Sundog Software released version 5.0 of the SilverLining Sky, 3D Cloud, and Weather SDK, featuring support for OpenGL 2.0 through 4.5. SilverLining is a C++ library that simulates real-time skies for any given time, location, and weather conditions. It implements a variety of volumetric rendering techniques to represent many different 3D cloud types in a physically realistic manner from any angle, while maintaining high frame-rates. SilverLining 5 introduces new hand-modeled storm clouds suitable for use in flight simulators. Large, natural-looking cumulonimbus thunderheads and towering cumulus clouds in various stages of development are included. SilverLining integrates into any OpenGL application easily with simple calls to initialize, update, and draw its skies, clouds, and precipitation effects. Integration code for OpenSceneGraph is included. SilverLining is widely used in the training and simulation industry, and powers the popular “SkyMaxx Pro” add-on for the X-Plane flight simulator.

OpenSceneGraph is an open source OpenGL-based scene graph API for high-performance 3D rendering. The 2.8.5 release adds new features and enhancements to the stable 2.8.x release series, including more efficient uniform processing, support for the OpenGL texture multisample extension, and enhancements to several file format plugins. For further information read the press release, or to obtain the software go to the download page. OpenSceneGraph also supports COLLADA.

Tech Soup announces open registration for its next OpenSceneGraph (OSG) course, October 5-7, 2010, in South Lake Union, Seattle, Washington. This class will teach students everything to be proficient in OSG in a 3-day intensive course. This course covers everything developers need to know to take maximum advantage of OpenSceneGraph from intermediate through advanced. We’ll also take a tour through VirtualPlanetBuilder so you can build geospecific, tiled, paged datasets.

Developers attending the course learn the mechanisms behind effective OSG development from scenegraph creation and manipulation through debugging & optimizing. Through instruction and labs, students build scenes and interact with real code from day one. The course is fast-paced, requires creativity and problem solving, and leaves users with a thorough immersion in OpenSceneGraph. Instruction is hands-on with numerous labs where students directly turn concepts into practical knowledge.