RASTER3D V2.1
This note is to announce new distribution addresses (ftp and www)
and a new version (V2.1) for the Raster3D graphics package.
NEW ADDRESSES:
ftp: ftp.bmsc.washington.edu
www: http://www.bmsc.washington.edu/raster3d/raster3d.html
NEW VERSION:
V2.1 is not substantially different from the previous version.
The primary change consists of support for additional surface
properties during object rendering. This addition should, for
example, facilitate the extension of existing programs to emit
Raster3D input files describing molecular surfaces.
The current README file is appended below.
Ethan A Merritt
merritt at u.washington.edu
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% README.RASTER3D %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
PROGRAM:
Raster3D is a set of tools for generating high quality raster
images of proteins or other molecules. The core program renders
spheres, triangles, and cylinders with specular highlighting,
Phong shading, and shadowing using an efficient Z-buffer algorithm.
Ancillary programs process atomic coordinates from Brookhaven PDB
files into rendering descriptions for pictures composed of ribbons,
space-filling atoms, bonds, ball+stick, etc. Raster3D can also be
used to render pictures composed in Per Kraulis' MOLSCRIPT program
in glorious 3D with highlights, shadowing, etc. (NB: you will need
MOLSCRIPT V1.4 to get the full benefit of this). Output is to
pixel image files with 24 bits of color information per pixel.
AVAILABILITY:
Raster3d is freely available but unsupported.
REFERENCES:
original implementation:
Bacon, David J. and Anderson, Wayne F. (1988). Journal of
Molecular Graphics 6, 219-220 (abstract of paper presented
at the Seventh Annual Meeting of the Molecular Graphics
Society, San Francisco, 10-12 August 1988). "A Fast
Algorithm for Rendering Space-Filling Molecule Pictures."
version 2.0:
Merritt, Ethan A. and Murphy, Michael E.P. (1994).
"Raster3D Version 2.0, a Program for Photorealistic Molecular Graphics"
Acta Cryst. D50, 869-873.
AUTHORS:
originally written by David J. Bacon and Wayne F. Anderson;
extensions, revisions, modifications, ancillary programs by
Mark Israel, Stephen Samuel, Michael Murphy, Albert Berghuis,
and Ethan A Merritt
SOURCE:
ftp: ftp.bmsc.washington.edu
www: http://www.bmsc.washington.edu/raster3d/raster3d.html
contact: Ethan A Merritt
Dept of Biological Structure Box 357420
University of Washington
Seattle WA 98195-7420
Email: merritt at u.washington.edu
