3DNature Links page
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| WCS/VNS import/export plug-in for Leveller | Designed to be used in conjunction with the Daylon Leveller software for Windows ($149). The WCS/VNS plugin (no additional charge) for Leveller makes editing terrain (or creating totally custom DEMs) fast, easy and fun. (WCS 6 and VNS 2 include a DEM Paint tool for doing similar editing, but Leveller offers more tools and features as a stand-alone program.) |
| 3D Cafe Free 3D Objects | Free 3D Objects. |
| 3Dize Free 3D Object links | Free 3D objects. |
| Antarctic DEM Data | Radarsat Antarctic Mapping Project Digital Elevation Model Version 2 |
| Australia and Africa DEMs | The Australian Digital Elevation Model (DEM) has been developed using the CRES package ANUDEM. It is available at a continental scale at two spatial resolutions - 1/20th degree and 1/40th degree. The DEM is also available at a finer resolution (1/60th degree or 1 minute) for individual states. Also, a topographic and climate database for Africa has been developed by the Centre for Resource and Environmental Studies (CRES). |
| Bishop Digital Image Foliage Collections | 3D Artists, Grapic Designers, Architects and Landscape Architects, we're your source for high quality pre-masked images. The images can be used as texture maps or composite images. Our images are saved as .PSD files (Adobe Photoshop). The object layer floats above the background making for fast halo-free final output. Please take a moment to browse through our image galleries to see how our photos can save hours of masking time and provide additional realism to your next computer model or presentation. Our image collections available on CD or DVD. Individual volumes (20 images) sold on CD's for $49 each.
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| Canada3D | Digital Elevation Model of Canada (CTI) |
| DFD (German / European) Data Product Guide | The user interface Earth Observation on the WEB provides access to the earth observation data available at the DFD. You can search for data, view browse images, order data and retrieve data on-line. |
| Dwayne Jensen's Free WCS/VNS Tree Foliage Images | Dwayne Jensen, a talented early WCS artist, has made available several of his free tree/foliage images for anyone to use. Thanks Dwayne! |
| Free Canadian DEMs and other GIS data | GeoBase is a federal, provincial and territorial government initiative that is overseen by the Canadian Council on Geomatics (CCOG). It is undertaken to ensure the provision of, and access to, a common, up-to-date and maintained base of quality geospatial data for all of Canada. Through the GeoBase portal, users with an interest in the field of geomatics have access to quality geospatial information at no cost and with unrestricted use. GeoBase responds to Canadians' requests for access to data at no cost to users. It is built on partnerships and innovative technology. By working together, multiple levels of government are increasing their efficiency in collecting and maintaining geospatial data. This also reduces duplication of efforts among agencies.
By creating the GeoBase portal, the partners are also improving Canadians' access to: |
| GLCF - Landcover.org | University of Maryland Global Land Cover Facility, source of free global Landsat, MODIS and Aster imagery, and SRTM DEMs. 13 Terabytes online! All free! |
| I-Cubed | Provides all major satellite imagery and all forms of data resources (DEM, DLG, DRG, DOQ, etc.). |
| Lake Tahoe Data Clearinghouse | A gateway to information and data pertaining to Lake Tahoe. |
| Landsat.com | Landsat.com is your discount aerial photography and satellite imagery source. We sell 1 foot orthoimagery for as low as $20 and LANDSAT satellite imagery for $10 - $20. |
| Montana NRIS | Montana Geographic Information Clearinghouse |
| Nasa Planetary Image Maps | Texture images usable for recreating other planets. |
| National Geophysical Data Center (NGDC) | NOAA's National Geophysical Data Center (NGDC) provides scientific stewardship, products, and services for geophysical data from the Sun to the Earth and Earth's sea floor and solid earth environment, including Earth observations from space. |
| Realworld Imagery | Texture maps of plants and people for 2D/3D graphics and design visualization. |
| San Francisco Regional Bay Area Database (BARD) | BARD's goal is to make it convenient for you to acquire USGS Digital Data for the San Francisco Bay Area. |
