Flatland Online, Inc.

Welcome to Flatland!


The Flatland Rover is a plugin for your web browser that lets you view immersive 3D environments on the Web. These 3D spaces, called "spots", are created with 3DML. Flatland Rover


About 3DML
3DML is a Web publishing language based on HTML. Flatland designed 3DML to make publishing 3D content on the Web just as easy as publishing 2D homepages!. If you already know HTML, you already know the basics of 3DML.

It's easy to get started with 3DML.

  1. Run the appropriate installer for your web browser. Rover supports Netscape Communicator 3.0 and above, Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0 and above, and AOL 4.0 and above.
    To install, click on the plugin links below for the browser you prefer.

    Download the Flatland Plugin for NETSCAPE COMMUNICATOR

    Download the Flatland Plugin for MS INTERNET EXPLORER

    Download the Flatland Plugin for AOL

  2. Once you've installed Flatland Rover, go visit a spot to see 3DML in action! Find your way to Lara Croft in Lara's Tomb. Or can you find your way out of Lara's Cave? Step into 3D and back in time to the grassy knolls of hamlet. Or catapult forward to dystopian visions of urban decay on the corner of crimeart. If ancient aesthetics draw your eye, you can visit the Sphinx who recalls old riddles from the desert. Or you can quench your thirst by the fountain.

  3. To learn how to build your own 3D spots, check out the 3DML tutorial. This tutorial is also available online at the Flatland website. And for info on how to build TombRaider style spots, be sure to check out Flatland at tombraider.com.

  4. How to make sure you have the latest release of Flatland Rover:

    After you install Rover for the first time, it will check our server once a week to see if there is a new version available. If there is, it will download the new version in the background and let you know when the download is complete. (Your web browsing always takes priority! The Rover download will not slow down your other browsing!) If you want to check for the most current version right away, click on Rover's Options button (the target-looking icon at the bottom of your Rover window) and then click on "Check for Update Now".

    As new features are added to Rover, some of the information in the tutorial will be updated. You can always complete the tutorial online to make sure that you have the most current version, or you have a local version of the tutorial here that you can complete offline. To check to see if your version of the tutorial is the most current, click here. The version that you have here is current for Rover v0.9.7.

  5. Please visit the Flatland Website for all the latest news on 3DML and Rover: http://www.flatland.com

    If you need help with installing Rover, check the Installation FAQ (in the Download section of the Flatland Website). If you still need help, write to:
    help@flatland.com

    If you need help building with 3DML, check the Builder's FAQ and the Builder's Forum (in the Builder's Guide section of the Flatland Website). If you still need help, write to:
    help@flatland.com

    When you have built a spot with 3DML and put it up on your website, be sure to give us the URL so that we can provide a link from the 3Directory! (in the Spotlight section of the Flatland Website) Write to:
    site@flatland.com

    Copyright 1998,1999 Flatland Online, Inc. Legal Blurb