WASMAI:FAQ

Interviewer: So, what exactly is WASMAI? Is it like a Blender for browsers, or something else entirely? And where does the name come from?

Expert: Haha, good one! But no, WASMAI stands for Web Assembly (WASM) Animation Image (AI). And just to be clear, the AI here stands for Animation Image, not Artificial Intelligence - though I’m sure the animations could use some “smart” help sometimes! It's a bit of a mouthful, but in simple terms, it's all about fast animation and real-time rendering through a web browser - although it's not limited to that. Think of it as a way to create complex, high-performance animations without relying solely on native software. It's got legs and arms, but we’ll get into the nitty-gritty later. There are several ways to implement this, but let's save that for another chat!

Interviewer: But come on, give us more details! I'm dying to know more, please! Please!

Expert: Oh, you want more? Well, buckle up! WASMAI is like a magic wand for creating 3D and 2D graphics, real-time rendering at its finest! You can tweak dynamic lights - Omni, Spot, Projection, and even Volumetrics - just like that! Want that cinematic feel? No problem, it handles effects like Depth of Field (DOF) and Field of View (FOV) like a pro. But wait, there’s more! We’re talking about all kinds of models, meshes, objects, and materials. And guess what? You can do it all with just a couple of mouse clicks!

There’s even a built-in randomness mechanism that makes generating unique visualizations and animations a breeze. All of this? You can run it straight from your web browser (or a desktop app, if you prefer). Now, don’t get too overwhelmed - I’m trying not to wear you out with all this awesomeness. But seriously, does that sound fun or what?

Interviewer: Oh wow! That sounds super complicated, my head’s already spinning. Ouch!

Expert: I already told you, it's simpler than you think! Even beginners can work wonders with just two mouse clicks - so impressive, it’ll make your eyes pop out of their sockets! Click, click, and boom, you’ve got a unique masterpiece ready to flaunt on TikTok. Feeling better now? Did I calm you down a bit? I’m pretty sure you can handle a mouse clicks, right?

Interviewer: Awesome, now I'm all hyped up! Tell me, can I make a cool desktop wallpaper to start with? I love having unique, original wallpapers, you know?

Expert: Yep, yep, absolutely! There’s actually a dedicated feature for making wallpapers. Hahaha. But seriously, creating a wallpaper takes literally two mouse clicks, nothing more. After that, it’s all up to your imagination! Just don’t forget to pause the animation so you can pick the perfect shot for your wallpaper in any size you want. How’s that? Pretty cool, huh?

Interviewer: Holy moly, you’re really selling it! My friends are going to be so jealous. I won’t tell them how I did it - I’ll just pretend I made it in Krita, haha! But seriously, I want to do it now!

Expert: No problem, buddy! All you need to do is head over to the website, and the link will be right there in the menu. It’s just hidden for now because the guys are still working on a few visual tweaks - like, you know, little ducks, puppies, kittens - cute stuff to play with! I have to give them a little nudge since they went off skiing and forgot to link it on the site. But don't worry, it'll be up in no time!

Eghh, you know how it is with programmers. They can write a super complicated shader but forget to add a simple link! It’s like baking a whole huge cake and forgetting the cherry on top, or like a Christmas tree without the star. But hey, as they say, everything will be running smoothly by ... (again) Christmas! I hope... I mean, it MUST - I'll make sure to give those coders a piece of my mind when they get back from their skiing trip!

And between you and me, don't tell anyone... I’m secretly hoping one of them sprains an ankle or breaks a ski pole so they hurry back and add that darn link! Brrrrrrry! 😜

Interviewer: And, uh, could you maybe, you know, make it so not too many people can access the app? You know, keep it on the down-low? I’m sure you understand why, right? 😉

Expert: Well, why not? If you really want, you can have exclusive access - just a *small* monetary contribution, and it’s all yours. I’ll even forget WASMAI ever existed! Hahaha! 😂

But on a slightly more serious note, it’ll definitely be fully available with some minor web-based technical limitations. Plus, it’ll run on pretty much any desktop system you can think of - Linux, Windows, Mac, and whatever else you’ve got up your sleeve. So, what do you think? Are you loving it yet?

Interviewer: Ofc. And besides computer wallpapers, what else can you use WASABI-uh, I mean… WASMAI for? Sorrry

Expert: Hahaha! Mixing it up with Japanese horseradish, are we? Well, that’s good-it shows your imagination is running wild! And trust me, your success with WASMAI depends on just that: imagination. So, what can you use it for, you ask? Pretty much *anything* you can see, admire, create, compose, play with, educate yourself on, or simulate. But let’s take it slow, okay?

