mwm_car

If your computer can visualize massive three-dimensional worlds inside your computer, why can’t it be just as savvy in multiple dimensions on output?

That’s the question asked by MWM. Like other mapping software, the idea is to get beyond just a single rectangle as output, supporting multiple outputs and 3D surfaces and warping.

What’s unique about MWM is that it sets out to be more fluid with surfaces and outputs, all running “purely” on your computer’s GPU. And the workflow becomes completely different.

Rather than crudely mapping some video textures to cubes, MWM lets you bring in entire 3D models and meshes, with complete support for lighting and texture mapping, and some decent MIDI and media support all its own.

The highlights:

  • Real-time rendering and editing
  • Lighting (area/ambient, direction, point, spot)
  • Real-time camera collaboration
  • Warping, plus horizontal and vertical edge blending
  • Runs on Syphon (like MadMapper) on OS X; also supports Windows

Full specs on the site, but a number are especially eye-catching:

  • Import OBJ, 3DS, STL, PLY, COLLADA and use UV coordinates of the meshes for textures
  • Lights support diffuse and specular intensity, and specifics of geometry, range, and opening – this is the stuff you normally do in your 3D program, here in real-time
  • Calibrate by dropping in reference points directly
  • Custom warp grids
  • Masking – triangle, quad, free form
  • Load media directly – MOV, AVI, still frames, with multiple files on each layer, duration cropping and looping modes – meaning you won’t necessarily have to jump into Syphon for content
  • MIDI mapping to the whole interface – and you can save mappings and use them across multiple projects (via an XML file… why don’t other apps work this way?)
  • Video demo:

    Introduction to MWM from mwm mapping on Vimeo.

    Epic stuff. We’ll definitely be looking more closely at this. If you’ve got a mapping project for which you’d like to do a review, get in touch. The software appears quite new; we’ll be looking into availability and pricing, too, of course.

    http://www.insidinc.com/