications for AmigaOS, and not just the Amiga platform--in the sense that it uses an OS-compliant GUI, supports RTG displays, utilizes the

AmigaGuide AmigaGuide is a hypertext document file format designed for the Amiga. Files are stored in ASCII so it is possible to read and edit a file without the need for special software. Since Workbench 2.1 an Amiga Guide system for O.S. inline help files ...

Help system and features an ARexx port for scripting. Concerning the 3D features of the application: * Infinite layering of surfaces: A surface of an object may have a virtually infinite amount of textures, shaders etc. layered on it. * Spline modelling tool. * Importing of most postscript files, making the creation of logos easier. * Unlimited number of working layers: multiple working areas containing only a portion of the scene, easing out the management and pace of objects during the creation of animation. * Gaseous volumetrics with adjustable mass. * Built-in particle system to simulate various effects like fireworks. * Morphing capabilities in the animation system. * Spline animation controls. Also, Aladdin4D has rendering features like motion blur, multiple pass supersampling, lens flares, 32-bit color support and a highly optimized 68k rendering engine.

Format support

Aladdin4D supports the following 3D formats: Aladdin 4D, LightWave 3D, GEO, EPS, DEM, Draw4D-Pro and Draw4D, 3D Studio for either loading or loading and saving. Image formats supported for loading and saving: IFF/

ILBM Interleaved Bitmap (ILBM) is an image file format conforming to the Interchange File Format (IFF) standard. The format originated on the Amiga platform, and on IBM-compatible systems, files in this format or the related PBM (Planar Bitmap) forma ...

(palette mapped and 24-bit formats), JPEG and Video Toaster Framestores. Aladdin 4D was one of the first rendering/animation packages to support video editing/post production hardware on any computer platform ( NewTek's

Video Toaster The NewTek Video Toaster is a combination of hardware and software for the editing and production of NTSC standard-definition video. The plug-in expansion card initially worked with the Amiga 2000 computer and provides a number of BNC connectors ...

/Flyer).

Interoperability

Aladdin4D 5.x supports exchange of data with ImageFX, Amiga Lightwave 3D/Video Toaster, World Construction Set and all programs that support Nova Design's "Magic" protocol for buffer sharing.

Versions

* 1991 Draw4D Pro * 1992 Aladdin 4D 2.0 * 1993 Aladdin 4D 3.0 * 1995 Aladdin 4D 4.0 * 1997 Aladdin 4D 5.0 * 2011 Aladdin4D 6.0 Internal Beta * 2014 Aladdin4D 6.0 AROS Stable Release 6.0.0.27 (Internal Beta) / February 2nd, 2014

References

External links

Aladdin 4D
- 3D Animation Packages website.
CU Amiga Magazine November 1997
- Magazine cover created with Aladdin 4D.
Amiga News Site Report from December 12th 2014
- Mainstream Amiga news site Amiga.org reports about Aladdin4D IP sale of AmigaOS, MorphOS & AROS versions. {{DEFAULTSORT:Aladdin4d Amiga Amiga raytracers 3D graphics software AmigaOS 4 software 3D animation software MorphOS software Amiga software