Well now, that's an idea I haven't thought of. Reading the thread, I can say that having "layers" of each level of a dungeon that stack on top of each other, showing and hiding layers, rotating them zooming, and adding perspective can be done. The "Mode7" video and Ace addon proves this, although it is a little crude ... but works exactly as it should.
This can all be done with strictly the WOW frames that they give us access to. We just adjust the way a texture is displayed on the frame to give it perspective and the ability to be rotated. There is no need to look up 3D models for what you want to do, with the exception of something that is not flat. If it's flat, we're fine, and by using the floor plan data that addons like Atlas provide, we're golden.
I can whip up a sample of what you want in WOW at a later time if you want to wait a while. I can't possibly start on it now, with LunarSphere coming close to being completed. But even when LunarSphere goes public, I'll be continuing with development on it ... but I will ALSO be focusing on new projects, which are mainly games.
Thanks for the compliment
Although I don't use the most optimal way of doing things ... I'm quite forceful in my approach. A good example is with my Labyrinth minigame. That thing eats up the CPU cycles like a mad man.
Technically, WOW already lets up access 3D data in the form of its 3D models and any 3D model that is converted into the format that WOW recognizes, although I haven't seen that done yet. I am actually looking into modifying the cooldown "fill" model that WOW's buttons use so I can made it into a circle instead of a square, but I don't think I'll be able to pull it off anytime soon.
Sadly, there are some issues when it comes to making a library that others can use ... in regards to the 3D idea. The tools that I can make and let people use would be the Mode7 idea, and the possibility of creating my own 3D model within WOW by using WOW's frames. I can't imagine it being optimized in the least, and it would just be a proof-of-concept, but who knows. Having an interface frame that can skew and move around in 3D with rotation would be cool, but what else could we accomplish with that?
I do know that most of the UI in WOW would have to be re-programmed in order to make it 3D like you might suggest, and even then, some of the functionality will break or be strange. I'm fascinated by the idea, but I don't know what I could do to get it started.
A 3D object library would help people realize this idea, but it would also require the addon author to understand, fully, how to use the library and create data that the addon library will recognize. While I can also create tools to do that, it's still a little hard to ensure that the addon author knows what they are doing when using it. But, it can be done I suppose. I just wonder how much of a CPU hit this type of thing will take.
Well, in terms of minigames, I think I've designed half of the total minigames available for WOW right now, and I still have more that I want to make. I already have one that's in 3D (kinda) with the Labyrinth game of mine (which you can find in this forum, which I'm sure you've seen). Since I stopped working on my minigames when I started LunarSphere, I haven't been able to continue with the progress I was making in that area. One thing I was proud of was the introduction of floor and ceiling textures in my 3D engine that Labyrinth uses. I wanted the next 3D game of mine to have that extra detail, and I was almost done working on it before I dropped all my projects and went after LunarSphere. It uses "Mode7" techniques for the floor and ceiling ...
Anyway, I'm getting off topic. I'll look into your idea when LunarSphere is finished. In theory, I'm going to be needing an updated graphics library for my addons in the future, and the features that the 3D map addon would need could be added to that library.
Any other suggestions, comments, responses ... feel free