In short, here’s a quick list: composing 3D/2D scenes, for graphic designers, for animators, for project demonstrations, logos, website elements, ad spots, cutscenes, intros/outros, architects, high-quality lossless textures, video game assets, custom thumbnails, math visualizations, and, of course, your favorite wallpapers. Oh, and there’s more-like syncing simulations with sound automatically down the road.

Honestly, the list could go on forever. Basically, if it’s for the eyes, WASMAI’s got you covered. And remember - your IMAGINATION is the only limit here. So, get creative and let WASMAI blow your mind! 😉

Interviewer: Okay, but tell me-how do I launch this awesome app in full screen? I mean, it’s gotta be huge, epic, all-encompassing! Full immersion, baby!

Expert: Ach, full immersion at its finest! It’s as easy as pie: just hit Alt+Enter. Boom! You’re in full screen, ready to dive headfirst into the WASMAI magic. And if you start missing the cozy confines of your windowed view? Just hit Alt+Enter again, and voilà-you’re back to normal. It’s like a toggle for your creative mood! 🖱️✨

Interviewer: You mentioned something about math in WASMAI. Well, you know, I've always been a bit of a math dunce... I'm a little scared, to be honest!

Expert: Yes, math is super useful, though not absolutely necessary. However, it’s definitely worth catching up on the basics like sine, cosine, and the like. Trust me, it’s very, very helpful! These solutions, combined with the drivers, can produce some truly mind-blowing animation and graphical effects. So, don't fear the math-it's your backstage pass to creating epic visuals! 📐

Interviewer: What?! What drivers again? I'm freaking out. Isn't math enough on its own?

Expert: Don't worry. There’s actually no big mystery with drivers. The main one is called "frame," and it simply returns the cumulative time interval between each animation frame. It might sound complicated, but it's really just a counter that keeps growing. Thanks to this, we can move through time, so to speak. There are three drivers right now: frame, time, and tick, but you can find more details in the Eval tab. I assure you, once you see a finished example, you'll understand everything, and you'll dive right into playing around with it. I guarantee it!

Interviewer: Oh my God, Sin, Cos, Frame, Tick. What else?

Expert: Sin, cos, asin, tan, acosh, atanh, clamp, exp, round, lerp, min, max, randf, randi_range, and even bezier derivative and interpolate. Hahaha. As I said before: "No need to be scared." Everything you need is in the eval tab, and there are also ready-made examples in the app (placeholders). Soon enough, you’ll see it’s not as scary as it seems!

Interviewer: I know you can save individual images to a file, but what about video?

Expert: Good question! Images are saved in the lossless .PNG format (though you can set it as you like). As for videos, we stick to the option of recording each frame individually as a sequence of images, one after the other. This way, we don’t lose any quality and leave more room for creativity. Working with an image sequence is often better than dealing with a compressed file like an mp4. There are plenty of free programs to compile them into a video, with post-production options, such as Blender, Adobe tools, and many more. Maybe later we’ll integrate ffmpeg into WASMAI and add a direct video generation option - we’ll see how it goes...

Interviewer: Wow, such an awesome application must cost a fortune, right? I’ll never be able to afford it.

Expert: You can always ask your parents! Tell them it's for educational purposes, and the fact that you’ll change your wallpaper every 5 minutes-well, that’s a small detail. 😆 But seriously, the online version on the website will be completely free. As for the desktop version, I haven’t decided yet. Maybe something like a “Buy me a coffee” option or a some Patreon... not sure yet. As for the browser-based WASMAI, it will have a few technical limitations, but that doesn’t mean you can’t use it effectively. You’ll still be able to do plenty of cool stuff!

Interviewer: What features will be missing in the online browser version?

Expert: There will be a few limitations. Unfortunately, as I mentioned earlier, browsers don’t yet support these features, but it’s only a matter of time before they catch up with desktop versions. Even with the desktop version, you won’t have access to all the options. Some effects require a dedicated GPU, just like the games you play. As for the effects, the browser version will not support features like: Signed Distance Field Global Illumination (SDFGI), Screen-Space Ambient Occlusion (SSAO), Screen-Space Reflections (SSR), Glow (Bloom), Depth of Field (DOF), Omni3D, and Spot3D Light Projector, Fog and some Volumetric Objects.

