Best tools to implement virtual reality

[r_firedance]

Dear all,
I'm a final year computer science student and i intend to to my graduation project as an online virtual reality application.( 3D presentation for objects inside browsers ).but actually i have no idea about the best tools used nowadays to accomplish such a product. I have heard of vrml but then i discovered it is soo old by now. Also i read about the scripting features of Cult3D and how it can deal with objects exported from 3DMax or Maya.and also DirectX for windows platform. Also flash and Papervision3D , or maybe Java3D or JOGL ..
so as u can see there is a huge variety of different technologies and i need a precise opinion from people who have more experience than me as I'm still a student and i don't know which one of them will give me the highest quality , also being easy to understand, learn and deal with( I don't mean trivial but not the most complicated option as well, at least i need to be sure that implementation using this tool is guaranteed to get me results within only 1 year of work....

I have another issue confusing me... why using a programming language like Java3D to fully specify the objects , when i have something like Cult3D where i can just deal with objects already drawn using 3DMax or Maya... in what situations should i use each option and why ??

I really appreciate any help ..and i really need to hear your opinions.
Thanks In advance
Best Regards,

[MattEvans]

Java 3D can 'deal with objects' from other packages, but it depends what exactly you mean by 'deal with' : you can export geometry from 3DS/Maya into a form for which someone has written a Java 3D importer; with no theoretical limits whatsoever. Of course, practically, there aren't many importers. When I used J3D, I could just about get OBJ & 3DS files to display.. =D.

You would use code/script generally to 'move objects about', handle interactivity, and maybe for creating best-specified-as-procedural objects and effects, rather than actually writing every command to draw every vertex. It's usually obvious for any given object: if you want a tree, make it in a modelling package and export/import. if you want, for eg, a road for a racetrack, you might be better of generating it in code ( since you have more control/flexibility, and you can write code to make an object 'follow the road' or even true real-time collision detection [depending on level of interaction desired] much more easily if you already have 'the road' in a mathematical form ), but, it really depends.

Macromedia Director/ Shockwave is quite nice for 3D-in-a-browser. VRML has been re-incarnated as 'X3D' which, from some experience, is not the easiest technology to work with. I've never heard of Cult3D, and that's kind of an important factor if you're targetting browsers - in this day-and-age people aren't as happy to download new + unknown plugins as they used to be.

[r_firedance]

Thank you very much , i really appreciate ur reply , i would think deeply about what u said.

Best Regards,

[r_firedance]

Sorry but i have another question ,
So can i use Java 3D , for 3D in a browser ???

Best Regards,