| USDA Lighthouse | The Geospatial Data Gateway or Geo-Data Gateway provides easy and consistent access to natural resource data. You can search for available data by geographic area such as county or state, use our point and click map tool to find your area of interest; using a gazetteer, or by entering latitude and longitude coordinates. You can also search for data by theme, such as digital ortho imagery, digital elevation models (DEMs), or soils. You can then view a thumbnail, or sample of the data you've chosen to know if you want a copy of the data. If you do, you can either download the data directly onto your machine, pick it up via our ftp site, or order it on media such as CD. Data types: TIGER, hydrography, DRGs, DEMs, blanaced DOQ mosaics, soils, precipitation. All free for download! |
| USGS GNIS | USGS based site, this takes you to a query form for locating named locations in the United States and its territories. |
| USGS quad Mapfinder | Free USGS Quad Locator Online |
| USGS SDDS | The source for virtually all free USGS terrain, imagery and other GIS data. Map browser, download, very quick and easy. |
| Washington State Geospatial Data Archive | Geospatial Data available from the UW Map Collection |
| Wisconsin DNR/UW Free Forestry Tree/Foliage Images | Many tree images are provided, as well as other forest images such as snags and stumps. Also, several example ecosystem images are provided to show what can be acomplished using World Construction Set and the images found on this site. If you use the images from the tree and ecosystem libraries, please cite as: Stoltman, A. M., V. C. Radeloff and D. J. Mladenoff. 107. Tree image library and forest ecosystem library. http://www.silvis.forest.wisc.edu/visualization/visualization.asp last accessed: 1/3/2007 We would appreciate also if you could acknowledge both the Department of Forest Ecology and Managment, University of Wisconsin-Madison, and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources for providing the data. Species include: White Ash, Bigtooth Aspen, Quaking Aspen, Basswood, White Birch, Yellow Birch, Black Cherry, Shagbark Hickory, Red Maple, Sugar Maple, Black Oak, Bur Oak, Northern Pin Oak, Red Oak, White Oak, Black Walnut, Balsam Fir, Northern White Cedar, Eastern Red Cedar, Eastern Hemlock, Jack Pine, Red Pine, White Pine, White Spruce, Black Spruce |
| Wisconsin GIS Resources Page | Wisconsin DNR GIS Resources |
| WorldWind Data Sources Index | This is a data sources catalog created for another 3D terrain software package. It is an excellent place to look for obscure regional data sources. |
| Wyoming GIS Resources Page | Wyoming GIS Resources Page |
| 3DWin | Windows shareware application that can translate between several 3D file formats. |
| 7-Zip | 7-Zip is a Windows program for working with archived files in many formats such as 7z, ZIP, CAB, RAR, ARJ, GZIP, BZIP2, TAR, CPIO, RPM and DEB. Similar to WinZip, it integrates with the Windows Explorer. 7-Zip is free under the GNU GPL license. |
| AlphaPixel PixelSense | Point and click processing of remote-sensed imagery bands into beautiful ready-to-use high-quality GeoTIFF images. PixelSense is the most efficient and cost-effective way to process multi-band image files such as those from the University of Maryland Global Land Cover Facility server into stunning natural-color georeferenced TIFF images for use in VNS. PixelSense costs USD $49 and can be purchased online. A Demo version is available. |
| GeoRef | Georef is a utility program for geo-referencing TIFF images. The full version of the product has other features including a contour tracing module which can be used to produce Microsoft Jet (.mdb) format databases of xyz contour data. |
| GeoTIFF Examiner | Mentor Software's highly useful free utility for examining and editing the coordinates within a GeoTIFF file, and/or copying those coordinates to or from an associated TFW file. Invaluable. |
| GeoTIFF Tutorials | Four-part tutorial on using GeoTIFF images in Photoshop utilizing listgeo/geotiffcp and similar tools. |
| GZIP | Powerful freeware cross-platform de/compressor for .gz files (command-line based). |
| Hardware Key | Find Drivers and Test Program for WCS and VNS hardware keys. |
| Info-Zip | ZIP-compatible cross-platform compressor/decompressor for .zip files (command-line and GUI versions available). |
| ListGeo and GeoTifCP for Win32 | Command-line utilities used for examining and copying/modifying the metadata in GeoTIFF files. Part of LibGeoTIFF. |
| Quicktime | Quicktime Pro can be used for authoring and editing animations made in Quicktime format. |
