Right now I am in the process of writing a book on Metal. Metal came out the same year as Swift. One thing that has caused a lot of frustration among people like myself who are interested in Metal is the fact that there is not a lot of material out there on the framework. It’s gotten much better. Ray Wenderlich has released a video series on Metal. Apple dedicated a whopping five videos to Metal in 2016. If you’ve been checking the docs between when Metal came out and now, they have increased dramatically in both quantity and quality. Metal has come a long way over the last year.

There are frameworks that Apple released in the last few years that make Metal dramatically more useful. It integrates well with SceneKit, which makes it far easier to work with 3D graphics. In 2015, Apple introduced the Model I/O framework to make it easier to import 3D models from programs like Blender and Maya. Before that, you had to parse all these files by hand like a savage.

I had a sample project I wanted to do today that I didn’t realize I needed to import a model for. Most of the things that I need to do with Metal are made infinitely easier by Model I/O and SceneKit. But I don’t see people clamoring for more books on SceneKit or tutorials on Model I/O. There is almost no information out there about it outside of the Apple documentation. There is one piece of sample code and only one video from 2015.

I am not picking at Apple for not having more documentation. They have a lot on their plate and they’re doing the best they can. I am simply confused as to why I don’t see more people complaining about the lack of information about Model I/O. I don’t know if the lack of adoption of Model I/O is clamping the adoption of Metal or if it goes the other way.

I feel like there is a lack of understanding about what is out there and what the most optimal way is to get things done as efficiently as possible.

I know that SceneKit never got the amount of attention that it may have deserved. Everyone I talk to that would use SceneKit don’t want to because it’s not available on Android. I feel like most people I interact with use Unity because it was the best thing available five years ago and it’s just the thing they’re most comfortable with.

Apple has a lot of misfit frameworks. Gameplay Kit. Model I/O. SceneKit. These all work together and support one another. I want to see more stuff out in the world about these frameworks.

I am hoping that I can incorporate learning these frameworks into my exploration of Metal. I think that knowing these tools and using them in my projects will make my experience with Metal far richer and more productive than it would have been otherwise. I know this runs the risk of being a rabbit hole I fall down that prevents me from focusing and getting projects done. However, I think if I don’t raise my awareness of these frameworks, I will be missing the forrest for the trees. I will wind up wasting a bunch of time reinventing the wheel or creating useless things that don’t accomplish what they are capable of.

I am trying to remember that these are large topics. These take time to learn and adopt. Rome wasn’t built in a day. It’s important to remember this is a large topic and to not get frustrated when I realize things are large.