StrataVision 3D

StrataVision was released as the first product of the Strata company in 1989 to facilitate professional 3D graphics on regular desktop Macs.{{Cite magazine

| magazine = InfoWorld

| url = {{google books | id=zT0EAAAAMBAJ |pg=PA76 |plain-url=yes}}

| title = StrataVision takes Mac rendering to Higher Level

| last1 = Green

| first1 = Doug

| last2 = Green

| first2 = Denise

| page = 76

| volume = 13

| issue = 40

| publisher = InfoWorld Media Group

| date = 7 October 1991

}} In 1993, StudioPro was added to the product line, with StrataVision remaining a reduced-feature "light" version.

In May 2000, the Strata product lineup was consolidated into Strata 3D which is still developed to this day.{{citation needed|date=September 2021}}

At the time, StrataVision and StrataStudio Pro offered certain features found on dedicated workstations that had not available before on Macintosh.

StrataVision 2.0 introduced the Raydiosity rendering algorithm, an algorithm slower than ray tracing, but offering a result deemed more realistic, by taking into account light reflection on textures, atmospheric conditions, inter-reflections between objects, among other things.{{cite magazine

| magazine = The Computer Paper, Ontario Edition

| date = November 1993

| url = https://archive.org/details/issuu_dougalder_1993-11_tcp_on-ocr/page/n17/mode/1up

| page = 18-27

| title = At the movies: Software Special Effects

| first = Graeme

| last = Bennett

| volume = 6

| number = 11

}}{{cite book

| url = https://archive.org/details/mac_Macintosh_Multi-media_Workshop_1993/

| page = 171

| title = Macintosh Multimedia Workshop

| year = 1993

| first = Michael D.

| last = Murie

| publisher = Hayden Books

| isbn = 1-56830-018-2

| lccn = 93-779930

}}

Raydiosity is often described as Strata's experimental version of radiosity, and at the time was the only implementation of a radiosity-like rendering algorithm available to Macintosh users.{{cite book

| title = 3D Starter-Kit for Macintosh

| url = https://archive.org/details/3dstarterkitform0000wags

| url-access = registration

| first = Sean

| last = Wagstaff

| publisher = Hayden Books

| pages = 32,321

| year = 1994

| isbn = 1-56830-125-1

| lccn = 94-77391

}} It was only found in StrataVision and StrataStudio Pro.

Another Strata specific rendering, found in StrataStudio Pro, was called RayPainting and applied splotches of colour onto the surface of the object, making it looks like if it were hand painted.{{sfnp|Wagstaff|1994|p=322}} Different effects can be applied to simulate the medium used, like, for example, chalk or water color.

StrataVision 2.0 introduced an extension architecture, named SRX, that allowed, for example, to interoperate with Pixar RenderMan or to distribute rendering across computers on the network.

MacUser in the September 1992 issue gave 4 1/2 mice (out of five) to StrataVision 3D 2.5 praising its excellent rendering quality and advanced texture control despite the slow rendering and the mediocre animation tools.

• 5.0 1998
• 4.0: available in 1995. It introduced the ability to perform boolean operations, {{cite magazine

| magazine = Macworld

| url = https://archive.org/details/eu_Macworld-1995-07-INT_OCR/page/n59/mode/1up

| title = Vision 3d 4.0

| first = Carlos

| last = Domingo Martinez

| date = July 1995

| pages = 56–57

| volume = 12

| issue = 7

}}

• 3.0 1994
• 2.6: ?
• 2.5: available in 1992.{{cite magazine

| magazine = MacUser

| url = https://archive.org/details/MacUser9209September1992/page/n115/mode/1up

| title = The Third Dimension

| pages = 114–130

| first = David

| last = Biedny

| date = September 1992

| volume = 8

| issue = 9

}} It introduced "skin modeling" to wrap a surface around ribs, and "flex object" to make these ribs move or change shape over time. It also allow extruding font shapes.{{cite magazine

| magazine = Macworld

| url = https://archive.org/details/MacWorld_9206_June_1992/page/n126/mode/1up

| title = Strata's New Skin

| page = 121

| first = Dan

| last = Littman

| volume = 9

| issue = 6

}}

• 2.0: available in 1991 - introduced the Raydiosity rendering algorithm (not to be confused with radiosity) along with more powerful modelling features, faster rendering, basic animation and extensibility.
• 1.4: 1990{{cite magazine

| magazine = The Computer Paper, Ontario Edition

| date = October 1990

| url = https://archive.org/details/issuu_dougalder_1990-10_tcp_bc-ocr/page/n55/mode/1up

| page = 56

| title = StrataVision 3D

| first = Graeme

| last = Bennett

| volume = 3

| number = 10

}}

• 1.0: August 1989{{cite magazine

| magazine = Macworld

| url = https://archive.org/details/MacWorld_9004_April_1990/page/n204/mode/1up

| title = StrataVision 3D 1.0.2

| date = April 1990

| volume = 7

| issue = 4

| page = 201

| first = Victor

| last = Elgohari

}} Existence of 1.0.x in April 1990

{{Reflist}}

• [http://www.strata.com/ Strata's website]

Category:1989 software

Category:3D graphics software

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