Pop science
Paint makes the process incredibly simple, with the tools it offers appearing very straightforward at first, but powerful enough to create some impressive 3D works once you’re comfortable using them.
These creations can be exported and viewed on normal PCs, or added to VR and AR applications to be viewed in 3D. Plus, if you have a 3D printer hooked up to your PC, it’s incredibly easy to print off your creations. It’s difficult to explain in writing, but trust us: load up 3D Paint and have a play around — it may just be your new favourite application.
Microsoft’s renewed love of 3D extends beyond 3D Paint to PowerPoint (for 3D models and 3D animations, to make presentations slightly less dull), and the default Edge web browser, which now supports 3D content, and plays nicely with 3D files exported from various programs, such as Minecraft, SketchUp and, of course, 3D Paint.
While 3D displays are now out of vogue, mixed reality — just like virtual and augmented reality — is the hot new thing, and it is these technologies that have rekindled Microsoft’s 3D passion. Under the name ‘Windows Mixed Reality’, which used to be called ‘Windows Holographic’, this is a mixed reality platform built by Microsoft on the Windows 10 API, and it is now heavily integrated into the Windows 10 Creators Update.
It means that you can create your own 3D model (or simply download an existing one), and then easily place it into a real or virtual world using a VR or AR headset. While Microsoft’s own AR headset Hololens is a pricey proposition, Microsoft also announced last year that it is working with a number of headset manufacturers to bring third-party AR and VR headsets to Windows 10 machines. A new app, the Mixed Reality Portal, is included with the Creators Update to show you exactly what Windows 10 is capable of.
A FOCUS ON GAMES
Microsoft promising that it still cares about PC gaming, while chasing the shiny Xbox bauble, is something that a lot of us have heard many times before. At least with the Creators Update, it seems like Microsoft may be making
some positive moves. In the Windows 10 Settings app, there is a new addition: Gaming. This setting enables you to control many aspects of how Windows 10 handles games. Its most talked-about feature is the new Game Mode option, which helps your PC maintain solid frame rates as you play, while other background tasks and applications run. We go into more detail in the boxout on the right, but you can turn the feature on and off from the Gaming settings page.
The Game DVR settings page enables you to control how you take screenshots and record gameplay videos. While there’s a number of programs that enable you to record and share videos, such as Nvidia’s ShadowPlay, Microsoft hopes that, by baking this functionality into Windows 10, you’re more likely to use its offering, especially as it’s so easy to configure and begin recording. Microsoft also argues that, by using Windows 10 to record your gameplay, rather than third-party software, your PC will have more resources at its disposal, which, in turn, should give you more consistent and stable frame rates when you play games while recording.
Among the new Game DVR settings is the ability to turn audio recording on (and off), if you want to provide narration, and you can choose the frame rates and video quality, too.
You can also set Windows 10’s Broadcast settings from this window. In the Creators