What is Macromedia Director 8.5 Shockwave Studio?

Director 8 received rave reviews when it debuted, including one from us... and though the half-step up to version 8.5 may have you thinking “maintenance upgrade,” 8.5 is anything but. 3D for the Web is a reality — if you’re ready to expand your multimedia authoring skills into a whole new dimension, buy this program.

Director 8.5 Shockwave Studio is a multimedia authoring application that allows you to build interactive content for the Web, CD-ROMs, DVDs, and more. This latest version adds support for interactive 3D content and streaming media.

Director 8.5 doesn’t feature traditional 3D-modeling tools, though you can create 3D text and use Lingo (Director’s scripting language) to make primitive shapes such as cubes, spheres, and cylinders. For more- advanced 3D, you’ll want to import models created in separate 3D-modeling apps, such as Lightwave or Amapi 3D. There is one caveat — before importing, you’ll have to convert models to the W3D format. Almost every major 3D-software developer has committed to creating a plug-in converter, but as of press time we’re still waiting for the first Mac one.

Innovation often comes at a price, and Director 8.5 is no exception. Many of Director’s 3D features have a tremendous learning curve. Barring a few pre-scripted behaviors, such as model rotation, the program doesn’t offer many shortcuts for the new functionality — you must learn Lingo to create 3D animations from scratch. Macromedia supplies a lengthy list of 3D Lingo commands — you need to become familiar with Lingo to use them properly, but the program rewards determination.

Director 8.5 delivers support for RealVideo and RealAudio files, enabling seamless integration of streaming video and audio content. This version also allows Lingo scripts to interact directly with Flash’s ActionScript language, enabling better communication and interaction.

While we hope future versions support Mac OS X and feature a more user-friendly authoring environment. Director 8.5 continues to deserve our top honor. 

Baggatta, Patrick. (July 2001). Director 8.5 Shockwave Studio. MacAddict. (pg. 42).

Download Macromedia Director 8.5 Shockwave Studio for Mac

Architecture

IBM PowerPC

System Requirements

From Mac OS 8.5 up to Mac OS 9.2

Compatibility notes

Emulating this? It could probably run under: SheepShaver