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Flames and Rainbows and Mirages Oh My!

A brief history of IRL AR love and pain. Looking for counseling and closure.

I love the idea of code-free WebAR development. Fast. Easy. Near seamless delivery. I’ve spent several weeks trying it. impressive and even free! A dream come true.

My brain cramps, my body trembles in pain remembering Unreal Engine 5 AR development. After many weeks, I finally uploaded a Google Play Store acceptable AR test app using Unreal Engine’s new VR/AR template. The UE video made Android AR app development look so easy. Ha!

Having all four wisdom teeth removed in a single three-hour sitting, none of them requiring removing (Go Navy!) with a several week recovery time looking like The Godfather was far far easier.

WebAR looked like my dream come true.

Now, sadly, it looks like I have to divorce my cherished idea of WebAR. And go back to a horizon reaching array of dentist chairs: Unreal Engine AR app development.

Why? The WebAR required demon of GLB.

GLB/GLTF is a robust 3D export vehicle. The best available apparently. Unless all your work is in the character of: flames, rainbows and mirages. In other words: animated emissive gradient volumes with transparency.

Imagine creating this image as a 3D object with a dark mountain behind it that you can see a little bit. For an experienced user, maybe an afternoon of work in Blender or UE5 to create. Now imagine it as an exported GLB/GLTF file. A single hardlined solid sphere. Ouch.

Thank you Emili Vilamala Benito for capturing and sharing this. (This image cropped.)

I spent 30 minutes creating a simple emissive-gradient-volume-transparency test-image to use in WebAR. I then spent weeks trying to export it in GLB/GLTF. Many baking attempts included.

Then weeks trying to figure out how to maybe create something kinda similar that would successfully export to GLB? Using a few hundred duplicated but slightly altered planes and isospheres. Imagining how to animate it caused my head to explode.

So here I am. Filing for divorce. Sorry WebAR. I love you but…

All relationships start in hopes and end in truths. Breaking up is hard to do. Especially when you are looking to go back to a thorny ex.

Any thoughts, inspirations, agreeing condolences; or, even unexpected insights into WebAR GLB demon taming or UE5 dentist chairing would be most gratefully received and truly appreciated.

Maybe I should try making tapestries or stained glass? Memorize the Vedas, in Sanskrit? Sure! Yet, I sure love the Siren Call of AR.

Who doesn’t love the Call of the Sirens

Thank you all for your patience, efforts and wisdom!
alexander the tied-to-the-mast