A web-based remake of the Windows 3D Pipes screensaver (3D Pipes.scr or sspipes.scr) using Three.js
Includes both Utah Teapots and candy cane easter eggs! (with increased chances 😏)
It's also included in 98.js.org as a program you can run.
(This screen capture GIF is outdated. It now avoids collisions between pipes and implements the dissolve effect for fading out.)
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Add back smooth fade out as an option, now that a dissolve effect is implemented
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Add control for speed
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Animate sections into existence, emulating CPU graphics where the triangles were drawn progressively and the screen updated in between "frames" (optionally)
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Improve lighting (the original was less shiny), or at least avoid unflattering camera angles
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Use a palette (what palette? please help with this)
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Extra camera functions like continuous rotation, maybe even following the pipes like a rollercoaster
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Allow moving camera during dissolve transition (it's kinda unpleasant how it stops you (abruptly), and the effect is implemented as an overlay anyways)
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Save options to local storage, or maybe in the URL
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Custom textures with drag and drop (and also a file input) (can accept multiple textures, for it to choose from randomly (pulling from a bag and not replacing them))
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Proper elbow joints (currently uses a sphere (smaller than the ball joint so it doesn't stick out) rather than a section of a torus); could use spline extrusion rather than trying to align a torus section every which way (if it actually helps)
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Implement different behavioral characteristics between pipes
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Follow-the-leader mode
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Update README GIF
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An API maybe?
MIT-licensed; see LICENSE for details
You just need an HTTP server, but Live Server is a great option, automatically reloading when you make changes.
Prettier is used for code formatting.
To set up, including a pre-commit hook:
- Install Node.js if you don't already have it
- Run
npm i
in the project directory
A pre-commit hook can be surprising tho; formatting on save might be better...
The source code for the original OpenGL screensavers can be found in a version of the Windows SDK (for Windows NT 4.0), in MSTOOLS\SAMPLES\OPENGL\SCRSAVE
(If you have a later version of the code, please let me know.)
All the good stuff is in screensaver.js