macOS Java 8 JavaFX 3D Modeling?

I'd like to make a program that takes user input and produces 3D meshes that the user can then interact with.

I'd like the program to run on OSX and Windows, and maybe Linux, too.

Java 8 gets released in 4 days and will include JavaFX 2, which includes some 3D capabilities. Does anyone know if I can have the user interact with arbitrary 3D meshes using this?

Documentation seems scant right now on these features, and everything I can find online just shows basic cubes and spheres. I'm wondering if it's worth investing time in learning how this stuff works or if maybe there's a better route to take. WebGL requires the user to change settings in their browser and doesn't seem to have very good performance.

Does anyone know how quickly it's likely that people will pick up Java 8? I'm looking to make a 3D architecture program aimed at very non-savvy computer users, so I need to make sure that every portion of the program is trivial to use. (SketchUp is way too complicated for my target users).

What exactly wouldn't it be able to do?

I'm looking around and I don't see any ray tracing function built in... But I think I know how to make one myself.

Question: Do you think using WebGL would reach more people, or Java 8?

I'm aiming to make my program an extremely fun experience for children as well as an essential tool for certain businesses, so my target audience knows nothing about 3D modeling and isn't computer savvy. I've been sketching out the UI for how to keep this something my users can use without limiting what they can quickly do in it.

The biggest thing that concerns me is the installation process. People that aren't computer savvy mostly don't update Java, or even have it in the first place.

But then WebGL has the issue that most people don't have it enabled...

Maybe I'll look into seeing if Unity can do what I want...

Edit: nevermind - it looks like Unity can definitely do this. I'll give making my program in Unity a shot.

Blakeasd said:

Why not use OpenGL?

Click to expand...

Why not assembly?

I don't want to deal with everything OpenGL entails. I want to provide a mesh, textures, and lighting. The last time I looked into OpenGL, I found it required huge amounts of boilerplate code.

chrono1081 said:

Unity is by far the fastest and easiest route.

Click to expand...

Yep - I haven't started on this project yet (other things came up) but my plan is to use the TriangleMesh class.