| Rockware Freeware | Rockware's extensive stable of free utility software including (as of Feb 2003) Basin2 (Groundwater flow), Convert (units conversion), Coordinate Calculator (Coordinate Conversion), DXF2XYZ (AutoCAD DXF to ASCII XYZ conversion), Erupt! (Volcano simulation), Geomatica FreeView (GIS raster/vector viewer), GeoTrig (geologic trig functions), GO (Vroom model viewer), LogView (Plot2000 log viewer), Magnetic (geomagnetic evaluation), Mineral Mastery (Mineral Identification), Seismic (evaluate seismic data/models), SignProc (process magnetic data), Unix/DOS (convert ASCII files between Unix & DOS) and VES (Schlumberger Resistivity Modelling & Inversion). |
| SDTS Rename Program | Recently, the USGS SDTS DEMs were given over to www.gisdatadepot.com for distribution. One of the annoying changes with this is that the downloaded files are given random numeric names, and viewing a log in program such as Go!Zilla doesn't help, since all the downloads are sent by script from a common directory. This is an attempt to bring some order back to the downloaded DEMs. |
| Stereoscope Applet | The Stereoscope Applet is a solution to present stereoscopic images without using plug-ins! The images can be viewed with every JAVA 1.1 capable browser under whatever operating system you want! Supports Red/Blue, Red/Green, Greyscale, Color and TrueColor Anaglyph, Crossed-Eyes, Parallel viewing, KMQ viewing, Mirrored Viewing, Interlaced Shutter Glasses, Page-Flipping Shutter Glasses, Lenticular Displays, Fullscreen mode and more. |
| TAR for WindowsNT | This is Sourceforge project containing ports of common Unix utilities, including the ubiquitous tar format. There is also a version of the tar.exe file mirrored by the USGS Water division here which may be easier or faster to download, as well as containing a smaller number of more common utilities for Windows than the Sourceforge project. |
| TIFFUtils | TIFFDump and TIFFInfo for Windows -- command-line utilities for dissecting TIFF files. |
| Unchop | Unchop.exe fixes DEMs that have been altered with Chop.exe for use by Idrisi. Unchop.exe removes carriage returns/linefeeds to convert them back to standard USGS DEMs, readable by a variety of software, including WCS. Thanks to the late Solomon Katz and Ben Logan. |
| XNView | XnView is an efficient multimedia viewer, browser and converter. |
| Free Digital Mapping Tools | Digital Grove has a large link page of downloadable GIS/mapping tools. "The Internet offers many free tools for making maps, collecting GIS data and utilizing GPS. Trying them, looking for those that are reasonably easy to use, can be frustrating and time consuming. A few of the best are listed here. This collection emphasizes free products to encourage exploration. Some programs are fully functional, while others may be trial versions or offer additional features after payment of a registration fee." |
| Tutorial Templates | These are the HTML files for use in creating your own Tutorials for installation within WCS6 or VNS2. Customizing these Template files is described in a Tutorial by Adam Hauldren. |
| Virtual Globes overview | This resource is meant as a central depository for all things related to virtual globes. This means not only should it include links to the developers of the different virtual globes software, but also links to those who use the globes. |
| Adobe, Inc | Makers of video editing and image processing software. |
| DAM Entertainment | Creators of PrometheanFX, a particle system compatible with WCS and VNS, as well as Cinema 4D, Lightwave, Max and Realsoft 3D. |
| discreet* | Makers of 3D Studio MAX and VIZ. |
| Newtek, Inc | Makers of LightWave 3D, Inspire 3D, Aura and the Video Toaster. |
| Onyx Computing, Inc | Makers of Tree Professional, a high-quality 3D tree creation program compatible with WCS and VNS. |
| Computer Graphics World | Coverage of CAD/CAM, 3d, animation and visualization applications. |
| EOM | Earth Observation Magazine, Integrating GIS, Mapping, Remote Sensing, Aerial Photography & GPS |
| GEOInformatics | The key mission of GeoInformatics is to inform readers about the ever-growing demand for geo-information products and services and to keep
them abreast of the latest technologies, skills and knowledge required to
effectively meet this demand. The readership of GeoInformatics is found in
private surveying and mapping companies, national mapping agencies, local
government and municipalities, utilities, telecom, transportation, GIS and
LBS consultancy companies, universities, educational and research