Interviewer: What in the world is this SDFGI thing? More of those tricky acronyms again!

Expert: It’s a technique that improves how light spreads across a scene in a game or 3D application. In short, it allows for more realistic lighting in the environment, especially in dark areas, by calculating the distance between surfaces in space. Imagine you have a game scene with walls, ceiling, and floor. Regular lighting might make some corners of the room look dark and unrealistic. SDFGI helps brighten those areas by simulating light reflections based on the shape of the surroundings. To sum up: It's a better way of calculating how light bounces around a room, resulting in more realistic lighting effects.

Interviewer: What is SSAO?

Expert: Screen-Space Ambient Occlusion (SSAO) is a technique that adds shading effects to areas where surfaces are close together, such as corners of rooms, gaps between objects, or around small details like screws. Imagine a scene where there’s a mug on a table. Without SSAO, the space around the mug might look flat. With SSAO, the areas around the mug where it's close to the table will appear darker, making the mug look more natural, as though it’s “sinking” into the table surface.

In short, SSAO adds realistic shadows where objects are near each other, making the scene appear deeper and more detailed.

Interviewer: What is SSR and how does it work?

Expert: Screen-Space Reflections. SSR is a technique that creates reflections on surfaces like water, glass, or wet pavements in a dynamic and realistic way. Reflections are generated in real-time based on what's in the camera's field of view. Imagine you're looking at a lake in the game. The water reflects the sky and surrounding trees. SSR makes these reflections more realistic by considering things that are currently visible. If you move closer to the water, the reflections change, adapting to the movement of the character. In short: SSR allows real-time reflections in water, windows, and other reflective surfaces, making the game look more realistic.

Interviewer: So, I happen to know a bit about Glow because I see it sometimes in real life. But tell me more about it.

Expert: Glow is a visual effect that makes bright objects or lights appear to glow. It's a popular effect used in games to add intensity, especially to light sources or other glowing elements. It's like staring at a lightbulb that's shining brightly.

Interviewer: DOF I know a bit about too, since I love playing with my camera. I have to brag that I have two extra lenses for it.

Expert: Great! Exactly as you say! Depth of Field (DOF) is a technique that blurs the background or foreground to simulate the effect of depth of field we see in reality when focusing on something close or far. This way, we can focus attention on one object, while the rest remains blurred. It’s commonly used in photography and film. WASMAI supports two types of blur: near and far. You can also adjust the blur strength - even better than a real lens, so you'll definitely have fun with it, especially since you love this effect.

Interviewer: What About Light Projection? My Dad recently bought a projector, and he and Mom watch movies on the ceiling. Tell Me More About That!

Expert: Ah, you hit the nail on the head again! Omni3D and Spot3D are different types of light sources in 3D. Omni3D: This is light that spreads in all directions, like a lightbulb in a room. It illuminates the entire space around it. If you place a light in the center of a room, it will evenly illuminate all sides, just like a lightbulb. Spot3D: This is light with a concentrated beam, like a flashlight. It only illuminates a specific area, much like the beam of a spotlight. If you have a flashlight, the light only spreads in a specific direction, lighting up a small area.

Omni3D is light that spreads everywhere, while Spot3D is light focused in one spot.

And yes, light projection is a technique where light is cast onto a surface, often using a projector, to display images, animations, or videos. It’s the same principle your dad uses with his projector, casting movies on the ceiling. In 3D applications, light projection involves projecting light sources like spotlights or omni-lights onto objects and surfaces to create realistic effects like shadows or highlights. It shapes how light behaves within a scene, making everything look more lifelike. In WASMAI, we use light projectors to simulate realistic lighting effects, much like your dad’s projector but in a dynamic 3D environment! Unfortunately, the browser version of the application doesn’t support this type of lighting, unlike the desktop version, which really delivers an amazing effect.

In WASMAI, we also support directional lights as well as World Environment Ambient Light. DirectionalLight3D is a type of light in 3D space that simulates sunlight or any distant light source. It casts parallel rays across the entire scene, creating consistent and uniform lighting, just like the sun’s rays. When used in WASMAI, it helps create realistic outdoor environments by simulating sunlight and the shadows it casts across the scene. This light doesn’t come from a specific point but is instead treated as coming from an infinitely far distance, providing the effect of parallel rays that cover the entire world. Plus, we use World Environment Ambient Light to add a global light to the scene that affects all objects uniformly, giving the scene a base level of lighting, no matter where you are. It’s like the ambient light you see when the sun is up but the sky is overcast.