Post #2267251

2026-05-08 21:14 UTC

okay so i found something pretty awesome the 3d scenes in Myst were all built using a mac modeller/renderer called Strata Vision 3D. i bought a boxed copy of this program with the intention of trying to recreate a model or two in the game, using the original renderer. the box came with an extra disc - a library of shapes and textures. i noticed on the inside flap of the cd that it apparently included textures from Myst! unfortunately, it turns out the disc was a demo. you browsed through the library until you found something you wanted, and then called a 1-800# to buy a serial number. you could enter the serial number and instantly have access to that texture. unfortunately, no one has ever figured out how to crack Strata Clip 3D, and i couldn&#39;t figure it out today either. fortunately, some creative digging turned up the Myst textures. they&#39;ve been hiding on a Warez cd from 1996 for the past 30 years. i just managed to load the program into system 7 and it&#39;s all there. these are the original textures used to render some areas of Myst. i still need to install Strata Vision to test them out, but afaik this is the first time these original textures have been seen since. #macintosh #vintageApple #myst #retroGaming #win31

Replies (18)

@loadhigh@bitbang.social 2026-05-08 22:05

@vga256@mastodon.tomodori.net Warez CDs are a surprisingly useful archive. I had the same with VistaPro (a landscape rendering program) a few years ago, where a Twilight CD is the only place that has seemingly preserved a later release of VistaPro. I'm surprised, though, that textures from Myst were even a thing that StrataClip sold as a package, and popular enough that it was pirated.

Open ##2294851
@bangskij@climatejustice.social 2026-05-08 22:58

@vga256@mastodon.tomodori.net oh wow, haven't thought about Strata for a long time, it was my first 3d software back in the 90's, good times.

Open ##2294853
@Netraven@hear-me.social 2026-05-08 23:07

@vga256@mastodon.tomodori.net neato

Open ##2294857
@DanielEriksson@mstdn.science 2026-05-08 23:48

@vga256@mastodon.tomodori.net and just like that, the soundtrack started playing in my mind.

Open ##2294858
@jimfl@hachyderm.io 2026-05-09 00:15

@vga256@mastodon.tomodori.net pirate^H^H^H^H^H^Harchivist

Open ##2294860
@Violet@chitter.xyz 2026-05-09 01:02

@vga256@mastodon.tomodori.net My Dad has this! He used to use Strata as part of his job. He's also the reason Myst was one of the first games I played as a kid.

Open ##2294861
@MacBalance@mstdn.games 2026-05-09 01:06

@vga256@mastodon.tomodori.net I was, briefly, semi-competent with Strata 3d! Got an educational version back in the PowerPC era.

Open ##2294863
@rayotron@mstdn.social 2026-05-09 01:26

@vga256@mastodon.tomodori.net Great find! Myst was created in Spokane, WA, Strata in St. George, UT. I've lived in both places so they're both extra meaningful to me. Versions of Strata can be downloaded from macintoshgarden.org. Could you please provide a link to this warez cd of whence you speak? If not, could you please upload the textures to the Internet Archive or Macintosh Garden? Thank you!

Open ##2294866
@soviut@hachyderm.io 2026-05-09 02:14

@vga256@mastodon.tomodori.net That box is some peak 90s desktop publishing. White box? Got it. You want skinny fonts? We got that. Vertical text? No problem. A gradient? Done! Teal and purple? They won't even let us save the file without them. A bunch of intertwined photographic elements? Sure thing; I threw in the background texture for free.

Open ##2294869
@ellie@ellieayla.net 2026-05-09 02:20

@vga256@mastodon.tomodori.net aaaaaaaa 😍 #myst

Open ##2294873
@soviut@hachyderm.io 2026-05-09 02:59

@vga256@mastodon.tomodori.net You should reach out to Nathan Baggs on YouTube to see if maybe he'd be able to crack it. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQvW_89l7f-hCMP1pzGm4xw

Open ##2294874
@16jalayt@noc.social 2026-05-09 03:06

@vga256@mastodon.tomodori.net Strata Design 3D (free on steam) has the same Myst textures in .sft and models in .ssh formats. Might be easier to convert. I don't know if they were re-saved in a newer version.

Open ##2294875
@bri7@social.treehouse.systems 2026-05-09 03:32

Hey ena @detondev@social.linux.pizza ena ena ena ena ena ena ena lookk @vga256@mastodon.tomodori.net

Open ##2294877
@jfriedensreich@mastodon.social 2026-05-09 05:31

@vga256@mastodon.tomodori.net post some textures!

Open ##2294879
@thehatfox@mastodonapp.uk 2026-05-09 06:55

@vga256@mastodon.tomodori.net That box art is a work of art in itself! Some peak 90s design there. I didn’t get to use Strata but I do remember playing with Bryce 3D back in the day.

Open ##2294880
@feliz@norden.social 2026-05-09 16:58

@vga256@mastodon.tomodori.net Just found the complete #Myst collection on CD-ROM on the street today! :awesome:

Open ##2294881
@domo@pizza.enby.city 2026-05-09 17:03

@vga256@mastodon.tomodori.net omg Kid Pix! :D

Open ##2294882
@ChrisFratz@lethallava.land 2026-05-10 20:42

@vga256@mastodon.tomodori.net One cool thing is that Strata is still around and there's a free version on Steam called Strata Design 3D SE, and it still has the library of Myst Objects

Open ##2373513