institutions, and important industry partners such as geographers, civil
engineers and computer scientists. GeoInformatics' readers are involved in such disciplines as surveying, photogrammetry, remote sensing, mapping, GIS, cartography and geoinformation visualisation, design and development of spatial information systems, database development and related computer sciences. Each issue of the magazine is available on the World Wide Web as well as the latest news and developments. |
| GeoWorld | GeoWorld (formerly GIS World) is an industry publication specializing in GIS and spatial technologies. |
| Keyframe | A high-end publication for Video Toaster NT, LightWave, Inspire, and Aura enthusiasts. |
| NewtekPro | NewTekPro magazine serves the NewTek community (Lightwave, Aura, Video Toaster). |
| OpenGL.org | The home of the OpenGL specifications and the Architechture Review Board. |
| SIGGRAPH | SIGGRAPH is a Special Interest Groups of the Association of Computing Machinery (ACM) specializing in computer graphics and animation. |
| Hardware Key Drivers and Troubleshooting | Find Drivers and Troubleshooting Program for WCS and VNS hardware keys. |
| Omega Drivers |  Unofficial tweaked drivers for ATI and Nvidia graphics cards. Very useful for those with laptop chipsets where the computer manufacturer isn't publishing current/updated versions of the drivers, and the standard video/chipset manufacturer driver won't recognize and install on your hardware. |
| Christine-GIS | Christine is a useful, easy-to-use tool that brings geographic information to your deskop. Christine gives you the power to visualize, explore, query and analyze data spatially. A key feature of Christine is that it's easy to load tabular data, such as dBASEŽ files and data from database servers. Using Christine you can display, query, summarize, and organize this data geographically. Christine GIS system is designed with an intuitive Windows user interface and includes own script interface for automtization of long tasks. Christine GIS version 1.x contains three types of documents: Views, Tables and Scripts. Christine is a display and query tool that can perform many of the tasks involved in the spatial analysis of geographic databases. And because similar GIS programs are expensive, Christine is free. |
| Digital ROC | Digital ROC is a Photoshop plugin ($50) for automatically rebalancing color in images. It does an excellent job of making natural color out of Landsat 321 band images. There is a free demo version available for download. Note that using Photoshop on GeoTIFF images with embedded metadata will lose the georeferencing. Use GeoTIFF Examiner to create World Files first. |
| Directory Opus | Directory Opus is a file manager or Windows Explorer replacement for power users. Opus has a variety of handy commands and enhanced features to speed complex tasks. 3D Nature uses Opus heavily, and has recommended it to a large number of WCS and VNS users. There is a free evaluation version available. Download it and check it out for 60 days. At the end of 60 days, you won't want to give it up. Opus costs about USD $57 for a single machine, or $79 for two machines. |
| Onyx Tree Pro | Tree Professional is a high-quality 3D tree creation program compatible with WCS and VNS. |
| Plant Studio | PlantStudio Botanical Illustration Software is a free tool for creating 3D plant models and 2D illustrations. PlantStudio simulates herbaceous (non-woody) plants like wildflowers and cut flowers, vegetables, weeds, grasses, and herbs using a parameter-driven simulation of plant growth and structure. |
| Rainbow Hardware Key Diagnostic Software for Windows (Sentinel Medic) | Sentinel Medic is used for basic hardware key troubleshooting, such as determining if your computer can find the key at all. |
| Rainbow Hardware Key System Drivers for Windows | These are the latest drivers for accessing the Rainbow-manufactured hardware key used with WCS and VNS on Windows. If you have older versions of WCS/VNS, they may not have modern enough drivers to work with newer OSes like Windows 2000 or WinXP. You will need to download and install this package in order for your hardware key to be recognized. |
| Wilbur | Wilbur allows an individual to play with terrain data (height fields). It can import data from and export data to many popular file formats. In addition, it allows the data to be modified with a number of image processing operations as well as height field painting tools. |
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